View allAll Photos Tagged Expectations
"It is a country to breed mystical people… perhaps poetic people… It was not prairie dwellers who invented the indifferent universe or impotent man. Puny you may feel there, and vulnerable, but not unnoticed. This is a land to mark the sparrow’s fall."
- Wallace Stegner
This is my favourite tree. It's a willow of some kind; I really should collect a leaf and seeds next year and try to I.D. the species. I drive past it - twice - every time I hike the buttes in Grasslands, and whenever the sky looks interesting, I'll stop for a photo.
On this evening, coming back home after the sun had dropped below the horizon, I liked the clouds, and especially the way the afterglow lit them up in the last light of day. The lone tree in silhouette looked great against that sky. Note the Swainson's Hawk nest - the inverted triangular shape near the top. The hawks declined to nest there this year, leading me to believe they know something I don't... maybe the old tree is going to bite the dust soon... I hope not, because it would be like losing an old friend. But every sparrow falls in the end.
Re. the Stegner quote: this is from Wolf Willow, his reminiscence of childhood years spent in and around Eastend, just west of my location, on the Frenchman River, then called Whitemud Creek. A much better name in my opinion. It's the same country, the same land that I photograph almost daily, that somehow, defying expectations, has taken hold of my heart and mind and imagination. So different from where I grew up and other places I've lived. Stegner's feel for it and descriptions of it are the best I've ever read; I think when he refers to mystical people and poetic people, he may be talking about himself.
Photographed along Butte Road in the Rural Municipality of Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
A young Fox (Vulpes vulpes) with HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Seen in The West Midlands, England on the evening of 30.8.20
Sometimes reality can be better than our expectations. But we are so busy dumbly waiting for something else & turn our backs to what we can fully be & enjoy.
This beautiful old church sits on its own near to the village of Fairfield on Romney Marsh.
It proved the ideal location for the BBC mini series “Great Expectations” and also another BBC series “Parade’s End” based on Ford Madox Ford’s novels staring Dominic Cumberpatch, screenplay by Tom Stoppard.
Por muchas vueltas que le des a una posible situación con hipotéticos finales, nunca sale como te lo esperas.
Imagínate dentro de cinco años - o de uno, para qué ir más lejos. Te puedo asegurar que no será tal y como has decidido.
Recuerdo tantos planes de invierno para días de verano...
OBSERVE Collective
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Having been under one deadline or another since age 15 I have found solitude in clicking off thousands of shots in my private 3:2 domain. The moment my face is buried in the viewfinder it becomes my world. No one is demanding "this or that" by a certain deadline, it's just me and the subject. Photography for me has always been about the physical process not the result, thats why I have so many hard drives full of material. If there are requirements or expectations from my photography it no longer is a hobby, it becomes work. This is why I will always be an amateur.
Covid has dramatically decelerated my life over the last several months. Like a thief in a holding pattern, friends taken from me with restrictions placed around me, some real some imagined.
But this pandemic has enabled the ability to review photos not examined since sequestered to a hard drive. Released from work responsibilities and let to my own thoughts Covid has caused me to be retrospective. Sharing moments with my family, friends, and even posting more on flickr.
This soon will revert back, Covid failed to put my financial obligations on hold, work starts up next week and with it all the stress and responsibilities.
The shot was taken in Alaska along side a road on the way to Kenai Peninsula.
Fourth Front Page on Explore in a row? are you kidding me?
Thanks again for the sweet comments and faves. I appreciate it so much <3
I wish a was pterodactyl.
