A Fresh New Day

Taking a hike the day after an all day rain...well...not too many things can compare to the experience.  Seems the weather cleanses the air, refreshes the woods, and imparts the already fresh scent of the country air with a newness of life.

A steady rain fell pretty much all day yesterday and well into the evening.  The already saturated soil allowed for a lot of runoff and puddles to form. I knew from past experience that Shanty Hollow falls would be flowing at near capacity as a result, so I scheduled a single vacation day to take advantage of the opportunity.  The alarm went off just before 5:00 am...by 5:15 I was out the door full of anticipation in spite of the sleep that still clung to my eyes.  

Many times after a rain like that, the next morning will produce some fog...several times I had made the drive up to Shanty Hollow only to be greeted by clear air.  This morning would be different.  As I wound my way through the country roads that lead to the lake, light fog floated in the valleys and poured off ponds and creeks.  A good sign.  When I pulled into the parking area at Shanty Hollow in the pre-dawn light, whiffs of light fog floated through the trees and rolled off the water.

That nagging sleep deprived feeling evaporated as I hurried down the trail...then turned to climb to the top of the ridge, stopping ever so often to allow my near 60 year old lungs to catch up...lugging a few extra pounds of camera gear on my back, and few more around my mid-section does that too you.  I made my way through tangles of thorns and blow downs and eventually found the private access road that led to where the creek feeds the falls.  I could hear the falls long before I saw it as I slipped down an incline to eventually stand atop the ridge that dominated the narrow outlet valley of Shanty Hollow Falls.

Too often I catch myself acting rather neurotically scurry about taking pictures trying to take advantage of the great light and scenic value...never nearly enough time just enjoying the moment.  After firing off a few dozen shots, I managed to stop for a few moments and simply breath in the clean moist air and allow some the buggery's of the past few months evaporate.  I suppose I needed that more than anything else.

I could see the sun beginning to penetrate through the fog and overcast...soon a bright blue sky would appear...not exactly good for photography, but nice to be around.   I backtracked to where I had climbed up to the top of the ridge, and half slid and half stumbled down to the trail.  By the time I had worked my way back to the base of the falls, most of the fog had lifted, but was hovering high in the canopy of trees still softening the harsh effects of the sun.  For the next two hours I drifted around this area searching for new ways to re-photograph familiar subjects.  The light remained good for most of that time, but by 9:00am, blue sky was beginning to poke through as was bright light effectively ending my photo shoot.

By 10:30ish I was back home.  I'm not sure which is more fun, being out taking the pictures, or downloading them later to see the results...yeah, I'd pick the first one too.  Surely it is a blessing to have such a wonderful place like Shanty Hollow so close to home where one can go for a morning and get away for a while.  Sometimes simply taking a day off can work wonders...I could use few more wonders to be worked...even so, I enjoyed the morning more than I should be allowed to...it certainly was a wonderfully fresh new start to a great day off.

Keith

Hunting for Old Treasures

It’s not unusual for me to bring home odds and ends I might find while out and about.  My garage holds an assorted collection of feathers, animal skull’s, a horseshoe or two, knurly sticks and rocks, old fishing bobbers, and other assort objects of like kind.  While hardly treasures of real value, it is fun to do such things, and even more fun to research something about them. One of my favorites is an old bottle I found around an old ship wreck way back in the mid-1970’s while I was stationed in Winchester Bay, Oregon during my Coast Guard days.

The Oregon Coast is littered with shipwrecks.  Along that stretch of the Pacific one can find some of the stormiest weather around which plays havoc with vessels of all sizes…that’s why the Coast Guard is there.  Many of them ran aground near the mouth of the Umpqua River at Winchester Bay.  South of the Umpqua River Bar, sometime during the early part of the 1900’s, a schooner ran aground and was lost.  Over the years, its remains were reclaimed by the elements and the frame was covered by the encroaching sands. 


I don’t remember the exact date, but during my tenure in that location probably in 1975 sometime a particular storm blew in that disrupted a stretch of beach for several miles in either direction.    The storm washed a lot of the sand away around where the schooner ran aground and exposed what remained of the wooden frame.

It was a decent hike down to it, but one day I did just that, took a hike to see if I could find it.  Sure enough, I managed to find it a few miles down the beach, along with several others who had the luxury of driving down there in 4x4 rigs.  I searched around the blackened old timbers and found an iron spike and a brass spike, but nothing much of interest.  That is until I began to look along the wall of sand that extended along the beach at the high water mark.  Two old medicine bottles were sticking out of the sand both still retaining their cork stoppers.  One was a small round Listerine bottle, the other a typical medicine bottle of the early 1900 era.

At first I thought the Listerine bottle must be more modern, but after closer examination, it became apparent that it was of an older design with numerous air bubbles embedded in the glass and it had a pale purplish hue.  The top or lid was an obvious give away as to its age as it was clearly applied after the bottle had been blown.  The medicine bottle also retained many of the same traits.

Over the years, I misplaced and rediscovered both bottles numerous times.  I still have the Listerine bottle, and somewhere the other one lurks hidden inside of a box probably in the attic.  Resent research indicates that the schooner remains where I discovered the bottles might be one of three vessels.  The San Gabriel which ran aground 4 to 5 miles south of the Umpqua River Bar in Jan of 1913 (I remember hiking a couple miles from the last parking area south that was accessible at the time), or the Caroline which is listed as running aground just south of the bar in June 1913, or The Novelty which ran aground south of the bar in 1907.   Other than that, I really don’t have much information about the name of the actual vessel, it could have been either of them, or possibly another one entirely.  Research on the Listerine bottle also indicates that the style of bottle was manufactured from sometime before 1900 to around 1915, which would place it well inside the date ranges of all three of those vessels.

