Where the Water Used To Be

One morning, instead of my usual morning walk along the cart paths of Peachtree City, I ventured into the grasses that took advantage of a drained Lake Peachtree. As I walked along the makeshift cart path, disappearing more and more into the overgrowth, spider webs clung to my camera as I held it in front of me, so many webs collected that mosquitoes became entangled. Waist deep in the blades, I heard a splash and for a moment wondered if the rumors of an alligator in Lake Peachtree could be true. 

There is one week left to visit the exhibition of my Morning Walk images at Columbus State University's Rankin Arts Photography Center in Columbus, Georgia. I will be onsite next Saturday morning, packing it up, and would be happy to talk to anyone wishing to drop by.

A sub-series of the exhibit is Where the Water Used To Be -- a look at Lake Peachtree, drained. It has been almost two years since the lake was drained to facilitate dock repairs only to find the dam had serious issues. The resulting quagmire of bureaucratic finger pointing created a slow resolution to any issues -- and the lake is still near the lowest, but filled with vegetation and wildlife. Just this week I arrived at what was once the boat ramp to watch as two young deer frolicked a few hundred feet away, almost hidden in the early morning mist. A blue heron stood by, ankle deep in a small rivulet, searching for any fish to be found. These animals were shielded and felt they had sufficient cover due to the tall grasses surrounding them.

 

Photos on the blog today are from the selection on exhibit. They show things that used to be underwater. All of these images were taken by me standing where the water used to be.

Work is ongoing to prepare the lake for refilling. In the distance backhoes and excavators can be seen dredging a channel. 

A few of these images were previewed at Peachtree City Library earlier this summer. 

Mid October

I sat on the deck enjoying cooler evening weather. It became apparent that fall is as busy a time as spring. Sounds from the woods of squirrels dashing among the leaves mixed with the clucking sound of a turkey deep in the trees. I heard another softer cluck nearby and slowly looking around to not startle anything. There on the retaining wall near the deck was a chipmunk. I watched it carefully to see any movement and decide if the sound was coming from it. Just as I heard the noise again, the throat of the chipmunk moved. For a chipmunk to cluck, it is a warning, usually meant that a hawk or other aerial predator is around. I looked up and saw nothing. Looked back and the chipmunk was gone.

My eye wandered to the spider web out past the edge of our yard, near a group of trees in the yard next door. The low sunlight highlighted the 45-degree angle silk strand. It glittered as it wavered in the slight breeze. I wondered how the spider made the transition from one tree to the other, at least a 10-foot span. Then I noticed a completely level strand straight across from the sweet gums to the Leland cypress. Such work for something so small. In the fall, in the mornings, there are many circular webs hanging between power lines as I drive along the roads. Nickel-sized orb spiders sit in the middle as if they are proud of their creation.

Something moved in the pot on the deck. The pot with the dead cherry tomato plant that I could not bring myself to pull out when the heat of the summer was taking its toll. Those handful of tomatoes left on the vine were enjoyed by the chipmunk. Occasionally I found a half-eaten one lying on the deck. It moved again and I could see it this time, a green anole wearing the tarnish of early fall. It walked gingerly along the rim of the pot and then leapt to the deck floor. I watched as it skittered along the boards to the railing near where the chipmunk was earlier. My phone was sitting on the table, so I picked it up and walked toward the anole. I got one or two photos before it disappeared and I decided to retreat to my seat and give it some space to continue on with whatever task it was up to.

Rankin Arts Photography Center Artist Talk

March 11, 2015, 7:14

Those attending an artist’s talk come to hear the artist tell them how the work happened and perhaps to glean something to spark their own work. I hope this satisfies you all.

I want to start by saying calling myself an artist sounds a bit pompous to my ears. I take pictures. I don’t put on my Ansel Adams shades and stalk around “making images”. I look, see, and shoot a picture – something that catches my eye. I take pictures for me – things I like. If someone else likes it – that is an extra, but I always say shoot for yourself, don’t worry if everyone else will like it. Because guess what – not everyone will like it. I like to throw ‘art’ in front of photographer if someone asks me what I do so they won’t start telling me about someone they know has a new baby and want to get photos done. I don’t shoot babies or kids, weddings, etc. unless I know you well and like you.

All of these images are titled by date and time shot. It gives the viewer a reference point. As I went back through the photos, I was amazed to see that I had two images from December 26, a year apart.

