My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Sunset at Fremont Lake near Pinedale, Wyoming – July 2003
Gonna make a short road trip to a place just outside of West Yellowstone where my friends Duane and Jan are working in an RV park. Leaving this morning and be back on Tuesday evening. Planning on staying a couple nights at Fremont Lake near Pinedale, Wyoming then head to Montana Saturday morning. Last time I was there was 2003 shooting with my new Nikon D100. It was part of a trip I made up to Seattle to visit my sister and brother-in-law. Expecting to be offline for a few days. Hold down the fort!
God, grant me the serenity to accept the scenes I cannot change, courage to change the scenes I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I have been praying the Serenity Prayer every morning before my feet hit the floor for a few years now. The prayer is about three basic things: serenity (acceptance), courage (to change) and wisdom. I’ve become aware that I’ve been using this prayer in my photography without realizing it, but with a slight twist. I would suggest you may also. Let me explain using these two images.
I noticed this scene while driving along County Road 19. I knew from the get-go I was not going to have the image I wanted because of the close proximity of the house and tree. I wanted the sun setting behind the tree without the house but with the tree more towards the center. Wasn’t gonna happen in this scene. A couple extreme options were…
I could burn the house down but there would be court dates to deal with and I didn’t think the image would be worth the outta pocket expenses. Another option was to move the tree but I didn’t have a chainsaw for that task, nor the time. I don’t know about you but I seldom carry a chainsaw in my camera bag. Or I could….
… accept the scene as it is. So, I began by changing my expectations. The image I wanted when I first saw this scene I was not going to get. But, here is what I could do. I could work with my exposure, making sure it was what I wanted. I had my 70-300mm zoom on my camera because I had been photographing pronghorn antelope a few minutes earlier. So, I took a half dozen images, cropping at various focal lengths with and without the house in it. Again, I had little time to decide before the sun set.
I’ve been shooting long enough to know that I will not always come home with a keeper. I’m comfortable with that knowledge and therefore do not get as frustrated and lose my (serenity). I knew I could accept the scene as it is, aware I may trash all of them later (courage). Of course this is much easier today with digital than film days (more courage). I also knew that I was there to witness this gift of nature and store this scene in that place Mary Oliver calls the “kingdom we call remembrance.” I also know there would be other opportunities to come (wisdom).
After bringing the images home I found a couple that worked for me. The top image is without a crop and includes the house. It turned out better than I envisioned. I find it quite acceptable. The second image is the same image but with the house cropped out. Having the tree as far to the edge of the frame really did not take away from what I first saw. Shows you what I know. Both images are acceptable to me. If you are so inclined please let me know which image you like better. And, what experiences have you like this?
Just for fun, and because Tom stirred the pot, I went back and looked at other images I took to see if I include the whole house. I did and like them as well. I also did not realize how I must have moved along the road in my attempt to eliminate the house because this image has the sun on the opposite side of the tree.
… from yesterday evening: Now at RRNA. Silence. 8:05 pm. Nice and cool after the earlier rain. Love the smell of the wet grass in the meadow. Refreshing. Almost no birds to be heard or seen, but hear a distant blackbird and a killdeer. Love this sky. This is where I enjoy being. ❤️ More settled in my thoughts and soul when I’m here. I cannot run from life. No one can but this place is close. No wind! The sun has set and the light is fading. Two does and two fawns come up through the meadow, cross the parking lot towards the lake. My sisters. Pelikans drift on the lake. See some pink in the clouds. It is a good end to this day. Do not want to leave.
“When I close my eyes and wait for my heartbeat to match the drum, I envision people recognizing, for perhaps the first time, dazzling gifts of the world, seeing them with new eyes, just as they teeter on the cusp of undoing. Maybe just in time. Or maybe too late.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, from the Epilogue
I’ve finished Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book called Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s been a while since a book has captivated me, educated me, moved me to tears, laughter and anger but left me with a desire to start rereading as soon as I finished. I found much enlightenment about nature that I was never taught in school or don’t remember or my focus was on the ballgame after school.
