Considerations

I just went through my short list on FB and unfollowed 90% of the noise on there. I also snoozed most places that had posts that I generally just browse when I am totally bored. That is stupid on my part.

I will keep FB for those few neighbors that text me through Messenger or actually have something to say that interests me. So now when I go to FB, I spent less than 60 seconds looking at it. In fact I am going to see how long I can ignore FB! 

IG may be next. I made sure I was not on 'threads' which seems to have taken off but is still run by Zuckerberg's company. They both may be the next thing to go also. I didn't use IG except to post some of my funny stuff and some toy stuff for the Lego folks. Both my sons use IG so I may have to keep it.

I perused BlueSky this morning. Not even sure I want to get into having 'social' media anymore. At least I never joined Twitter and I am super glad I am not on X. 

I will stay here. Blogs are not the rage anymore and who cares about most bloggers anyway? I do. It seems like one of the last places where you can pick and choose what you want to read.

I do enjoy reading about others and what they do daily. 

I visit news sites and read or watch news on my cell phone. Sometimes I get so disgusted that I turn my phone OFF. Then of course I get worried that I'll miss a tracking message for hubby's meds so...dang it. I turn it back on.

At night, the phone goes on top of the spice rack in the kitchen and that is where it stays from 8pm until I get up to start the day. 

Slowly I am making changes to some of the poor habits I picked up. Less internet. More outer world.

My only real bad good habit is Flickr. I've heard that some people are flocking back to Flickr which is a photographer site but also a site that is a social media. People can share ideas, photos, and daily updates basically through photography. I've made friends on Flickr that I've kept for 15 years. Some of them I've met in real life and some only through messages and maybe a real phone call.

I have gone back to writing what I really think of the world in my paper journal. At least that does clear my mind of all sorts of thoughts before I go to bed.

I used to keep a journal for years and years. I still have a box of my journals all the way back to High School, through college, and my first years of marriage which included my thoughts when I gave birth to my first son.

I'll stay here for now. 

Photography is still my release from stress. So I will continue to do it.

Here is Bear, my cold weather hiking companion taking, a rest the other day. He is a very smart Bear. He knows how to just sit and BE. Something I could learn from him.

I wonder if he is meditating?

The weather is milder today so I am going to go out and enjoy the woods.

This view is from a few years ago on an open field when we had snow.

I need some fresh air.

I want to check out a new 'thing' I got for photography. I don't think it will help out much now...however it could be a game changer later this year when the creeks are flowing. A magnetic ND filter and lens cap.

Instead of screwing and unscrewing the filter, you simply attach the magnetic ring to your lens then carry the filter until you want to use it.

The on & off of the filter takes only a second. No fumbling fingers!

Hopefully I can find a place to try it out today. It is up to 22 F this morning! Whoo!

Flower Moon and cool places

I prepared my 'gear' in a backpack and set it by the door with a headlamp. I was going to go watch the Sunrise and Moonset of the blood moon/flower moon/super duper moon from an unobstructed view on a bluff.

I even went through the 'tips' from Olympus on the best way to shoot the moon. I even preset custom settings. In short, I was ready. As I went to bed a huge storm moved through. It came with lightening, thunder, and heavy rain. Charlie came into the room and did some whimpering and it seemed like my morning excursion wouldn't happen.

Rich was convinced that I was absolutely nuts. Who would get up at 3 am and go hiking in the dark just to look at the moon?

Well, I would. At 3:15 I woke up and looked out. It was clear as a bell and the moon was brilliant.

I took a test shot with my zoom lens and was happy enough with the results. It was not crystal clear and sharp as a tack, but I was happy that I'd finally gotten a halfway decent shot of the moon.

I decided to go for it. I got a large cup of coffee put in the to go cup and patted Charlie on the head. 

It was a 30 minute drive through some areas of dense fog and a 20 minute hike. By the time I got to the top of the rock, the eclipse was starting.

I was extremely happy that I'd set up custom shooting modes. But it wasn't the moon that was so exciting. It was the whole view.

I kept thinking. Wow. Wow. Just wow. I'd take a shot or two of the valley before me and then go back to the moon. 

I posted this photo on FB and something sort of weird happened.

I started getting requests for my location.

I hesitated. 

In my imagination, I thought if I gave out the exact location, the next time I went to shoot the fog, or a sunrise....I'd run 

into dozens of people with cell phones standing about and others with monster lenses and tripods.

You know, the horrible vision of such a popular place like Cades Cove where photographers line up the night before to 'get' a spot. 

A friend told me to submit a photo to the local rag with an explanation of where it was and what I'd done.

I gave him a horrified look.

I said, "Give up my spot? But what would happen if everyone showed up at once the next time I went there?"

He laughed and pointed out that most people would not get up at 3 AM and hike up a difficult and challenging trail in the dark just for a view. He then pointed out that HE had turned me down even though he had wanted to go. 

He had a point.

But.

I will not tag the photo with a name and GPS coordinates. 

After sitting on the rock yesterday through the predawn hour and watching nature unfold its beauty for me to see? I felt like this was suddenly a special spot I'd found on my own. It felt like I had my own private viewing spot. 

And I wanted to be selfish. Is it okay in this world of social media and oversharing to be selfish and want to keep something to myself?

Oh I will take friends there and I will share with them, but not with the whole wide world.

Some things are best discovered on your own.

Disturbing Trend in Nature Photography and Social Media.

Have a camera? Have a cell phone? Now you can take selfies in all of those iconic and wonderful places you see in brochures or find photos of tagged on the internet.
Arches National Monument? Oh why not join 40 or 50 other people at sunset to take photos at the Arches? While there, you may as well climb and walk on the arch and take selfies.

I heard from a professional photographer about his frustration and going to certain locations around the states as to how he is now dealing with crowds. I belong to a Facebook group that is for Wisconsin Photographers. The posts are rather interesting.
Someone takes an incredible photo of landscape and instantly there are questions. "Where is that location?" I see the same place photographed over and over. It may be a lighthouse along the shores of Lake Michigan, the Apostle Islands shore, or rock along the Wisconsin River.

A few years ago Social Media posted a little known State Natural Area outside of Baraboo called Pewitt's Nest. Suddenly it became an internet sensation.
I explored the area in the winter four years ago and it was worth the trip.

Last spring I revisited the area and was aghast. So many people had visited it that most of the undergrowth was killed from foot traffic. People didn't stay on the trails as the signs requested. The site was shut down so that the DNR could build trails and lookouts. However people are still sneaking in to take photos. One person posted that he was fined...but HE got the shot! Others applauded him on the FB site.

Me? I was disturbed by this new photographers' mentality. It is okay to trespass to get that shot!

I shared these photos and received questions. "Where was this taken?" A private message went something like this: "Ms. Ewing, can we get together and you take me around your county to show me some of the great places to photograph? I can pay you to tour with you."

I answered as diplomatically as possible to the 'Where was this taken?' Vernon County.
As to the private message, I viewed it and didn't respond.

I feel pretty protective of the public places I do visit and take photos of. I recommend people to explore the Vernon County Parks and State Parks in our area. But will I tell the exact location of my most favorite morning spot to the Internet World? Nope. Not after what I saw at Pewitt's Nest.

Mornings are for thoughtful solitude. Not for fighting for a view of the sky.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Clausen

However sharing those special moments with close friends is exceptional. To see the wonder in their eyes as the morning or....night sky unfolds is an experience.
Maybe that is why these things are shared on Social Media.

Look what I saw!

To what end though?

I guess this is something I feel so strongly about.