The Purest of Expressions

Most children draw and it isn't until about 10-11 years of age that they show any concern in regards to whether or not they are creating 'good or bad' art. These are the golden years of creativity, when everything that they show an interest in –or soak in from their environment- is played out on the canvas, paper, driveway, window and wall.

My six-year old son Adam is currently obsessed with penguins and he has been drawing, modeling and painting them daily. My favorite iteration to date is a scene that he created from tissue paper, which he then glued to his bedroom window. I am ashamed to say that my first reaction was to scold him, but before the words left my mouth I was suddenly struck by the detail and time that he put into it and so the scene remains there today (the image above doesn't show the snow clouds sending down colored snowflakes!). He is so proud of it, and for good reason. Sometimes I am embarrassed of my 'adult' mind-set.
I wonder what visions we, as nature photographers, might offer the world if we were willing to be a little more daring and less concerned about what our friends, editors and colleagues might think?

What Matters Most

When I began my adventure into the world of nature photography my wife and I had only been married for a couple of years. Life was much simpler then and I could pretty much go out and make images whenever I wanted to. Today, I have two sons and it isn't always as easy to get out and shoot when the urge strikes me. Sometimes a couple of weeks may pass before I can have a "one-man expedition" into a wild place to shoot a few frames.

Fortunately, I can go out and make photos fairly regularly in the woods, field and pond area that surround our home. The downside is that (bear with me here) I am usually accompanied by my four-year old, my one-year on my back, a dog and a couple of cats. In other words, it isn't so easy to concentrate and get into that zone that I crave more than a tub of apple pie ice cream; which for me, says a lot. This past Sunday, we had a nice rain shower and a mist settled down over the wet woods. The light was perfect and I still hadn't had a chance to get out and photograph the wild Pinxter flowers (native azaleas) that are blooming profusely this year. As I looked through my viewfinder I found myself being asked every five minutes, "Daddy look at this!" "Daddy look what I found." Grrrrrr......and then I realized what a fool I was being – as I usually do. I walked down to the creek and there was my oldest son holding up a crayfish claw that he had found in the creek. Was I too dense and wrapped up in my own selfish world to realize that he was trying to gain my approval and impress me with his knowledge of the woods? Boy, I can be a real blockhead sometimes.

As parents, we often try to hold on so tightly to the things that define us as individuals that we miss the really important opportunities to make a difference. Will I not end up with as many images as I once did in a given year? Probably. Does this mean that there is some other guy or gal out there gaining more exposure in the marketplace than me? Sure. Will I ever, ever regret the time spent with my boys?

Absolutely. Positively. Never.