reflections

Reflections… a good metaphor for the writing I’ve been working on lately and for thinking about how photography fits into life!  I’ve been organizing images from my trip west and realized just how many panorama and reflection images I have.  But this has to be one of my favorite of the reflections… the Merced River in Yosemite National Park.  Enjoy!

Image capture with Nikon D700 camera and 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VRII AF-S Nikkor Zoomm Lens

refining your vision

This afternoon I’ve been editing images to a batch limit of 20 of my best to prepare for printing a portfolio that will be reviewed at an upcoming photography workshop.  This is a difficult task, editing your own work.  But it’s something very valuable.  As I was looking through past images to see if anything caught my attention, I found a color version of this image with a little more reflected sky on the top edge.  And Bruce Barnbaum’s words came back to me… review your images over and over again if something tells you that you have something there.  You might not see it today… you might not see it tomorrow.  In this case, I didn’t see it until 2 years later.  But I finally saw what I intended to share.  Not because my digital darkroom skills are much better than 2 years ago, but because my vision, my way of seeing is becoming clearer to me.

So enjoy this abstract arrangement of rocks from the shores of Jenny Lake, WY… even if it took me 2 years to share it with you.

moss

Every day during the last month, I’ve walk by this beautiful tree… a moss covered oak growing along a quiet road.  The first time I saw it, I knew I had to photograph it.  And I also knew that I needed some rain to enliven the multicolored moss and lichens on its buttress.  And tonight it rained.  A beautiful soft rain perfect for capturing the mood of the tree.  This is my first attempt at a panorama, but not my last… and certainly not my last study of this marvelous tree.  Please click on the image above to view it larger rather than simply the thumbnail on this post.

simple moments

Today was about simple moments:  a toddler playing in a leaking hose, the smile of a good friend, the dance of sunshine on brightly colored spring flowers.  These kinds of experiences greatly influence my photographic vision and process.  And after reading John Paul Caponigro’s blog post, “Take Note of Your Process”, I’ve been running through my process every moment I see another potential image.  Even thought I have not taken out the camera in 4 days, swamped with computer software issues, I’m still going through his exercise and will put pen to paper during my next venture.  I highly recommend a read and practice of his exercise for photographers and visual artists of any media.  It will help you clarify your own process and vision.

Assateague Island

I just thought I would post an image from my trip this past weekend to Assateague Island National Park.  The sound of the waves was amazing and Joe and I camped two nights on the beach… and in this flip flop weather of spring not many people braved the cool nights; we had 85F on Friday and 40F Saturday night with the winds to go with it.  But I was lucky to find a fisherman along the shore at sunset to capture this moment.

Just another winter day

Just another winter day… never.  There is always something going on in the landscape; it’s just making the time in our busy lives and having the mindset to find those special moments.  A few remaining leaves on Hydrangea quercifolia, or oakleaf hydrangea, holding some half-frozen snow caught my eye.  Usually these leaves have completely fallen by now.  But these gems of texture and color held on so I was compelled to photograph them.

Winter is here

This past week I visited Harriman State Park in NY for some photography during some really chilly weather.  The week prior the east coast had a really great snowstorm and I was looking forward to some snow pictures in this area.  But most of the snow was gone and what remained what lots and lots of ice.  Ice on the seven lakes there, ice on plants and ice on outcrops. The plants seemed happy to have their protective coating of ice on this 19F day… glistening forms of spring hopeful.

During this time of year there are very few people in the park; I ran into four people hiking the entire day.  But during the warmer months it’s obvious this park is trampled by crowds from nearby New York City, day visitors and group campgrounds filled to capacity.   This day I found solace in the sounds of wind and cracking ice shifting on the lakes.  Stalactites of ice forming from a shelf ice balanced between two rocks on the edge of one of the lakes brought me back to childhood wonder and amazement… how?