Intention

Sunset over Bluebonnets, Muleshoe Bend Texas

“Look and you will find it - what is unsought will go undetected.” -Sophocles

The plan hatched around the total solar eclipse.  Gwen lives outside Waco, right on the totality line cutting across Texas.  Amy and I flew in from opposite sides of the country and the three of us had 4 days to shoot together, planning to also chase other photogenic things. My eclipse images (I’ll share one below) are no better than most, but the trip was worthwhile for that experience alone.

 

Coneflower Portrait

There was also considerable icing on the cake: flowers, wildlife, and the odd bits of local kitsch.

I found that when we talked about what we wanted to photograph, often half-joking, as often as not we got what we asked for.  If I were more new-age, I might call that manifesting.

 

Greater Roadrunner, Reynold's Creek Texas

The best example was the roadrunners, which we wanted to shoot in a Bluebonnet field.  Once we started looking, they kept showing up.  So exciting.

 

Counterpoint, Muleshoe Bend Texas

Flowers were everywhere, and eventually I tired of the endless fields of Bluebonnets.  I started looking for counterpoints, like the Huisache Daisy punctuating this field, or beautiful oak trees to create background, like the header image.

 

Blue Truck Ranch (really!) Texas

There were so many roadside finds as we adopted the strategy of setting an intention, then taking the long way to our destination along smaller roads and paying attention.  We ran into old vehicles in the flowers…

 

Texas Longhorn at rest

…Longhorns,

 

Photogenic Texas Horse

…Horses, and…

 

Spring Mix, Inks Lake Texas

…Vast fields of mixed flowers in what amounted to glorified roadside ditches.

 

Speaking of good fortune, we were sure we’d miss the eclipse, because the forecast, even just a couple of hours prior, called for 100% cloud cover.  There were some clouds, but we saw just about the whole thing.  This was my first, and I was struck by the darkness, cacophony from the crickets, and the cheer which came up all around us at totality.

 

Great Horned Owl, Lacy Point Texas

The three of us make a good team (maybe together we have one good brain), sharing navigation, spotting, technical reminders (“time to put your solar filter back on”) and gearhead things like a sensor cleaning demonstration. Gwen had gotten some great tips from local wildlife photographer Brian Boyd, without whom the Great Horned Owl shoot and the Roadrunner hunt would have been nearly impossible.

 

Louis Pasteur’s thought that “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind” is likely true, but sometimes it’s just better to be lucky than good.

 

More from the trip is in the Spring 2024 Gallery on the website.