Mojave Light Musing

Took a night hike last night with some new trekking pals. The weather was more than bearable. The horizons were lined with receding storm clouds after having deposited some much needed moisture on our parched landscape. Here is a bit of what we saw. At the beginning of the trail, this....... ....and later on, this..... I never get tired of the light in my desert. Breathing space.

Ah, summer time.... Yes, I know I mentioned my next post would be about the pros of hiring a professional photographer. But I am feeling semi-productively lazy today - I'm working on it! My windows are wide open. French Cafe is wafting around me from Pandora . Thunder is rumbling in the distance. The smell of wet desert permeates the house. Heaven..... I was playing around with some ideas, spawned from my recent respite up the coast with my son and our dog, today. This was our first vacay with the pooch - who is a very energetic 2 1/2 year shepherd mix - mostly Belgian Malinoise with something else with a floofy curled tail and strong herding/snuffling-for-small-varmits instincts, we think. And I am very happy to report that Toby did exceptionally well on this trip - which means that we had a great time, too. There is nothing like spending time away from home in a place that resonates to everyone and everyone has a great time - simultaneously. If you travel with family or close...

In search of.... This morning found us shrouded in this stuff. Thick. Wet. Beautiful. And very much needed as our local mountain wilderness area, San Jacinto, is engulfed in a week long, raging fire. We desert dwellers get as excited about clouds and rain as a Northwestern dweller cheers for the sun. The most magical scenes emerge through the mist. However.... I lingered too long at home. Charged my battery. Yakked with my visiting daughter, trying to talk her into recreating our fog capturing escapade last January. Hedged on what camera, what lens to bring. Just had to post my pending adventure on Facebook . THEN, I ventured out - in search of that unique capture of my mystical desert. Like it was going to wait for me? I piddled an hour too long. Here is what I managed to capture. Still unique-ish but not the spectacular find of last winter. The smell of sage and creosote and cedar and wet rock was prize enough for this early, but not early enough, morning in my desert...

These 'easier' summer days afford me the opportunity to play and perfect some new skills. This week was spent learning more techniques with photographing children. I was happy to see that many things I have already been practicing were presented in the workshop. That is always validating. And, it's always great to pick up something fresh as well. Every photographer develops their signature style. I tend to want my images classically simple with black and white or sepia-ish tones or faded color. I don't care to sit in front of the computer for too long to 'fix' images - preferring to accomplish my vision using available light or using fill flash, diffusers, and reflectors while composing the scene in the camera. However, looking at the trends in more casual photo shoots, it is good to have an arsenal of skills and styles for clients to choose from even if it means using the processing programs for what they were created to do - make an image. Sometimes, just a ...

A different kind of musing today. Someone very near and dear to my heart sent me the following piece. No particular reason other than to share something that had meaning for her and, in turn, probably for me.  It brought tears to my eyes.   Hope you are having a beautiful day. Start with looking in the mirror.... "A flower doesn't stop being beautiful just because somebody walks by without noticing it, nor does it cease to be fragrant if its scent is taken for granted. The flower just continues to be its glorious self: elegant, graceful, and magnificent.  Our Mother Nature has provided us with these immeasurably valuable teachers that blossom despite their short lifespan, stars that continue to shine even if we fail to stare at them, and trees that don't take it personally if we never bow down in gratitude for the oxygen they provide.  We also have an incredible and unlimited capacity to love, but the question is: can we do it like a flower? Without needing t...