I was telling someone over lunch that photography changed the way I look at the world. Before I purchased my first camera, I would go around my business, never took in my surroundings, and almost always never interacted with locals. That changed after I started photographing, I started noticing and appreciating my surroundings more and more. When I look at a building I wonder what was the architect thinking when he drew the plans. When I look at an old and decaying tree stump I try to look for the beauty in its rotting structure. That was the case when I took the photo above. I was coming back from a weekend trip to Lake Patoka about which I blogged last year and instead of barreling down the interstate I decided to take one of the side roads. This road was not paved at all. It was gravel and the going was a bit rough. As I kept driving down this path I noticed this meadow to my left and how beautiful it looked as the sun was rising. I pulled to the side of the road, set up my camera, and got to work before the sun got too high and the light too harsh. The camera I used was a Hasselblad 500C/M with a 60mm Distagon Lens + Polarizer and the film used was Fuji NPC160 Color Print Film. I am sure many have driven down that gravel road before, but I don’t think anyone ever stopped where I did and took a photograph to preserve that moment in time and space. This photo has given me ideas for other projects that I plan to pursue this year.
Your landscapes are around you. You don’t have to travel to some exotic locale or National Park – look around you, keep your camera handy, and more importantly keep your eyes open.
