This is a view that has become a bittersweet one for me over the past several years. These flowering lupine appear to be in the high alpine, but in reality they are only about 400 feet (122 m) above sea level. Since this spot is adjacent to a tidewater glacier that is rapidly retreating, the environment right next to the ice closely resembles an alpine ecosystem—it’s just that the trees haven’t had time to take hold yet. This makes these types of areas easily accessible to anyone who can paddle to or get dropped off by a vessel on a nearby beach. The bitter part for me is witnessing the rapid and dramatic loss of the glacial ice from these areas. Photographer: Sean Neilson