Majestic Cypress Tree

I am fortunate to live in Florida and near a large lake that has numerous old growth bald cypress trees. These majestic trees have weathered hurricanes and lightning strikes but continue to grow in the lake over the many years. Sadly most cypress trees were harvested by the logging industry years ago, and they cut nearly every cypress tree that could be found. It is a valuable wood and I have seen some very beautiful tables made from huge slabs from a giant cypress trees that once stood tall in the swamps. I have a great affection for these trees because each one has it own unique character about it. Occasionally on hot days I will anchor my small boat in the shade of these trees and listen to the sounds of nature around me. They provide a secure nesting place for the Osprey and other birds native to the area. The Bald Cypress Tree is the only tree that losses it leaves for the entire winter in Florida. Winter time is when I usually prefer to photograph them, because without the leaves you can see the true character of the tree. This particular tree with it’s Spanish moss looks best in the summertime. I called it the guardian tree because of it’s strength and status it portrays .

Traveling in Iceland

I am still finding new and interesting images from a trip I made to Iceland back a few years ago. That appears to be the case with most of my photographic outings. When I first get home from a trip I dive into the images that capture my attention the most and make a small collect of prints. Then I find myself moving onto other projects and abandoning the process of working on image from my recent trip. I find that after a few years of having a large group of images packed away on a hard drive, I find many inspiring images that I overlooked on my initial review when going back through the files. It is exciting to bring new life to old memories and add to an existing body of work. Sometimes we are so excited to cull out what we think are the best images from the trip that we bypass others that may hold a deeper meaning. This above image was taken somewhere in Iceland but I can't remember exactly where. That is because it was a scene that I just happen on when traveling to a more popular location that might have been photographed more but other's. I like the quiet and subtleness of this scene and the emotion I get from it of being in a far off land in a remote area with no other travelers around for miles.

A quiet time of day

I am always in search of a remote quiet location to do my photography. The stillness lets me take my time to connect with the environment that I am in. I don't like rushing around when doing landscape photography. Being rushed often leads to making numerous poorly composed images that just fill up a memory card. It is better to make a few good images that represents the emotions you feel about the subject and location, than just to fire away hoping that you get something that inspires. I learned to take a slow approach with landscape photography with my many years of working with a film and a large format camera. It is easy to fall into bad habits with camera that think too much for you. I pretty much use my mirrorless cameras in fully manual mode. I really don't bother to learn the multiple features that modern digital cameras offer. I find it too difficult to be occupied with many functions and settings that are built into these cameras for my style of photography. Certainly if I was still doing professional sports photography I would utilize many of the features these new cameras offer. This image is from a Canada trip around Lake Superior. It was long after sunset on a calm and quiet summers night.

Winter time and bare trees

I always enjoy photographing trees without leaves. To me a tree with just bare branches has more presence. Certaily tree with their fall corlors make for a beautiful photographs, but I find bare trees have more charactor and therefor a more interesting subject. I made this image during the winter months in Florida when the Bald Cypress trees loose their leaves.

Another 3am image

The older I get the less I sleep.  At times it is frustrating dealing with insomnia but I find that the wee hours of the morning gives me the quiet time to work on an image without any distractions.  I think back of my many years working alone in the darkroom and it was a space of little noise or interruptions.  Once I entered the space I had a mind set and focus of working on printing an image.  I knew I had maybe three to four hours of a good concentration level before I tired out. After that I would mix chemicals or do other mundane task the darkroom work required.  The digital darkroom is much harder to maintain a steady concentration when working on an image.  There are frequent distractions that come with being on a computer and doing photography.  A simple notice of an incoming email message will take me out of my processing mindset and I end up just saving the image off to work on later.  If you take your photography seriously you will need to find a way to work without frequent interruptions.  The steps to processing of an image takes analysis, execution, and finalization in order to achieve a satisfactory image.  A disruption in any phase will most likely end up with falling short of achieving a successful image.  So, do I like working on my images when I should be sleeping? No, but it does help me produce some of my favorite images. 

