The Sunflower Patch
Last evening I went for a peaceful walk at Pope Farm Park to decompress. Resting at one of the picnic tables overlooking a field of sunflowers, my naturalist's instincts took over as I ran through the names of all I was observing. It's what naturalists do, I suppose. But there are many ways I enjoy such scenery. In one context, it's like taking a quiz; how many things can I identify? There were the various plants, wildflowers, and trees, butterflies, bumblebees and other insects, birds by sight and song, and small mammals like ground squirrels and rabbits. How about the clouds? But there's another context in which to enjoy things: watching as if we humans hadn't yet labeled the wild and the wilderness with names we've given to them. I imagine I'm an early pioneer or explorer stumbling upon nature's bounty in this region for the first time in our history. Hey! How did that stone wall get here? Finally, as my thought experiment progresses, I'll try to ponder how such a scene would be experienced if this were my first visit to Earth, where no human conventions influence my thoughts. It's difficult to do, perhaps even impossible, but it's a mental exercise I enjoy partaking in. Lost in blissful contemplation, I was startled when a dozen Ring-necked Pheasants took wing and gliding from atop the hill into the sunflower patch below.
Link: Reviving the Lost Art of Naming the World
© 2009 Mike McDowell
4 Comments:
That's eerily good. The horizontal lines of color in the sky look like something out of Lovecraft.
Is this HDR, Mike? The sky, the color and DR in the stones, and the lone bright patch of green in the trees make it look so. Or perhaps you took some effort with Photoshop.
Or, of course, you've a great eye and a strong photographer's skill set.
I'll gladly go with the latter.
PS: Val says hi!
Hi Geoff,
Nikon Coolpix 8400. It's 2 separate exposures; one exposed normally, the other -2.0 under. I APPLIED the two images using a SOFT BLEND of 50%. Basic tweaks to levels and saturation.
That's it!
Say "Hi" to Val!
Cheers,
Mike
holy crap..I just read your comment on how u made the picture and I have no clue what u are talking about or what u did..LOL
But..the photo is lovely!
Nice place to decompress!
Hey, great minds think alike. I do some of the same things. I also like to remember what it looked like, felt like, and smelled like when I take a photo. It enhances the photo process for me when I do post processing and printing.
Here's some examples from my blog to express the point.
Example 1, Sights and sounds and smells.
Example 2, Colors.
I'll be back later and enjoy your fine blog some more.
Troy
Post a Comment
<< Home