STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS BY NILS RIBI

Nils Ribi snapped 34,000 photographs this past year, but you’ll find precious few people in any of them.

That’s because the Sun Valley photographer chose to stay away from people as much as possible during 2021 due to the continuing pandemic. The one exception: Photographing musicians with The Sun Valley Music Festival, which returned in person in July and August.

Happily, it was a good year to take pictures of nature, he said. The natural scenery from wildflowers to fall colors turned out more spectacular than anyone could have hoped for, given the below-average snowmelt and dry, hot summer.

And, even though Sun Valley had periods of smoke from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon and wildfires in Northern California, there were some precious breaks in smoke that created great photo opportunities.

Nils also got to sneak away for a nice road trip, during which he became infatuated with seeking out and shooting waterfalls.

Nils Ribi has happily picked a handful of favorites of those 3,400 photos to share with Eye on Sun Valley readers. His Christmas present to you!