Ebb and Flow

 I will be 74 years old next month.  My interest in photography started in high school when my small school built a darkroom and started a photography class.  In the first year the class was offered there were only two of us who were in the class.  I remember clearly the first time I watched a plain piece of white paper turn into a photograph in front of my eyes in the darkroom.  It was a magical life changing event for me.  I instantly connected with the process and the possibilities photography held for self expression.  So here I am 60 years later still pursuing the photographic process. During those years the equipment and process has changed numerous times requiring a re-education to stay current with the process. The changes always had a period of ebb and flow to the creative aspect of photography. New techniques and to be learned and equipment exchanged. It is more costly and time consuming in the electronic world of photography with hardware updates and digital procedures constantly changing. I still have the desire to create and explore with photography but miss the process that I fell in love with in the darkroom.  The AI technology that will soon be unleashed on the world will probably spell the end of the creative process of the individual and will usher in the the computer generated art that has very little heart and soul. 

Transition

Transition is the change from one state to another.  I prefer to photograph when the day is transitioning to night.  The last few minutes of daylight provides a soft glow on the subject and eliminates the harsh shadows caused by the midday sun.  During this time the winds cease and a quietness falls on the land.  In the stillness you become aware of the the changes in nature as the birds fly overhead to roost for the night while the bats come out of their resting place.  When alone in the wildness locations I feel the eeriness of the approaching night as a coyote yelps at the rising moon.  I stay at the location as long a possible before the darkness over takes me and I need to make the trek back to my vehicle or campsite.  These are special times and some of the most rewarding in making photographs and to experience the transition of the day into the night.  The above photograph was made in Nevada. I visited the location during the day to scout around for an evening photo session.  I am always amazed how different things look when I return after the sunsets. 

Nevada Ghost Towns

 In our recent trip to Nevada we searched out old mining ghost towns in the state.  Nevada has a rich history in mining that sprung up in the late 1800's when silver and gold was discovered.  Most of these mining town flourished for a few short years while the mines were productive.  Today there are plenty of the remains of these old ming camps and small towns scattered around the state.  One town we visited was called Berlin, and it is now a state park left in a state of arrested decay.  As is with most of these mining towns, Berlin is located in a remote area.  Another great little mining town and one of the best we found was Gold Point.  It is a well preserved town with a lot of left over mining shacks and equipment laying around to investigate.  The town has six full-time residents and we only saw one while we camped out there.  His name was Walt, and he and his partner own the town.  It was a cool place to hang out for a couple of days.  We pitched our tent out back of the saloon that had 60's music playing 24 hours a day.  It was sort of a surreal feeling because of the emptiness of the town and hearing the music from our youth coming from the old saloon.  As I was out photographing the night sky I would hear in the distance a song I had long forgotten about, and with it came a flood of memories of that time in my life.  Traveling these dusty old back roads and exploring is always rewarding.  The quest of "what's is up around the next corner" leads to discovery of new and exciting places, and a fulfillment dreams. 

Eastern Nevada

 We just returned home from a two week camping trip to Nevada. We have made many tips out west over the years to photograph and camp but never really spent much time in Nevada.  It is a big state with lots of empty land to explore. You can drive for hundreds of miles and never see another car or a town. We could get lost in the vast landscape and stop and pitch our tent most anywhere we wanted.  Most of the state is owned by the BLM - Bureau of Land Management, so you are free to hike and camp anywhere you please. Nevada is mostly a mining state and there are many old abandoned mining towns with ruins from the days of the gold and silver mines.  I made this image in the eastern part of the state and Cathedral Gorge State Park. It is a fascinating place with slot canyons with a moon like landscape. If are an exploring type of person and like quiet and remote areas you will enjoy what Nevada has to offer.  It is a place to get away and clear the mind and to be in a location that is desolate and void of people. It is a good to occasionally off load the concerns of today and reconnect with the things that really matter in life, and for me a place like Nevada is where I go. 