Some years later another small treasure I found was discovered in Oklahoma near a Civil War battle field just north of Skiatook.  Believe it or not, there were a few Civil War battles fought in what was then Indian Territory.  Although they had little influence on the outcome of the war, they did affect the lives of the native populations who were engaged as a result.  Here is a brief description of one of the battles known as The Battle of Chustenahlah.

Confederate troops had undertaken a campaign to subdue the Native American Union sympathizers in Indian Territory and consolidate control. They had attacked Chief Opothleyahola’s band of Creeks and Seminoles earlier at Round Mountain and Chusto-Talasah, not far from present day Tulsa. Now, they wanted to finish them off by assaulting them in their camp at Chustenahlah in a well-protected cove on Battle Creek. Col. James McQueen McIntosh and Col. Douglas H. Cooper, commanding the Indian Department, planned a combined attack with each of their columns moving on the camp from different directions. McIntosh left Fort Gibson on December 22, with 1,380 men. On the 25th, he was informed that Cooper’s force could not join for a while, but he decided to attack the next day, despite being outnumbered. McIntosh attacked the camp at noon on the 26th. The Union defenders were secluded in the underbrush along the slope of a rugged hill, but as the Confederate attack came forward, the Native Americans began to fall back, taking cover for a while and then moving back. The retreat became a rout as the Federals reached their camp. They attempted to make a stand there but were forced away again. The survivors fled;  many went all the way to Kansas where they found loyal Unionists. Chief Opothleyahola’s band of Creeks and Seminoles mounted no resistance again.

Today, the battle site lies on private property.  One summer day 10 or 12 years ago, I drove over there and talked to the owner who granted me permission to look around.  I found nothing of consequence on that day, but did return several times.  On one of those return trips, my friend Ralph wondered why a rose bush would be growing out in the middle of this one field and he thought there might have been an old shed or building there at one time.  So we began to work the metal detector around that area and almost immediately started getting hits…some of them quite deep.  


What we began to find were old wagon parts…hubs, broken pieces, harness rings…things of that nature.  One thing we learned was that during the battle, many of the encamped wagons were overturned and burned.  We were suspecting that we had stumbled onto one of those old wagons…which oddly enough could have been carrying a rose bush as these were mostly civilians trying to escape the ravages of a war that had been thrust upon them.  Somehow, over the years, that rose bush must have taken root and survived until modern times.  I also read from the original officer’s account of the battle that many of those who were killed in buried in a common shallow grave.  At the time I was doing the research, no one knew for sure where that burial site was located.

While searching and between the loud solid hits on the large metal wagon parts, I picked up a very faint signal…so weak that I almost ignored it, but I dug around and discovered what appeared to be a decorative piece from possibly a purse.  I believe it was probably made of brass, but was very delicately made and showed no real signs of corrosion.  I kept the part in an old cigar box…if I could old find that old cigar box, I’m sure it will still be in there.

Eventually, I gave up the search having not found really anything of consequence, but it was fun to look around.  Hunting for old treasures can be as simple or complex as you want...I've never really made much of an effort to do so, just superficial, but those superficial moments were full of anticipation.  There's a good probability I might do so again soon.


Keith

Dynamic Mood

What makes the photographs produced by the pro’s different…what sets them apart from everyone else?  Over the years as I have attempted to elevate my photography to new levels, those are questions I have continually asked myself.  What is it about their photograph’s that makes them better than mine?  At first thought the answer to that question might seem obvious…well, maybe not so much.  There has to be a reason(s). 

Overall, you can discount things like subject matter or equipment…although those are important elements they are more objective in nature and tend to be dictated by the photographer’s interest and pocketbook. What I’m looking for are the things that separate amazing from ordinary…one that elicits a second and third look from an image you normally would pass by.  What is it that catches you the viewer’s eye when a photograph catches your imagination?

Volumes could be written about that concept, but when all the rhetoric has cleared, the one thing that remains, and consistently separates the amazing from the ordinary, is how the photographer uses light.  Think about some of those amazing images you’ve seen in magazines or on websites and ask yourself…what was it that caught my attention?  I’d bet most of the time it was what I like to call ‘Dynamic Mood’. 

Dynamic Mood is difficult to define…what it is not, most of the time… is big and bright…bold and powerful…although not always just limited to those.  Certainly a bold and bright image will catch your attention and can provide Dynamic Mood, the trick is to create one in an unusual way that doesn’t resemble the thousands of other big and bold images you’ve already seen…in other words…avoid the cliché.

Dynamic Mood means to present the familiar in unfamiliar ways…something that subtly looks like what you’ve seen before, but doesn’t mimic or copy what has already been done.  This offers wide variations of interpretation and is open to the photographer’s intuition.  The key ingredient in an image that demonstrates Dynamic Mood is how light is used to emphasize what is important.  Secondarily, composition also comes into play…both light and composition work together to introduce the viewer to a dynamic portrayal of what the photographer saw.  In some cases it can be quite realistic…in other cases it may have a very abstract nature about it.  Both are equally effective.

So how do we accomplish this?  Sometimes luck plays a roll…most of the time it is the photographer’s ability to recognize the potential of any given lighting condition and then arrange the composition by effective placement of the camera and lens selection.  Exposure is critical, as is effective post processing, to bring out the potential of what the photographer saw.  Being able to see photographically extends the photographer’s mind past the realm of seeing the obvious and into the realm of seeing and recognizing the extraordinary.  It is a learning process that has no ultimate end…you never fully arrive at a graduation day where you can say…I’ve got it…it’s more of a curve that continues upward but with each degree of climb, the more comfortable you become in understanding how to recognize then capture the content.

It’s looking beyond the obvious, and effectively using the qualities of the equipment you possess.  It is understanding that all lighting conditions are subject to Dynamic Mood. It’s just that certain types of light more readily define the concept.  Dark moody light, soft subtle light, direct warm light, hard cool light, light that flows thru and not on, light that blends shadows, light that defines direction, light that pushes the senses, light that stirs the emotions…these are all effective Dynamic Mood generators.

