The unconscious photographer

  NO, not like out of it and un-conscious --- asleep... . But something else. 

Long ago I took a photography class and had all sorts of things drilled into my head.

You need to follow the rule of thirds.
You need leading lines.
Follow the Golden Spiral.
Never shoot into the sunlight.
Golden and blue hours are the best.

...and more and more. 

It was a good class though as I was asked to do things I've never done before. I was asked to to Still Life as well as abstract photography. Of course back then, I aspired to be the next Great Landscape Photographer.

But then I didn't.

One of the instructors said I could never leave things to chance. Always watch the weather, get an app for predicting the 'best' weather and research and area to get the best shots.

All true things that the pros do. I was told that my method of serendipity was never going to make me 'great'. 

His reasoning was that I had to really work hard at getting that shot. The teacher was right, but I love photography so much that I don't want to make it become work.

I made up my mind that I wasn't going to be a pro shooter. It seemed as if they were always chasing THAT perfect shot, that perfect scene or place. 

In fact, I enjoy serendipity a lot. If I am hiking about and something catches my eye, I shoot it to enjoy it. 

I'm not a rebel, I am just realistic. I like seeing things through the lens. 

Even in a Lego or toy scene, I am not thinking of anything other than presenting a story or a photo that really doesn't need explanation.

As a caregiver, photography is an outlet of play and mental fun. I'm not consciously thinking of the rules for photography. Just looking for something to experiment with and that will bring me personal joy.

A morning walk...

A hike on a foggy morning when I thought I'd get a brilliant sunrise over a pond and ... well, I got deep heavy fog. Serendipity! A challenge!

Or out checking fences on a hot summer morning.

I spent so much time as a kid around my father whose hobby was photography too. I learned to 'see' things as he took photos. I learned to read a light meter. I became his little human light meter sometimes. He'd bring out the meter and hold it up to take a measure and I'd look around and say:

It's sunny Daddy! How about f11 at 250? I learned these things before I learned Algebra. He'd let me look through his camera and pretend to take shots. Other times he'd have me frame a shot with my fingers. I usually knew what speed film he had in his camera.

I'd play at taking photos with my hands. 

Here is a photo of my father with his Brownie camera. 

I guess what I am saying is that I go out and just look. I rarely plan [unless it is a Lego Story or Toy Story idea --> then I wander about and look for something that might work]. 

My whole idea is to have fun and enjoy things and not to overthink it too much. Photography is so much like doodling ideas from my [echo chamber] or brain if you will.

I can shoot nature and turn around and shoot something that amuses me. 

Just going with the flow and not worrying about rules....

This last shot is of that tree I've been following. It occurred to me that I better take a good look at it when walking past it yesterday.

The old leaves are gone and the catkins that were there all winter are expanding with little buds of this year's leaves emerging!

I don't think sometimes...I can just do. 

Saturday was a Creative Day

Rain, Rain, Rain. Mud. Heavy Rain. Saturday was not a day to be out and about. I'd gotten soaked doing the morning chores.

I resigned myself to getting things done around the house. I cleaned the floors and picked up things I'd just dropped in places. Supper was leftover Chili so I didn't have to work on that.

I finally decided to open up a file and work on my Tree Photobook. 

I popped on a pair of headphones and tuned Pandora into my favorite mix of music to drown out Swamp People, old Football Games, and other noises and 

got

into 

the 

Zone.

When I sat down to write, I had no idea what to do. I'd tried this several times and closed the laptop without inspiration. 

Perhaps the rain and dreary day would inspire me. 

For a bit I stared at the blank page in front of me.

B L A N K

I used the title from Mary Oliver's Poem: When I am Among Trees to jump start my ideas.

Interestingly enough, I did not include any artistic off the wall renderings of the photos I took of the trees. Most were black and white winter photos of the shapes and branches.

I only worked with photos from January through Spring. Most of the photographs I chose were ones I took in the winter months.

Then it hit me.

I was happy in the trees.

The trees fascinated me.