The Grottos

I traveled through Colorado last fall and stopped by an area that I had photographed at thirty years ago.  It is just off of the continental divide when going over Independence Pass.  The Grottos trail with the ice caves are located in the White River National Forest.  I am always amazed when I return to an area that I had previously photographed, and realize how different it really looks as to what I remembered it to be.  On my first trip many years ago I hiked down into this area with a heavy large format camera and a sturdy tripod.  This time I was equipped with a lighter digital camera and tripod, but found the climb out much more strenuous than on the first visit.  The area around the ice caves has some great hiking trails that take you to some wonderful waterfalls.  When I first visited this location in 1990 there no people in the area when I was photographing.  On this trip I couldn't find a place to park and decided to come back at a later time to have more quiet space to hike around and relive some old memories of a special place.

https://liveandlethike.com/2015/09/12/grottos-trail-white-river-national-forest-co/

The SS Charcot

I recently traveled to Newfoundland and found it to be a fascinating place to photograph.  The weather was constantly changing and the wind never stopped blowing.  It was a challenge to photograph in these conditions but the unsettled weather created a moodiness to the land and sea.  I came across the old wreckage on my first day of travel.  As I was photographing and elder man appeared and told me the story about the boat.  It was an old whaling ship called the SS Charcot.  It ran around when it lost it's mooring in a storm back in the early 70's.  It was a fairly quiet evening when I made this image and this old hulk had an eerie feeling about it. 

Thoughts and dreams in Iceland

Iceland is a fascinating place with extreme weather conditions.  The light is always changing as is the mood of the weather.  It is not uncommon to have sun one minute and rain the next.  The wind can blow hard and then quit moments later.  The Arctic sea is always battling the coastline and creating wonderful clouds that come ashore and rise up over the mountains.  It is a quiet and remote land where the everyday world vanishes.  I enjoy quiet places where the land is in its nature state, showing no signs use.  It gives time for reflection and a focus on the real values in life.  It seems our technology has imprisoned us and we have become separated from fundamental things in life.  In someways the technological world has become our real home and the nature world is foreign to us.  Sadly I see most young people living their lives 12" from their nose staring into a screen focused on meaningless information.  So much life and youth can be squandered with such constant distractions. I am not immune to the technology trap we live in, but thankfully I have a greater desire to explore the nature world and seek out the wonders that exist there. 

Bare trees and gray skies

I when I am out traveling in new locations I never know the type of subjects I will come upon.  I usually have a preconceived idea about an area and the expected images I might make there.  I try to keep my travels as spontaneous as possible to have the flexibility to change directions if the weather or other things arise that hinder my chances of doing photography.  Such was the case in my recent trip to Utah.  I was tent camping and had to reroute my trip because of extremely heavy rains and tornados that came through the state.  It made me rethink my plans and adjust my travels to avoid areas of storm damage and flooding.  I ended up not visiting many of the places I had originally planned on, and found myself travel unexpected roads in search of new locations to photograph.  The above image was made in an area that was not in my original travel plans.  Utah is full of spectacular red rock canyons with unusual rock formations that attract many visitors to the state.  It also has many miles of wilderness roads with ranch lands of scenic beauty to explore.   This image was made on a very stormy day with strong winds and rain.  It was a challenge to get out of the vehicle to do much photography in such conditions.  With most all of my field work I use a tripod even when I really don't need to.  It is all part of my many years of using a large format camera that required a tripod to steady the camera.  I made this image with my Sony A7R11 without the use of a tripod.  This camera has a 5 axis built in image stabilization feature that is helpful in situations like this.  I was also able to use the tilt LCD screen on the back to compose my low angle view of this scene.  It is always satisfying to be able to make a few good images on a trip when my original plans don't work out.