A Look Back...The Class of 1970 - Okmulgee, Ok

With graduation ceremonies having ended around the country...I've included in this post something I wrote several years ago...with a few modifications...to reflect back on my own graduating class and who we were.  Although the building has changed some since those days, it still stands today with future generations walking the halls hoping someday to find their place in this world...I wish all the graduates God Speed...and good luck.

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I often reflect on those early days of 1965 when I first entered 8^th grade in the Okmulgee, Oklahoma school system and climbed those wide steps, through the arched doors of that massive, red, brick building, a newcomer.  Life changed forever at that moment as the friends and experiences that were to follow still influence my today.  When I left those halls for the final time some five years later, I was no longer a newcomer, but someone with a history and a connection to a wonderful and sometimes tumultuous experience that was lived through a unique rendezvous of place and time.

I return to the yearbooks occasionally and thumb through the pages looking at all those youthful faces from 1965 through my senior year of 1970 and beyond, well, you can’t help but wonder where they are, the juniors, seniors, sophomores we came to know.  It never ceases to amaze me how people come into our lives for what at the time seemed like a long term event, but in reality touched us for only moments…then, the moment is gone.  Even so, who they were and how their lives connected with our own, remains with us for decades.  Thank goodness for Facebook as it has allowed for reconnections I thought long ago lost.

I wondered as this skinny, insecure 8^th grader…oh so long ago…at how mature and grown up the juniors and seniors looked, and the young ladies in the high school section …I had almost forgotten…they all looked like...well…young ladies…beautiful, sophisticated, energetic.  They still do…those images…even today.  I’ll run across a name or a face and a flash of memory echoes across the decades-old forgotten valleys of hidden memories…the football hero…the big fight in the bleachers at the basketball game… a moment in the hallway or the teacher who spoke encouraging words toward greater things…the cute girl with the magnetic smile and intoxicating eyes I wanted desperately to ask out, but was too shy to do so…all the “What if or How come” regrets or the “Oh Yeah, that was fun” highs…things I haven’t thought about in years suddenly rise to the forefront.   It is the emotions of those days that stay with us…the emotions that created the memories, and those memories became, for better or worse...us…for better or worse they were the best times and the worst times…for all the same reasons.

That’s who we were…then, 1970.  We were the Bulldogs…state champions in football and basketball…and not too shabby in Baseball and Track either.  We were the generation of “One” the loneliest number, “Hey Jude” and “Temptation Eyes”, “Butch Cassidy and Sundance”.  We were the generation who in the course of our lives witnessed a President lose his life and a civil rights leader die for his cause.  We were the ones that bridged the gap of segregation, who blended cultures into common goals.  We saw men stand on the moon and heroes of another sort stand their ground in the ghettos of the south, and we watched brave young men go off to war…many to never return.  We saw a young politician refuse to ask “Why” and instead asked “Why not”…only to fall victim to fanatical ignorance.  We were a generation that questioned many things and sought solutions to that matter of ‘why not’.  We laughed…we cried…we cheered…we prayed.  We were all these things.  We nurtured friendships from once segregated classes...respect of ideas and cultures.  We were patriotic and defiant, reverent and vain, humble and arrogant, and liberal and conservative.  We were the sons of the fathers of the Second World War and the daughters of the loves they left behind.  

We were a unique generation defined by complex days with an ambiguous future, yet when our turn at bat came, we stepped up to the plate of life, and swung away to eventually take our place on the pedestal of America’s finest…to become the most productive and innovative generation in history. 

Sometimes we choose to forget about the trials and tribulations of our youth.  Even so, it’s good to ponder on such things, not to shrink into some distant past and ignore the future, but simply to remember those days and reflect on the events that helped to mold us into who we are today.

Having one amazing son now working through college and one exceptional son who is now facing consequences of ill-advised choices…I see many similarities of this current generation to the one from which we came.  They are energetic and searching, much like we were. They live in a world full of uncertainty clouded with conflicting ideals and world views, seeking difficult answers to difficult questions, yet…somehow I believe they will find their way…like we did.  They will step through their open Windows of Opportunity and take their place amongst America’s finest, because...well, they had a pretty good group of mentors to teach them about such things and when all is said and done, we have, so far, compiled a pretty good lifetime batting average.

