"Lone Tree, Fields, Mountains" (Week 27/52)
Each day, while on my way to and from work, I pass a tree in the distance. Set against the backdrop of the not-so-distant mountains, I find myself looking to see what clouds are coming in from the coast or to see how much fog there is, or to check out what kind of sunset we're having today.
Well, this day I decided not to allow another passing to go by without at least trying to capture something of what makes that tree always pull on my attention so strongly. I got out of my car, parked along the road, and I walked back and forth shooting it from different angles until I settled upon this angle and composition that I most liked.
It was in post-processing, though, that this sort of "vintage" feel emerged, helping me clarify what I feel while moving daily through this space in Northern California where I live. It occurred to me that the landscape I see every day reminds me of the history of this region in particular and of California more generally. The impermanence of agriculture and the built environment, which will someday pass away, revert to its original state, or evolve into something new and not yet seen, all remind me of the relative permanence of the trees, the mountains, and the sky. Sometimes I look with envy at the photos of people who live in places like Europe and elsewhere, but today I realize just how much I love the "spectacular everyday-ness" of this magnificent place I call home.
I am always looking to invite a contemplative quality into my photography practice, making it an extension of my daily meditative practice. To be sure I do not always achieve it, but this image represents––at least for me––what it looks like when I do.
This is... me.
"Lone Tree, Fields, Mountains" (Week 27/52)
Each day, while on my way to and from work, I pass a tree in the distance. Set against the backdrop of the not-so-distant mountains, I find myself looking to see what clouds are coming in from the coast or to see how much fog there is, or to check out what kind of sunset we're having today.
Well, this day I decided not to allow another passing to go by without at least trying to capture something of what makes that tree always pull on my attention so strongly. I got out of my car, parked along the road, and I walked back and forth shooting it from different angles until I settled upon this angle and composition that I most liked.
It was in post-processing, though, that this sort of "vintage" feel emerged, helping me clarify what I feel while moving daily through this space in Northern California where I live. It occurred to me that the landscape I see every day reminds me of the history of this region in particular and of California more generally. The impermanence of agriculture and the built environment, which will someday pass away, revert to its original state, or evolve into something new and not yet seen, all remind me of the relative permanence of the trees, the mountains, and the sky. Sometimes I look with envy at the photos of people who live in places like Europe and elsewhere, but today I realize just how much I love the "spectacular everyday-ness" of this magnificent place I call home.
I am always looking to invite a contemplative quality into my photography practice, making it an extension of my daily meditative practice. To be sure I do not always achieve it, but this image represents––at least for me––what it looks like when I do.
This is... me.