So , next time you are thumbing through a nature magazine and come across an image that causes you to pause for a second look…instead of simply looking at it…try to define in your mind what the photographer saw and how he captured the image.  Ask yourself, why was this moment important enough for the photographer to capture its flavor?

Color May be In...but Black and White is Where its At

Many years ago my first attempts at photography involved using an old box camera that my grandparents had…an old No 1 Kodak Brownie model with the additional optical view finder that added .25 cents to the original $2.00 price tag.  It used 117 or 120 2 1/4 inch black and white roll film and you know it actually took very good pictures. Many of their old photo’s can be dated back to the early 1910’s and still hold up today almost 100 years later.  They used that old camera for many years eventually storing it in a drawer where I happened to find it one day some years later after they had graduated to a more modern camera.

With that old camera I took my earliest pictures…none of which survive today that I am aware of…I was fascinated with the fact that I could insert a roll of film, turn a knob until number 1 appeared, look thru the tiny view finder and push a silver lever to release the shutter, repeat that process until all the film was used up…then after a day or two at the drug store receive back all the pictures I had taken.They were black and white but full of rich tones and character…the composition of the shots left something to be desired…but, it was a beginning.

By the time I was in my early teens I had graduated to the point I was able to do my own B&W processing in a make shift photo lab I set up inside a cramped closet.  I didn’t have much money to spend so I ended up making my own enlarger out of old Quaker Oats boxes.  It actually worked better than you might think…I used a large light bulb with the guts removed and filled with water as the condenser to diffuse the light…a regular 40 watt light bulb as a light source which was connected to an old fan timer as an on/off switch (I simply counted the exposure seconds), a lens from an old bb-gun rifle scope, and a red Christmas tree light for a safety light.  It lay on its side, for construction simplicity, and projected on the wall and the negative was inserted into an easel made out of old shoebox cardboard.  Another shoebox easel was attached to the wall that would hold the print paper which was inserted after all the focusing was done…which by the way was accomplished by simply sliding a smaller oat mill box, with the lens attached on the closed end, back and forth inside a slightly larger oat mill box. If I needed a larger image I simply moved the whole contraption back a few inches. Hey, when your allowance was a dollar a week, you made do with what you could…so we learned to innovate.

The pinnacle of those photo processing days came when I was able to attach an Estes Camroc camera to the top of a model rocket that snapped a single image at the apex of the flight…which would reach upwards to 1000 feet depending on which rocket engine was used.  I would manage to make two or three launches and then rush home to process the negatives…wow…pictures of ponds and cows from the air…even aircraft on the ground as we often would launch on one end of the local airport…with permission of course. Great fun.

Today with the advent of digital photography…man how the world has changed since then…but you know, color digital photography may be in, but Black and White is still where it’s at.  Only today it is so much easier to create great B&W images…and only slightly less fun than watching with anticipation those images appear in the chemical trays. 

I recently acquired some B&W conversion software called Silver Efex Pro by Nik Software…all I can say is I never realized how great digital B&W could be until I started using this software. I’m not trying to promote or market a software package, but what I’m attempting to do is speak about the nature of B&W and the visual impact it can have. Just think about it for a moment…who hasn’t seen the greatest movie of all time ‘Casablanca’…talk about the power of black and white…it was never more effectively used that in that movie.  Only black and white can give an image the kind of strength and graphic expression that captures all of the viewer’s senses and imagination.  It is a powerful form of photography that too many people tend to discount…myself included until lately.

Although I will continue with the color variety of images…you will begin to see more black and white on this blog as it allows one the opportunity to explore photography in its truest form of expression.

Days Like These

We've all had them...Those black and white days...days like these...where circumstances seem to bleach the color from your efforts and the saturation of events tends to de-saturate everything around you...nothing seems to go right and no matter what you do it just doesn't work.  Yeah, we've all had them...I've had my share of them lately that's for sure...days like these.

Then there are the really bad days...you know the ones...when co-workers are let go in these hard economic times...for who knows why...and uncertainty creeps in...yeah, we've had them...days like these...not fun...sort of takes the wind out of your sails.

Then there are the times when you've been waiting and hoping for that perfect opportunity...it could be anything, in my case more often than not a photo op...great light, up and about at the right time...knew where to go and what photograph to capture...but this thing called making a living interferes (after a day like today...I'm thankful I can still make a living) and...oh well...you know what I'm saying...days like these...days that tend to void your emotional warranty, and make your life feel rather bland and uncertain.

Anyway...for those of us who have experienced far too many days like these lately...here's something to cheer you up...oddly enough...it's called..."Days Like These"...music composed and performed by my oldest son Tim...something simple and easy to listen to...on the bright side...to take a day like today, and make it seem okay.

Enjoy...

Elevating Your Photography

I really enjoy exploring other photographers work, especially the real pro’s who seem to know how to capture a scene in not just amazing detail, but who are capable of capturing the emotion of the moment.  You can learn a lot by studying the pro’s work…technique, composition, story, use of color, but most importantly it is their ability to make you feel like you are actually there…make you understand why that moment was important to them as a photographer, that sets them apart.

AS we progress with our photographic endeavors, we eventually reach a point where the technical aspects of the art become second nature…in other words we are no longer trying to remember how we setup the camera that part eventually becomes instinctive.  Instead we spend less time fumbling around with the settings, and more time observing and evaluating what it is we want to accomplish photographically.  It is at that point the process evolves from work into something that is truly fun and rewarding.

Recently, I took some time to scan through some pro websites mostly to see what they have done, but secondly to make a conscious effort to compare the results I get with the results of the guys who actually make a living at this.  It’s quite humbling to do such a thing because in most cases I realize I still have a lot to learn yet.  I asked myself…what is it they are doing that I am not.  Discounting the quality of the equipment involved…I’ve never believed that the cost of equipment is the most important element…I looked at the emotional impact of the images…did it really catch my attention…did I feel like I was there…did it draw me into the story…tweak my imagination?  Then I began to compare similar images that I have made with those I discovered.  I did previously say it is a humbling experience.  In most cases something was missing in mine as compared to theirs.  Just exactly what is not easy to discern.

