Monthly Archives: December 2015
Real Life Intrudes
At first this trail seemed like it was heading into a pristine wilderness.
But then, suddenly, it wasn’t.
Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico
photographed 6.30.2014
Shot through
I almost never delete an image. (Yes, that does require a LOT of storage.)
But here’s a good example of why I hang on to them. I made this image nearly three and half years ago; I was trying to photograph the way the water from the lawn sprinklers looked in the sun; when I made the images, none of them came out the way I wanted them to. There is a very good chance this was because I wasn’t all that sure about what I was doing. But I kept them: you just never know.
And then I spotted this while I was looking at some older stuff. Now, let me be the first to say that this still isn’t quite what I wanted to get. But, in a way, it’s better that what I thought I was after. The way that water is shot across the image and the way it obscures some of the markers are things I didn’t notice when I made the image. Or any of the other times since then that I’ve looked at it. It took until now for my eye to see what’s been there all along.
And that’s why I don’t delete images: because I have slow eyes.
Weaverville Cemetery
Weaverville, California
photographed 8.3.2012
The effect of salt air
The buildings out toward the end of the pier show what happens to wood and paint in salt air: ongoing maintenance.
San Clemente Pier
San Clemente, California
photographed 1.8.2015
Surf Lace
I was at a conference earlier this year with my two very patient co-workers. They pretended not to even mind very much while I stood under the pier and made, say, thirty or forty images of water smacking into the pilings. I have a great job!
San Clemente Pier
San Clemente, California
photographed 1.8.2015
Down by the water
First of all, where I am from the term “river” does not necessarily imply “water.” So the idea that a river has enough water to have tides? That sort of messed with me. And this river has high tides, as it’s on the famous Bay of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world.
And the other thing is that this reminded me of a song. You know the song I mean – Down by the Water by the Decemberists.
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
photographed 7.27.2015
One Day | One Image 