Hey everyone, I hope you had a good week. I am now a little over one third of the way finished with my final Fall semester as an undergrad and am feeling pretty overwhelmed with the amount of school work I have. To dampen the stress and anxiety that always comes with school work, I’ve taken my DSLR out with me a few times this week to photograph the color changing leaves. Also, to my surprise and excitement, one of my favorite music groups, Fleet Foxes, has released their fourth studio album, Shore, on the day of the Autumnal Equinox and I’ve been listening nonstop. The album is accompanied by a lovely hour-long video directed by Kersti Jan Werdal that contains some really beautiful natural imagery (check it out!).
There’s been a wonderful overcast the past few days and it was also pretty rainy (my preferred kind of day) and I felt energized being surrounded by a bright grey sky and foggy mountain slopes.
The above image is near the opening of the Heritage Trail in Archbald and the rest, shown below, are from the side of the road leading to Staback Park. I have started to become really interested in macro photography and capturing the small detail on leaves. The two lenses I own don’t allow me to capture the detail I want (I’m doing the best I can with what I have) but I plan on buying the appropriate lens closer to Black Friday. At some point, I might press the leaves into a scrap book with my photos of those leaves as well as the name of the leaf on the same page or maybe include some kind of poetry or prose.
One thing that has really fascinated me is how leathery leaves look when zoomed in on. I am interested in displaying the fractal patterns of the leaves’ veins. I’ve realized that what I need to work on is getting a good highlight…as much as I love rich and moody darks, there’s always the need for a brighter highlight and that is something I need to better keep in mind when taking a photo or editing a photo after the fact.
Although I have given up painting (I’ve realized it’s more of a stresser than anything else), I want my photos to give off a painterly vibe through the subtle use of glow-y highlights, almost like that of an oil painting. I enjoy the quiet and solitude that comes with embarking on my own to take these photographs and I hope that also comes across in my work. I personally think it’s important to get out and immerse yourself in quiet as it always helps declutter my often overwhelmed state. The weather’s been fairly consistent the past week in NEPA, so if you live in the area, or wherever it is you reside, please try to treat yourself to walk outside and try to notice the little things that you might often pass by without realizing.
I will leave you with this:
“I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.
I want to get out of the train and go back
To see what they were beside the track.
I name all the flowers I am sure they weren’t;
Not fireweed loving where woods have burnt–
Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth–
Not lupine living on sand and drouth.
Was something brushed across my mind
That no one on earth will ever find?
Heaven gives it glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.”
“A Passing Glimpse” by Robert Frost is one of my favorite poems and I think its tone nicely matches the theme of my blog post for today. Take care of yourselves and stay safe. Please also keep in mind that the Presidential Election is coming up soon (in 36 days, no less!) so make sure you are registered to VOTE!
