Nature can restore

I spent a couple of weeks in the Georgia mountains recently.  I found many small streams to wade in and enjoy the cool and quiet surroundings.  After a few days of hiking and photographing alone, I found myself forgetting about the worries of the day.  Sadly we live in a culture where the media bombards us constantly with negative news and opinions.  Without realizing it, our thoughts are no longer our thoughts because of what we are exposed to each day. We are all aware of the many forms of pollution in our environment, light. air, noise, and waste pollution. But are we aware of the effects of pollution that is being constantly sent to our brains through the airways by TV, cellphone, and the internet.  You will  come to realize how your thoughts are impacted by these sources when you separate yourself from them. Do we really need to be constantly connected to this controlling force in our lives?  Take some time and disconnect once in awhile and reconnect with your own self generated thoughts.  It will help you find what is really important and where your focus should be for your life. 

Out traveling

 

After of months of sitting home and feeling sort of lost, I decided to take a drive.  I ended up traveling over 3,000 miles and going through 13 states.  I chose only to travel the secondary two lane roads and stay off the interstate highways.  I meandered about stopping in small towns and seeing how each one was different and talked with a few of the local people. I was driving through a small town in Georgia and caught the image of a man sitting on his front porch watching the few cars that pass by.  I knew I had to park and walk back to meet the man and ask to take his photograph.  As I approached I could see the house was old weather beaten, and his sitting position on the porch was where he spent most days.  His name was Benny and he was a soft spoken gentle man who was grateful to have someone to speak with for a few minutes.  It is these situations that are the most rewarding to me as a photographer.  They come completely unexpected and usually produce a meaningful image for me.  It is the simple things that I remember the most in my travels. The time to stop and talk with a complete stranger and make a friend, if only for a little while.  America is beautiful and full of wonderful people.  It only takes a trip to through the country to realize that. 

Time passing us by

I woke this morning thinking about all of the time passing us by.  We wait and put our lives on hold not certain when we will be free to do the things we enjoy.  Creativity fades without the ablitity to travel and explore.  I have always been a person whose focus is on a distance horizon.  I dream and make plans months or years before before I actually do them.  I know these days have changed many lives and we all cope with these changes in our own way.  Living in uncertain times makes us aware of what are the important things in a life.  Give thanks even when you don't feel it.  Help someone with a word a encouragement and don't forget to smile. I hope I can take my own advice.  

Chasing Storms

The summer days in Florida are often interrupted with a spectacular thunderstorm in the late afternoon or evening.  They can be frightening if you are out on the water in a boat of hiking any distance from your vehicle.  I have recently started using a few apps on my cellphone to track and notify me when lightning is moving in my direction.  I find these apps handy to project the movement and direction of the storm and lightning so I can position myself safety from the lightning to be able to photograph.  My exposure is dependant on the time of day and the amount of light I have to work with.  With this image I set my camera for a 30 second time lap exposure with one second in between exposures. This type of exposure is best suited for evening light and can provide some dramatic images.  The daytime lightning can be a bit more of a challenge to determine to exposure and capture the bolts of lightning. I will often use a neutral density filter and set my camera for 4 or 5 second exposure and let the camera make numerous exposures in hope of capturing a nearby lightning strike. Being out in a storm is never safe and if you desire to photograph lightning you need to always keep check of your safety and not get overly involved with your photography where you might lose track of what the storm is doing, 

Fallen Man

 I call this image the Fallen Man because it symbolizes our cuture during this world wide pandemic.  Life as we knew it has fallen flat on its face.  We all hope for a quick cure, but find ourselves growing deeper in fear of general human contact with each passing day.  When will we sit comfortable in a crowed stadium or make an international flight to a foreign country?  Fear is a strong motivator and can change and distort our minds for a lifetime.  It is hard to overcome once fear has had time to penetrate deeply into a life.  Fear breeds dependency and it is easy to give up control of your life freedoms to get a sense of security.  Much like a child depends on their parent to comfort them during the night from a bad dream, some will seek comfort and security from a large central government to shelter their lives from fear of bad things happening.  Giving up personal freedoms for the general good sounds accepting but there is a down side to such thinking.  I feel fortunate to have lived all of my life choosing what I want for my life and to pursue my dreams and passions.  The world works best with people living free and pursuing their dreams.  What will the condition of our freedoms look like after this pandemic?  I guess it all depends on how much we are willing to surrender and to whom. 

Foot Steps in Stone

I was going through some old digital files of images I made in Italy back a few of years ago.
I came across this image and realized I had never really seen it before.  The more I looked at the image the more I was drawn into it.  The steps are in an old midevil castle, and are made from marble.  As I worked on this photo I started thinking about the numerous footsteps and the lives of the people that walked these steps over the centuries to wear down the stone.  Lives lived in one place, with daily demands to meet, and a purpose to fulfill.  Their foot steps left in stones.

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/