We are the Class of 1970.

Keith R. Bridgman

1970 – Graduate of Okmulgee High

Memorial Day

Here's to all our veterans...fallen and living...for their valued service to our country...on this Memorial Day...

Thank You....

Creating Images with Impact

It’s one of my favorite images…one that captures the essence of a Kentucky Morning.  It’s an image that projects boldness, story, drama, and power…yet its structure is subtle and possesses a simplicity about it that defines its true nature.  It was taken at an ordinary location during the early part of a transitional season, yet from this ordinary situation evolved an image that is unique with a flavor of Kentucky that permeates its composition.  It is an image with Impact.

The story of this image has roots going back over five years.  How I happened to capture this shot culminates from a series of events that ultimately lead to that moment.  What it is not is a random chance event, where I just happened to be there at the right time by accident.  It involved research, preparation, timing, and technical understanding.  It was in fact one of those events where circumstances blended perfectly with preparation.

That is the key to capturing images with impact.  I found this location one summer afternoon as I was driving around looking for potential locations to photograph.  I happened down a progressively narrowing back road that eventually came to a T.  Here is where random chance did play a part.  Do I turn left or right?  I turned right, and the road eventually wound its way into a valley, then, climbed to the top of a rise to end at a gate.  From that vantage point I could see across and into this river bottom farm country.  At that particular time of year and that time of day, the scene possessed a rather ordinary character about it…rather flat in light, with little or no drama.  But, as I stood there and surveyed the valley, I began to realize the photographic potential of what was there.

The Barren River cut along the ridge that curved around the backside of the valley.  This alone was a good indicator of the potential for fog on a cool morning.  Fall was still a few months away…by then the sunrise would migrate further south and after making some simple visual calculations, I realized that by late September, the sun would rise from behind the ridge to the east and would potentially fill this valley with early morning light.  Late September also would bring cooler morning air and light winds…the water in the river would still be warm…a perfect generator of fog.  I set my internal calendar to return late September and see what would happen.

A couple months later I found myself leaving early one Saturday anticipating what might present itself along that river valley.  As I stood outside in the cool air before leaving, there was a light fog that drifted across the pasture across the road…good omen I figured.  When I arrived at the top of that rise and looked across the valley below, just enough ambient light provided enough illumination that I could see a light fog drifting low across the corn stubble and pasture.  After a short time the sun began to glow on the horizon and eventually progressed to where it was just shy of breaking above the ridge.  The valley below was still mostly in dark, but when the sun broke above the ridge a single beam of morning sunlight caught the top of a spit of trees that extended into the pasture.  The early fall colors began to glow and the fog that hovered around the base of the trees softened in the light.  I waited…at just the right moment the trees exploded into color…and I fired off the shot.  It became one of the most iconic Kentucky Morning images I’ve ever taken.

The capture was a result of exploration, visualization, planning, and being prepared technically.  When I arrived that morning I did not have to waste time trying to figure out how to set the camera.  I did fire off a few test shots prior to the actual image photograph being taken to verify my settings.  The trick here was to not allow the relative darkness over influence the exposure and so the metering setup I used was Spot metering and I metered off the glow in the trees which at the time was a middle tone value…and allowed the rest of the image exposure fall where it may.  


Once I had the metering locked in, I repositioned the composition by placing the main subject slightly offset where it intersected a rule of thirds transition point.  This not only created a more pleasing composition, it also allowed a layer of banding near a fence row to angle across the lower part of the image helping to balance the image compositionally and across the color spectrum.  A tweak or two of post processing to bring out more of the contrast and the image reflected more of what I felt and experience.  This image is all about mood and contrasting energy.  There is the boldness in the sunlit trees contrasting with the subtle nature of the light layer of fog all set against the still dark background with just enough detail showing to give the image a sense of depth.

