The 365 - 10/16/17 - Day 85

Happy Monday everyone - The image tonight was something I was experimenting with on a rainy afternoon.  A storm had rolled in and dumped an impressive downpour on the cabin. The roof provided a steady stream of rain drops to practice on as it washed down.  I used the pine tree to provide the background contrast to show the rain as it fell down.  I experimented for about an hour that afternoon playing with shutter speedsand focusing effects.  I settled on this particular image as, while it doesn't show the flow of the rain as well, it does demonstrate the visual of the rain drops against the dark tree more clearly.    Mostly, I like this image as an example of something experimental for me and grabbed at a time I might not have been shooting normally.  Enjoy your Monday - 

Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota - Rainfall

The 365 - 10/15/17 - Day 84

Happy Sunday everyone -  There is a question that I ask myself everyday:  "What kind of an impact did I have today?"   You see, I believe that at the end there is only one real way to quantify the value someone had during their time.  That is the impact they had on the people and the places around them.   With that perspective, one thing that amazes me is just how small an impact can be and still be a consequential one.  It sounds silly, but even holding the door for someone can have an enormous impact on the outlook that person has on their day.   This of course also speaks to larger things in life - the things you do everyday both big and small.  Did I make someone laugh, someone cry? Did I learn?  Did I teach?  Did my time with someone make their lives better?   Without knowing it, everyone one of us leaves a mark with each and every decision we make.  When others judge us, we are very quick to remind them of these big, heroic things we did.  But were those things one offs or were they outliers as compared to the decisions made each and every day.   Just like this image in the sand, where the jeep is long gone, but the tracks remain very clearly.   We each make impacts on each other every day both big and small.  My goal is to try to make as many of them as possible positive impacts.   At the end of the day, I think that is the truest value on which someone could judge me.  Enjoy your Sunday - 

Galveston, Texas - Tracks in the Sand

The 365 - 10/14/17 - Day 83

Happy Saturday everyone - The opportunity to travel internationally hasn't come as often as I would have liked, but when it has they have been incredibly memorable and at times transformative trips.  As I try to work on the idea of storytelling with photography,  I try to find photo opportunities that tell the story that is running through my head as I am experiencing something new.  It was a trip several years ago to Mexico that gave me a new perspective on the realities of some people's lives.  I realize now that my singular perspective on this particular trip is not totally indicative of the true experience of Oaxaca,  but I couldn't get away from this idea that the idea of poverty that was a reality here was very different than what I had thought I knew.   I had this perspective that poverty here was in a sense a jail for those that were experiencing it.  How could a young girl selling the very same trinkets sold by everyone else rise above her station to claim a better life.  It seemed as though she would be trapped by her job perpetually.   Walking through Oaxaca, I could see so many people consigned to this way of life (selling trinkets and souvenirs and food to tourists.) I thought to myself, this way of life was a prison of sorts.  How could you do any different?  Then while on a tour of the botanical gardens, I saw this particular young girl staring at us through this fence.  The story I had in my head about this city was realized in this moment.   I grabbed the photo, and in working on a photo set from the trip, this particular photo became the center piece of my original narrative about the trip.  A young girl, watching through bars, trying to change what could not be changed.  It's both the blessing and curse of photography.  This image that tells a particular truth about a place or a culture (this girl is in a prison of her station in life), but this image also runs counter to so many other truths about Oaxacan and Mexican society.   There is upward mobility for some and there are young girls like this one who can change the stars so to speak.  Did this one? I will never know, but I do know that in this moment, this young epitomized the idea of poverty as a prison visually in a way that I could never in words.  Enjoy your Saturday - 

Oaxaca City, Mexico - The Girl and the Gate

The 365 - 10/13/17 - Day 82

Happy Weekend everyone - Late post tonight as I am only now getting home from work and the baseball game tonight.  I just wanted to do a quick post tonight to showcase a simple image.  It's a simple subject, worked with an HDR styling.  Just a simple, soothing image for everyone to relax with tonight.  Enjoy your Friday evening - 

Galena, South Dakota - The Neighbor's Bicycle

The 365- 10/12/17 - Day 81

Happy Thursday everyone - An old friend of mine used to call Seattle home.  Seattle, for me, was one of the cities that I had most wanted to find an excuse to visit.  I was intrigued by the culture and vibe of the place.  So naturally, when I got a chance to visit a friend (and it just so happened that it also crossed Seattle off of the visit list), I jumped at the chance.   Walking around the city, I got the sense that this place was everything I had built it up to be in my mind.  It was gritty, fun, young, vibrant, and had a sense of real practicality (at least my impression from this first visit).  As we were touring around, we came to this tree-lined sidewalk.  I instantly saw the leading line through the trees, and I took a few images.  However, the shots felt empty.  The trees and the colors were there.  The composition looked like something I wanted, but it still felt hollow.  This was, after all, a young and vibrant city both in my experience and also in my head.  I knew there was just one little piece that it would need, people.  Perhaps fortunately, the sidewalk wasn't busy on this particular moment and I got an opportunity to have this father and his daughter move into the frame.  I say fortunately, because it is likely that I would not have liked this photo nearly as much if there were more people crowding the scene.  But here, I have this scene with the trees and the leading lines and the various other technical aspects we could talk about it in the composition.   But with this father and daughter, it also has a sense of people, which makes the city and thus ultimately, in my view, this particular shot.   Enjoy your Thursday - 

Seattle, Washington - Spring Walk