Whenever I make a spring trip to North Little Rock’s Old Mill, I always try to time my visit to coincide with the peak colors of the flowers that surround the mill. When my timing is right, I get some amazing photographs full of spring blooms. When my timing is off, as it usually seems to be, I have to come up with a different approach.
That was exactly what I had to do with this picture. I had arrived expecting to see the flowers in full bloom. Instead, as is often the case, I had arrived about a week too late. There was still some color in the flowers, but they looked very faded and subdued. Certainly not what I envision in my mind when I think of Spring. But, since I was there, I was determined to find something to photograph.
I started walking around the grounds trying to find a nice subject. It was a cloudy morning, so I was able to take my time and really observe my surroundings. I was doing my best to set aside my disappointment and keep an open mind, but that was proving rather difficult to do. Everywhere I looked, all I saw was green leaves, and I wasn’t finding them to be particularly inspiring.
After about 30 minutes, I decided to call it a day and go home. As I headed down the small path toward the entrance, I happened to notice this with a small vine growing up the trunk. I have no idea what caused me to see this, but I stopped to take a closer look. My first response was “Meh, this isn’t anything worth photographing.”
But, then I noticed the Old Mill standing in the background and began to realize there was an interesting photograph to be made. I set up the tripod, attached the 24-105mm lens I was using at the time, and framed up the scene.
To ensure the entire image was sharp, I stopped the lens down to f/22. Because of the overcast sky, my shutter speed was a relatively long 1/2 second. Normally, a shutter speed that long can be problematic when photographing outdoors, but, very atypical for Spring, the wind was completely still. So, I decided to take my chances. When I got home and reviewed the file, I was pleasantly surprised to find everything turned out as I had hoped it would.