An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.”
Thomas Merton
I’m heading north for Colorado and home. Will drive through Arches National Park on the way and scout things out. Maybe we can have a meet-up there.
“What day is it?”
It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne
I decided to stay one more day and head back tomorrow. So this morning I headed out to meet the rising sun and was greeted by a choir of birds and one lone howling coyote.
At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands before our camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect–a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known. – Robert Adams
Early one morning my dad and I waited to see if the covey of quail would make an appearance and scamper across his back yard. Well, they did not show up but I did get a photo of the cactus back lit by the morning sun. This is one of my favorite times of the day.
It was still pretty dark when I arrived along Peralta Trail and stars sparkling in the clear skies. After turning off the engine I was surrounded by an eerie quiet. All my senses were perked. Shortly before sunrise I was greeted with the yelping of coyotes and the songs of the cactus wren. The desert was awakening. I looked compositions that would show the rugged terrain along with the plant life of this desert region. Seems like my eyes were constantly roaming. I was not sure exactly where the sun would rise but had a good guess. I felt lucky to be where I was with the ocotillo and the saguaro as the sun began breaking the horizon. This was the reason I woke up early.
When I arrived at my parents house I noticed my tripod head had come apart and some of it was missing. So when this image was taken I was clamping my camera to the head with a c-clamp and watching it like a hawk. We found the missing part the next day as it had fallen off when I get out the car in my dads garage. All is better now. 🙂
“There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that’s impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants.” – Arnold Newman
That’s exactly what happened here. I saw this woman sitting on a bench under this bell tower and thought it would make a good image. Just as I raised the camera she stood up and started walking towards me. Without really thinking, which I do a lot, I took one image. I’m actually pleased with this image even if it was taken by the seat of my pants.
There are times when a telephoto lens comes in handy, like images of a saguaro cactus. 🙂
If you notice the hats are all on the smaller cactus and it’s pretty easy to figure out why. Not sure i’d want to climb up beside the saguaro and put a hat on top. When I ponder it for while, I’m not sure I would attempt to put any hats on any cactus. A Christmas tree seems far safer. Poor “tall” saguaro!