Mountain Sunset taken with a group of friends from Asheville, NC. We were on a photog outing.
I am celebrating a huge project that was finished just today. For many years I have attempted to sort and organize my photography library of thousands of images. The general work flow started with A and I usually quit by the time I got to D or E but those first few projects in my Aperture library were always neat and sorted. This time, however, I made it all the way through. It only took me three months of steady work to do it. I had to add an external RAID drive for additional storage since my D800 has files the size of buses. So all is well.
In celebration of this momentous occasion and in honor of what I love to do several images are included with comments. Over the past few days certain images have reminded me why I love photography as an art form and a way of communication. I hope you enjoy the images. And thanks for your interest and support….always. I feel the love.
When wild animals make contact with me I always feel so blessed…so fortunate…so joyful!Sometimes I think they are laughing at me….Or playing peek-a-boo.Moments of nature’s glory lead me to rapturous joy.Or moments of intense stillness and inner quiet.When the light and colors align and I happen to be there…magic happens!Of course sometimes you can’t really take a bad photograph if you are alive and breathing and present enough to lift your camera and click the shutter…remembering to set the correct exposures….and lift the bottom jaw as it gapes from unimaginable beauty.One of my favorite experiences centers around photographing children gaining experience in nature and learning about wildlife…like wolves for instance.Water captivates me and my favorite images center around water…waterfalls…big water…underwater.I revisit images and can describe my emotions, the lighting, the thoughts that came to mind from moments such as this….I am right there again.While the image isn’t that special, the experience was. I wanted to capture the size of this old tree soul by standing on it and including my feet in the frame. It was a profound experience.My favorite images capture the soul, the spirit, of places and animals…and those of people lost in the creative process.While solo exploring the desert in Bonaire I took this self-portrait. It demonstrates perfectly how I feel when I’m there.My favorite people images this past year are of my daughter and son-in-law. My ‘kids’ bring a very special light to my life.I celebrate everything that is beautiful and right in this world…and hope we can add to the list of good things happening as we move through 2014.And my favorite image of this past year (besides my kids)…this green sea turtle I met in Bonaire.
So now I can get out and do what I love….photograph nature and people enjoying the creative process…and beauty. I like to celebrate beauty.
I could write about our first Alabama loggerhead nest hatching…or you could just watch the short video…. Click here to view the video. Hope you enjoy it!
As I was photographing the musicians at Blue Moon Farm last weekend I realized that I was actually enjoying connecting with humans through photography. What? Surprised at the realization I contemplated it as I sat, transfixed by the jam happening ten feet from me.
Scott Nolan
I love music but the draw to photograph humans has never been very strong. Why was I photographing…humans? As I witnessed the outrageous creative process happening last Friday night and Sunday afternoon, understanding dawned.
Mary Gauthier
Wildlife and wild places speak to me deeply, profoundly. So much so that I often ignore the beauty found in my own species…humans. My reason for avoiding photographing humans is that we are so domesticated…so disconnected from the spark of wildness that keeps us plugged in to the planet….to the cosmos and my work is really about capturing that spark of wildness, of raw, untamed beauty.
Tom Morley
The musicians that play at The Frog Pond are masters at creating something harmonious, something beautiful out of thin air. My theory is they are still connected to that primal spark of pure, creative energy. They are still plugged into the untamed unlimited-potential cosmic soup in the creative cauldron of the Universe. They come together to tap into that source. And the result is explosively great music.
Grayson Capps
Wild animals are mostly free from domesticated parameters and boundaries. They live without thinking about living. Instinctually they exist on this beautiful planet, wild hearts free to be exactly who they were born to be. I cherish them for this.
Residents of The Frog Pond
Animals that are around humans become domesticated and soon adapt our behaviors. Some wild traits may remain but for the most part, the wildness is bred out over time.
Luther Wamble
And just to be clear, I’m not suggesting we go back to caves and clubbing dinosaurs but rather simply remember our connection to the unlimited potential we are born with and not become seduced or conditioned into thinking we are less than what we are…or that we cannot fully express the gifts we were born to give the world.
Corky Hughes
The musicians that frequent The Frog Pond stage at Blue Moon Farm remind me that it is possible to tug the tails of stars that dwell in the cosmic soup and bring forth beauty simply by showing up, opening up and being willing to yank on the thread of pure creative energy that is available to all.
Cathe Steele, owner of Blue Moon Farm and Music Mama of The Frog Pond
