The Distraction of the Camera

SPOILER ALERT!!! If you have not seen The Secret Life of Walker Mitty stop reading right now, head immediately to Netflix to watch one of the most endearing films in recent years. Then you can come back and finish reading this blog post.

In the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter played by Ben Stiller heads out on a quest to find renowned photojournalist Sean O'Connell played by Sean Penn. When Walter finally finds Sean, he is sitting watching the den of a snow leopard, lens pointed towards a mass of rock. During the ensuing conversation, the snow leopard appears. They watch as the leopard emerges and looks around. Finally Walter asks Sean if he going to take the picture. Sean replies "Sometimes I don't. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it."

That line resonated with me and is one of several reasons I fell in love with the movie. (Not the least of those is Ben Stiller's performance - there's nothing like a grizzled man in a parka to make me smile.)

It's a statement about being in the moment. Enjoying what is there - the sights, sounds, emotions.

How often have you set aside your camera to watch the sun set below the horizon? Or stopped washing dishes to watch the kids play tag? Sat in silence watching how the sun sparkles off the leaves around and above you.

Be in the moment. Don't worry about camera settings or your to-do list. Believe me, most every destination you're heading toward will be there when you get there. And certainly if you want to catch the emotion of a scene in your photography, put the camera down and feel. Immerse yourself in the moment. Then and only then do you lift your camera back up to create your image.

I was reminded of this on a recent trip to the Skagit Valley to see the Snow Geese. Every winter 10's of thousands of Snow Geese descend on the farmlands of the Skagit Valley to feed before heading back to their nesting grounds near Russia. Their numbers turn the fields white. With so many the noise is almost deafening. Their high notes are the honking of the geese communicating to each other. The base is a humming as they graze - a sort of yum-yum-yum-yum as they eat. An eagle flies near and as one they honking becomes higher as they lift off away from danger, circle around, land and graze some more.

I stopped photographing them after a while to just listen to their song and watch as they moved past me. Leaning against the fence protecting the birds from us, I watched as a story of life played out before me. And every now and then one goose would stop to watch me too.

Daffodils

In April, the Skagit Valley is awash in color as tulips of every shape & color fill the perfectly tilled fields. But I was not here in April, I was here in March when the daffodils filled the valley with a yellow as vibrant as the sun. It was late in the day when my friends & I arrived as we headed to Mt Baker for a weekend of snowshoeing & photography. This side trip seemed like a perfect way to start off the weekend and take a break in our drive.

Late in the day, the sun angled nicely over the daffodil fields highlighting the rows of flowers. And yet in the background off towards the mountains storm clouds turned a dark grey in contrast.This is March in the northwest, bright afternoon light through cloud breaks we call sucker holes while the morning rain clouds push against the mountains dumping heavy spring snow on the slopes. This combination makes for a dramatic composition.

Squatting, I realized I couldn't quite get low enough to make the composition work as I had envisioned. I would have to lay in the mud. I am never opposed to lying down to get the image I see in my head, but now I had to look for an area with the least amount of gooey mud. Finally finding my spot, I angled the camera up to include the dark grey sky against the bright yellow flowers. The flowers seemed to be soaking in the last rays of sun for the day, happy that the storm had passed.

Pedaling in the Tulips

Skagit Valley, 4/25/09

Let me tell you. If at any time you want to see the tulip fields in the Skagit County, go by bike. A small illustration; It took us (me, Jamie, & Andy) a full hour to get off the highway in Mt Vernon, go through town and park our cars at the park on the other side of the river. Now continue with that traffic all through the tulip fields. ugh! Why not ride past all that traffic waiting to pull into the parking lots?

We spent the afternoon lazily riding from field to field, walking our bikes through the rows, catching the beauty of the fields from different perspectives. Most of the fields are free to roam through and some require a fee. So we stayed with the free fields which are in abundance.

Jamie & Andy who had never seen the tulip fields were amazed by the expanse and colors they contained. They were like children in a candy store snapping pictures here and there of every type and color of tulip and daffodil. And are looking forward to bicycling through the tulips next year.

Snow Geese on the Skagit

Skagit Valley 1/27/07

The Skagit Valley witnesses each winter an influx of birds from the northern reaches of the globe. First come the bald eagles searching for an abundant food supply of spawning salmon in the rivers and streams. They rest in the trees, on the lightposts, and in the crags of the cliff walls. Following the eagles are the Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans, who come to feed in the grassy fields, fattening up for the long journey back to their nesting grounds. With flocks of bird watchers bringing up the rear, lining roads with their cameras and scopes. Every year I swear that I have enough pictures of Snow Geese and yet every year I head back up to the Skagit in hopes of witnessing a blast off, or getting that perfect shot of Trumpeter Swans and maybe even see a Bald Eagle close enough for a picture to keep.

This year Michael & I took our friend Michelle up to see the Snow Geese, a sight she had never seen before. You have to realize, the Snow Geese in the Skagit is a sight to see. Thousands of geese cover the fields, seeded for the birds, to create a moving carpet of white. The noise they create while grazing, honking, squawking, and just plain munching is an ever-present white noise too loud to tune out. Then there is lift off. When the geese feel threatened, they will blast off all at once rising like a linen sheet blowing in the breeze. There have been times when the wind current from their wings has buffeted me as if I were standing in Wyoming on a particularly windy day. And the commotion from that will leave your ears ringing well after you start heading home.

We arrived early – I was hoping for a fly-over as the geese journeyed from resting in the bay to the fields. Maybe it was the fog that wouldn’t rise of our timing, but the geese just wouldn’t come in off the water while we waited. Instead, we went to find the Trumpeter Swans, to no luck, they were hiding. We later found them hiding in plain sight in fields just off the highway as we sped past. So, back we went to the fields for the geese.

First, we traveled up one road when I saw a flock ahead. Good Luck! They were right beside the road! Michelle & Michael walked up the road a bit while I stayed near the head of the flock photographing geese as they landed near what they perceived to be the point of interest and possibly the better tasting grass. Our luck continued as a blast off occurred near where Michael & Michelle had wandered. We then drove down another road to another flock again right next to the road. How lucky could we be?

Around near lunch wee went back into Mount Vernon. And quite satisfied with our day head back home with a few pictures to keep.