Memories From The Field, Part Three

A lot of my memories from the field, are special because they were created in a special place. Black Canyon of The Gunnison, Colorado is one such place.

The truth be known, from a photographer’s point of view, Black Canyon is not the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands or other such beautiful places. It is difficult to make pictures that show the canyon, and difficult to get anything but mixed light on the mile deep canyon. It is however, open to interpretation, and a natural wonder worth anyone’s time and effort.

This was (in 2007) my second trip to Black Canyon. My first was a photographic bust, but this time I began to relate a little to the Canyon. I learned to work with the light and shadows, and to hike my way to the very edge of the canyon. Looking down is a part of this place, so why not exploit that point of view in my images.

Towards the end of the day, I stood at Sunset Point making my final pictures, when a young couple came up. We talked as I made images and I felt I as though I became a part of their young family. I gave them a business card and for several years, we stayed in contact. Of course eventually, life gets in the way, and we each carried on with our own lives.

My pictures from that day will never compete with the images I created at other western “rock parks”, but that’s okay with me. I was privileged to get to know Black Canyon, and I tried my hardest to interpret her with my eyes and with my heart.

Often locations like Black Canyon live in my memory as my favorite places, even if they were not as profitable from a photography standpoint as other locations. It’s good to know that they will always be there, waiting for another chance meeting.

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As the Snowy Owl season comes to a close at this latitude, I thought I would celebrate this great season with my first Snowy  (often called Her Majesty), and that great Horicon Marsh Snowy (name That Cute Little Male) of many years ago. There have been six others, but those two are first in my mind.

For many of you, flower season is rapidly approaching, although the weather might lead us to believe otherwise. Of course little critters are not far behind.

Gone fishing. There’s not a lot of explanation needed for this one.  Never say no to making a variety of types of pictures, with varied interpretations. I think, we miss much when we perpetually try to be too literal, or too abstract with our images. Every day is different, and image making should be approached that way.

God Bless,                                                                                                                        Wayne