Threes

What is it about threes?

I was on Brown's Lake catching some of the biggest rainbow trout I'd ever seen. The fly fishing technique we were using requires one to watch your line like an Osprey. Even glance away for a moment and you may miss a strike.

The broken-to-overcast skies were constantly changing the light on the landscape.

STRIKE - damn, missed another one. Meanwhile, my dad is knocking the crap out of the fish. Helps that he is a pro. I think he may very well be the best fly fisherman in the world

So what is it about these trees that keeps grabbing my attention? It must be that there is three, and only three, on the shoreline. Plus the fact that they are separated by what must be the Golden Mean.

Threes occur everywhere:

the rule of thirds
tall, dark, handsome
win, lose, or draw
eat, drink and be merry
a hop, skip, and a jump
the good, bad, and ugly
ready, set, go
Tom, Dick, and Harry
wine, women, and song
lock, stock, and barrel
hook, line, and sinker
stop, look, and listen
morning, noon, and night
mind, body and spirit
thought, word, and deed

For some reason the brain finds it easier to assimilate and process groups of three.

Four seems to be more of a static representation.

Two is either balanced or imbalanced, either aligned or confrontational.

One is lonely and wanting for more.

So why three?

I found a post somewhere on the net by Robert ??? as follows:

The philosopher Pythagoras thought three was the perfect number, expressive of beginning, middle and end. The idea of Trinity is central to many religions. The Hindu Trimurti is made up of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Siva (Destroyer). The ancient world was ruled by Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. Three-forked lightning, the trident and a three-headed dog figure with these characters. The Fates are three, the Furies three, the Graces three, the Harpies three, the Muses were three times three. In Greek mythology a threatening and critical Pythoness sat on a three-legged stool called a tripod.

Man is traditionally threefold (body, soul and spirit), as is our world (earth, sea and air). Historic enemies of man have been the world, the flesh and the devil. Today's realistic enemies seem to be fear, ignorance and hatred. The Christian graces are Faith, Hope and Charity. The kingdoms of Nature are animal, vegetable and mineral. The primary colors are red, yellow and blue.

So for whatever reason, I liked these three trees. And as always, I had my camera with me. I waited for the lake to settle, the light to improve, set my fly rod down, and captured these three trees.

And for what it is worth, I caught three fish that day.

Found a new house

Montana_2007-17.jpg
Originally uploaded by Michael Walters

I've often wanted to buy property in Montana. On my most recent trip I looked for our dream house and think I finally found it! This "fixer-upper" needs some work but has some real potential. A new roof and a front door and we should be good-to-go. Located just a short distance from the Blackfoot River, with beautiful sweeping views of classic Montana, I could spend my days here. I wonder how I'll get Internet access.

“I am not interested in nature; I'm interested in my own nature.”

Arnold Sisken

Finding your way

Montana road.jpg
Originally uploaded by Michael Walters

Who needs bread crumbs when you have trail markers like this. The fall colors in Montana were stunning in early October. I particularly liked the isolation of this tree against the stormy sky and dark green pines.

Old and new

Reno-2.jpg
Originally uploaded by Michael Walters

While I find the neon lights of downtown Reno appealing, some of the older hotel signs offer a bit more nostalgia. There is something about the older, fifties style hotels and signs that bring back memories of some sort!

Finally back...

Reno.jpg
Originally uploaded by Michael Walters

I have been on travel for some time including trips to Reno and Montana. I am sifting through numerous images and plan to have some posted by the end of the week.

Michael

Who am I kidding...

For those few faithful viewers, I apologize for the delay in the new site design that I have promised.  Once again the only excuse I have is severe lack of time.  I am continuing to work on it and will have it up soon.  Every time I think it is ready I get a different idea and mess things up.  Thanks for your patience.


