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| Boondocking with the Raven in the Harquahala Mountains AZ |
Well, I’m happy to report
that the first solo mission in the Raven came off without a hitch. I
thought it would be a good idea to get comfortable with the new rig in a
familiar, close-by environment, so I headed for the Harquahala Mountains, about
an hour from home.
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| Unconventional light, Harquahala Mountains AZ |
It’s been a while, and I’d
forgotten how good solo boondocking is for clearing my mind. I got
thinking about how crowded some of the famous photo spots have gotten over the
last decade or so. Largely, this has to do with the Instagram
syndrome. For me, the crush of humanity makes the time I spend
in nature much less pleasant.
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| Tortured trees, Humboldt County CA |
So lately I’ve been
seeking out quiet places and just wandering around to see what I might stumble
upon (figuratively, most of the time.) I choose what I think will be
(photographic) target-rich environments and end up shooting more of the
quieter, smaller scenes that have lately come to be called intimate landscapes.
Not only can I avoid throngs of people, but I’m much less likely to make an
image that we’ve all seen many times before.
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| Chollas reaching warp speed, Harquahala Mountains AZ |
Another path to creativity
in these quiet places is to ask the “What if” questions that Coleen Miniuk
talked about in her last “Dear
Bubbles” post. It’s good to color
outside the lines sometimes. Here's one example; an image of cholla cactus with backlight. I moved the camera during the exposure just
to see what would happen. They look to
me as if they’re accelerating to warp speed.
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| Soft light and fog, Clear Lake CA |
Sometimes I wonder whether
I’m missing something, or whether I should be following the
crowd. Then I remember the peace and creativity that comes with
stumbling and I carry on.
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| Color in the fog, Sonoma County CA |
So, I posted some examples
from the last month or so here for fun. More from the winter shoots so far are
in the current Winter Gallery
on the website.
