“We need to learn to be strong in the face of despair, because that is the only way we will appreciate the strength that can be found in our scars. That is the only way we will understand that overcoming our obstacles gives us the willpower to deal with so much more in life. That is the only way we will accept that strength is earned, not given, that strength is in being soft, not stone-hearted.” -Ruby Dahl
These are challenging times. We are a country divided, with both empathy and discord thrown by the wayside. But we cannot move forward with hardened hearts. That way danger lies.
Despite our differences, we have more in common with each other than not. Our ideas on how to provide for ourselves and our families may be different, but we look toward the same goals.
There can be no room for hate and divisive rhetoric if we want to move forward as one nation, where all men and women are created equal, and given the same respect and opportunities. We must listen to our neighbors. Empathize with their struggles. Realize we are all in this together. Stop being fooled into thinking our fellow man is our enemy, and look at what our goals are and how we can collectively get there.
In this season of increasingly aggressive political attacks, take a step back from the emotional tribalism and think rationally about where our country is headed (looking at the scope of human history for context), and how you imagine your children’s future on all levels–their ability to find work and support themselves, their access to health care, their ability to exercise their rights under the constitution, their emotional health, the state of the environment and if it will continue to support future generations…. Talk to people outside of your echo chamber and get their perspective. Think about the progress our country has made in recognizing people’s civil rights while also understanding growth is fluid and can backslide. There are still flaws, but we should always look forward with the goal of a brighter future. Do the work to educate yourself, rather than relying on vitriol and memes. *Then* cast your vote.
The day before had been dreary. Foggy. Damp. But eventually, the sun shines again. ❤
A wonderful metaphor for life, eh?
2020 has been difficult for most of us, but I believe it will get better. Not just with time–though, of course that will be needed–but with a positive outlook, ingenuity, pairing common sense and sound science, perseverance, and with making sure your elected officials consider your needs when making policy. If you’re unhappy with how 2020 has been progressing, then you need to make your voice heard. VOTE!
I saw something over the weekend that reminded me that your perception of the world has a lot to do with how happy you are. The basic idea is that things happen – good, bad, mundane, extraordinary – but the way you interpret and react to them determines how successful and happy you are. It goes hand in hand with one of my favorite phrases, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” (Epictetus).
That’s a powerful sentiment, when you think about it. There will be difficult things in your life. There will be speed bumps, there will be days where your entire life plan goes off course. But you have a choice. Do you choose to rise above, and embrace the positives? Or do you choose to be defeated by it?
In my own life, I try (and frequently fail, but then try again) to meet challenges, to accept that things are difficult and to either see the positives or to keep my head down and push through until the difficult season has passed. Hell, this past year alone has challenged me in a lot of ways, with serious family health issues, with heartache, with changes within the circle of people I rely on for support, financial challenges…. But in the end, we have just a finite time on this earth and I try to choose, every day, to work towards my best possible self, to tell myself that this too shall pass, that there is joy around the corner, and in the meantime, to work towards leaving the world a bit better than I found it.
That can mean any number of things.
You can choose to see the best in a bad day – the beauty of a beautiful sky, the opportunity to learn from a mistake (even if you frequently wonder when your “lessons” will start paying off), having a grateful attitude for the blessings you do have…
You can choose to do something kind for another person (or living creature) – a smile or bad joke when needed, verbalizing something you appreciate so they understand their worth to you, all the way up to grander gestures like gifts, or volunteering for a cause, or giving blood, or adopting from a local shelter and advocating for spaying and neutering…
You can choose to use your voice – we are all complicit when we remain silent about things that matter. The problem, these days, is that we have so many wrongs to right that it can be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. Politics is hairy. Tax laws, health care, the national monument debate…where do you even begin? Global warming is a thing (that recent starving polar bear video from NatGeo just hurts to watch). There is genocide going on in the world. Sex trafficking. Sexual harrassment. Discrimination. Religious aggressions. Civil wars. It can be overwhelming, but we all have a responsibility to, at the very least, have civil discussions. We can’t improve any problem by ignoring it. So find your causes, the ones that are near and dear to your heart, and have a difficult conversation. Listen to the opposing views. Find some common ground on which you can begin to build a bridge.
