Starting a Long Term Project

We pulled up to the boat ramp a little after 5:00 pm on a Tuesday evening.  From what I could tell it looked as though we were going to be the only boat on the lake.  Most of July and into August and indeed most of the summer had been uncomfortably warm and humid as is typical for this part of Kentucky during this time of year.  The previous few days brought a shift in the weather with unseasonable and refreshing cooler temperatures and lower humidity levels that stirred my need to re-aquaint myself with the joys of canoe fishing.   Only a slight breeze pushed a soft ripple across the surface…just about right for canoeing and fishing.  For the next three hours we drifted and paddled around the perimeter casting a line here and there.  The fishing was slow, but the experience was just fine.  I needed this about as much as I needed anything…seems it had been way too long since I was last here.

The past year or so I began to realize that I seem to have drifted away from my identity.  In years past outdoor activities became an important part of my life…one in which I have slowly allowed circumstance and situations deter me from participating at a level I once enjoyed.  I suppose there are a lot of reasons for that…work load…health…college expenses…the price of gas…getting older…need I say more.  As a result there seems to be a void created inside, a void that seems to grow larger day by day.  I’ve simply missed getting out.  In recent years photography has filled in some of that gap, but even that can fall short in restoring that need I have to experience God’s world like I once was able to do.  The trick I believe is to combine those two passions together so as to blend that sense of accomplishment with the desire for meaningful outdoor experiences.

Four or five years ago I started a long term project photographing Oklahoma’s Tallgrass Prairie.  That project has been an amazing journey so far, at least as far as I’ve been able to follow through, unfortunately my time available to visit that location is limited to a week or so once a year…and this past year I was unable to even make that limited annual visit.  Distance being the primary culprit, over 700 miles, a distance that prevents me from fulfilling my dream of capturing this unique and amazing landscape in its full glory.  As a result I began to look closer to home for another opportunity for a long term photographic project, one that provides that blend of outdoors with photographic potential.  Oddly enough, virtually next door to me is a location I have visited and photographed a number of times, but never really thought of as a long term project potential. 

Shanty Hollow Lake sits tucked in amongst the hills that roll across the landscape just north of Bowling Green.  From my home it’s about a 40 minute drive…from my office it’s about a 20 minute drive. It’s a small lake originally constructed back in the 1940’s as a private hunting and fishing lodge, and was eventually taken over by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1953.  Stocked with bass and catfish, and other various fishes, its 110 acres of surface area is one of the most scenic of lakes just about anywhere and is perfect for canoe fishing.  Hidden on the back end of the lake splitting a wide horseshoe shaped ridge is a waterfall that when the water is running after a hard rain can provide an amazing photographic moment.

A couple hours in, as I cast my fishing line toward the bank, the sun momentarily broke through the thin layer of clouds that hovered above the western ridge.  A beam of light highlighted a stand of sycamore trees along the bank.  Their lighter colored leaves and whitish bark stood in contrast against the darker green background and seemed to glow in the light as their reflection shimmered on the almost perfectly calm surface of the lake.  I had no camera to capture the moment…but, capture I did, an idea that will surely help me restore that lost sense of identity.   This is the place I need to photograph year round.  It is here I can capture the best of nature and find an outlet for that sense of adventure and desire for a meaningful outdoor experience…and so I committed myself to begin a long term project simply called Shanty Hollow. 

My intent is to photograph this area using not only the traditional still photographs, but to blend it with HD video as well.  Traditional photographs can only capture static moments of time…video on the other hand can capture the feel of the moment through movement and sound.  Blending the two should tell a unique story of this small but amazing location.  By next summer I hope to create a 15 to 20 minute video presentation using the footage I’ve captured the past year along with some of the footage I’ve already captured.  This will be a serious attempt to create a professional quality presentation suitable for showing to various groups and organizations.  It will be the most ambitious and important project I’ve ever attempted.  With any luck at all, this endeavor will help to fill the gap of meaningful outdoor experiences that I’ve recently missed in my life.  For the first time in a long time, I’m excited again about something I’m about to begin…I may even throw in a little fishing along the way.


Here's a link to some Shanty Hollow Shots... http://www.sunnysixteen.org/gallery3/index.php/Keith_Bridgman/Shanty_Hollow

Kentucky Sky - Kentucky Morning Series

I've lived in a lot of different places and one thing that I have discovered is they all have their own unique photographic potential.  Of all the places I have lived, Kentucky offers some of the most diverse photographic opportunities that I have seen.  Of all of those, the Kentucky Sky and Kentucky Morning's are the most amazing...and the two often compliment each other.  As a result I've started a new series that I would like to introduce to you.  Simply enough it is called Kentucky Sky - Kentucky Morning and they are a series of some of the most spectacular sky and morning shots I've been able to capture from this amazing land called Kentucky.  I am offering them as individual prints ($99.00 plus shipping) mounted on foam core.

Check them out...I think you will like them.

p.s.  I'm also working on a series of Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie images...but they will come later.

My Photography Bucket List

Sometimes I'll thumb through various photography magazines and see all sorts of interesting things I wish I could either purchase or places I wish I could visit.  Unfortunately, being able to do those things will probably not happen...not in the next four years anyway with college tuition to pay for.

Even so, I tend to file away those thoughts and wishes in my photography 'to do' bucket for another day hoping that when the time is right, I will be able to remove a few of them and actually turn them into a reality.  What I'm afraid will happen is that the bucket will actually get so full, I'll get tired of carrying it around and end up dumping the entire contents in the rubbish bin never to be retrieved or thought of again.  Before that happens, here is a short list of the most wanted from that list that I still hope to turn into a reality someday.

1.  To photograph all four seasons on Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie.  My desire here is not to just photograph it, but to document it in such a way as to create a video presentation that tells the saga of the Tallgrass Prairie in such a way as to stir the imaginations of those who see it.  I want to backpack from one end to the other during all kinds of weather conditions and experience it at those most important moments of light...and there are some amazing moments of light on the prairie.  This also includes flying over the prairie in a light airplane at dawn and/or dusk to capture that first and last prairie-light of the day from the unique elevated perspective.

2.  To purchase a high quality HD video camera.  I'm not talking about one of those palm size cameras found at department stores...I'm talking about the next level or two above that...something like a Sony HVR-A1 or V1 series of video cameras.  My intent here is to take my photography to another level and step into the realm of cinematography and capture places like the Tallgrass Prairie using the combination of still images and video.

3.  To upgrade to a new SLR...open to all possibilities on this one...but with my Sony background I'm looking at one of the A900 series of cameras...24 megapixels...full frame sensor.  My venerable A100 has served me well...way beyond what a camera like that should have been able to accomplish...but it is rapidly reaching its limits of capabilities with what I am wanting to accomplish.

4.  I could sure use a high quality wide angle lens...something in the 14mm range...again open to all possibilities on this.  The one I have is barely adequate...yet does a pretty good job...It is just time to upgrade to a better level.

5.  Number five is a long shot...but I keep dreaming about doing this someday.  To pack my camera gear, canoeing and camping gear (along with some hiking and fishing gear) and spend  summer into early fall exploring and photographing the American West.  Nuff said...it pretty well explains itself.

So there you have it, my short bucket list of things I'd like to do before I get too old to do them...I've still got a few years left before that happens...but, time is an easily lost commodity.

Keith