Twitter: AKA Digital Crack

If you regularly visit this humble blog you may have noticed that I've now added a Twitter Feed to the right column. That's where you can go to follow along with all the fun! After resisting the urge to join up for quite a while, I've found that I really like Twittering –perhaps a little too much.

I find that Twitter is a much better networking tool than Facebook. I quickly grew bored with FB and have now sufficiently spied on all of the people that I went to school anyway. C'mon, like you don't do the same thing. Don't judge me!!! As suspected, my classmates haven't changed all that much anyway, with the exception of hairlines and waistbands that is. Anyone want to hang out at the 7-11 and listen to the Cure?

I intend to use my Natural Imagery Twitter Feed to post cool things that I find on-line like this and this. Occasionally, I'll also update what I'm up to but if you're like me, you'd probably prefer to just skip that and download cool stuff like this free HDR software from FDR Tools.

So, why not support my latest habit and follow-my Twitter Feed? Pretty Please???

cb

Shooting Through the Rain in Jasper

Since late last summer I've been traveling (and blogging some) about making images for a book focusing on the conservation successes of the South Carolina Conservation Bank. I've really learned a lot during this process and consider it a milestone in my photo-career from an experience stand-point.

Most of the properties are privately owned and directions to each are not exactly distributed without a lot of work and digging. When I first started out, I relied on some general maps that I had downloaded but quickly found that these were not always accurate. Since then, I've learned the value of having a network of friends in the conservation community who are willing to help me out and not being too proud (or shy) to ask for help. I've been amazed by the kindness of people who love the land as much as I do who are willing to go out of their way to make your work a success without asking anything in return. It has been really nice to involve others in the project and shed the self-assummed veil of secrecy that I often throw over my projects (character flaw, perhaps).

Another thing that I've learned is that conservationists come in all flavors. There are folks who have different views concerning why land should be saved. Hunting is a perfect example. I am not a hunter and don't expect to ever be. However, there are a lot of people who hunt responsibly, respectfully, and do a lot of great things for the natural world. Additionally, although I have always been one who prefers for land to be preserved and left to its own devices, I have witnessed sustainable harvesting of timber and other farming methods that, at the very least, preserve the current state of the land without losing acreage to development.

Due to the very hurried nature of this project (because of time sensitive issues and reasons for creating the book) I have been utilizing a photo-journalistic approach to landscape photography. I don't always have the luxury of waiting for the best light because of time and budget constraints and sometimes I only have a few hours at a given location. This is hardly enough time to really get a sense of place so I must force myself to really focus and search for the essence of a scene right away. On a recent visit to the South Carolina Low Country I shot in the rain for a couple of hours because I didn't know if I would be able to return to the sites that were on my schedule. It was terribly difficult to make a good image standing under an umbrella in 'side-ways rain' (as Forest Gump would say) but at the same time the process was invigorating!

This type of photography isn't for everyone and I will admit that I prefer the slow, methodical approach, which allows me to search for the perfect moment and subject matter. However, I believe that the experience that I've gained from this experience will allow me to be better prepared for any assignment, regardless of the conditions that I'm forced (or blessed) to work in.

The book is slated to come out in early summer. I don't mind admitting that it has been a grueling process. I believe that this sentiment would be echoed by everyone involved with the project. However, at the end of the day, I am hopeful that the resulting product will be a book that we are proud of and one that will hopefully change the hearts and minds of those who aren't aware of just how special the State of South Carolina happens to be.

Room to Roam

The more time that I spend photographing animals in the field, the more that I've begun to pull away from the tight, crisp, maximum depth-of-field shots that I used to make early-on in my career. Initially, I was so intrigued by what I was photographing that I failed to capture much more than just a shell of subject. It took me a while to realize that there were so many folks who literally had thousands of scientifically accurate photographs in their files of just about anything that I could imagine. It also didn't take long for me to realize that the photographs that I was selling –that really grabbed viewer's attention– were not the perfectly sharp, show-it-all type of images. Jim Brandenburg certainly had a great influence on this departure in my work through his masterpiece, Looking for Summer but it was only this year that I believe that I've finally 'let go' of worrying about making images to fit a certain niche. My subject-matter is still –and I suspect will always be– nature based but I don't worry so much about getting it all in focus. What I'm looking forward is narrative, imagination and passion in my work. In order to reach their maximum potential, every artist must come to a place where he or she realizes that there will only ever be one of themselves in this world and that they will be doing the everyone a disservice if they deny their own unique voice.

I photographed this black rat-snake last weekend on a photo hike with my friend and fellow photographer Greg Kiniry. It was hard not to go in tight on this beautiful creature at first, but as it worked its way toward the rock I anticipated that there might be an opportunity to do something special. Although I had captured several frames before this image presented itself I knew that I wanted to keep the snake small in the frame and give him room to move through its environment. For me, there is a beauty in the image's simplicity that is both closer to what might encounter in the wild and also somewhat symbolic –not intentionally– of where I am at in my life. I don't want to be boxed in. I need room to expand; to grow. I am excited about this turn in my photographic experience and feel that I'm finally hitting my stride.

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.