On another note, I was picked up by iStock photo yesterday and will begin selling images through them very soon have posted a few images but not sure if I want to sell microstock yet.  I know there is a great deal of controversy out there concerning microstock agencies, but hey, the business model works for me.  I obviously don't have the time or energy to market and distribute my work on my own right now.  Therefore, I'm okay with someone taking care of that for me and giving them a substantial cut as a result.  The best analogy I have is that I can sell a single image one time for $300 after investing loads of time and energy in marketing the image, or I can sell the same image 300 times for $1 after taking two minutes to upload it.  Works for me.


I have added a slew of new lighting equipment to my arsenal and will hopefully soon have a good handle on artificial lighting.  I have always been a purist in regards to light and shot strictly natural light until recently.  I stumbled across a fantastic blog about lighting at Strobist and realized that learning artificial lighting, particularly off-camera flash, can only enhance my understanding of light and improve my "vision."  If you have ever had an interest in photography, I encourage you to take a look at Strobist.  You'll find months worth of articles and free lessons.  Incidentally, that is exactly the sort of thing I hope to develop through my website.  So much to do, so little time.  Life is grand!

Sundial Bridge

A prominent landmark here in Redding is the Sundial Bridge. The bridge is strictly for pedestrian foot traffic and crosses the Sacramento River. The deck is made of an aqua green colored opaque glass that gives a very unique appearance. The pylon is 217 feet tall and is a functioning sundial. The construction is environmentally friendly as the cables prevent the bridge from interfering with spawning salmon in the river below.

What the Duck...

If you like comic strips and understand the photographer's sense of humor then "What the Duck" is for you. Here is the latest:


As a side note, I am working on a site redesign and hope to have it up and running within the next week or so. I need to make the site more friendly for posting image galleries and articles.

A Self-Portrait...

Since this is where I spend a great deal of my time, I thought a self-portrait was in order. Any guesses on what this is?

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Changing things up...

Once in awhile I find it useful to change things up a little. I have a new found respect for photographers that specialize in natural light and environmental portraiture. Unlike the type of work I prefer, outdoor and nature photography, with environmental portraiture the photographer has the option of moving the subject to a location where the light is better. If only I could move a mountain lake to a spot where the light was better.

A great quote...

“Learn to see, and then you'll know that there is no end to the new worlds of our vision.”

Carlos Castaneda

Just for fun...

I've always been fascinated by atmospheric and optical phenomenon. A while back I was on a hike and noticed this strange behavior in the contrails of a passing jet. If you look closely you can see the wavy lines of a contrail just before it evaporates. I would guess that this is caused by the wingtip vortices of the aircraft that created the contrail. If anyone has any other ideas, please drop me a line.

Doin' a drive-by...

One thing I love about my commute is the constantly changing scenery. Every day the oaks and grasses in the lower foothills take on a different look. I hope to continue to post new images as my "drive-by shooting" techniques improve.

Time to improvise...

With increasingly less time to shoot these days, I have decided to improvise. On my commute to work I have noticed this lone oak tree on many occasions. For whatever reason I haven't been able to stop and set up a shot. So for this shot I just held my camera out the window as I drove buy. I had preset the focus and exposure and took a guess at the appropriate framing. The blur is of course a result of traveling 65 mph.

'round midday

Most outdoor and nature photographers will tell you the best time to photograph is during the "magic hour." Great light does in fact occur thirty minutes before and after sunset and sunrise. Landscapes and other subjects tend to be bathed in a warm, russet light that can make for spectacular photographs. During the rest of the day colors can tend to be flat and muted and dynamic range can be extreme. However, if we limit ourselves to only this time of day we are missing out on 154 hours per week of potential photographs. Another great aspect to black and white photography is that it lends itself to the high contrast scenes of midday. So next time you find yourself putting your camera away because the sun is straight overhead, reconsider the scene in terms of contrast and tonalities. You might be surprised at what you can create.

Dealing with lack of color...

Once again I had a landscape image in Afghanistan that lacked any real color at all. The leftover Jeep carcass had some subtle greens but that is about all. However, after converting to black and white the contrasts in the scene begin to stand out much better. Typically the eye will travel first to the areas of highest contrast, then brightest parts of the scene, followed by warm and cool tones, then to areas of shadow with detail. Once I converted this image I began to see just how that works. After looking at the color version many times, I found myself searching the image much more in the black and white version.