Creating an image with impact involves blending composition with light…and using light to generate mood…using mood to influence purpose…using purpose to dictate timing…using timing to generate drama…and using drama to tell the story.  Although I could not predict exactly what conditions were going to exist…by using a bit of intuition and common sense, I was able to place myself into a situation where if the conditions were right, I’d be there and ready to take advantage of it.  It’s less about technical skill, and more about knowing what to look for…applying visualization techniques to see beyond the ordinary and recognize the potential of a given location.  It’s understanding that photography is all about quality light and how light influences the photographic decisions you must make to take advantage of it. 

Capturing images with impact requires situations that generate an emotional response.  It's not always about sunsets or sunrises...more often than not its more about how the light from those two situations affects the surrounding landscape.  Although I do photograph sunsets and sunrises...more often than not during those times I'm looking over my shoulder away from the main source of light to see how it is affecting the things around me.  That soft subtle light can often be more powerful that the bold rich light of the setting or rising sun.

Images with impact...look for those bold yet subtle contrasts of light...warm vs cool...soft vs hard...bright vs dark...Look for transitions where the light is changing...and the soft after-light that drifts across a landscape and casts a glow that generates mood and energy where shape and form blends with drama and story.

Keith 

Shoot the Stars...

Composite of three horizontal images
stacked vertically

A few months ago I ran across some amazing photographs of the Milky Way…For those of you who live in the city it is that hazy span of cloudy light that stretches across the center of the sky on a clear, moonless, dark night.  Technically it is the edge on view we see looking toward the center of the galaxy from our earthly vantage point located way out on the edge of this massive spiral of stars and interstellar gases known as our home...the Milky Way galaxy.

It is one aspect of photography until recently I had not tried so I read up as much as I could about how to do it and contrary to popular belief it’s not all that difficult to do.  Here’s what you need:

A clear moonless night as far away from the ambient city lights as possible.

A Digital SLR with a wide angle lens…18mm or wider.

A Tripod.

A cable release. 

A willingness to get up very early or stay up very late.  

A little practice.

Checking my calendar and the moon phases I discovered that two days leading up to the weekend following my discovery of this technique was going to be a moonless event and the best time to view the Milky Way was around 4:00 am in our time zone.  So, I scheduled a couple of vacation days and prepared for an early rise.  I’ve been on Shanty Hollow Lake before daylight a number of times and figured that would be as isolated of a location as I could find close by.  The hills surrounding the lake would block much of the ambient light from the city that might filter over that way and the sky above the lake would be quite dark.

Milky Way

The alarm was set for 2:15am…hard to get up, but the canoe was already loaded and all I had to do was head out.  I arrived around 3:15…off loaded and worked my way to the upper end of the lake.  By the time I had pulled out and was setup on top of the dam, it was nearing 4:00am…right on cue.  There was a faint glow from the east that barely outlined the ridge line and the sky was as dark as it could possibly be under the circumstances with thousands of stars spread across the sky. Right on cue…the Milky Way haze hovered almost directly overhead in the darkest part of the sky.

Constellation Scorpius...near the bottom, just above the tree line.

My first attempts were experiments.  Set the camera on the tripod, set the exposure to Manual / Bulb, ISO to 1600…opened the aperture to the maximum…f/3.5 in this case…and zoomed back to 18mm manually focusing on infinity.  I reached into the camera bag looking for my cable release and realized I had left it in the Jeep.  Rats!...no time to retrieve it so I had to carefully use the on camera shutter release and make sure the camera was locked down as tightly as it could be.

I tilted the camera toward the darkest part of the sky and opened the shutter release…and counted…28, 29…30.  First results were encouraging but not quite what I wanted.  Continued with more experiments…eventually settling in on a 50 second count that seemed to generate an acceptable image.  At that point it was a matter of pointing and shooting.

Constellation Ursa Major...(Big Dipper)

One image was the result of three separate images.  First shot was down low with the horizon near the top of the frame…second shot overlapped the first one vertically by about 20%...third overlapping shot included part of the Milky Way that was nearly overhead.  When the three shots were stitched together, they made one nice composite of the morning sky.

Problems I ran into included post processing issues with the ISO noise.  My camera is not as well suited for this kind of shooting as other higher end cameras are…even so, with a bit of cleaning up using some noise software the results were at least acceptable…better actually than I expected.