I like to be in the woods alone because no one sees me admire the trees and lean up against them as if they are my best friends. No one sees me put my arms around a sapling and reach up to touch their bark and admire their coat of moss.

Oh and...

Trees don't talk back to you...

While hiking I often stop dead in my tracks to look up and just

look.

I am always fascinated by the shapes made by the tree's growth.

In the summer these shapes are mostly hidden.

In the winter? They are laid bare.

I'd made a colorful and autumn like cover for the book and then decided that it would not work. Many photos of winter trees are stark and all about shape not necessarily color.

I had some color photos, but...

I think for consistency I will make all of the photos black and white? 

Well, perhaps. But there will be a couple that absolutely need to be in color.

I guess, in the end, it doesn't matter too much. I am just doing this for myself.

Sample photos:

The alternate cover?

Something like this:

or.....
this one.

It looks less foreboding and dark. Though I do like the starkness of black and white.

This is what I do for my Fall Fun. I used to write a story each fall when I had Mr. Morris in my life. I wrote for the Grand kids. They loved getting books of Morris's Toy Adventures. It was silly but fun.

It was time to do another Nature themed photo book.

Now to proof read it and edit.

I do use Blurb to do these projects as I've always had a great product from them. 

Now that I have just about finished this. I will complete my Trail Challenge and begin sorting for my next adventure story.

Thanks to Aurora for an incredible photo that I will use 

in..

Trails With Charlie/ A year's worth of Hiking with a tiny dog.

Photo Credit: Aurora Williamson

 

Daze of Summer

We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area. I have to drive or walk to the ridge to see a sunrise view like this. I can also see a more limited view in the meadow north of our house.

We had a dense fog warning on Wednesday and I thought it might provide me with an interesting landscape.

It was pretty neat. As the sun rose, the fog got more intense. I wished I was on the bluff watching this, but I knew the drive to there would have been horrible with the low river valley fog of the Kickapoo. Driving in semi darkness in thick fog is no fun.

There was the sun...and then...it got very thick!

One of the cool things that occurs where I live is that I can go to the highest ridge point and watch the sun rise up. Then drive a quarter of a mile and watch it rise again. When it is done on the ridge, I can go home and watch for it to come over the trees. 

Thursday morning I noted that there were supposed to be some clouds in the sky early. I took the 'Ru and headed towards the end of the dead end. This spot is generally pretty nice for sunrises in July and through early October.

I am thrilled to say that this year the fields to the North and East are planted with soybeans. That means I can watch sunrises unobscured by 9 foot or taller field corn.

The gnats were absolutely vicious even with the gusty winds. I was able to jump into the car to avoid them and then jump back out to take a shot.

Finally I decided enough was enough and headed back home. I stopped just before I left the ridge and as always, was pleasantly surprised.

The swallows had awakened and were getting down to business!

I rarely go up to the ridge any more in the evenings which I used to do when I rode every night with my mule Badger. 
I miss those summer nights of me sitting on my big mule and watching the sun go down.

I do however, enjoy those mornings when I get out and enjoy the world as it wakes up.

There is nothing quite like a new sunrise to raise the spirits.

Of this and that

I have no absolute wisdom to offer on this Covid-19 issue, other than I wish to keep my husband from getting it. Is it getting it an eventuality? I don't know. But for now, we are able to isolate ourselves fairly well.

I am the only one that leaves the house. I'll go grocery shopping on Sunday morning.
It has been 3 weeks since I went to town. That is incredible. I don't think I can claim that I've ever done that before.
I did a hike with a friend last Friday and we stayed distanced, arrived in separate vehicles and enjoyed a spring day.

I've finally started to plan to extend my east garden. I'm hoping to get the dirt moved from the compost pile soon.

It sure doesn't look like much now does it?
From the downspout to the pail in the distance is all I am going to expand by. While mowing, this is always a pain to do, so I thought I'd make this a straight edge more or less.
Who knows what it will end up looking like?

I've gathered log chunks and odd looking roots to put in the garden. I intend on making a path down the middle of it and using these odd shaped items to decorate in some sort of Fairy Garden style. I tried drawing out plans but in reality, I really fly by the seat of my pants.