Souda Bay, Crete

Here is a quick post on an image I took while eating breakfast on the balcony of our hotel. The cool, damp, Mediterranean morning made for some beautiful light and colors. I wish I would have had more time to explore the city and harbor. Maybe next time.

Revisit your older work...

I was looking through some old files this morning and came upon this image of the Kandahar International Airport terminal. I had previously not found the image very exciting because the colors were flat and muted due to the Afghanistan atmosphere. The large amounts of dust in the air tend to filter most colors from the sunlight. However, after looking at a black and white conversion I began to really like what I was seeing. The contrast is much better and the wonderful lines in the architecture begin to stand out. I'd love to hear comments.

Painted Dunes

A 45 minute drive to the north followed by a 2 mile hike to the top of a volcanic cinder cone yielded a spectacular view of the Painted Dunes. The dunes were created when the hot cinders from the cone eruption fell onto an existing lava bed that was perhaps only days old. The heat from the lava bed combined with the super heated cinders caused immediate oxidation of the cinders. The resulting colors that remain today are left overs from the oxidation process. These dunes surround the cinder cone and border the portion of the Pacific Crest Trail that passes through Lassen National Park.

Making light the subject...

I spent the evening hiking the trail around Reflection Lake yesterday. The ecosystem at that elevation is spectacular. In a matter of 100 feet the trail moves from wet, marshy willows to sandy soils with Ponderosa pines towering overhead. Along the trail are numerous small lily ponds. I decided to go with minimal equipment on this hike as I didn't have long before the light would be gone for the day. I brought along a 100mm macro lens and a monopod. What I soon discovered is that during the late evening most of the interior forest is completely in shadows. While I had been hoping to find some beautiful "wrap-around" light on an interesting subject, I wasn't so lucky this evening. I assumed the light was gone for the day so I had hoped to at least find an interesting subject to photograph. I came across a lily pond and figured I'd use my macro lens to get some nice shots of the lilies and perhaps a frog if I could get close enough. The low light levels made it difficult to hold the depth of field that I needed for the macro images. As I was reviewing images on my LCD I noticed one of the images had some amazing light in the top corner. I simply glanced up at the scene and saw the most amazing shafts of light on the opposite side of the pond. The angle of the light, the shadows of the trees, and the reflection in the water were perfect. I had about 20 seconds to reposition against a tree for stability and capture this image before the shafts of light were gone. I was reminded of a great lesson Fred Larson of the San Francisco chronicle taught me. Fred said that if you want to make great images, go to where the great light is and find a subject. If you expect to make a great image of a certain subject and don't have great light, you may never succeed. On this hike I had lost my focus on looking for great light and was just hoping to get an interesting subject in front of my camera. I became so wrapped around the technical aspects of the macro shots I was attempting that I almost missed this brief moment of light. So remember what Fred says - If you want to make great images, go to where there is great light. The rest will work itself out.

Earth Day irony...

I wanted to capture an image in honor of Earth Day and found that I couldn't get access to the area I wanted to photograph. Just beyond this fence is a beautiful mountain meadow and pond with abundant wildlife. If I could only capture "irony" in an image.

If you don't get your camera out...

As I was uploading the previous post I realized that the day was beautiful and the light would be perfect for some more landscape shooting. So instead of sitting at the computer and thinking about it, I grabbed my gear and headed for Lassen National Park again. This time I hiked the Lily Pond Trail around to the south side of Reflection Lake to capture this image of Crag View.

What are you waiting for...

New landscape image...

Spring is here in Northern California. The temperature was in the upper fifties today, and the road to Lassen National Park was open. I managed to get up to the park and hike around Manzanita Lake for a spectacular view of Lassen Peak. I'll be posting numerous images over the next few weeks. Here is one of my favorites from my brief visit today.

Photo editing and sharing...

