Bannack, Montana

We were in Montana a week ago and come across an old mining ghost town in our travels.  We were headed west up into the mountains to camp for the night when we ran into a very strong thunderstorm.  We changed our plans and looked for a safer place in the valley to camp for the night. I found a state park that was in the area and took a detour in that direction.  I was bewildered by the location of this park being out in the middle of basically nowhere, and wondering what sort of natural attraction could be there.  After a few miles of a dirt road we found the campground and it was empty and had our choice of sites to setup camp.  After getting our gear around we decided to look over the area to see what might be of interest to photograph towards evening.  Much to our surprise we discovered the reason for the location of this state park.  This is the location of the old mining town of Bannack.  The state took over the town a number of years ago and has left everything intact just as the miners left it years before.  I was overwhelmed with delight because I am always in search of these kind of places in my travels.  I was surprised to find that all of the building are accessible and you can walk in each one and see the original setting of each home and business.  I have visited many old mining towns and this one was the most preserved and authentic old town I have ever been in.  I made many fine photographs during our short visit.  I made this image of the old schoolhouse towards evening as another thunderstorm was approaching.  We saw many wonderful areas during our trip but this old town was a highlight for me. 

Yellowstone N.P.

I was in Yellowstone National Park a few days ago.  It was a cold and rainy time spent there but the light was great for photography.  I found a few areas away from the crowds that frequent Yellowstone and made some interesting images.  I saw this small geyser a few times erupting from a distance and I was never in position to be there when it did.  I started timing when it went off and found it was nearly every hour in between eruptions.  It was late in the day when I went to this location to setup my camera and tripod and wait for the geyser to erupt.  The setting sun was breaking through a small opening in the clouds giving a nice side lighting to the scene.  I made this image to check my focus and exposure settings just as the eruption started.  As the geyser erupted I heard a voice speak from behind me and as I turn to see who it was I bumped my tripod knocking my camera out of focus and missed the capturing the spectacular event.  I was a little disappointed at the time in my misfortunes but satisfied that I made this exposure just moments before. 

Solitary Tree

What creates a sense of belonging and purpose in a life?  It is a combination of faith, family, and function.  If we have faith in God, mankind, and ourselves we can see the good when ugliness is all around us.  Family is the deep roots that bind us together and gives us our identity.  Function is what we do to provide and contribute that gives us our purpose in life.  We all move through different stages in life and after have experiencing them I can now reflect on them.  When we are young we are surrounded by family and friends which forms our roots.  The working years define us by our dedication and self discipline to stay the course to be a provider and contribute to society.  Faith comes when the storm clouds appear in our lives or that of someone else.  As we transition through life some of these things diminish or disappear.  Family passes on or moves away which is all normal, but requires an adjustment.  After the working years purpose and function becomes more difficult to define and obtain.  Faith increases as time passes because there comes a point in life where investing in this life has less return than it once did.  I know this may appear to be ramblings of obscure personal thoughts, but these are things that I learn from what I photograph.  This image I made two days ago represents some of the feelings I have expressed.  This solitary cypress tree rooted in a vast area of water is in its natural environment.  Its branches provide nesting for osprey and fulfills an important purpose.  The deep roots anchor the tree during extreme winds of hurricanes.   The tree produces seeds that fall in the water and drift away to establish new trees in another location.  The cycle of life is all around us in nature if we look for it.     Ps. 127 1-5

Preparing for a Photo Trip

I made this image in February in Big Bend N.P.  The sun was setting and we were standing on a high overlooking of the Rio Grande River.  The river divides the U.S. and Mexico.  In this photo Mexico is on the left and the U.S. on the right.  It takes a lot of work and planning when going on far away photography trips.  Many things I take for granted when photographing at home are now thrown into the mix of the decision process.  Equipment and gear management can be problematic when living on the road for a few weeks.  Many of these trips require backpacking and tent camping to be in a remote location at the best time of day when the light is right for photography.  In my planning I need to consider my maximum amount of equipment with the least amount of weight for my trip.  Often times it comes down to if I am going solo or have my wife as my hiking companion as to how much equipment I will take.  In my film days I would hike with a 4x5 view camera that required bulky film holders and a heavy tripod.  On my day hikes I would try to estimate how many sheets of film I might expose that day and try to pack my gear to match the trail and the terrain I was in.  Carrying a limited amount of film require that I didn't duplicate exposures and waited until the light was at its best.  With my digital equipment the concerns are different.  The equipment is much lighter but the gear and accessories can be more numerous.  The biggest concern is keeping everything powered up and maintaining battery life. I usually buy several batteries that I keep as spares but still find myself searching for a receptacle in a campground or public washroom to plug in my charger.  The amount of accessories that I bring along seems to always be increasing.  The various power cords for electronic equipment is in a constant state of change and with each new piece of equipment comes a new cord with a different connector.  This can be a source of frustration especially when a power adapter or a certain type of cord is left at home.  Other things like filters, memory cards, cellphone, laptops, and other devices can add to the complication of trying to travel light.   We are preparing for a two week, three state trip next week to the Northwest U.S.  As I go through my equipment I set it out on a table and pair everything up so I am certain not to forget a vital component.  These trips are always fun but it takes a lot energy before, during, and after the trip.  I will celebrate my 69th birthday while on this trip and realize the limitation of age is coming into play in my life but the desire to explore is endless. 