Kimmerer said she wrote the book because, “I wanted readers to understand that Indigenous knowledge and Western science are both powerful ways of knowing, and that by using them together we can imagine a more just and joyful relationship with the Earth.” She explains how Indigenous people know a nature different than we do, most of that gained from reading the book of nature. That has stirred me to want to read more of this book of nature which means spending more time with her. Highly recommend the book.
On Tuesday I posted a photo from Reservoir Ridge Natural Area that looked southwest. I mentioned that behind me was Claymore Lake. This is an image of Claymore Lake taken just after the other image as the sun gave us this starburst kiss before dropping behind the horizon and offering the stars to shine on us. The beauty found here, without the hand of man disrupting, is why I come here. Nature lures me here by speaking to a place within me.
“I began to trust the questions themselves to lead me beyond answers to understanding, beyond practice to faith”
Joan Chittister
There was a time in my life when I felt lost, confused…looking for answers. I had no desire to get up in the morning and face another day. Thankfully I’ve moved on from that place and time. I’ve discovered the answers are not as important to me anymore, but the questions are. I continue to search out more questions which leads me to some understanding which leads to more questions. I began to trust in just asking the questions. I lost interest in the answers and embraced the understanding needed to ask the next question. Does that make sense?
“Our role in life is to bring the light of our own souls to the dim places around us.”
Joan Chittister
I have met people who shine outward. It can be seen in their eyes, smile and body language. I have witnessed the robins also shine brightly as they sing from a perch nearby. I have witnessed the sun peeking through clouds bringing sunbeams that brighten our souls. Oh, that I also may bring a light to the dim places around me.
Horses graze as the sun sets behind old Cottonwood trees along Overland Trail
I watch the sun set behind cottonwood trees while the blue sky opens to the coming darkness of night. The long shadows of the sun stretch over the pasture as my feathered friends sing their last chorus of the day. I’m filled with gratitude as this day comes to an end full of hope for the new day tomorrow.
According to the National Invasive Species Information Center an “invasive species” is a species that is: 1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and, 2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Another definition of invasive species, and my favorite, is from Wikipedia, “An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated with and harms its new environment.” You can do your own research but they all say basically the same thing.
In these two images you can see the harm done to the environment by an invasive species. I am standing in approximately the same location in both images but a year a part. Top image taken in June 2021 and the bottom image in June 2022. Those beautiful cottonwood trees I enjoyed seeing and photographing in the top image, have been removed. The green lush field is now barren dirt, piles of gravel/sand and about to have sewer lines, water lines buried underground then covered with concrete and cement. Gone.
I am saddened because earth movers are in the process of destroying complete ecosystems and calling it development. Sorry to differ but it’s called destruction. They both start with the letter “D” but that’s about as close as they get. I will boldly say housing is an environmental issue with its roots solidly based in money! Where we build housing says a lot about our views on and treatment of the land on which we live. And, I would suggest that those developers do not live in this sort of neighborhood. Nor do they care about the debt people will be getting into so they can increase their financial wealth. But more importantly the increases in housing density and associated development on rural forest lands and even farming practices has been linked to numerous changes to private forest services across watersheds, including decreases in native wildlife; changes in forest health, reduced water quality and availability. And, I’ve not even started with the impact of the maintenance of this infrastructure, environmentally and economically in years to come.
If I go with the definition by Wikipedia then the major invasive species I know is: humans. Interesting how man makes a list of invasive species such as thistle, bindweed, Zebra mussels, garlic mustard and the list goes on, but arrogantly leaves himself off the list. We have had people shouting warnings for years but many humans ignore it. Here’s a simple post by our friend Joe at JWSmithPhoto about this very thing.
Now that I’ve spent a few days writing and rewriting this post, I’ve uncovered how I really feel and discovered that I’m not just sad but I’m also pissed!
Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.
bright light of sun spread across the open field cloudless blue sky
warm rays of sun spread across the open field insects everywhere
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Rant Warning: Seems 95% of the drivers in Fort Collins, and maybe the whole state, drive over the speed limit. The other 5% are behind me and they’re pissed. 😁