Another aspect of stellar photography involves photographing the moon.  Contrary to popular belief, the best time to photograph the moon is not during a full moon. A full moon simply washes all textures out of the craters and mountains.  The best time I believe is during one of the first quarter, half, or last quarter of the moon phases.  It’s during those times that shadows run deep across the moon’s surface and provides for great details.

To photograph the moon, you will need a Tripod, Digital SLR with a large lens…something in the 400 to 500 mm range, but in a pinch a 300mm lens will work…a cable release.  What I’ve done is zoom out a far as the lens will allow…500mm in this case…set the camera’s exposure metering to ISO 200 at f/8.0 and select “Spot Metering” as the metering method then meter off the brightest part of the moon…and lock in the exposure…reposition the moon in the frame to suit your desired composition and fire away.  The moon is quite bright and will generate a fast shutter speed…in this particular case it was 1/250 of second…but can vary depending on the ISO setting you use and aperture selected.  I used f/8.0 because that particular lens tends to be a bit sharper across those middle range aperture settings.  Desired results may require exposure tinkering to bring out the best of the given situation.

The image may also require a bit of cropping…about 40%...to bring the image to a size where it looks a bit more impressive…great fun to do…and actually quite easy.

So there you have it…shooting the stars and moon is fascinating way to explore photography…much more so than I expected…and the results can be quite stunning…give it a try.

Keith

Three Legs are Better than Two

Not too long ago I found myself attempting to photograph an area in low light without a tripod…The results were predictable and indeed the shots turned out rather mediocre at best.  Most of them were blurred to a degree even with the anti shake turned on…it was a combination of too little light, too long of a focal length, too slow of a shutter speed, and too shaky of a hand hold…a lethal combination for clear pictures.

Most of my serious photography is always shot from a tripod using a cable shutter release even in good light.  There are times I shoot by hand, but usually only when using a tripod may not be practical and only when there is adequate light.  I’ve muffed a lot of great photo opportunities because of hand held shaking. 

Most lenses today come with anti shake stabilization technology and in the Sony Alpha series of cameras internal anti shake within the camera is used.  This technology does improve on the hand shake blurring problem.  Even so, that technology can only help so much and that is why investing in a solid tripod is so important.

Because we as photographers chase around searching for that quality light situation, we often find ourselves photographing in low light which offers the best mood generating opportunities.  The very nature of low light requires relatively slow shutter speeds and there in is the problem.  A tripod allows for solid placement of the camera and a steady platform. 

Although I’m not trying to promote any particular brand or style, the one thing to look for in a tripod is sturdiness.  Avoid those light weight point and shoot models.  Although they tend to work okay for light weight video equipment, they will not perform very well with a full size camera and lens combo and are just not strong enough or sturdy enough.  Ask yourself…Will it hold up well in wind and with a heavy lens attached?  A person can easily drop several hundred dollars on a tripod and even more with a high tech ballhead camera mount. Although carbon fiber may be the latest and greatest in strength and light weight functionality, my budget doesn’t allow for such high dollar luxuries.  Instead I’ve opted for something a bit more affordable and purchased a surprisingly sturdy tripod for around $90.00.  It does not have one of those fancy ball mounts on top.  Instead it has a simple tilt mount…a bit more cumbersome, but functional.  When I shoot with my 50 to 500 lens, the tilt mount doesn’t even come into play as the lens allows for rotation while locked down on the mount. 

With few exceptions this tripod has done everything I’ve asked of it.  It’s light enough so I can tote it with camera attached over my shoulder and indeed I have done so on hikes across the Prairie or over hill and dale on various other hikes and canoe trips.  It has quick release collapsible legs that allows for easy and quick setup on any level of terrain, and I can quickly and easily rotate or tilt the camera in any direction I need.  I’ve also used it as a third leg when crossing streams or slippery terrain.  It will extend out to over six feet in height or collapse down to about two feet.  I’d prefer it would collapse down lower, but I’ve been able to get most of the low angle shots I’ve needed with it.

