All We Are is Dust in the Wind….

Dust in the Wind :: CT

 

Star trails over a still pond on a quiet summer night.

Nerdy stuff: About 5-6 stacked shots for the sky, one long exposure for the foreground.  Foreground Image EXIF of 175 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 320, 11mm

Flow: The Art of Waterscapes

It’s here!  Want to get your hands on a FREE e-lookbook (loaded with purty photos and tips to help you get started on your own waterscapes)?

The best part??  Everyone who downloads their PDF copy of Flow: The Art of Waterscapes is automatically entered into a drawing for a FREE PRINT!  The drawing will happen on December 4 (next week) so don’t wait!

Want an extra chance to win?  Reblog this post and I’ll put your name in the drawing a second time.  I mean think about it…  I give you a free gift, you spend a second to share this awesome offer with your friends and followers, and I potentially give you another gift that you can possibly (probably?) re-gift to your Mom!  Do deals get any sweeter than this??  It’s like Black Friday x 1000.  Minus the crowds and fist fights over a TV and set of fuzzy pajamas with feets.

The holidays came early, folks!  By, like, a day. haha  But still.  This is my way of giving thanks to all of you for being so dang supportive of David and I this year, with the release of our first full length (hilarious) educational photo book, “Photography. DUH.”.
Because really, you guys rock.  For serious. ❤

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 🙂

The Light Lingers

Painted Fire :: NH

The light lingers, colors of fire and gold painting the hills, caressing the world in one final embrace.

The Natural Metaphor

Our Rain Song

This is the springtime of my loving – the second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing – so little warmth I’ve felt before.

I recently read an interesting article about appreciating your life’s journey.  Attaining a goal is great… the accolades, the rewards, the what-have-yous…are all a nice way to recognize your efforts, but ultimately, it’s the experiences that led us to that goal that we remember.  It is the struggles and the obstacles that shape us.  The meaning of life is found on the path, not at the destination.

As I edited and titled…or rather, tried to title this and ultimately asked Sean for help (an homage to Zepplin, for those of you wondering)…this image, I thought about the day that it was captured.

This beautiful pond is 2.2 miles up a mountain trail in Vermont.  The hike is moderately difficult, with enough sweating and straining to make me tired at the end of it.  As if the terrain wasn’t enough of a challenge, we also faced some bad weather…about 0.1 miles from the pond, the sky opened up on us.  It was a strange mixture of rain and hail, and it sent most of my hiking group scrambling for cover.

As we stood there in the rain/hail, I pulled out my camera and tried to make the most of the moment photographically.  There were some great foreground elements, and a beautiful scene before me…but the light was flat, the clouds all boiled into one undefined mass and my lens was covered in magical, un-wipe-off-able water drops. haha  Even as the rain/hail passed, I couldn’t seem to get a good shot.  The compositions seemed off, the light still wasn’t dynamic and my group wanted to finish the last little bit of the hike to the summit…  In short, a lot of struggle for not much payoff.

I packed in my camera and followed the group, trying not to let myself worry too much about the photos I hadn’t taken.  After all, it wasn’t about the images.  It was about spending the day with Sean and my friends, about conquering the trail, getting in shape, enjoying my time in nature and relaxing.

By the time we finished enjoying the view at the top, I felt better.  I had let go the photo-anxiety of a missed shot and let myself live in the moment.

As we made our way back down the mountain, I realized I had dropped my hiking stick (a must with my knees) when I originally stopped at the shore, so I took the short side trail back to the pond to recover it.  As I came around the curve of the trail, I felt it.  That serendipitous moment.  The sky, the light, the reflection on the pool of water in front of the pond…  Everything was perfect.  I knew this photo would be something special.

We struggle, we cope, we mature emotionally, we learn to appreciate the journey… and in that moment… everything comes together for us.  Quite the metaphor for life.

Well done, Mama Nature…well done.