In the end, how you react to the things life throws at you will determine things like how much joy you feel, or how much hope you feel. Don’t get me wrong. There are going to be overwhelmingly sad, or angry moments. But if you keep this idea in mind that you can get through it by being aware of how you perceive a situation, then you will get through the difficult times with grace and find your way back to happiness quickly.
This particular photo was taken at Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN. So much thanks to Ed and Zach Heaton for showing us around to their favorite spots in the area! They’re talented guys, make sure to check them out!
Also, big shoutout to David Pasillas (as always) for his patient feedback about my image edits.
For those of you without the Googles handy, Sanguine means “hopeful, upbeat, positive”….and these days, who couldn’t use some hope? Also, it’s a funny looking word and I wanted to use it. 😂 Nerdy Stuff: This is a composite of three different exposures, for focus stacking, foreground and sky.
Are you on the social medias? I’d love to be friends!
I’m not entirely sure why I never got around to editing these. I think it might have had to do with how special this sunrise felt to me….like I had the whole desert to myself, and I was hesitant to create something that wouldn’t live up to my memory of it. But in the end, beauty is meant to be shared. 😊
Quick shout out to David Pasillas Photography for his help with this edit. He’s a creative powerhouse, editing wizard and all around great guy….make sure to check out his page and leave him some comments to remind him he has a blog. Lol
This is a blend of 3 shots, two foreground (one with sun flare, one without) and the sky, combined to recreate the morning.
2016 was a year of photographic growth for me. I set several technical goals for myself as a way of pushing myself to be consistently better at my craft, and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. I’ll admit, it was often a mix of trial and error (a lot of error), persistence, and supportive people around me but I feel like I made a noticeable difference in the quality of my images.
This year, I made a consistent effort to focus stack where appropriate, to really keep an eye on my histogram so that I wasn’t shooting 12 frames when I really needed 1 or 2, and I tried improving both my night sky/milky way techniques and lightning images. Those in-the-field efforts are represented in this “Best of…” gallery.
I’ve also grown in the editing arena, an area we can always work on, no matter how accomplished we are. I feel like my ability to *see* the weak areas of a raw image, and my ability to enhance the light in a positive way with my edits has grown immeasurably. Again, this was a matter of practice, feedback and support from my peers. I’m particularly proud of my Opal Creek wilderness forest shot, as it involved some creative shaping of the light.
The winter image in the gallery was a conscious attempt to force myself out of hibernation. Apparently, I need to do that more often – turns out winter light is lovely! Lol
And finally, the biggest reason I chose all of these images was the LIFE they represent.
I suspect it’s human nature to take things for granted – we developed our ability to tune things out as part of our survival mechanisms (because how could our ancestors focus on important things like hunting and gathering if they were constantly distracted by…oh, the wind! Oh, shiny rock! Oh, noise! Oh, a bird! What was I doing again??). Therefore, it takes a conscious effort to remember to appreciate the blessings in our life.
Write that life lesson down, folks. It’s particularly important in the relationships you hold dear.
So where am I going with this? Well, I’m an American woman. Currently, that means the law considers me to be a person with inherent rights, one of which is the ability to obtain resources and pursue my life aspirations. On the whims of fate, I was born here. I am not viewed as property, or less than human. I have the stability provided by a nation dedicated to protecting our freedoms. I am educated. Compared to so many places in the world, I grew up like a queen – I had food, clean water, health care, and never had the threat of war, unrest and violence looming on my doorstep every day. Although America isn’t perfect, I am GRATEFUL every day for the progressive ideas that surrounds me. As a country we can always improve. We are but a nation of flawed humans afterall, and will always have room to be better versions of ourselves…. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t already holding the human rights bar pretty high and I desperately hope we continue to do so abundantly, and equally across the country.
Because I was blessed be born in a place that respects my rights and raised to believe in pursuing my dream (so much thanks to my family for always inspiring and encouraging me), I have seen and experienced SO MUCH JOY all in pursuit of a photograph. I have traveled to places that have stolen my breath. I have met some incredibly interesting, funny and supportive people who are a constant source of light in my life. I have taken chances that have fed my soul.