The conclusions I came up with was simply this:  They have a greater ability to see photographically…to identify that photographic moment and then apply their technical understanding of how to capture it.  They fully understand the importance of how light, composition, and content work together to generate those great images.  Even so, what I realized was that although I have yet to reach the pinnacle they have, I am at least on the right track, as I have often preached the same concepts in workshops and on this blog.  What is required to rise up to their level is to have an unrelenting discernment about what, when, where, and how to photograph something.  I too often settle for mediocre moments with mediocre light, hoping I can ‘correct’ it in Photoshop later…that method unfortunately often results in mediocre images.  To create great pro level images requires a professional mindset to see with greater clarity, and to not settle for the ordinary.

So how do we do that?  If I knew that magic formula I probably could retire…but, that question seems to have about as many answers as there are people asking it.  I will say one thing that I do believe helps…and that is to create for yourself, a photographic project where you attempt to capture a theme over an extended period of time.  While working on this project, think in terms of how do I capture the absolute best images I can imagine…and make sure you are there when the light is right, never settling for common, ordinary situations, instead, looking for the extraordinary moments.  If they do not exist…be willing to come back another time…again and again… when the potential finally does exist.

Keith

At Least Part Of It…Anyway

Many years ago, when I was 13 or so, my long time hunting and fishing partner Rocky and I decided it was time for us to become great outdoorsmen and so we deemed it appropriate that we go on a great fishing adventure.  What we ended up doing evolved into somewhat less than that, but still served its purpose as that day became one of the most iconic days of our youth.

The best I can remember it was late in the winter, probably March, before the spring bloom took hold, but the cold days of January and February were behind us.  The fields were still brown and the trees not yet coming out of their dormant state, but the weather was warm and the sun was out.  Rocky’s mom, and I can’t remember the exact relationship, knew someone who lived on a farm out north of Okmulgee Lake, and on that farm was a pond that was stocked with catfish and perch.

Grand enough for two 13 year old boys, so we talked her into taking us out there and leaving us all day.  We had visions of sitting under a shade tree Huckleberry Finn style, wasting the day away around the edge of clean and clear pond, freshly caught fat catfish and perch cooking over a campfire.  What actually occurred were encounters with more snakes than I have ever seen in one place before or since, mean gangs of cows, thirst, hunger, and very few fish on our stringer…two to be exact.

I’m still not so sure which one had more color to it, the water in the pond or the red dirt that covers that part of Oklahoma, the two were pretty much indistinguishable.  Snakes were everywhere…big snakes…ugly snakes…nasty long evil snakes fresh from a winters slumber, slithered into the water all around us or were curled up sunning themselves in the dried grass around the perimeter.  A herd of mean cows roamed in gangs all around us, trading insults with the snakes and threatening to beat us up at the first provocation.  Come around 10:00 a.m. our breakfast had worn off and the baloney sandwiches we brought didn’t look all that appetizing…(we eventually used some of it as bait)…nor did we have anywhere near enough water to drink.

Oddly enough I remember making my first cast out to the middle of the pond and within a few seconds my bobber was pulled under and I landed the first catch of the day…a stunted little catfish not much bigger than the worm I had attached to the hook.  Throughout the course of the day the fishing progressively deteriorated from there with one of us eventually landing another single perch…I don’t rightly remember which one of us.

Those gangs of mean cows stood around smoking cigarettes acting all tough and everything and eventually got bored waiting for us to do something to give them an excuse to beat us up, so one gang turned on another one, I’m sure instigated by the evil manipulations of a snake… and the rumble was on…rather the rumble we heard was the stampede that started as a result…whoa…it got a bit exciting there for a while as the thick red dust mixed with the slobber dripping from the mean cows muzzles as they ran toward us.  Not knowing exactly what else to do, and never having dealt with mean gangs of cows before…we ran for our lives trying to distract them by running out in front of the stampede until they tired of the chase and stopped eventually sauntering back to their cigarette smoking and throwing intimidating moos and dirty looks our way.  We, not wanting to appear timid, sauntered back to our fishing and keeping company with the snakes…but kept a close eye on the, at least for the moment, the less docile gang members.

Love those high water pants

We spent the day pretty much doing nothing except keeping watch for snakes and hoping to see some kind movement from the bobbers sitting on the muddy water. By later in the afternoon, our ride home returned and we reluctantly gathered our gear together…what little we had…I with my paper sack of fishing bobbers and assorted hooks, Rocky with his high tech blue metal tackle box with a single tray that lifted up when you opened it.  

My fishing rod was my old venerable True Temper casting rod and reel combo...(http://beyondthecampfirebykeith.blogspot.com/2011/10/true-temper.html)…can’t remember what fishing rod and reel he used but I’m sure it was something very similar.  My dad tagged along for the ride out to pick us up and managed to snap a single picture of the day…this one iconic image showing us proudly displaying our two stunted fish…

As challenging as that day became, it set in motion a lifetime friendship of hunting and fishing…canoeing and hiking…camping and backpacking.  That day would have been just another ordinary day in the lives of two rather ordinary 13 year old boys…had we not had the run in with those mean cows and the evil intimidation of all those snakes.  As it turned out…well, seems we’re still talking about it forty seven years later, so we must have enjoyed the day…at least part of it…anyway.

Keith

Homestead Meadows - A Look Back

First view of Homestead Meadows

The hiking mileage was only 3 to 4 miles, but it was rather steep in places...very scenic...and on my first attempt to explore this intriguing location called Homestead Meadows not far from Estes Park, Colorado I discovered one of the jewels of Colorado.