Sometimes I get TOO caught up in making "perfection". On this particular trip I was so disappointed that we left later than I had wanted to on our four drive to the mountains (9 am instead of 4:30 am with all 6 kids! can anyone say unrealistic expectations?!) We reached the places we had drove all this way for me to see - in the dead of the afternoon. The sun was glaringly bright. I stood at this spot looking at this incredible view and instead of feeling absolutely inspired and grateful to be here - I was too busy lamenting to myself that the shadows would be harsh, that the sun had ruined the moment. Yes, I 'm ashamed. I realized that in the photographer aspect I had let myself get "selfish" and discontent. It had become all about getting the "perfect" shot. If it was perfect it wasn't worth anything. But what about those moments of sheer awe, of just being in the absolute stillness and seeing these rolling peaks, that winding road that I had just drove up just minutes before?! This whole chain of thoughts made me realize how much I needed an attitude adjustment. On the heels of that came so many encouraging comments on my last post about posting pictures of my kids. You all really gave me so much to think about it... I've been thinking and re-examining, why I shoot? Why take the pictures? Why go to the perfect places? What is my reason for picking up my camera? I had to be brutally honest with myself. I wrote my reasons down and when I felt like I wasn't being honest with myself I scribbled them out! When I finally got an HONEST list that I knew from the bottom of my heart was true, I was shocked...and sad. Shooting had become too much about other people and so much less about myself. Perhaps this has evolved as I started a business. In aspects there isn't really choice on whether your shooting for a client or for yourself. When you take on clients, you shoot differently. You shoot with a different eye - because it's for someone else. This isn't bad. I'm not trying to make it sound like shooting professionally is bad... it's just I hadn't realized that it had consumed other aspects of my life - like shooting for me. What about me? What do I shoot for as an individual outside of my business? I sat down to this picture about a week later with new eyes to reavulate and re-edit. So new attitude adjustment- I am posting this because I love the mountains and I love this spot! ;) It makes me feel good (proud even) to go places, take my kids on adventures and spend time outdoors. Recording those moments is special to me. Somewhere in my landscapes there is a longing that I feel and see when going back over them. It's a freedom, a wanderlust, a reminder to GO. Don't make excuses, don't wait til later and don't ever make excuses not to take a picture because the weather or the timing isn't right for picture!!
Thank you for all the wisdom you all impart to me in your amazing comments. They keep me going, keep me thinking and ALWAYS keep my inspired and grateful to know and have such. wonderful community around me.
Happy Wednesday friends xxoo
much love,
Rachel
Colorado National Monument was a special surprise that surpassed my expectations that I had going in. Full of unique rock formations, deep canyons, and colorful redrock this park is a much smaller and quieter alternative to places like Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon. On this particular morning I had to practice a bit of patience in the cold waiting for the sun to rise and hit a hole in the clouds allowing it to illuminate the rocky landscape. It was a special morning to be out doing photography and even more sweet time to be with my Savior.
A moody Winter's evening in the Childers Cove area along the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. I was expecting that tide to come in while I was taking these shots and I wasn't disappointed...wet feet once again.
7 Days With Flickr - B&W and Sepia (Thursdays)
@ Gateshead
St. Mary's church, now a visitor centre, enjoys a unique setting high on the banks of the River Tyne, close to the Tyne Bridge,
Sky texture courtesy of flickr member Skeletalmess.
Photography for me is all about visual story telling, and the beach is a great place to find stories. This image is part of my series "Life's a Beach".
I was fortunate that I had already photted this loco earlier in the day and got an outcome I was very happy with at Seascale, because I was disappointed with the outcome of this one at Sandside.
Increasing wind meant that the shot I wanted here of 68007 working the 10.00 Drigg B.N.F - Shap Summit Quarry was compromised by limited pole height as a result of wind gusts of up to 30mph.
Heavy lightning storm above the Ligurian coast near La Spezia, Italy.
This year I was not able to do as much photography as I usually do and I was very happy to go to Tellaro, one of my favourite places in Northern Italy, on the evening of my birthday.
There was some forecast for rainy weather and I was hoping to get some interesting skies, but what actually happened was above and beyond my expectations. A beautiful colourful sunset was followed by a spectacular thunderstorm with plenty of photo opportunities.
A fisherman returns to the Milang Jetty, Souh Australia.
A Pod of pelicans, also gathered like peas in a pod, wait with expectations of a tasty treat from the fisherman.
I’ve been chasing bee shots for a while, and today it finally happened! 🐝
With JJ by my side on his retractable leash (tucked under my foot so he’d stay put), I locked my camera in and got ready. The bees were zipping left and right — I must have taken about 30 captures until one turned out just right.
Finally caught a bit of beeuty in flight — and I couldn’t be happier.
She'll only break your heart, it's a fact. And even though I warn you, even though I guarantee you that the girl will only hurt you terribly, you'll still pursue her. Ain't love grand? - Ms. Dinsmoor
Himinn minn eiginn (Sky, my own photo)
Gras, mín mynd ( grass my photo) st.James's Park in London
Kastali, browse.deviantart.com/resources/?q=Castle#/d1m3j56
Boy, eirian-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=%2F&offs...
I never have expectations when I head fro the beach, but I always go in the knowledge that things can change very quickly. Cloud systems can fill an empty blue sky within a few minutes, so the fun is in the unexpected. For once this shot ignores the reflections, and gives the shimmering drying sand a chance. No expectations is by Soulsavers