Quick Tip - John Muir

Excuse me while I diverge from pure photography again…

Aspen along FR 611

I was really changed by my trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in October, 2015. It was beautiful, peaceful, and very rejuvenating. I can’t claim to be an explorer, or to be brave when it comes to facing the heights. But nonetheless I was affected to my bones with the experience of being alone in some of the “remote” areas I visited.

The best for me was found at two locations.

Basically anywhere I went along Forest Service Road 611 – there were very few other cars or people on that road. I was able to park my Explorer alongside the road with the windows down and not worry about anything. I was able to walk off of the road and into the trees (trying not to damage or even alter growing vegetation as I did so). I could hear the wind blowing through the upper reaches of the Aspen and the birds calling to each other. The air was clean, cool, and invigorating.

My and my Explorer on FR 611

I took a number of pictures of the Aspen, and even some of the road, but as I look at them I realize they fall short of conveying the peace of the place. Perhaps they show some of the beauty but, while that is commendable, the peacefulness is missing. I am transported back but only because I experienced it firsthand. That is a great aspect of photography – being reminded of life events. But I know when my wife looks at the photographs her experience is limited to what is presented within the borders of the image. I want to try to figure out how to incorporate more feeling into my photographs whether through capture or post processing.

The other location I truly enjoyed losing all sense of time at was at a small meadow on the side of the paved road leading to Point Imperial. I was there early in the morning, having just been to Point Imperial and watching the sun start to rise over the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon. Driving down from there I stopped at a paved wayside by a small meadow. There was frost on the ground and I could seem my exhalations. The meadow stretched up into some hills on my left and the sun was just starting to light the tops of the trees that bordered the grass.

Frosty Meadow near Imperial Point

The frost shimmered in the light becoming even more obvious. There were very few birds chattering. The air was very still as if holding its own breath while waiting for the sunlight to reach down and warm the meadow.

Again I stepped into the grass. I did step on the wintry grass. I had to immerse myself. I took some photographs. These photographs seem to portray a cool meadow with abundant frost. I like these images but perhaps I’m jaded again by having been there to take them.

I am mentioning these two locations because I just started reading a book that imparts a joy of location and experience to me. I read quite a bit but probably 99% of what I read is technical writing (I’m a software engineer and tend to stick to that type of reading). I did finish War and Peace recently, and although it’s main characters are supposed to be fictional, the book intertwines Napolean’s conquest of Russia with the details of life there so I consider it semi-fictional.

Kindle book free with Amazon Prime

The new book that I started and highly recommend to those with a literary interest is “My First Summer in the Sierra” (http://www.amazon.com/First-Summer-Sierra-John-Muir-ebook/dp/B004TS16CU) by John Muir. The Kindle version is available for free if you have an Amazon Prime  from Amazon but I read reviews that said the print version, with the Muir sketches, is much better so I’ve got a copy on order.

The text alone, though, is impactful to me. I don’t know much about John Muir (yet) but it’s clear he is an educated and thoughtful man with great command of the written language. His writing style is different than anything I’ve read – factual yet poetic. There are passages with a lot of Latin botanical names which kind of escape me but the rest of the writing is very refreshing. He is getting to the essence of how I’m beginning to appreciate the natural wonders I’m exposing (pun semi-intended) myself to now that I’ve got my photographic excuse to visit nature!