Big rock on the right became my resting place

Seems like such a long time ago, fifteen years now, I found myself working in Denver Colorado on a contract programming job.  In order to divert my attention from being away from home and family, who were still in Oklahoma, I set about exploring the Rocky Mountains almost any time I was off.  Hiking became one of the primary weapons I used often driving up to Rocky Mountain National Park, or over to the northern reaches of the Colorado River for some fishing, and even a backpacking trip to the heights of the Rawah Wilderness area.  But, one of my favorite places to explore was this location called Homestead Meadows.

Just off the main highway leading up to Estes Park, I kept noticing a sign with Lion Gulch - Homestead Meadows markings across it.  One day, I decided to find out what it was all about.  Turns out back in the late 1800's and early 1900's, that area was open to homesteaders and a number of families and individuals took advantage of the opportunity and settled in to what is now called Homestead Meadows.  A number of homesteaders worked the area up until the 1950's and included a sawmill and cattle ranches.  Sometime I believe in the late 1950's or early 1960's a primitive hunting lodge was built in the area but eventually closed up.  Not sure when it occurred but eventually the U.S. Forest Service took over the property...probably in the late 1960's.

The old Hunting Lodge

The meadows area was 3 to 4 miles from the start of the trail and climbed from around 6000 feet to something under 8000 feet if I remember correctly.  The trail is steep in places and washed out in others and can be a difficult hike simply because of the ruts and rocks...but most of it is generally easily traversed.

I can remember my first hike into that area.  It was one of those gorgeous Rocky Mountain summer days with the fresh scent of pine in the air, warm but not hot sun gleaming in a cobalt blue sky.  The 3 or 4 mile hike seemed longer than that...but eventually it flattened out some and as I approached what appeared to be a wide area in the trail, the scene gradually opened up to reveal a most wonderful little meadow valley surrounded by peaks at both ends.

Scattered across the landscape were the remains of a couple of old cabins and upon further investigation I discovered that other remains were located in the area.  I spent the better part of the day hiking around and checking out the old cabins and eventually sat down on the top of a large rock to eat lunch and survey the scene in front of me.  It was everything I ever thought the Rocky Mountains were suppose to be.  As the day progressed, the air turned cooler and storm clouds began to brew...reluctantly, I made my way back down the trail not wanting to get caught in a mountain storm. 

I returned to this hidden meadow numerous times and even backpacked into there once for a weekend trip.  On that trip I ran across an elk hunter who was also camping in the meadows about 300 yards from where I was set up.  We had a good conversation and I learned a lot from him about the area as he had hunted and camped in there numerous times over the years.

My last trip into that meadow area came near the end of my tenure in Colorado...it was a day hike much like the first trip...and it was every bit as intriguing and enjoyable as the others.  What I gleaned from the experiences hiking into this area was a wonderment about how life has changed since those first homesteaders worked the land.  In our time we see the opportunity as recreation...in their time it was their life where they worked hard to make a living.  What they saw as obstacles, we see as scenic beauty...when they experienced hardship from the hardness of the landscape, we see it as a way to revert back...to let go of modern society at least for a while, and maybe not experience life as it once was so much, but at least ponder on the lives of those people and how they faced the world...a much different world from what we face today.

Of all the places I visited in Colorado, Homestead Meadows became my favorite.  As I would often do, that same big rock I sat on during my first visit, became a place of rest, a place to think about and take in the beauty of this simple lost little meadow landscape...I have never let go of those moments.

Keith

p.s. - Photo's were taken with one of those wonderful Kodak 35mm disposable cameras...thank you Kodak for providing a way for hikers to take great photos with a simple and inexpensive camera...

Bonus Moment

I took a hike this morning...along a ridge and through ice storm debris...to the top of a waterfall...because I had never been there before, at least not up that high and just wanted to see what the photo potential was from up there.  Turned out to be rather interesting and hopefully, on one of those later winter early spring foggy mornings, before all the foliage obscures everything, I can return to those heights and catch the shot I really wanted to catch.

Today's photo shoot was highlighted not so much by the attempted top of the falls shots, but by the bonus shots that presented themselves before I even headed down the trail.  Just one of those moments where timing was everything, and had I arrived even just a few minutes before or a few minutes later than I did...I would not have seen what was developing.  When I arrived, the sun was still fifteen or so minutes from official sunrise...the cold air had prevented the previous days snow from melting...and the overcast was at that moment beginning to break apart. I love it when overcast breaks apart especially early or late in the day as that transitional moment offers some of the finest examples of classic photographers light.

When I arrive and started to gather my gear...all I had on my mind was the hike to the top of the falls and exactly how I might accomplish that as I had not done so previously.  All my previous shots were from the base.  I noticed a slight pinkish glow in the clouds that hovered over the lake...there was no wind...so the glow began to reflect off the surface...I was intrigued, so I walked a few yards to a better vantage point just to see what it looked like.  By the time I had stopped...it was clear that the morning light was rapidly evolving into what could be a special moment.

I grabbed the tripod and swapped the lens to a wide angle...setup and waited watching the dim glow in the sky as it progressed.  Within a few minutes, that dim glow became much brighter and filled the area with a lavender hue.  I fired off a number of shots...and then the show subsided as the sun rose a bit higher and the clouds thickened and softened the light.

It was a bonus moment for sure...wasn't planned...but instinct told me that something was about to happen and I adapted my morning to fit the circumstance...and oh yeah...I did make it to the top of the waterfall and captured some pretty good planned shots too...its just that the bonus shots added a unique flavor to the morning...I won't include those shot just yet as they will be used in a video presentation coming up in June...can't give away what might spoil the moment...but I've include a few other bonus shots...just to have something for you to see...