In 2016, I was able to see the forest and seascapes (and….uh…wildlife) of Oregon and Northern California, the towering waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, try out the delightful food trucks in Portland and have my heart swell at the beauty of the Steens Mountains and the Alvord desert. I soaked in a hot spring, while smiling with strangers. I sat under the stars with friends, and pretended to play a violin under the Milky Way. I explored NY and much of New England. I was assaulted by a frog near the Adirondacks, got to see bald eagles in Acadia, the wild ponies on Assateague and black bears in Shenandoah.
I have taught photography students and built friendships around the world through Light & Landscape (thanks for that opportunity Matt!), I wrote another photography book with my business-partner-in-not-crime David, I was blessed to photograph weddings for some amazing couples with my other business-partner-in-not-crime Melissa, worked with one of this year’s 40 under 40 winners (you rock, Fitz!), refined my inner photo-journalist with freelance assignments through the newspaper (shout out to Jared and the staff at the paper for the feedback and encouragement), and saw AMAZING shows / met some wonderful musicians during my nights as a concert photographer (so much thanks to the venue, Kathy, Pat and Angelo).
In short, I have the freedom to LIVE THE LIFE I WANT and these photos represent the landscape side of that. They are a reminder to be THANKFUL EVERY DAY.
Remember to count your blessings often, and appreciate the people and things that enrich your lives. Dwell on the positive, and embrace GRATITUDE instead of criticism. Open your heart to the people that care and the endless possibilities in front of you. Take chances, even knowing you may fail….failure can generally be overcome, but you’ll never get back the time you waste on “What ifs”. Travel as often as you are able to responsibly do so, so that you can learn about the magical places in the world….how else will you learn to cherish and protect them? As you travel near or far, make sure to appreciate that you have the ability to do so.
This month, our students over at L&L wanted to learn about HDR. Now, while some HDR created using algorithms is very good….well….some is not. It’s very easy to go too far, to create halos, unnatural colors, unnatural light, etc. Blending by hand tends to give you more control while still extending your dynamic range.
Similar to the last photo (Insomnia), this is a mash up of three different exposures – two for the sky, and one for the long exposure water/foreground rocks/lighthouse. To create the base composite, I used layers and masked what I wanted from each shot into one final image. That created a base on which to build, with the standard curves, levels, etc.
The final image is similar to the treat Mother Nature gave me the morning I took this. This is sunrise at Nubble Light in York, ME from early June. It was one of four light houses David and I stopped to see on the Great Lighthouse Tour of 2016. This one, by far, had the best light of the day.
Interested in more in depth help with your own images? For more information about our teaching program over at L&L, go here. 🙂
Strange name for a photo, eh? Well, it’s actually quite literal. This was shot in the Alvord desert of Oregon (a stunning place, in my opinion) on a mostly dry lake bed. I say mostly, because when we arrived, the northern end of the playa still had some water – not much, but enough that there was a thick mud along the water’s edge called “caliche”. (At least according to the locals! I am certainly no mud expert.)
Anyway, this whole set up was interesting in a few ways. First, in the span of just a day, a slight wind caused the water on the northern end of the lake to migrate significantly south vastly changing the face of the damaged playa in just 24 hours. Anyone who was silly enough to park / camp close to the migration area would have been in for a rude surprise.
Second, I have never seen such sticky mud before. Our hike across it got progressively harder…and taller, as the caliche built up beneath the soles of our shoes. According to some of the people living on the playa’s edge, visitors can easily bury their vehicles up to the axle if they don’t heed the subtle color changes that signify the transition from hard, dry earth to mud.
As for the actual image, this was our first sunrise at the desert and obviously, it was pretty dang stunning. This was shot with a wide angle lens and a grad ND filter.
It was also taken as part of a series of images to be used in this month’s lesson, Hyperfocal Distance, that David and I are teaching over at Light & Landscape (a fun, online teaching and critiquing program that we helped launch in February….we have an online image review planned for later this month, so if you’re looking for some feedback and a taste of what we do in the L&L Member’s Area, definitely contact us for more information!)
The camera settings: f/11, 1/8 sec, 10 mm, iso 100
Looking for other bloggers, book reviewers (if you can read, you're in!) and photographers who want to join forces to save the world! (Or something like that.)
RT @UnfortunatelyLM: Oh hey, we have a delightful bit of fairytale fantasy from SK Marre (@SkMarre) that explores aging in a really thought… 2 months ago
SeeingSpotsPhoto.com 