Everyone wants a formula for a great photo. They ask things like; what camera do you use? What lens? What was your fstop, shutter speed, ISO? Did you use a filter? Did you Photoshop it?

Here are my usual answers:

• ·      I use whatever camera I have on hand; iPhone, point and shoot, DSLR
• ·       If I am using the DSLR, I usually use my Canon 50mm 1.4 – I love it. If I need to be closer, I use a Tamron 70-300.
• ·       I have no idea on shutter speed – I am a depth of field shooter. I go for wide open or close to it on my aperture. For ISO I keep it low to keep colors rich.  As you can tell I don’t like a lot in focus. Sometimes there is nothing in focus. I keep white balance on auto, unless I am looking to throw a little blue in the shot – then I switch it to Tungsten.
• ·       I always have a UV filter on the camera – even my point and shoots if they have the capability. I hate lens caps – I hate keeping up with them, so I take it off – stuff it in some pocket of some camera bag, never to be seen again and slap a UV filter on the lens to protect it from scratches. I like a polarizing filter. I like sunglasses – I think my camera does too. Every now and then if I really want to slow down the shutter and it is bright – I use a neutral density filter, maybe even stacking it with my circular polarizer.
• ·       I love my camera, I tolerate my computer. I Photoshop (with Elements) the contrast and levels a little. Most of my editing is conversion to black and white using the Nik Software, Silver Efex. I love that and their Analog Efex. The Where the Water Used To Be shots are all done with my Fuji X20 in color and converted in Analog Efex. Every now and then I get a little crazy, or bored, and will Photoshop the heck out of something – layers, textures, weird colors, you name it. And I usually like it when I am finished. But a steady diet of that makes me cranky. Just like HDR makes me cranky – a very light touch on that is all someone needs, if they need it at all. When I look at a photo and see unnatural lights and darks – I just don’t like it. Now, if you like it – go for it. You are pleasing yourself, not me. Many of these Morning Walk images are processed, some with layers. The photos were processed all on my phone and usually within an hour of taking the shot. It was very responsive to my mood of the morning; shot, processed, saved – done.

Most photographers can learn and practice to shoot technically sound images – getting something tack sharp. Most people can hone the skill of seeing. Moving beyond just shooting something because it is pretty or would make a good photo is another skill worthy of development. Anyone interested in photography should move in this direction. The why? Why shoot it – and the answer isn’t because someone else did and you want the shot or because you saw something similar and liked it.

My photographs come from memory. I spent my childhood walking in the woods with one grandfather and listening to the other talk to me about the sky and the weather. They both worked extensive gardens. I am drawn to water. I love water. The first house I lived in as a baby is now sitting at the bottom of a man-made lake. Perhaps that is why I like the drained lake in Peachtree City so much. Your photographs should come from inside. Look back over your collection of images and think about why you were pulled to take that shot. Develop your why.

Moving from single images to a series can be a difficult leap and some photographers never care to make it. They are content with singles that may have a link or not (truly, they have a link – that ‘why’ again) – certainly developing a series of 20 images or more is not on their radar. It is a good exercise to develop a project, especially a long term project.

A couple of years ago, when I started walking with a group of women getting ready, for of all things, a half marathon; the early morning walks became a type of therapy. We talked and walked enjoying the surroundings and each other. I had my iPhone along to log my miles and times – and bingo, I had a camera. So I started shooting. And they did not wait for me either! If I stopped, I had to run to catch up with them. We walked in the heat, rain, sub-freezing temps. We witnessed the quagmire of Lake Peachtree. I like using quagmire for this for two reasons – one definition is of a boggy place, another definition is of a difficult situation – Lake Peachtree is both! Drained to facilitate dock and edge maintenance, the cracks in the dam elevated it to a bureaucratic mess of finger pointing and who would pay for what. I began to see the beauty of nature – and maybe a little of that old homeplace underwater pushing me to enjoy a drained lake with a damaged damn. Nature reclaimed what was once there, seeds sprouted – native plants and seeds washed from gardens in backyards – flowers and even squash thrived.

March 11, 2015, 6:55

I could not have an exhibition of morning walk photographs without including a few from my favorite place – the beach. These are black and white images framed in German Silver Nielsen metal frames. I like the way they look. Again, water. The images I have here from St. Simons Island’s East Beach were taken on a foggy March morning. At the edge of the ocean the foggy sky, clouds, merged with the ocean. It was magical.