Keith

Creating Photographs From the Heart

A number of years had passed since I last watched that movie, but recently I sat through another viewing and remembered it being as entertaining and revealing as the first time.  Some of you may have seen it...Mr. Holland's Opus...a story about a musician who temporarily falls back on his teaching degree until he can start composing his great American Symphony full time.  He ends up teaching for 30 years and during that time is transformed and changes the lives of hundreds of students.  One of those students was a young lady who struggled  with learning how to play the clarinet...hard as she tried...she just could not grasp what it took to master that instrument.  Then one day Mr. Holland asked her what she liked best about herself when she looked into a mirror...her answer was her bright red hair as it reminded her dad of the sunset.  Mr. Holland then told her to play the sunset...and removed the sheet music that had become the crutch that held her back.  Within moments, her playing was transformed into something that can only come from the heart.

Too often I fail to capture the photographs I feel in my heart...probably because I too rely too much on crutches that actually hold me back more than help.  Oddly enough, I discovered almost by accident what makes a great photo...and it's probably not what you might think.  The crutches we use result from too much worrying about the mechanics of the camera and not thinking enough about why we are there...what are we looking for...what is that inside of us that we know is there...but struggle to give it meaning...to give it a voice.

You see, photography is so much like music, that we too often fail to recognize it.  Photograph the music in your heart...might be somewhat of an unorthodox way of approaching the craft...but thinking in those terms just might be the catalyst that propels your photography to a new level.  Light is the mood generating notes of photography...but music becomes the melody of that light...and all photographic moments carry with it a silent musical score that photographers can feel from within.

Each photographic moment carries with it a different melody...unique in strength and power.  You know it when you see it...because you don't really see it visually...you experience it internally.  A photographic moment that sings or fills the air with symphonic crescendo's...will  in due course generate a photograph that carries a sense of orchestration...that is where the mood and atmosphere comes from.

Photography, if you stop and think about it, does closely parallel the mood generating effects of a great musical score.  Tapping into that power and searching for light that is filled with a great performance...well...you'll know it when it happens...you just have to give that silent music from within a visual voice.

Keith

Getting the Shot

I’ve said a time or two that I’d rather be good than lucky.  Although luck certainly plays a role in capturing some amazing photo’s, combining the technical with a willingness to do what it takes to capture great moments will produce far more opportunities for great shots than simply relying on luck.

Getting the shot requires one to use a combination of four things: 

Technical Understanding of the Photographic Process

Look Beyond the Obvious

Anticipate the Potential

Being There When the Light is Right.

Getting all four to coincide with each other…well, sometimes that requires a bit of luck at the very least, perseverance most certainly…and not necessarily in the same order every time. 

Let’s talk about those four things as they pertain to a couple of selected images.  Take for instance this shot of the dragonfly…a Carolina Saddleback to be specific…First of all the technical understanding involved required several things to make it happen including knowing how the camera was going to react to the light.  Notice the background…it is rather dark in nature and even though our subject is well lit, that dark background will throw off the camera’s metering.  I shoot most often using Matrix or Wide Area metering where the camera looks at the full spectrum of light in the view in deciding what exposure it wants to use.  The camera will want to average the light it meters and set an exposure based on that average, so the dark background would cause the subject to be overexposed and blown out.  Knowing this, I used the cameras +/- exposure compensation feature to tell the camera to react the way I wanted it to…not the way it wanted to…and set the exposure to -.7.  I also set the aperture to as large of an opening as the zoom lens would allow for the focal length that I was using, f/6.3…this allowed me to control the depth of field and keep it relatively tight, and the background soft.

In order to get this shot I also had to look beyond the obvious…it would be a common technique to simply point the camera at the dragonfly and snap away without taking into context the background until a shot happened to capture my subject, provided I could catch it standing still long enough to do so.  The point here is to think in terms of how best to isolate the subject, and that required thinking through the problem.  First of all, I simply sat down on the edge of the pond and waited to see what would happen.  Chasing dragonflies is all but impossible to do, as they flitter so fast, you really can’t hope to catch them…but they do tend to fly in patterns I noticed.  As I watched all the activity flying around me, this one guy kept returning over and over to the same spot…a broken branch sticking out of the water.  He would light for a second or two then take off again…then repeat the process over and over every few minutes…and that brings us to anticipating the potential.  After a few minutes, I realized that was the best way to catch this guy, so I sat up my camera on a tripod…zoomed in as tightly as I could, pre-focusing on the end of the branch.  Using a cable release, I was able to fire off several quick shots each time he landed, eventually getting this one best shot.

But…that is not all.  How did I know where to place the tripod?  First of all, I wanted to isolate the subject so I selected a location that offered a dark background at some distance from the subject to allow for blurring…and also offered a good source of backlighting to bring out the translucent nature of the wings.  That required having the right kind of light…or at least using the light that was available to its best opportunity.

For the photograph of the canoe at first light I used a similar thought process, but approached it using different techniques.  First of all, let’s talk about what it took to set up this shot…or anticipate the potential. Shanty Hollow Lake has become one of my favorite photo places as it provides a range of opportunities that differ from day to day and season to season.  Having made numerous just-for-fun excursions there, I quickly recognized the photographic potential with the calm waters and foggy conditions being a common occurrence especially before sunrise during the late summer and early fall seasons.  Sunrise was around 6:00 A.M. at the time, and I wanted to be in position well before that time.  It required that I rise around 4:00 A.M. and make the 40 minute drive, then off load my canoe and gear, and make the paddle to the upper end, about a 20 minute trip by water.  That put me on location a good half hour or more before sunrise…but even at that early time, there is significant light on the horizon…which is what I was wanting.  The fog on the water began to lift and as the sun progressed closer to breaking free of the ridge to the east, that fog began to glow and was perfectly reflected on the mirrored surface of the water.  My anticipation paid off, as I was there at the optimum time, being there when the light was right…lost a bit of sleep as a result…but, well worth the price.

