Month in Review: March 2025

March is a month of transition as Winter begins to subside and early signs of Spring begin to appear.  The days grow longer, the temperatures get warmer, and the rains arrive.  Trees and flowers begin to bloom, and the landscape begins to awaken from its winter slumber bringing a refreshing feel of excitement and anticipation. . .as well as itchy eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing from all the pollen in the air.  But, that’s what benedryl is for, right?  Can’t let a little hayfever get in the way of photography!

If I had to apply a human description to the month of March, it would be “indecisive.”  It doesn’t know if it wants to be Spring or Winter, so it tries to be both with warm days and cold nights.  During the month, our lows were generally in the 40s, although a couple of nights still got down to around freezing.  But, the days would warm up quite nicely with temperatures getting into the 70s with a few days reaching the low 80s.  Definitely much better than some of the temperatures we had in January and February when the temperature on some days barely got above single digits.

We got a little bit of rain for the month, about an inch, but not enough to reduce the fire danger with more than three-quarters of the state under a burn ban.  During the middle of the month, there were between 90 and 100 wildfires occurring simultaneously, which I can’t remember ever hearing of that many at one time.  Fortunately, they were contained relatively quickly but not before some houses were burned and several major highways were closed down because of the smoke.

The worst part of the month occurred on the evening of March 14 into the morning of March 15 when a storm system moved through bringing with it high winds, hail, and tornadoes.   There were 16 confirmed tornadoes in the state during that outbreak, including two EF4 tornadoes one of which had an estimated peak wind speed of 190 miles per hour.  My wife, dog, and I even evacuated our house late that Friday night as a tornado appeared to be approaching.  That storm went north of us, and we weren’t affected.  We were lucky.  Others in the state were not as three people were killed, over thirty were injured, and countless others had their homes, businesses, and property destroyed.

IN THE FIELD

I was able to get out two days this month and do some photography.  My first trip was to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, where I photographed this Yucca plant.  I’d attempted to photograph this plant several times in the past, but I was never satisfied with the results.  This time, however, I slowed down and looked at it from many different angles.  Again, nothing really impressed me until I looked at it from directly overhead and saw how the leaves radiated out from the center.  I’m not sure where this image will stand by the end of the year, but, for now, it’s one of my favorites.

My second trip of the month was to the historic Old Mill in North Little Rock.  The morning I visited, I hadn’t planned on going anywhere.  But, as I was reading the newspaper, I saw a picture taken at the Old Mill and decided to make an unplanned trip.  I arrived well after sunrise, but the overcast sky eliminated any concerns about harsh light.

When I arrived, I was the only person there other than a city employee who was doing some work, but he finished his job and left soon after.  I spent 15 or 20 minutes just walking around seeing what caught my eye.  While I was doing this, someone else showed up.  I pulled out the camera and, as I began taking pictures, a family arrived; then another family, followed by a mother and her kids.  The area was beginning to feel a little crowded.  By that time, the clouds were clearing, and light was getting a bit more contrasty, so I decided to call it a day and head home.  But, just before I packed up for good, a cloud blocked the sun momentarily, and I was able to make this image of the Old Mill.

2025 GOALS – FIRST QUARTER UPDATE

With the year already a quarter of the way over, I thought it would be a good idea to see where I stand with meeting the goals I set for myself in January.

Goal #1 – Slow Down

I’ve always struggled with slowing down, but I discovered two techniques to help with this before I even take the camera out.  The first was to sit down for at least 15 minutes when I arrive at a location and just immerse myself in the sight, sounds, and smells of the area and just observe what is around me.  The second was to write down in a notebook anything that catches my eye.

I have been pretty diligent in adhering to the first technique of sitting and observing for 15 minutes while being less so with the notetaking.  But, overall, I think these techniques have been helpful in getting me to slow down and be more deliberate in my photography.

Goal #2:  Don’t wait until next time

This goal is meant to make me take advantage of opportunities when I see them rather than waiting for perfect conditions that may never come.  I haven’t done quite so well with this one, yet.  A prime example occurred just a couple of days ago.  I was running an errand when I noticed some small rocks lying in a puddle of rainwater with the edges of the rock outlined by fallen pollen.  I thought there might be an interesting composition in there.  But, I told myself I didn’t have a camera other than my phone and came home instead of grabbing my phone and photographing the small scene that I may never see again.

Goal #3:  Get out and photograph

This goal requires me to get out at least 25 days this year with at least one day each month.  So far, so good.  I’ve been out seven times through the end of March and no less than twice a month for the first three months.

Goal #4:  1,000 images during the year with at least 20% of them worthy of processing

I’m on track to meet the first part of this goal having made 246 pictures in the last three months, excluding any images used for focus stacking, HDR, etc.  The second part, processing at least 20%, is not going quite as well.  So far, I’ve only had about 13% that I have considered worthy of processing.  I’m fine with that, though, because I’m keeping my standards high, which is forcing me to slow down and be more deliberate with my photography a/k/a Goal #1.

Goal #5: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good

The purpose of this goal is for me to be less critical when judging my photographs and dismissing an image if everything isn’t completely perfect.  This year, as I’ve gone through my images after getting home, I find myself more forgiving of a blade of grass or a leaf on a tree that is slightly blurred because it was being blown by the wind.  In the past, such an insignificant “flaw” would have had me hitting the Delete button.

NEW CAMERA UPDATE

Back at the end of January, after spending several months of research, I bought a new camera.  I had strongly considered the Sony a7R V, the Canon R5 II, and the Nikon Z8.  After stopping at a local camera store and actually holding them in my hands, I decided to go with the Z8.  After using Canon for years and years, switching to a Nikon was a big change.  When I made the purchase, I felt good about my decision.  But, would I feel the same way after using the camera in the field for a while?

Well, after two months, I can say that I am still amazed at its capabilities.  The sharpness of the images straight out of the camera is incredible, and only minimal additional sharpening is needed from time to time.  Noise, especially at lower ISOs, is almost nonexistent.  The brightness of the LCD screen and the EVF makes viewing the scene and focusing so much easier, and the 4-axis tilting screen makes it so much easier to compose low-angled images without wearing out my knees.

I still have a lot to learn about the Z8, but I have no regrets with my choice.

Well, that’s my recap for March.  Thanks for reading.