I will be offline for the next week or so and thought I would post a link to some great online video tutorials. Lynda.com is offering a 24 hour free pass at the following link: free pass. You can then access some of the best video tutorials available these days. If you don't already have Picasa, you can download it from the Google Pack link at the top of this page. I highly recommend this program and the associated tutorials on Lynda.com if you are not a heavy Photoshop user. If you are just looking for a way to do quick yet powerful edits to your pictures and share them easily with friends and family, Picasa is for you. You can access the tutorials here: Picasa 2 Essential Training. Certainly take a look at some of the other tutorials at Lynda.com if you have time. You can access a great deal of the videos even after the free pass expires.

Do you have what it takes to be a photographer?

Most people, especially when starting out in photography, aspire to make jaw-dropping images like they see in magazines, on the internet, or in a gallery. They take their fancy new digital camera out and start creating images only to find that they fall quite short of anything spectacular. They convince themselves that their talents and strengths must lye in other endeavors, but not photography. Soon after their camera sits in the closet and begins to collect dust. Life goes on, careers get in the way, families demand time and attention, and 25 years later they blow the dust off their camera and repeat the process again. Have you heard this story before? Is this possibly you? As I begin my series of articles on introductory photography, I would like you to start by reading Craig Tanner's inspiring article The Myth of Talent.

I'm back...

The last couple of weeks have been a bit rough and I haven't been able to post or take any new images. However, I've managed to get caught up with the minor distractions in life, charged my batteries, blew the dust off my sensor, and will begin working on the projects I have promised. I have a new computer on the way and expect to be up and running with video blogs and podcasts in the near future. For the few loyal readers, thanks for your patience.

Below is a capture of a partial eclipse of the Sun a few years back. I have applied a solar filter to enhance the contrast and minimize the effects of the clouds. It is very important when doing this sort of photography to avoid looking at the sun, especially through the lens. This image was shot at 300mm which is plenty enough magnification to damage the eye if not careful. A very inexpensive product that can be used to make filters of any size can be found at Astro-Physics, Inc.

Blast off...

I'll be spending the weekend of the 27th and 28th at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR.) The peak of the snow goose winter migration is occurring and there should thousands and thousands of birds at the refuge. The first time I saw a spectacle such as this was at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico during 2004. The massive groups of geese tend to take flight at the same time. In the above image, a hawk was circling high above. Every time he would approach the field, the geese would blast off and then circle back to land. The blast off became predictable just by watching the hawk. The sound is almost deafening and the sight is amazing. Opportunities exist for numerous photographs using a variety of techniques. The weekend after that I'll be heading north to the Lower Klamath NWR, a major Bald Eagle wintering ground. The numbers of Bald Eagles should peak during January and February. I'm looking forward to coming home with some spectacular images.

Below is a video of the "blast off" of snow geese. Be sure to have your volume up! If you hear a sound like drums, those are sandhill cranes mixed in with the geese.

Embedded slide show...

I've created a slide show of images from an afternoon trip to the zoo. If this turns out to work well, I'll use this feature to start posting small video tutorials.

New stuff for 2007...

I'm beginning to work on a couple of different book projects in 2007. I will be writing a book on photography and the creative process with emphasis on photographing for the sake of experiencing the moment rather than anticipation of the finished image. Concurrent with that project I will write a book on the technical aspects of photography with a "twist." The focus will be on understanding the photographic process enough so that it doesn't get in the way of the creative process. Maybe these two projects will be one book, maybe two. They might take me a year to write, perhaps a lifetime. Either way I will begin to post short articles here as I develop ideas for chapters. I have also contemplated the idea of posting video tutorials of certain subjects as necessary. If you have any requests for articles, videos, or general comments on the plan for 2007, please feel free to drop me a line or two at michaeljwalters@gmail.com.

Happy New Year!!!

Here's wishing all of you a happy and prosperous 2007! Remember that no matter where you find yourself an image always exists. So if you happen to wind up on the wrong end of an elephant, grab your camera and make the best of it. Stay tuned in the next few days as I announce what is in store for The Daily Grind in 2007.