I’d recommend using a cable shutter release or remote release if your camera allows for one.  Even sturdy tripods can be affected by the action of pressing the shutter release button.  In a pinch you can use the camera’s self timer…but this can be a bit slow and cumbersome to do all the time especially when timing is important.  Also, in most cases you will want to turn off the camera or lens stabilization mechanism when using a tripod as it can often become confused thinking that if it’s turned on, its suppose to actually do something and end up having the opposite effect.  Although I’ve shot with the stabilization in both the on and off mode when using a tripod, I’ve personally not seen much difference in the results.  The only time I will purposely turn it on when using a tripod is on windy day.  That long lens and sunshade tend to catch the wind and can produce wind generated vibrations…enough anyway to warrant using the stabilization function.

Over the years I’ve grown more accustomed to using a tripod and have experienced firsthand the positive benefits they provide.  It’s as much a part of my equipment list as the camera and lenses…and the third leg that it provides certainly makes for a steadier platform from which to shoot or to cross a stream.

Keith

The Making of: Shanty Hollow...Across Boundaries of Light

I arrived well before daylight and slowly paddled my canoe across the widest part of the lake in almost total darkness.  The air was warm...the sky clear.  The only light available was from the glow of stars spread across the ebony sky and from a faint glow that hovered over the crest of the hills that formed the eastern boundary of the lake.  One loses all sense of motion paddling in the dark and eventually I drifted to a stop near the upper end.  As I sat quietly on the perfectly calm lake, the glow from the sky began to resonate.

Light fog drifted on currents of air mixing with other pockets of mist...growing thicker at times...almost opaque in places...collecting into a pillow shaped cloud that lifted from the surface to hover a few yards above the water.  Over the next few minutes this cloud shifted in color from light gray to pale brown to golden red and orange...finally reaching a crescendo that lit up the surface with its glow.  For the first time I began to hear the silent melody that is Shanty Hollow Lake...for the first time I understood that this often forgotten southern Kentucky lake  has a story to tell.  I knew I wanted to capture it not just visually...but as a saga shared through images combined with a musical dialog.  It was then the theme of Across Boundaries of Light was born.

Over the next nine months or so, I paddled among the coves and hiked the rugged bluffs searching for those elusive images that defined the concept of Boundaries of Light that told the visual story of this remarkable landscape.  Hills and boulders, calm waters and reflections, waterfalls and flowing creeks...all became subjects of the camera and lens...yet only the best light would do...and there in was the challenge...how to capture this unique landscape and stay within the Across Boundaries of Light theme.  Doing so challenged my senses, photographic eye, and patience.  Over time the collection of images grew, reaching and surpassing 1000...then 2000...and more.

As I began to build the video program one thing dictated the process...the music had to match the images.  Finding that music proved to an elusive endeavor.  It took three attempts sorting through three different soundtracks...countless hours of experimenting to find the right combination.  Putting it all together took more time than the field work.  What I did not want to do was to build what I call a simple elevator music slideshow.  This story deserved more...I wanted it to stand apart as a program that not only captured the visual beauty of this location, but one that told its story in such a way as to inspire those who see it to pursue nature photography with a passion of their own.

It was necessary to develop visual presentation techniques that took advantage of the photographic qualities.  Movement...panning left or right...zooming in or out...slowing it down when appropriate...speeding up when required...using the right blend of transitions timed with the music.  No convention was overlooked...many common rules of presentations were ignored to fit the story with the dialog of music.

Also embedded were 7 video clips to give the presentation a realistic sense of time and place.  Capturing those video clips proved a challenge in their own right.  Dozens of 30, 45, 60+ second clips were filmed...of the 7 used, all were clipped to fit the program accordingly.  The overall goal was to create a visual / musical story that defined the essence of Shanty Hollow Lake as defined by light.

It became one of the most challenging projects I've ever attempted.  It evolved into one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.  In the end I realized that this project will never really have an end.  It will be on going for many years...and I will eventually improve on and add to this program as it continues to evolve.  As I prepare to show this program for the first time, I can only realize one thing...I learned a great deal by doing this...most importantly, I learned once again, just how much work...and just how much fun photography can be.

