I've had a recent and sudden inspiration, many thanks to Marti Jeffers. Basically, this is a new approach of seeing the world in shapes, lines, and colors through the technique of motion blur.
The above shot was taken while I was walking. I also panned the camera upwards a bit during the exposure.
This photo above was taken during high winds. I held the camera nearly still for the exposure.
The fungus covered tree is an interesting one that I see every time that I walk. I'm becoming familiar now with almost every tree and bush along the path.
The path is marked with posts every quarter mile. Above the engraved numbers are little red hearts. This post is weathered pretty well.
I spent 10 days away from home to be involved in a photography workshop in Big Bend. I assisted Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers in a TME (The Mindful Eye) workshop.
More images will come although slowly. I have a lot of work ahead to catch up on things!
I've not been too focused on photography lately. My mind has wandered a lot during the past two walks, and I've not concentrated much on seeing and discovering things that I want to shoot.
But that is the purpose of this photo-walk project. The more I do it, the more accustomed I am to seeing and photographing, and the easier it becomes for me to slip into a meaningful and productive photographic process (and get to my happy place).
I'm hoping to get out today too, especially since the weather is still really nice here. I'm about to head into a period of about three weeks where I won't get much opportunity to go walk in the reservoir.
Once again I was startled by a cottonmouth right next to the paved trail. I didn't even see it until it had flipped around and was quickly wiggling away. I missed getting a shot. Shortly later, I came across a rather large one stretched across the pavement. It also took off quick but then paused in the grass next to the trail.
This walk is actually from late last week, a full four weeks since walk #25. I'm always disappointed when I have gaps in time like that, and I always have several excuses (but honestly there's a bit of laziness mixed in there too).
I should be walking a bunch this week since we're in a period of dry, cool weather. But I'm busy with chores at home and two big photo-related projects that have been taking a lot of my time lately. I'm done with one now (updating my website) and just about done with the other. More about that later :-)
I walked right up to this cottonmouth sitting in the grass alongside the trail. It perked its head up and looked at me as I approached absent minded and unaware. I jumped back and raised my camera all in one motion.
It quickly decided to leave, so the shot is of the snake headed away from me, and that was a good thing.
Big Bend is still an ongoing project for me, and it is definitely my favorite location to visit and photograph. I'll be headed out there again in almost two weeks.
During this next trip, I will be a second assistant to Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers (The Mindful Eye) on their workshop. I'm greatly looking forward to spending more time in the Big Bend area as well as being part of the TME workshop.
1 The website address now has its own domain name: http://www.thomasjavery.com
The old Texbrick address still works, but will point to the new domain name if you visit it.
2 Major update in content and structure.
I have decided to focus my website on my major photography projects. I think they contain my best work, and I want to feature them rather than have them lost in a sea of bigger content as before.
I will continue to work on all four projects, and I will update their webpages as I generate new content.
If you spot any bugs or errors on the new site, please let me know! Thanks!
My wife and I had a nice trip to Big Bend National Park over Labor Day weekend. Photos and reports from this trip will come soon as I'm still in the process of editing.
Other "life" activities and happenings have been getting in the way, including a bad cold and sinus infection. Staring at a computer monitor is the last thing I want to do when I have a throbbing, pounding, ice-pick-in-my-forehead headache!
Stay tuned, there's more ahead. Hopefully I can resume my normal photo-walks very soon.
If you're not familiar with this project, please read my first post that described the project's scope:
www.texbrick.com/photo/blog/?p=179
Earthworm and leaf:
1. How to See
This is subjective, but I feel that I'm learning how to see (as opposed to just "looking"). When I walk and look at things, I feel a deeper connection, i.e. a heightened sense of observation and detail awareness.
I wouldn't declare "I see now!" in an absolute sense, but I'm getting better at it. I just feel so much more aware of my surroundings.
What it all means is that it seems much easier for me to find interesting things to photograph (and sometimes, there seems to be too many things :-)
Vine detail:
2. The Value of Practice
One of the main purposes of this project was to keep my photographic skills maintained over time. It's worked.
