Distractions

My son sent me a quote which I felt was very thoughtful and needed to be shared here.

Once I read it and after we discussed it, I decided that this indeed was very appropriate. It also explains the 'why' I have toys and why I experiment in photography and graphic art.

"The opposite of play is not work - the opposite of play is depression." ~Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play.

Okay, so I knew this in the back of my mind. Play and exercise in some sort or another is what helps the mind get out of a rut. Well, it does for me.

With the Pandemic this year, the isolation, and ... well hell, the politics, 2020 through 2021 so far has been awfully trying. Endless days of fog and overcast weather can make things even more depressing.

So what does that mean? Not much. But I decided not to let all of that bother me. I took out my newly arrived Dragons and had a go with them. 

I spent most of my time while on the hike looking for spots along the creek that I could get good reflections. So I had to look for rocks to add to the creek bottom so the toys wouldn't be too submerged and they would stand up instead of falling over.

Yep. I crouched in a creek and arranged figurines. The whole time I was doing that my mind was clear of all intrusive thoughts. It was like going on a Mind Vacation.

Seeing as that I have Dragons in my creek, I wasn't surprised to see the Unicorns in the forest.

I amused myself by trying different methods of processing the photos. I use DxO's Photo Lab 4 for most of my processing. I dipped into Analog Efex Pro 2 for these shots.

It is interesting to try out different film effects.

The photo below is what I call a failed experiment. A fun one just the same. In camera double exposure. I did this indoors. The first shot is of this dragon, the double was of some 'fake' leaves. It sort of turned out with an interesting Bokeh effect but it took me down another path.

So I looked up 'how to create' a double exposure effect. And thought I'd give it a whirl.

There I am with my funky hat [bad hair day as usual]. A shot against a blank white wall. This took a long time to get the look I wanted. Don't look too close. You will see my wrinkles. I have decided that I am okay with that look too. 

I'm going to work on a few other things.
Yesterday I took Charlie for a long walk on the cropland on the ridge. I took my point and shoot Infrared Camera. Winter and IR usually don't produce great results, but I think the Creative Challenge will be a good thing.

Now to finish my errands. A trip to the butcher and we will be set again until some time late February except for milk.

What is the cost?

Where once I fear the cost of truth, but now only ask:

What is the cost of lies?

I watched the HBO movie 'Chernobyl'. It resonated with me in a slight way as I had spent a few years working near and around a nuclear reactor that was the same vintage as Chernobyl's. However this reactor was and had been in the stages of decommission for years before I worked there.

The movie was excellent if not thought provoking.

I sat in our living room and watched as officials lied to each other and no one wanted to admit the horrible thing that had happened. No one wanted to discover the truth. 

Those in government wanted the incident to simply go away. If they ignored it, it would not be.

I was deeply disturbed throughout the movie. At the end of each episode I sat on my couch and thought about the parallels in the present world.

At the very end of the series the scientist Valery Legasov's voice says:

This statement hits home.

You can take this any way you want to.

Walk Beside me....

Don't walk behind me

I may not lead

Don't walk in front of me

I may not follow

Just walk beside me

And be my friend....

~~Albert Camus

Why do I walk the Woods?

I really wanted to be very clever and say something with deep inner meaning and thought.
I even read Rumi for some inspiration, but sadly, his words are not my words.

So instead I told my husband that I was going to wander down to the creek. I said something like "To check the trail camera." He looked at me and smiled. He was sitting and watching Netflix. I know he is in there and he smiles, but his face is innocent and almost blank.  He also knows that what I mean to say is:

"Hey honey, I'm going for a walk because I can't sit still."

He is much better now, not depressed but still the person I used to be with has become someone else. It isn't his fault. The brain won't work quite the way it used to.

I grab a copy of Mary Oliver's book "Felicity" and my camera. I say over my shoulder as I head out, "See you in a bit!"

He nods and turns back to the program he is watching.