Keith

Return to the Prairie

It stormed most of the night...typical Oklahoma storm in late April with boomers and rain...then more rain and more boomers.  By the time I arrived at the Tallgrass Prairie the next morning most of the stormy weather had moved on, but enough of it lingered in the area to provide an occasional flash of lightning and some light rain.  The overcast skies hung low and I knew the sunrise was going to be a non-event this morning...one of those that just slowly transitioned from very dark to dark gray without any real noticeable event indicating when the sun actually rose above the horizon.

I stopped at the wide spot where I on previous trips I had hiked a ways into the prairie...debated for a while whether to risk it.  To the north the storm clouds were still quite dark and the occasional bolt of lightning still ripped the air...seemed to take a full minutes for the rumble of thunder to reach where I was.  The rain was sporadic by this time...so I grabbed my gear and made the short hike to the rocky outcropping that overlooked the shallow canyon that cut into a deeper part of the landscape.  Not much drama in the sky nor across the land because of the nature of the light...but I set up camera and tripod and made at least a token attempt to capture the moment.

As I rushed around lining up one shot after another...it dawned on me that I was doing exactly the opposite of what I really wanted to do...just sit for while and enjoy the prairie morning.  So I turned off the camera and found a soft rock to sit on and did just that.  For the next few minutes I let the sounds of the prairie come to me...the fresh rain flavored breeze rushed across the terrain and swirled around me...the morning air was filled with the songs of prairie birds...and a light mist fell from the sky.  The storm clouds that swept across this landscape through the night were by now beginning to soften and smooth and the morning became a little brighter.  Even so, the calmness of that moment lasted but a short time as another flash of lightning cut the air and the corresponding boom it generated rumbled and reverberated across the rolling sea of grass signalling that it was time for a hasty retreat back to the Jeep.

My return to the prairie after two years was short lived.  That last bolt of lightning ushered in another round of rain and even darker clouds making photography difficult at best.  By mid-morning I found myself heading back knowing that more than likely, it would be another two maybe three years before I would be able to once again sit on that rocky outcropping and watch for another prairie morning come to life.  Even so, those few moments of once again feeling the life of the prairie greet a new morning seemed to lift my spirits as I was feeling rather low having experienced the loss of loved one earlier that week.

Even the darkness of an Oklahoma storm cannot dampen the refreshing nature of experiencing first light on the prairie...in many ways, it actually adds to the unique flavor of the experience.  As many times as I have sat on that rocky point and watched the prairie come to life...all of them have been unique and I remember each of them as separate moments of discovery on this amazing landscape.

Keith

Taking a Break

Hey there...I've reached a point where I need to take a break from all the writing and spend more time doing other things...so for the next month or six weeks or so I'm going to do some fishing, picture taking, a few hikes, and even work in the yard some, plus concentrate on my bill paying job more as it has been elevated into the can't keep my head above water phase.

See ya sometime maybe end of April...middle of May...have a great Spring!

Keith

It's Out There

Somewhere out there it hides ready for discovery, waiting for the right moment.  I see it every day in my mind…a vision filled with wonder and awe, where light dances across amazing moments and where time stands silent for a single breath.  I know it’s there…unseen…challenging my senses to seek it out…taunting each day as it whispers its call, ‘Not today…not yet.’

Never before has it been captured…where it lies not yet discovered.  Yet, I know it is there, and someday I will find it….just me and the moment…with camera in hand…everything will fall into place…and that which I seek will reveal itself and I know that I belong in that moment…alone with favored light, together with a moment of the heart like no other, when all the missed opportunities are again revealed in one breathless age of light that will exist in a magnificent revelation…just for my eyes…then be gone forever.

It’s out there…that one photograph like no other…that one moment in time just for me.  When…I do not know…but one thing stands for certain…I will keep searching…perfecting technique…tuning my eye…listening for its silent melody that, when it finally sings its revealing song, ‘Now…I am here’…I, will be there.

Keith

The Runestone Mystery

The smooth water-worn surface of the small flat rock was faintly etched with some kind of design…too far worn to fully visualize, but enough there to indicate that those lines could easily be thought of as not natural and must have been manmade.  The rock was maybe seven or eight inches across on the long side and five or six on the short side.  The strange etchings stirred the imaginative mind of a 10 - 11 year old boy who saw the outline of a Spanish conquistador holding a long lance as he sat high riding a horse.  