But, to take the shot required understanding the technical nature of the situation.  I had to make the shot by hand as shooting from the tripod would not be practical from the inside of a canoe.  Using a wide angle lens, I set the aperture at f/5.6…which allowed just enough depth of field ( I focused on the front of the canoe) to keep everything pretty much in focus for the wide angle lens focal length, but also allowed for a fast enough shutter speed 1/125 at ISO 100 in the available light to keep from blurring the image with handshake.  I used 0 +/- compensation as I wanted to capture enough light to show detail in the canoe and still grab the boldness of the light on the water without blowing it out. 

Zero compensation pushed the exposure toward the middle range allowing for the detail to be captured in both the bright area and the darker canoe interior.  Here is where the looking beyond the obvious came into play.  I had to be careful not to allow the sunrise cliche to influence my shot so much that it dominated the composition, but I also wanted to show the boldness of the moment, plus it was important to include enough of the canoe to make it appear to be gliding toward the morning.  That is why I tilted the camera angle down and placed the horizon very high in the composition.  Centering the canoe was a matter of simply looking for reference points in the view finder and lining them up.  The canoe in essence became the main subject of the composition, and the reflection of the glowing fog became the symbolic reference to greeting the new dawn.

So you see…taking a great photo is more than simply pointing and shooting…or even being lucky…it takes a degree of technical understanding, looking beyond the obvious, anticipating the potential, and being there when the light is right…combined with a bit of perseverance…you might be surprised at what you can accomplish.

A View Through the Lens - A Life Lesson

It's been a while since I have written a View thru the Lens article...with the Christmas season upon us, I'd like to share a few thoughts.

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Nature provides us with a connection to a lost time of innocence...a place to remember...to rediscover youthful dreams...to simply ponder...and when the best of what creation offers presents itself to us, it is not so much the person today who is rewarded...it is that child who never stopped believing in the dreams he dared to dream.

Over the years too many things tended to prevent the adventures dreamed from my youthful imagination an avenue into reality. Over time, other priorities took root and eventually choked off the life giving source of adventurous-desire that ultimately could only sustain them for so long.  The more deeply rooted life priorities became, the more those youthful dreams faded into vague memories of times past.

I suppose that is why I stubbornly cling to memories of adventures that actually did become a reality, for they in some small way, helped to satisfy the depth of the dreams of my youth.  Even then in those early days, I somehow knew most would never come true, but dreamed anyway.  It is not unlike the tired old axiom:  It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.  If it is indeed better to have dreamed and lost those dreams than to never have dreamed at all...then I am truly a blessed individual.

Over time we all are presented with windows of opportunity.  Unfortunately, by the time we are mature enough to recognize the significance of those opened windows, they have long since closed.  It most certainly seems true that...Youth is wasted on the young.

We live in a marvelous technological age, but I can not help but wonder at what cost.  Too many kids spend too many hours sitting in front of a screen playing some kind of virtual game or staring at a hand held electronic contraption, and never take time to explore that big beautiful world out there that is full of reality. I find myself too often doing similar things.

Maybe it is because I have grown older that I have started to reflect more on the lost opportunities I allowed to fade away...never to be explored...whose windows of opportunity closed long ago, and I have realized that there was probably a reason for the way things turned out, and that is encouraging.

I have discovered just how easy it is to become complacent or maybe even aggravated at the world situation where too many people are caught up in pushing ideology and not enough are seeking out truth.  It would be nice if just for once every nation could work together for the betterment of those around them instead of seeking out only what they can get out of a situation.

Wishful thinking?  Probably...in the present world situation anyway, but I prefer to think more Optimistically...instead of what might have been...I think about what could be. Whether you believe in the True Meaning of Christmas or not, the truth of the baby Jesus and the Christmas story and what it meant to the world is the only thing that offers a real solution to that question...not so much about what could be...but what will be someday.

I Took a Hike One Day...

Another story-like end of the day drifted toward its conclusion as I watched from the top of Coneflower Hill...one more episode counted among the countless end-of-the-day episodes one can discover on the prairie.  Why I was there finds its roots going back a good number of years, but simply stated, I was there because I took a hike one day.

Cone Flower Hill is not an official name...it's simply what I call this rounded knoll with a rocky outcropping on top that sits a quarter mile or more off the gravel road that meanders through the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska, Oklahoma.  I found it a few years ago almost by accident while looking for a location to observe and photograph those amazing prairie sundowns.  It's not much of a hill really, but rises maybe something less than a hundred feet higher than the surrounding landscape.  Long flanks covered with thick prairie grass, cut by drainage and scarred by bison travel, characterize the climb to the top...a climb more difficult than it might seem at first.

Just north of the summit lies a large pond tucked into the recess of the rolling terrain.  Around it's perimeter grow acres of wildflowers including the Pale Purple Cone Flower...where the hill gets its name.  On the summit of the hill a rocky outcrop exposed to who knows how many years of weathering, provides a break on the smooth lines of the rolling hills.  It's a good place to just sit and feel the prairie wind in your face.

 It is one of the quietest places one can find, quiet in the sense there are few if any man-made noises that influence the atmosphere...just the dancing of the tall grasses and choreographed ballet of the cone flowers as they move in time with the whimsical undulations of the prairie wind. It is a natural musical of natures best assortment of players.

To the west the landscape changes as it breaks its rhythm from the slow rolls to rise abruptly toward mesa like outcroppings.  In all directions one is afforded an unobstructed view of this marvelous landscape broken only by distant indications of man's presence.

Why am I here...why do I return time and again?  I took a hike one day, and discovered a place for the heart that was mine alone...a place where ones inner strength is restored by the reflections of what once was...reflections of times past that remain unchanged.  I took a hike one day and rediscovered who I was.

Keith

What and Where verses Why - The Art of Writing and Photography

Although the craft of writing and the art of photography are different forms of communication, they both share a common objective; to move the reader or viewer toward a single purpose…to generate an emotional response.