Photography is magical. It allows us to look around and bring home with us scenes that we loved so much we want to keep them forever. We want to show them to others and say, look where I stood. My morning walks with friends are a special time for me. I enjoy it. I have these photos to always remember it and to share with everyone else.

March 11, 2015, 6:26

The Rolling Stones in Words and a Picture

So I have this photo -- from the Atlanta stop on the Zip Code Tour, June, 2015. Last week I learned it will be part of an exhibit in Colorado late this year. I love the picture -- I love the Rolling Stones. When I heard about Word.Camera -- a website generating words to go with an image -- I thought about this photo and was curious what would come of it.  Umm, I dunno....

Specifically, a furniture, a war, and a festival. Similarly, the furniture derives from a furnishings that making a room or other area ready for occupancy. The war is made from a someone engaging in or experienced in warfare, and the festival constitutes an organized series of acts and performances. Nonetheless, the furniture is a furnishings that making a room or other area ready for occupancy. It is true, it constitutes a furnishings that making a room or other area ready for occupancy. Once, it amounts to a furnishings that making a room or other area ready for occupancy. Frequently, it comprises a furnishings that making a room or other area ready for occupancy.

That is, a nightclub and a dancing: the nightclub is loud, and the dancing precipitates a having fun. This time, the dancing associates with music. To be sure, it exhibits fun. Probably, it elicits music. To put it another way, it dreams of iing be happy. Surely, the nightclub is for socialise. Beyond, it is for party. To this end, it remains needed for socialise. At length, it exhibits loud.

So far, a government, which remains an ultimate authority. Therefore, it is among the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit. However, it appertains to the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit. Whenever, it encompasses the act of governing. Of course, it constitutes a social institution. So far, it comprises the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit.

By all means a singer, a men, and a band. Accordingly, the singer is capable of sing. The men is the opposite of a female, and the band is also known as a connect. In similar fashion, the singer comes from a person who singing. Perhaps, it is a person. This time, it constitutes a person who singing. Of course, it is a person who singing.

To explain, an audience and an adult: the audience comprises a group of person, and the adult may sign contract. Subsequently, the adult amounts to a fully developed person from maturity onward. Notwithstanding, it constitutes a fully developed person from maturity onward. Surely, it is a fully developed person from maturity onward. Now, it is a fully developed person from maturity onward. To rephrase, the audience might laugh at comedian. Beyond, it can laugh at comedian. In contrast, it pertains to a people in general considering as a whole. Notwithstanding, it comprises the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment.

Without doubt, a performance, which is for business. Indeed, it amounts to a dramatic or musical entertainment. Or it amounts to a dramatic or musical entertainment. However, it is a dramatic or musical entertainment. To sum up, it amounts to the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment. In similar fashion, it encompasses the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment.

Too, a stage, a crowd, and a musician. Moreover, the stage relates to play. The crowd is the opposite of a having or allowing sufficient room, and the musician comes from a someone who playing a musical instrument. No, the stage amounts to a plan organizing and carry out. Certainly, it constitutes a plan organizing and carry out. Nearly, it echoes actor. To rephrase, it is used for making presentation.

Probably, a many and a group: the many is never a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and being often preceded by a, and the group might include individual. Undoubtedly, the group results from a system for classifying things into groups. For this purpose, it constitutes a two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule. Furthermore, it encompasses an any number of entities considering as a unit. In similar fashion, it is an any number of entities considering as a unit. Specifically, the many can weather storm. Whenever, it elicits lot. Whenever, it echoes number. That is, it is never a few.

To put it another way, a concert, which is known to some as cuirm chiùil. That is, it relates to voice. Subsequently, it derives from a performance of music by players or singers notting involving theatrical staging. In other words, it is known to some as hangverseny. Furthermore, it comprises a make or working out a plan for. Doubtedly, it constitutes a performance of music by players or singers notting involving theatrical staging.

That is to say, a people and a music: the people includes a feel, and the music has pretty. Further, the music amounts to a language. Further, it has pretty. To this end, it remains needed for pleasure. Frequently, it encompasses a sound. Yes, the people desires clothing. To summarize, it is capable of fear death. Beyond, it can wind clock. To illustrate: it is capable of catch cold.