I’m not sure who actually found the rock, I believe my grandfather found it along one of the many creeks that run through the hills of southeastern Oklahoma, and the 50 plus years since that time has blurred my memory enough to where I can barely visualize the image…but to the best of my recollection, that is the way I remember it.  The moment my grandfather pulled the rock out of the filing cabinet and handed it to me, my world was changed.  It became one of those moments where science and history became one in my young, still exploring mind.  It stimulated an interest in both of those subjects that has yet to subside, and I even today find such things interesting and thought provoking. 

I’m not sure what happened to that old rock.  Some years later, a devastating flood engulfed that small community of Wister Oklahoma, not once but twice within a few years, as a result along with age, my grandparents retired from the business they had owned and operated for many years.  It must have been lost and I vaguely remember my grandmother saying that she gave it to the curator of a local historical society/museum…I hope that is what happened to it and it may yet today be sitting inside a collection drawer someplace.

It was at that time I first learned about a place called “The Heavner Runestone”.  Heavner is a small community maybe 20 miles to the south and east of Wister and is surrounded by large rolling hills…mountains the locals call them…Poteau Mountain being one of the more dominant.  On the flanks of Poteau Mountain deep within a horseshoe shaped ravine a large monolithic stone stands 12 feet wide, 10 feet high, and 16 inches thick.  Across the face of this tombstone like structure are carved 8 runic style inscriptions each deeply carved into the extremely hard surface of the stone yet heavily weathered through untold ages of time.


 Gloria Farley (http://www.midwesternepigraphic.org/heavener01.html ) of Heavner spent many years researching this oddity and was instrumental in getting the Runestone protected as a park. Throiugh her research and others, the writings suggest they were made by Viking explorers. The Runestone has been known to exist for about 200 years first being identified back in the early 1800’s by local indigenous Indians.

They have been identified as an ancient Nordic script that are designed as a cryptic multi-meaning message and interpreted as a date in one sense:  November 11, 1012, A.D

  

…and also as a land claim:  Glome's Valley

Another more recent explanation comes from a Dr. Lee W. Woodard (http://heavener-runestone.com) who researched the expeditions of Rene Robert Cavelier de La Salle who made a couple of excursions into the area back in 1686 -1687.  La Salle , along with several others in his party, was eventually murdered in 1687 by a mutinous crew.  Current historical reference places that event in Eastern Texas, but Dr. Woodard’s research indicates that it more than likely actually took place near where the Runestone is located in southeastern Oklahoma.  He believes, and makes a very strong case for, that the Runestone was actually carved by a talented French linguist named Jimmy Hiens of La Salles ill fated 1687 expedition and points out many compelling facts to support that theory. 


I've also heard of another interpretation that indicates the runes are a marker for a burial site, possibly Viking in nature.  Indeed there is evidence of collapsed underground chambers near the runestone...to my knowledge no one has ever tried to excavate or research if anything was there.

Poteau Mountain

Regardless of where it came from, its historical significance is of a high value.  Today a protective building surrounds the Runestone, but when I first saw the stone it was surrounded by a simple chain-link fence and you could see it as it appeared in its natural surroundings.  I was captivated by it and imagined seeing someone standing there for what must have been hours carving those inscriptions by hand into the diamond hard surface of this gigantic stone standing like a monolith at the base of a ravine.  When I discovered that other such stones had also been discovered in the area…all quite smaller...my imagination went through the roof believing that someday I could find such a marker.  I never did.

Who carved them?  Why were they carved?  What true ancient message is it trying to say to us today?  Those are questions that time alone will answer…maybe never.  Even so, fifty years after first discovering this fascinating relic of ancient history, I am as captivated by its story as I was as a young boy.  It’s one of those growing up moments that became pivotal in shaping the thoughts and dreams of one so young.  Even so, I suppose there are things we will never understand completely...maybe its just as well, because an imagination is far more  valuable and certainly more enjoyable to have.

Keith

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...