I've done several "serious" photo-outings in the past five months, and I've noticed that my practice (the photo-walks) have made a difference. I've found it so much easier to get into "photo-mode" and enjoy photographing AND produce photos that I'm satisfied with.
The path:
3. Repetitive Subject Matter
Projects usually involve shooting the same subject matter repeatedly. The benefit is that as you become more familiar with things, you usually produce better and more meaningful photos.
I've done other photography projects and realize this benefit. However, these photo-walks have been in an area that I would describe as difficult (i.e. it gets very repetitive and somewhat boring).
What I've found is that despite the apparent difficulty, I always find new and interesting things to photograph. It's the same old scenes in the same old area, walk after walk, but it has not been boring. Instead of feeling like the subject matter has become repetitive, I've felt that each walk goes deeper and beyond the previous in terms of finding interesting things that grab my attention and that I want to photograph.
Water crossing:
4. When to Stop
Knowing when to stop and take a photograph has always been a difficult thing for me. Usually, I get into so much of a rush that I pass up interesting things.
During my walks, especially the earlier ones, I've forced myself to stop. Over time, this practice has helped me develop a sense and an "eye" for things that interest me and that I should stop to photograph.
Dinner!:
5. Difficult Subject Matter
As I mentioned before, this area (the trail through the Addicks Reservoir), is filled with low, dense, cluttered woods and is a place that I think most folks would describe as fairly un-photogenic. The trees are small and thick, it's hot and humid, there are tons of mosquitoes (and snakes and spiders too), it's totally flat, and there are really no wide, open spaces providing expansive views. Nearly everyone who goes out there is just there to exercise and seems completely unaware of their surroundings.
I've lived in this area for over 10 years and have only recently given thought to doing "serious" photography in the reservoir. Now that I have, I can see the beauty and potential. It's every bit as good as any other natural area. It's different, for sure, but still as grand.
And that's probably the biggest benefit or rather realization. It's not really something that I've learned so much as something that I've come to appreciate as my mind has opened up to the possibilities.
At the end of each walk, I feel refreshed and a sense of having communicated and related to nature and the beauty in the natural world. It's about as good as being in a "grand, beautiful" landscape, like that found in our national parks and other such scenic locations. It's different, but awesome.
It shall continue...
I've walked another set of 3-days-in-a-row. I'm debating on whether or not to walk tonight. My knees are killing me!
Dragonfly. It's what's for dinner:
These were the first snakes I've seen in several months:
Dragonfly:
Some photographers embrace it and some avoid it. Some show the effects of man in a pleasant way and others don't.
I feel like I'm ignoring it sometimes, but then I have to fulfill my vision by photographing what attracts me.
This could turn into a very long discussion :-)
I tried a motion blur in attempts to abstract two main things that I find attractive: the slender trunks of the trees and the green light from the canopy. I think I like it.
Some motion overhead caught my attention as I walked along the trail. It was a cicada caught in a banana spider's web.
As if on cue, a plane flew through the scene as I photographed it.
On the return, I got caught in a very heavy downpour. Fortunately I had taken along two little water resistant stuff-sacks to protect my phone and camera, but the rest of me went for a swim.
Yesterday's walk was a break from the usual direct sunlight and massive heat. Temperatures were a good 8 degrees cooler and cloud cover gave me shade the whole way. It was almost pleasant, although I won't be calling my walks full-blown pleasant until after the first few cold fronts later this year :-)
This scene (above) caused a lot of thought and emotion to surface. That's all I'll say about that ;-)
I came across a banana spider working hard to rebuild her web. It had just been hit by a small branch knocked out of the tree above.
The large, colorful banana spiders are the females. The smaller ones (not pictured here) are the males. And they're so much smaller that they look like intruders on their mate's webs. In effect, they are and typically get eaten after mating. Glad I'm not a spider.
