2019

If I had an image to describe the year 2019, this would be it.  It may have not been the worst year I have experienced in my lifetime but it certainly came close.  We all experience struggles in our lives and it is how we cope with them that determines if we can overcome them.  Health issues complicate our lives and takes patience to deal with.  They can zap us of our desire to do our routine things and dampens our enthusiasm and ability to dream.   Despite dealing with these issues I managed to still get out and explore some new locations and meet some nice people along the way.  The hardest thing this past year has been staying organized with my photography.  I have always had a clear vision of my goals and what direction I wanted to take with my photography.  I have created some wonderful images  this past year but somehow few of them have given me the satisfaction I desire.  I decided to give up all social media because it has a negative effect on my creative abilities.  I found that I spent time thinking about what others thought of my work more than usual.  As with all new years we make promises to ourselves how we are going improve things over the previous year.  That is all well and good but little of your energy should be spent there.  The most effective thing a person can do is be honest with themselves and deal with the essential things in life and let the good things come freely and on their own. 

Under the Night Sky

We recently made a trip to Colorado and rented a camper for two weeks.  When we travel we always find ourselves in the lonely places away from crowds, TV, and internet.  We were able to dry camp most every night of our trip and stayed at high elevations of 10,000 and higher.  The clear night skies were filled with stars and I found myself out hiking around in the dark well after midnight with my camera.  I must admit that the yipping of the coyotes all around was a bit unnerving.  The thing that struck me the most from my night time hikes was how much beauty we have lost of our night skies with light pollution.  It is very difficult to find a place where the lights from a city hasn't spoiled viewing the starlit night.  Being in these remote locations puts me back in touch with reality and the realization of how we have built a wall of technology around us.  Technical Notes:  This image was made by stacking 12 sky exposures at 15 seconds with an ISO setting of 6400 with 12 dark (black) exposures.  The process of stacking exposures greatly reduces the noise in the image. 

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. 

A rhythm of Light

A rhythm of light plays through the corn lily plants in the evening light.  After sunset in the blue hour of the day the light becomes soft and it is a great time to make long exposures of plant life. I made this image using a large format camera with a five minute exposure. The long exposure adds contrast to the negative and give the image depth.  I always enjoy photographing at this time of day and find that some of my favorite images are made in this soft light.

Can't find my way

The start of 2019 has been a rough road.  Sidelined with illness and other assorted life situations that most of us deal with.  During these down times it is hard to feel creative and sometimes I wonder if I will feel the urge again to go out and explore.  Life can be a mystery with it changes as one ages and at times adapting to these changes can be a struggle.  I know like any season it will soon pass and time will take us from where we are now to a new destination.  Sometimes it is best to let things flow with nature and take the time to appreciate what is around us.  We all bring undo stress into our lives but we have the power to control the amount.  I find my peace when I am in nature and seeing the world as it truly was formed.  So much of our existence is made in the image of man, and as we compete in this world we are caught up in chasing an illusion of what we think is real.  Being out in nature has a way of bring us back to center and the realization that divine order has been created that man could never reproduce. 

In the Morning

                                             "In the morning when the moon is at it's rest
                                              You will find me at the time I love the best
                                              Watching rainbows play of sunlight
                                              Pools of water iced from cold nights"

                                                                              The Bee Gees

                                                           https://youtu.be/i8dMlfDtEe8

I was out early morning in my kayak on the last day of the 2018 year.  I always enjoy the transition form night to daylight.  Nature is quiet and just coming to life.  The stillness clears the mind and refreshes. 

Quiet Morning

I was out camping and kayaking this past week and discovered an new lake with lots of interesting cypress trees.  It is in a remote area of the state and surrounded by cattle ranches.  It was great to locate an area that was not over populated and not ruined by over development.  It had rained hard during the night and I had doubts about getting up before dawn and heading out in my kayak.  I was glad that I didn't give in to the comfort of my warm bed and made it out in the damp early morning fog to photograph.  So many times we miss opportunities in lives because we over think things or reflect on past failures to convince ourselves that it is not just worth the effort.  I have had countless struggles at times with going through all the effort it requires to access a location to photograph and coming away with nothing to show for it.  I know it is all part of the process, but when I have streaks of bad luck with exhausted energy in the pursuit of photography it can influence my attitude toward future efforts.  I know it is not suppose to be easy and that the good images are sometimes hard to come by.  That is why when I achieve a successful image it is very rewarding.