Hiking with Charlie

This has been a tough week in a few ways but I won't go into those details. I was able to eek out a couple of hours to grab Charlie and take him with me to KVR [Kickapoo Valley Reserve].

I was surprised that I was the only vehicle in the parking area. In fact I'd passed several parking spots and hadn't seen anyone. Imagine my glee when I shared this information with Charlie. Poor Charlie wasn't exactly being gleeful. Sometimes he gets a wee bit worked up and a little car sick.

I needed a short quick Nature Fix so I chose Weister Creek.

We were not disappointed.

Pano of an ice 'cave'

Charlie and I climbed up into the cave on the top right and set up the camera and stood inside. I have wanted to do this for a long time. Photos rarely give anyone the true perspective of what we are seeing.

If you are wondering what is on my head. Well, it is my Skunk Hat. It has a face and a tail. It is definitely my most prized hat of all time. My regret is that it I can only wear it in cold weather.

By February, depending on the temperatures, I would be standing behind a wall of ice and the sandstone behind me would be slick with dripping ice. The Reserve actually offers tours on their website but cautions that a person should be in pretty good shape as the hike is demanding.

Climbing into these areas can be a bit tricky.

Charlie and I had some snacks here before moving on to the second formation.

This set of caves produces some of the most interesting ice colors I've ever seen. The ice reflects tones of blue, green, and yellow. The cave at the top generally becomes a wall of ice. This is only a small portion of this rather large area.

Charlie and I had another destination in mind. We wanted to walk the old equine trail and gaze at the Weister Creek ice.

The water is low this year, but thank goodness there is still seepage from the hillsides.

Yet we were still not at our destination. We had to take the 'super' secret old equine trail to one more place.

We spent a while here listening to the water run over the rocks and investigating the animals prints in the sand.

Charlie saw me pick up my backpack and he scurried up the next leg of the faint trail. I called him back, laughing. He knows these trails as well as he knows his own yard.

He trotted over and looked up at me with his soulful eyes. If it had been up to me, we'd have gone on exploring until dark.

The short days with all the shadows and light were amazing. I explained this to Charlie as we headed home.

He was disappointed and explained to me that the smells he found were simply amazing. 

Into the Woods

Sometimes I dance to my own music that only I can hear. The squirrels laughed and chattered along with the chipmunks.
The trees swayed and applauded by dropping golden leaves on me.

So this is some of what I did. My first real self portrait shoot of sorts.
I had some fun. 
I used a 25mm lens and a self timer. I really took some crappy shots.

Yes I tossed the flip flops and went barefoot. It felt so much better. A lot of shots were not in focus but some were just fine. I even used and Art Setting called soft focus which gave the whole shot an Orton type look like in the first photo.

One of the very hard lessons I learned is that I think I messed with the art filters too much. I'd set up the camera to recognize the face. Good move. Except that the Artsy Fartsy Filter doesn't recognize the face. Soooo many shots were neat, but alas I was not in focus. 
However. That was okay for some of the shots. I didn't want close ups of my freckle face.

I learned that my glasses should be left on... no matter how much I wanted to have them off.

I have a ridge across my nose that shows up in the photos. But who is looking that close anyway? No way am I smoothing this out. 

Yes! I even applied some makeup. Yuck on reddish colored lipstick. But I used it.
Other fun notes.
Since I always wear a baseball cap outside doing work, my skin tone is different on my forehead and yes I have used sunscreen. 
Note to self. Keep the camera further away or wear a cap!

Then there is the scary person. Infrared! The eyes turn black! And of course I am holding a skull.

Then I decided to just sit in the woods and chill out for a while. 
If I stayed long enough I'd fade right into the forest.

[Layered photos one without me in it on top.] The magic of layers.

I can live with this one. I feel it is more true to myself in a way.

How I Go to the Woods by Mary Oliver

Ordinarily, I go into the woods alone, with not a single 
friend,  for they are all talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I really don't want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of praying,
as you no doubt have yours.

Besides, when I am alone I can be invisible. I can sit on top of a
dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds, 
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can almost hear the unhearable
sound of the roses singing.

If you ever have gone into the woods with me, I must love you
very much.

Projects

I have had this idea for a while. This week I stood with Miss Aurora and we talked about everything under the sun and she mentioned the Wonderland book of portraits that are extremely exotic and beautiful. It is done with models and special lighting effects.

In my head I had a vision of doing some self portraits in woodland settings. I'd done some of that last year when I was out and about with Charlie and Bear.

One of my favorites from last year was sledding with a Teddy Bear and Charlie running alongside us. I used a timer on my pointy shooty camera and set it to 7 shots hoping that one shot would deliver the following.

These are not the same type of photos that the artist Kristy Mitchel has done. But the discussion did rekindle some old ideas I had about self portraits.

I went up into my Magic Room [really, it is a spare bedroom where my paints, crafts, and toys are stored] and looked down at the outfit I'd picked out over a year ago. My intentions were to 'dress' up and take a self portrait in the woods. You know a dreamy shot where I looked beautiful and exotic.

Pfft. 
I should know better.
Most people who call themselves a photographer absolutely hate getting in front of the lens. I didn't like it as a kid and liked it less as my face aged. 

What I think I look like in front of a camera...or wished I did:

What I generally look like [in the winter]:

How I feel before coffee in the morning:

And here are two versions I did this morning while having coffee on a knoll overlooking the neighbor's meadow with Bear.
I like the B&W version much better.

I'm not very good at this and it took quite a bit of running back and forth with the timer set. I could use an app on the smarty phone to do it, but I always end up with the damn phone in my hand.

However, this is more me. I'm not gorgeous and dreamy looking. I have a face that has been beat up by the weather and sun. It has amazing wrinkles in it. If I were a man I'd have a gnarly weathered face. 

But see, I am going to be okay with that because really. No amount of makeup will make me look young and dreamy.

So what will my project be? Oh it will change constantly. But I am going to put on the gypsy crazy lady outfit and play dress up. Well, why not? I have to entertain myself.

I won't even try to do those incredible artistic shots. Those were someone else's vision. I want one of my own.

I'm going to work on the Bear and I stuff too. I really like doing things with Bear.

So...

off I go

to do my own thing.

You never know what I will come up with.