Funny how he never watched TV and now that occupies his afternoon hours. I can't even drag him away from it unless I walk up and hit the pause button.

I clutch the book with me and wonder why I've brought it. Really? A poetry book?
And it could start to rain at any moment.

I shrug and head out across the soggy meadow, my feet going squish squish across the grass. Actually, the National Weather Service predicted 2 to 4 inches of rain again tonight. So I am worried about the desk and the bears. 

The camera bag bumps me as I negotiate the trail down the steep hill. I can hear water falling from the 'run' off to the left. But it is getting darker out so I won't explore all of what I want to. I'll save that for another day.
I have something important in mind, but the idea is not clear yet.

I get distracted and make a slight detour.

The light is fading so I work quickly. I know exactly what I want to 'shoot'. I carefully lay the book on top of the camera bag and take some shots.

I want to see how these areas will change after another flash flood.

I can hear water droplets falling out of the trees. My book has gotten water on it. I carefully wipe it off and continue downstream towards 'the beach'.

I pick a rock to take a shot on. I need to find a good spot to 'shoot' from now until Spring. I want to see how this looks in all seasons.

Well, that is not what I came for not really.

I stand up and hold the book in my hands.

There is the desk.
It is very heavy and shouldn't wash away, but I don't want it to get damaged.

So I move it.
I carefully set the Artist Conches that the kids had drawn on aside and put them inside the desk.

I move the desk up above the creek to where it will be safe.

Off in the distance I hear a rumble.

I wipe off the desk and sit down.

And I flip open the book.
I read:

A Voice from I Don't Know Where

It seems you love this world very much.
  "Yes," I said. "This is a beautiful world."

And you don't mind the mind, that keeps you
   busy all of the time with its dark and bright wonderings:
   "No I'm quite used to it. Busy, busy,
   all of the time."

And you don't mind living with those questions,
   I mean the hard ones, that no one can answer?
   "Actually, they're the most interesting."

And you have a person in your life whose hand
   you like to hold?
   "Yes I do."

It must surely, then, be very happy down there 
   in your heart.
   "Yes," I said. "It is."

~ Mary Oliver

I close the book.

I now know why I walked the woods today.

In my Child's Inner Eye....

The leaves are just about all gone.
On the steep valley sides the oaks cling to their leaves.

My intention yesterday of course was to visit Tainter Hollow and Tainter Creek to get some beautiful late afternoon shots.

However, in my bag of goodies in the back seat, I had some characters from the new Morris Adventure Books.  Some 'wandering' Hedgehogs and The Wise Ol' Frog.

Hmm, I'm near water.
I have the Toys, I have the camera equipment.

I am totally alone in this remote area.

So, I decided to have some fun.

Those Hedgehogs sure know how to get into things.  In fact as I was 'shooting' the two little 'hogs' talking with The Wise Ol' Frog in the creek, a gust of wind tossed one of them into the water.

Lucky me, I caught it and it was not staged.
So now of course, it has to be part of the book somehow.

I almost felt silly placing the little Hedgehogs in the middle of the road and then squatting to try and get a neat photo.

What if someone had come along?  

Well, I would have heard them from a pretty fair distance and would have scooped them up and whisked them back to the Subaru.

The Creek was quite beautiful and I hope to get back and get some more shots in different lighting conditions. 

In case you are wondering there is a fair amount of editing for the 'book' photos.

Here is a sample of what I was working on in PSP X6 ... [sorry Adobe, I am not paying you per month to use your program!]

I separate the characters in each photo generally and give them an edit so they will stand out from the backround of the scene they are in.

I want them to look like toys, but the scenery to have a slightly 'drawn' or slightly imaginative look to it.

Working with Morris in scenes always adds a bit of the unknown.
I hope to get that part done fairly soon.

The story has already begun in my head and yet the photos and the characters may take the story in another avenue that I wasn't prepared for.

That is the beauty of creativity.

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ~~Madeleine L'Engle