Everything will be moved around and changed anyway. I'm looking at what I have available from seeds last year that I gathered and some low growing sedum along with hen and chicks to add to the funky logs.

This will involve using the skid steer to move the dirt. I think I have Rich convinced that he can do the dirt work! I said I'd start and bring it out to him.
He seemed rather interested in that. He even talked about putting dirt in a few other spots.

I just have to get him on a good day when the weather is perfect!

To keep from going stir crazy...er, I do daily hikes. Sven has really been a good hiking pal. Yesterday I let Charlie be the leader and he followed a deer trail.

Along the trail I found Dutchman's Breeches just beginning to poke through the leaves!

After hiking for a while, I sat down on a log and enjoyed having a snack.

Note.
When hiking with a goat and a dog. Anything YOU eat must be good goat food or good dog food!

I did carry treats for both Sven and Charlie.

Yesterday I did turn off my smartphone and left it at home. I spent the rest of the day unplugged.

I think that is a great thing to do right now. Limit the news and limit the exposure to the Talking Heads.

Stay Safe.

Journeys

Sometimes I wonder about this journey I've embarked on. There are so many unexpected twists and turns.
Things can go smooth and easy like travelling a well paved road.

Other times it is just a rollercoaster ride where the car has flown from the track and you wonder where you will land.

There are hills.
Valleys.

Road blocks. Unexpected dips and joyful highs.

So I just go.

One foot
in
front
of
the
other.

This and That

What a welcome surprise. Nice unusual weather.
Dry and warm.
The National Weather Service has issued advisories however that this warm dry spell has increased our fire danger.

However we are taking full advantage of it.

Last minute fence repairs before mother nature blasts us with subzero temperatures and snow.

Moving the round bale feeders.
I do love a guy who can operate a skid steer!

Morris supervised from the porch. He had been sleeping on the blanket I gave him but decided to start barking at everything. I brought out his crate and he went in it.
His imagined monsters can't get him in the crate.
He settled down and napped when he wasn't watching.

Rich and I pulled fencing from the Merry Meadow. The work to maintain the fencing is now too large of a job. Mowing the meadow wasn't done this year and since it isn't our land I'm willing to just let it grow wild again.
It served a good purpose for years, however the more things stay...the same, the more they change.

We met with Rich's speech therapist again yesterday. She gave us some insights to the 'new' Normal. I do not like that phrase Your New Normal, but it is appropriate.
COPD affects so many things. She enlightened us to the fact that the brain uses 20% of the oxygen in the body. When short of breath from exertion, the brain is getting shorted also. An already damaged brain from a stroke is fighting harder to get its oxygen.
Confusion and memory issues immediately arise.
If left short of that wonderful 02, more brain damage can result.

It helps me understand what is happening to Rich when he is trying so hard to do chores. He is not a quitter. But it helps me understand why he feels lost when he is out of breath.
COPD is an insidious disease that forgives no one. You cannot escape it and as it slowly eats away at your health.

Our new thoughts to take home from Speech Therapy are these two things:
I am Rich, I am "As Is."
The more things stay the same, the more they change.
[Yes that is the exact opposite of the saying, but this fits better in our case.]

So.
It seems that some or most of the work will fall into my hands for getting everything ready for winter.
I'm up to most of the task.

The Dexters we are keeping will move into the paddock just south of the house where they can share a 300 gallon heated stock tank of water with the equine who will be in their winter pasture also.
One heated tank. One hose to fill it. The chores will become much more manageable through the cold.

Mr. Morris seems to be doing fair. Yesterday the neighbor and her son came to let him out for a potty break and drink of water. Morris apparently didn't 'see' the porch post until he ran into it. He has done this off and on lately. I don't know if he really has doggy dementia or what. I do know that his hearing is negligible and that his eyesight seems at times to be a bit questionable.

However, all of this and that aside, we are having an incredible end to November.
The skies have delighted us with morning and evening surprises of brilliant colors.

And thus, another month ends.
Tomorrow is December.