Why I am starting to dislike Photography

I have been photographing for most of my life.  It is a passion that started in my teen years and I have pursued it my entire life.  Recently I am feeling disconnected from the passion that has burned inside of me for photography.  Technology is the blame for much of the frustrating I am feeling towards the medium.  With the advancement of computers and related technologies it is becoming apparent that we no longer  have full control over our lives anymore.  We are forced to let the monster of technology dictate our lives.  I have fears that this is just the start of this self imposed restricted life we have created.  The advancement of AI is just around the corner and we will forced into living habits that rob us of our individual freedoms .  As we race to embrace these new technologies we willingly give up our freedoms.  Soon we will be in driverless cars forced to do as the programed car wishes and not what we desire.  To a generation born into this technology they will not question the new forced restrictions imposed on their lives.  It is the only world they have ever know and any new change in regulating their lives will not be questioned.  I rarely use a cellphone, and when I travel I have no fears of being without a way to communicate.  It was the way I have lived most of my life before this technology and I have no feeling of anxiety of being out in the world without a cellphone.  Today most people can't live five minutes without their phones and think of it as a birth right.  I believe that most of the young people that were born with this technology were to have it suddenly removed would go through a horrible withdrawal period equal to a powerful drug.  So why am I so down on technology that I have embraced for the past couple of decades?  Well when it comes to photography it has diminished what a photographer is and the work they produce.  As the internet grows and becomes more noisy, so fades the recognized talents of a skilled photographer.  My past enjoyment of viewing original prints of a talented photographer was that I can see some of the person in their work, much like viewing works of a great painter.  Now as viewers of photography we focus more on the technique and software applied than the skill and eye of the photographer.  Social media is a demon that sucks the creative life out of most aspiring photographers.  It is an unnatural environment where superficial highs and lows are created by complete strangers with likes and dislikes.  To an inspiring artist there is little value investing in these sites and quickly become a giant waste of time.  Viewing the "Fine Print" in a gallery setting sadly is becoming a thing of the past.  We now quickly become saturated with countless images online all gussied up to catch our eye.  Sunsets that are too brilliant, waterfalls too beautiful, colorful landscapes too surreal to be believed.  Images today are more about viewing the technology that was used to create the images than the photographer and the subject photographed.  I can remember viewing images created by some of the early masters of black and white photography and how I was captivated by an image and felt an emotional response to the image.  Many of these photographers had a lasting impression on my life.  It is doubtful if my first exposure to these works were on a computer monitor that they would have as much of an impact in my life.  Time passes and things change and what I value is personal to me and has little influence on others.  Yet I feel a certain sadness for those coming behind me because of the loss of freedom in live their lives. To be truly your own person without being tethered to the power of technology I fear is no longer possible.  I will continue to photograph and in doing so I will be true to myself and not be overwhelmed by presence of the technology that controls so much of todays medium of photography.

Cypress Forest

I finally had a chance to get out on the lake for a few hours yesterday to do some kayaking and photography.  It has been several months since I have been out there.  This past winter has been extremely windy and it has been hard to find a day that the lake was calm.  When I photograph from my kayak I have to take several photographs of the same subject in order to get the proper composition because I am always moving and drifting around.  I also need to be very aware of my surrounding when focused on photographing because I can easily float into a overhanging trees limbs or come close to a good sized alligator lurking in the weeds nearby.  In this image I would drift from left to right as I passed by this stand of cypress trees.  In each attempt I keyed on getting the bow of the broken limb of the large tree perfectly framed so it did not merge with the tree or the other limbs.  Getting good results while photographing from a small boat can be tiring and time consuming.  There are many days that I make these trips and return home without making a single photograph.  While this can be frustrating, it is all part of the process and has to be accepted.  

Wild Monkeys

We spend some time at Silver Springs Florida State Park this week camping and kayaking.  Florida is starting its rainy season and this week has had periods of hard rain each day.  Silver Springs in a magical place where over 50 million gallons of fresh clear water springs up from the ground each day forming a river.  We made three trips down the river in our kayaks and each time we were soaked by the rain showers.  The plus side of the wet week was that we had the area to ourselves and got to see plenty of animals along the stream.  One encounter we had was with the wild Rhesus monkeys.  Silver Springs was once the movie location for the early Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan.  It is said that these monkeys that now populate the area are from the the early Tarzan movies that were made there.  As we drifted along in our kayaks we could see a caravan of monkeys with dozens of babies moving along the shore.  They would stop out of curiosity and look us over.  I rested my kayak against a tree and photographed a few as they moved by.  I noticed that two large males stood guard at the front of my kayak as the babies and their Mothers moved passed.  This monkey sat a couple of feet from my boat and put on a display of showing his teeth and giving me a stare as to warn me not to come closer.  I have never considered myself a wildlife photographer but I have to admit that there is an exciting aspect of coming in close contact with wild animals.