something different

Recently I’ve been looking at the local landscape a little differently…  looking for a new project or focus to spark some new energy and creativity.  It’s so easy for me to find macro images, very intimate landscapes, in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  But it’s harder to find something different: different than a broad garden shot describing the planting scheme or layout of the land, different than a plant combination emphasizing texture or color contrasts, different than the soft play of light I so easily seem to find. Today I found very harsh light and remembered the possibilities of using harsh light in the stark landscapes of Death Valley.  I was fortunate to have learned some of these ways of seeing from some of the best black and white photographers of the west last fall.  And today those teachings came back to me as I was looking at this tree against the strong architecture of a campus building.  Maybe not a project, but definitely a lesson worth remembering and practicing for future possibilities.

finding beauty

Today I decided to revisit a plant I photographed last week; the turkish filbert had the female flowers out today along with the male catkins!  I have a few good captures I’ll post later on my website.  But close by another plant caught my attention… not because it was in spring bloom, but because all the ingredients to capture a fleeting moment were just right.  Needles on a dead branch of Pinus uncinata, damaged from the difficult winter we had here in Philadelphia, were radiating a warm glow against the blue sky.  Other branches were also broken, needles past this stage of luminosity and a much drabber brown.  But this branch was at just the right phase of compartmentalizing off, giving me the opportunity to capture the fleeting beautiful burnt orange color… finding beauty in this moment of a conifer’s decline.

December

With the winter solstice, full moon, lunar eclipse last night, and a cold running through the office… no wonder I’m feeling under the weather today.  Sorry I didn’t get any photographs of the big event, but it was amazing to see none the less.  I hope you too woke up long enough to witness one of nature’s wonders last night.  I’m hoping we get some snowfall soon so I’m able to add to my winter images… it’s harder to find exciting material to photograph in the ‘brown’ of winter in Pennsylvania.  December has always been the hardest month for me to be inspired by the season… no ice, no water, always overcast, no contrasts… just shades of brown.

Yes, the mahonia are in bloom and some of the other winter bloomers are hoping for warmer days and sunshine.  But as a photographer, this is the time of year I find new trees, new forms and dances among the bare branches.  I add them to my mental database, watch and ponder the best conditions to capture their grace.  The only thing keeping me inside lately is the strong winds we’ve had almost every day this month.  But with the shortest day of the year now behind us, we have longer days, brighter light and maybe a little snow to look forward to for the rest of the winter.  December is restorative…  time to enjoy the quietness of this time of year and let the creative process slow and wander.  For it’s during these times we can more easily reflect and embrace what is truly important to each of us as human beings and as artists.

editing skills

I was going through my images from the trip west ranking them for processing and realized the best images are from when I was allowing myself to trust what I saw rather than trying to make an image of something I thought might be interesting.  I guess this is one of the lessons of editing, a task I rather dislike but am beginning to value.  I’ve certainly taken images and not known how to process them until later; I needed some additional digital darkroom skills. But I’ve come to realize that if I keep my mind open during the editing process, and take time to look at past images, patterns and concepts appear and sometimes I see something I couldn’t quite understand earlier.  What continues to surprise me is that I need some time away from the actual image making in the field to be able to really edit well.

The image of the cottonwood above is from Bishop, CA when I was scouting for petroglyphs before sunset.  But this tree and its pattern caught my attention and I’m glad I stopped to photograph it!  Be certain to click on the image above to view it larger.  This blog template does not allow very large thumbnails.

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