I spent most of the past week up in the northwestern part of Wisconsin near Lake Superior on a photo excursion and am just now going through the digital darkroom processes of editing and finalizing the photographic results. While digital images are the obvious results of such a trip, educational and emotional stimulation are probably the bigger consequences of such an excursion. So, what have I learned from the trip???
1) Amnicon State Park is a real find (which is the location of the above image).
2) It takes me at least a day to settle in to a rhythm and become comfortable with the surroundings, which also includes scouting areas that are unfamiliar.
3) There seem to be certain subjects that I am much more comfortable with. There's a big DUH!
4) Clarity of vision is still a big hurdle and is an ongoing educational process for me.
5) Being away from the comfortable surroundings of my home base is a great task master and mind expander.
6) Pre-trip planning is a real time saver. Another big DUH!
7) I wouldn't want to work for me!
While the editing process is so important and one of the hardest concepts for many young photographers to deal with, even at my age and experience I still find myself looking at a digital capture and wondering "what the heck was I thinking when I took this shot?". From my experience in talking with prominent instructors at workshops, I get the impression that this is a life long dragon that shows it's ugly head on many occasions, but as long as one realizes that it's part of the process of improving ones craft it need not keep a person awake at night...although "the ones that got away" usually will.
One of the most important things that I deal with is clarity of vision, or trying to convey a beautiful scene that is in front of me. Some of this relates to the fact that the camera lens is a two dimensional "eye" while our eye sees in three dimensions, or at least that's what our brains tells us. But it's more than just a physical, or ocular vision. To me what makes a nature image really successful is the emotion of place that it conveys. This is when school is really in session and those that learn to impart the "sense of place" in a photographic image begin to move from the ranks of amateurs with visual statements that we never tire of viewing.
As stated above, the first day, at least, was an exercise in getting my creative processes going, but what really seemed remarkable to me is that once I stepped on the forest floor at Amnicon State Park things began to fall into place. The smells, sounds and geography combined to make it a place of real peace and inspiration. As it turned out I spent 2 mornings and 2 evenings shooting in this area and during each of these periods there was always something new to discover, largely because of changing light and better tuned vision.
Finally, after spending 5 days getting up and on the road by 4am and not getting back to my sleeping bag until 11pm, I found myself thinking "Good Lord, I wouldn't want to work for me!" It's not that the points of interest were so far away, but I wanted to be at these places at pre-dawn and also way past sunset so I could enjoy the absolute prime light. During two morning sessions I was gifted with some fog to really make life interesting. During the harsh light of the afternoon I put miles on the pickup scoping out other locations and wildflower areas that I could add to the shooting schedule.
Through all of this wonderful photographic wandering I was blessed with several bear sightings, all of them lumbering across the hi-way, skittering foxes, a coyote, some Piliated Woodpeckers, and the best of best, the howling of a couple of wolves at wake-up early one morning. While paper plates and canned beans were the cuisine of the day, the ambiance was exquisite.
Here's to the "School Of Hard Knocks"!
Other sites of my work:
A Piece Of Work Gallery, Spirit Lake, Iowa http://www.apieceofworkinc.com/alcove_3.php
Art On 16th, Spirit Lake, Iowa 712.330.6007
Art Of The Vine Gallery http://www.artofthevinegallery.com/
Artisans Road Trip http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/index.htm
BetterPhoto.com http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V1
CR Gallery, Milford, Iowa 712.338.4155
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