Where writing uses words to construct images in the mind, photography uses light to build a story. Where brevity is desired in writing, photography also requires a simplification of the composition. Writers understand that by blending a unique style with their view of the world, they can often move their readers...An effective photograph stirs the emotions of the one viewing it to the point where they identify with the moment.

I would venture a guess that most writers write so they can share a part of themselves with others.  The same holds true with photographers…we like to share our vision of the world.  Doing so is natural…writers and photographers, like most creative people, tend to have a deep emotional bond to what they create.

One of the first ‘rules’ of writing is to simply write about what you know, so the things I write about tend to focus around the adventures I’ve experienced over the years often related to photography. Most of my stories are short essays that chronicle some significant event.  Whether remembering growing up hunting and fishing in Oklahoma, or the numerous adventures of my military days, or writing about a day spent photographing some of nature's most amazing moments...writing about those events often generate a therapeutic effect. 

As I begin to write…I simply write what first comes to mind. I don't worry so much about grammar and punctuation...that initial effort is used to build a basic composition that can then be molded into a finished story.  Often the finished product has little resemblance to the original text.  This is where writing techniques and photography techniques often merge. 

You see, as a photographer, I am rarely satisfied with a single image.  Often, to capture the image I am looking for requires continually looking at the problem from a different perspective.  Instead of always shooting from eye level…I often drop low…or move sideways…or search for more appealing light.  What I photograph matters little…it is how I build the composition that matters…how I use light to enhance the subjects shape, form, and textures. 

Writing is like that. It matters most how I build the story...not so much what I write about.  My first attempt is rarely a finished product.  Many times by taking a different approach…looking at the problem from a different angle, I begin to develop my original vision into a new idea that moves the story far greater in one direction or another than the original concept.

To me, writing and photography are natural extensions of themselves and I see each of them as an avenue that allows for an expression of ideas that go beyond simple words, or images. Writing is as much art as it is a craft.  Too many writers today I believe have lost that sense of art in their craft.  Pickup almost any outdoor magazine…family magazine…nature magazine…and what do you find? 

You’ll see titles like ‘Top Ten Places to Fish’…or ‘Best Vacation Getaways’…or ‘Great Recipes For The Summer Grilling Season’.  In my opinion, editors today emphasize way too much the ‘What and Where and even How’ at the expense of ‘Why’.  Visit the library sometime…they still do exist by the way…or use the modern equivalent and Google search on the internet to look up some of the old time outdoor writers like Ted Trueblood or Gordon Macquerrie and read some of their stories.  The emphasis 40, 50…60 years ago was on the ‘why’ and less on the ‘what and where’.  The craft of story telling was the heart of their technique…what they wrote about was how and why a particular adventure affected their lives…not so much on where to go and what to do when you get there.  It was their story telling that motivated readers like myself to create personal adventures of where and how.  Their words created visions of grand adventures that I could see...and then over time, photograph.

If I could challenge new writers today, I would challenge them to begin by writing about ‘why’ something was important…how it affected them emotionally…and shy away from too much of the what and where.  Use your intellect to find the words…but use your heart to build the story.  Don’t just tell about events…show why those events were important. As a photographer...every photograph I take is based on that concept of showing why that moment was important.  The light becomes the visual words used to accomplish the telling of the photographic story.

Everyone should develop their own style of writing and never attempt to copy another writer’s style.  The perspective captured by a former generation of writers is far different than our own and we can all discover how eloquent many of them were...in time, you just might discover another way to express what is truly important in your life in such a way, that it affects the lives of those around you.

Keith

Bad Means Good...

For a photographer...bad weather usually means good shooting.  Now don't get me wrong, I shoot in all kinds of weather and lighting conditions, but some kinds of light are better than others for certain kinds of shots.  Today was a good example.  Three days ago it was bright and sunny and rather pleasant out for this time of year.  Being off for the holidays opened up an opportunity to sneak in a photo shoot so I headed over to Shanty Hollow to see if I could capture some early winter atmosphere shots around the falls for my long term project.  I managed to get a few shots in spite of the harsh lighting, and there was some water coming off the falls but nothing spectacular.  Overall the light just was not right.  The day was perfect, but not for shooting. Three days later, everything changed.  It started to rain and it rained rather hard for most of the night.  Monday morning it was ugly out...cold, rainy, overcast, and gray...a perfect day for a photo shoot. Combined with previous rains earlier in the week I figured there would be more water coming off the falls.

There are actually three or four falls around Shanty Hollow Lake...I've only found three...I hear there are others but I don't know where they are.  The three I know of are all on the same trail that leads to the main falls.  The other two only flow during times of prolonged rain like I had on this hike.  The main falls is roughly 60 feet or so high from it's highest point...with about a 50 foot drop from the edge of the bluff and except in mid summer and even early fall when it is dry, it will usually have some water flowing over it depending on rainfall amounts.

When I left around 8:00 am, it was still raining, but I was ready for that having packed rain gear for not only myself, but for the camera gear as well.  By the time I arrived about 40 minutes later, the rain had tapered off to a light sprinkle.

Overcast skies are best for photographing waterfalls.  The reason being is that you want soft diffused light at low intensity levels to allow for long exposures.  The soft light casts a smooth even light even through heavy cover and the long exposures allow for softening of the flowing waters.  The hike to the falls is moderately rough, a bit slippery when wet, but doable by most people.  It took about 20 maybe 25 minutes as I stopped a time or two along the way.  I wasn't disappointed...the falls was flowing as hard as I've ever seen it flow and it was generating a lot of energy.

I took several short video sequences and about a hundred still photos.  Wished I could have stayed all day, but by noon, I was beginning to get wet even with the rain gear and my camera gear was also getting a bit too wet for comfort so I packed it up and headed in.  On this particularly bad weather day, the photo shooting was pretty good as all the elements were there...light, drama, scenery, and me.

Here's a short video from the shoot.