My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
I watched these clouds forming for several miles as I drove along Indian Route 13 on the Navajo Nation Reservation. I’m not sure the exact place I stopped but it just got the best of me. I had to stop. Couldn’t help myself. What beauty we are given in nature!
I am a fan of open vistas, sunrises and sunsets. Needless to say this area down here supplies all of them. I will be heading back to Colorado this coming Saturday morning and should arrive Sunday afternoon. I am a bit disappointed in not seeing as much outside of this area but there will be other opportunities.
Since arriving in the Phoenix area, I’ve made 3 trips to visit my parents in Gold Canyon. A couple weeks ago I was shocked to see the condition of the golf course in their community. The grass that was green the week before now looked like it was dying, and it was. So, what happened?
I walked over to the golf course to see about finding some images of the moonrise but clouds prevented didn’t allow those images. But, as many “good photographers” know we must also look behind us and in this case the lingering sunset is what was being given me. This is a jpg file exposure and tone adjustments then cropped to 16:9. The exposure settings were 30s at f22 with an ISO 200. Hand held.
Just kidding. 🙂
Never underestimate your own strength.
You were born for a purpose and are blessed with the power to achieve it.
They tell me down here that they are liking this beginning of winter and the cooler temperatures. Yes the 65 degree mornings are nice but, man, it quickly gets up to 95. This Colorado lad has to rethink this. Since, I am somewhat intelligent, and please don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise, I try and get my walk in before 10:00 am. In doing so those shadows I discover are spectacular. So, again it was shadows I was seeing this morning.
“What is at the core of my work is, in essence, a mediation on being a human being.”
Eli Reed
Anyone from Colorado uses an umbrella when it rains. But, folks down here use then when the sun is shinning. You can probably guess how the colors and patterns shouted out to me. I asked permission and walked around looking for a composition. This is what I liked the best but not the image I expected to find. Goes to show you how much I think I think I know.
I do not have a grill back in Colorado at my condo because of a city fire code. Anyway, now that I’m house sitting I have been able to use my brother-in-law’s grill, twice. Last night it was spicy sausages. 🙂
While things were cooking I was drawn to the neighbors back yard and the little fountain they had. The scene was beckoning me to grab my camera, step over near their wall, kneel down, compose and press the shutter. To me it represents the life people live down here.
Let me tell you, I am not used to this heat at night. Back in Colorado we cool down at night, but not here. It can still be 85-90 when I go to bed. It would take some adjustment for me to live here.
Oh, and in case you care to know, the sausages were Awesome!
I was given this image on Peralta Trail near my parents home this morning. After getting back home my dad made a breakfast scramble. He and I are heading for a mocha now. A good way to start the day.
“A photograph is neither taken or seized by force.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you.
One must not take photos.”
When someone sees me with a camera I am quite often asked if I have “taken” any good “pitchers” today. I find that difficult to answer. First, I carry a camera as if it is a part of me, a creative tool. I only compose and press the shutter button when an image appears. My belief in that grows more and more each day. One of my tasks in life is to have a camera with me and to be present and observe. I must see with my eyes and the eyes of my heart and soul. And, there are days when I never press my shutter button, most likly because I was not present.
Secondly, what I consider a good image may not be good to someone else. If Cartier-Bresson is correct then a photograph given to me has a purpose of nurturing my soul and change something within me. And for me the beauty of this is the desire to share some of these images with you, whether they are liked or not.
Thanks for listening. Monte