Two big events happened this month. The first was, of course, the solar eclipse. I was in the path of totality and, although I had to work that day, I was still able to get outside and witness the phenomenon first hand. I had consciously chosen to leave my camera at home because I wanted to be able to simply enjoy the experience.
There were a couple of things that really stood out to me about the eclipse. First, while the duration of totality was supposed to be about two and a half minutes, it only seemed to last for maybe 20 to 30 seconds. Of course, my sense of time could have been and most likely was affected by the experience. Second, and probably because, as a photographer, light is something I tend to notice, the quality of the light was something I have never witnessed before. I’m not sure how to describe it other than very surreal. Everything, especially the sky, seemed to have a strange bluish-gray cast to it. A very unique lighting situation that I will likely never see again. My final observation was the second the moon began to move past the sun with maybe one percent of the sun uncovered, the amount of light that tiny sliver of exposed sun produced was unbelievably bright. It went from being in late evening light to bright light in the literal blink of an eye. Then, it was just. . .over.
The second big event was the storms that produced devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma, Iowa, and Nebraska just a few short days ago. Reading the stories and seeing some of the pictures of the damage reminded me of last year when a powerful tornado went through Little Rock. The damage from this weekend’s storms is just like it was last year — indescribable. I was in Norman, Oklahoma, last week, and it was a bit disconcerting to hear that one of those storms was actully on a direct path toward the hotel I had been staying at, which brought back memories of last year when I was in that same hotel and looked out the window to see a large, rotating wall cloud moving over the building. A very chilling moment, to say the least. I can only hope that everyone affected by these tornadoes will be able to find the strength to rebuild not only their homes but also their lives.
WHERE I’VE BEEN
Again this month, I was able to get out twice for some photography. My first trip was a visit to Collins Creek. But, for this trip, I tried to ignore the waterfalls I typically photograph and instead find some different subjects. One of those subjects was the bridge that crosses the creek. In my blog post, “A Spring Visit to Collins Creek,” I detail the story behind this image.
One of the things I wanted to find and photograph on this particular trip were the small signs of spring that were beginning to show. As I was making my way back to the head of the trail beside the creek, I happened to look down and see this tiny little scene of some small, delicate wildflowers growing beside the fairly large trunk of a tree.
My second trip was to the Old Mill in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It had been several years since I visited the mill, and, when I arrived, I realized I had missed the peak part of the season. But, I didn’t let that stop me. I’m still evaluating the images from that trip to determine which ones make the cut and which ones don’t, but this was the first one of the day, and I think it was a good start.
CATCHING MY ATTENTION
“I’ve met too many people. . .who judge the quality of the time they’ve had in the landscape by the photographs they’re making and not on the experience.” – Alister Benn
I heard this quote in a Youtube video by photographer Thomas Heaton (you can see the video here). Even though he has never met me, Mr. Benn can add me to that list because, sadly, that accurately describes how I often judge whether my time photographing has been an enjoyable time or not. Alister’s comment made me realize that I definitely need to change my mindset.