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โThe only kind of universe that I can even begin to conceive is an inconceivable one.โ
โ Ilyas Kassam
"The River of Life flows without emotion.
The River surges. The River quiets.
The River overflows its banks. The River dries to a trickle.
The River swirls and storms. The River becomes calm.
The River runs clear. The River runs dark with silt.
The River is indifferent to what benefit
or what harm is caused by its water.
The River is the River, and that is all there is to it."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Iโm sat in the lounge of our Anglesey holiday cottage very early in the morning, unable to sleep. Last night I did a sunset shoot of a location that the name escapes me and quite frankly is unpronounceable yet alone unspellable, but last nightโs shoot is preventing me from sleep and playing on my mind.
As a family we donโt venture to wales very often, the last time was 15 years ago when my son was a baby and it must have been the week that they pencilled in to fill the reservoirs, which seemed to have the consequence of making the people we met rather grumpy. I was in my transitional phase of film and darkroom shenanigans, to digital snapping of my then new and very energetic and son. Letโs say that I wasnโt concentrating on making beautiful images of long sandy beaches with romantic lighthouses at sunset, but I was in my sunrise, nappy and feeding stage of development! Anyway this Easter, we brushed aside old pain and have given the red patriotic dragon another chance!
When I visit a new location I canโt be sure when I will venture back so I tend to adopt a very particular style of working that is counter to all the beard scratching, rulemaking, popular consensus that states โthough must take ones timeโ, โserious work MUST be plannedโ, and my favourite, โimportant work can only be as a result of visiting the location multiple times whilst waiting for the lightโ. Well, these mantras that are everywhere need challenging. They are so pervasive in popular media that they infiltrate so many workshop clientsโ minds, like an oil slick of cheap perfume invading your senses at the gym, whilst swimming away from the offending individual, it needs a good hot shower to rinse off the pollution to expose the beauty beneath!
Ok I will be honest here, I havenโt yet seen the images I made last night, (I was too busy getting to the pub), so what Iโm about to say may be total rubbish, but it is my gut feeling that the method of working I adopted fit the circumstances best and attempts to breath downwind of the pervasive chemically infused nostril burning sent.
Ok the context. I dropped the family off at 6pm at the pub that welcomed me post shoot! I then spent 30 frustrated minutes behind some elderly lady on the trying single track roads traveling to the opposite side of the island. I didnโt know where I was going, but I figured that it would be that difficult as it was an island!!! Well when I managed to find the nature reserve I had been searching for and when I drove as fast as I dare over the speed bumps to the beautiful carpark nestled in golden grasses, swaying in the pleasantly soft caressing wind. I grabbed my gear and set off in what I guessed was the direction to the lighthouse. Well I decided not to ask for directions, or get my phone out to check, I wanted to gain the full power of the surprise when I topped the beautiful sand dunes, shaded by a forest of sweet smelling Scotch pine! Well what a shock! The lighthouse was at least two miles away along a massive beach! I must have the wrong carpark, but a bit of frantic GPS checking revelled that painful truth, I had to โleg itโ (with only one good leg, as I was supporting an ankle injury) to make the location in good light! I did consider getting back in the car and attempting to find a better solution, but I had to gamble the walk. So in my optimism that my ankle would hold out, I did! It was more of a power walk than a run, but when I eventually arrived at said location, I was very hot and in on a mission!
Now to the technical bit, (apologies for the readers that wanted to cut to the chase, I do have a tendency to attempt to use my misfortune to squeeze any semblances of humour, especially when itโs at my expense). Anyway, as you can imagine I was in a hurry to maximise the best light, at my calculations I had 20 munities. I wanted to focus on composition and exploring the new location and trying to make something different from what I had seen (and had brought me to the location in the first place). So in stressful circumstances I tend to keep it simple. I know my camera, I know my settings and I know its limitations, so I set it to them and start shooting, concentrating on composition and exploration. I slowly worked my way from the hunny shot. The one I know will work, but know it will work best in more golden light that will come when the sun is nearer the horizon. But instead of waiting there with the camera set up ready, I keep in mind the shot as an insurance policy and head off to explore around the less known unproven locations. I do this because I know that I really want to make something new and I have a preference towards being at the edge of the water and facing the setting sun (again counter to popular paradigm) but Iโm on automatic pilot, Iโm on flow enjoying the rock hopping, texture finding, exploring. Iโm out of my safety net, but loving the adventure. Iโm shooting everything that interests me, I know I will probably be making technical mistakes, some of the shots will be out of focus, some will have water on the lenses because I have forgot to wipe it away in the excitement, but some will be perfect, some will represent the joy Iโm having, some will work because Iโm not thinking too much. Iโm letting my subconscious do the worrying and trusting my technical intuition through years of well-worn neural pathways that I will get it 75% technically on the money! But importantly Iโm not stressing about the technical, Iโm focusing on the now (pun intended but ironically incorrect) Iโm choosing to block my nostrils to the technical and consciously deciding to trust my subconsciously. Mihรกly Csรญkszentmihรกlyi describes the process flow, and when having maximum fun, when totally in the moment, when in such state ones trust in the creative and the rejection of the technical to the consciously becomes addictive. Making images becomes about connecting with the now and in a sandal wearing, beard growing, sun saluting kind of way, works. Anyway, all Iโm saying is that for me it works, my circumstance, my love of adventure, my utter love of the chase and additive nature of being in the moment focusing on pleasure of the natural environment all align to make whatever I shot last night worth it, even if some of them are technically wanting (but I have yet to find out if my surprise gem is there). I will post the result here and you can decide if Iโm talking a load of rubbish, but hear me, it is lots of fun regardless (o:
ALPHA ๐บ March 22nd, 12 pm slt
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Sunrise over the Devil's Cauldron, near Whale beach, Sydney.
Nikon D810 & Nikkor 16-35mm, Breakthrough 6 stop filter. PP in PS CC using Nik Software and luminosity masks.
This image featured in a recent post on my blog: www.duncanfawkes.com/frustrations
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All images are copyright ยฉ Duncan Fawkes 2012
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MORE COLOUR AND LIGHT FROM LAST WEEKEND :)
EXIF....F4....0.3 SECONDS....ISO 100....17MM....LEE 0.9H ND GRAD
Explore #493 18-aug-09
The Alouette River , at the U,B.C. Research Forest in Maple Ridge. It was flowing fairy good due to some heavy rain. This is the first shot of several I took . I'll post the rest later.
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A daytime long exposure of big ocean flow through the railings on North Curl Curl pool, Sydney.
Nikon D810 & Nikkor 16-35mm, NiSi 6 stop/CPL combination filter. PP in PS CC using Nik Software and luminosity masks.
On the day I took this shot I had to take a long drive down into the country to collect something and I took my camera along just in case I came across something worth shooting along the way. I ended up at the end of a quiet country road and happened to find the Wairere River, a stunning lush green river with a waterfall, numerous cascades and this lovely old wooden bridge.
Sometimes it pays to just go with the flow.
Death Valley National Park, California - December 2015
Provia 100f 4x5, 75mm Super Angulon
4 seconds at f32, 2 stop soft GND filter
A salt and mud flow at the bottom of North America.
A foggy morning at low tide. Given that the Bay of Fundy has the world's highest tides, it's not surprising that we have North America's only tidal generation power station right in Annapolis Royal. This image shows the downstream section of the Annapolis river at the mouth of the bay; the white is foam, not ice, although it's often difficult to tell the difference. It's somehow comforting to know that much of the town's power comes from the ebb and flow of the tide, creating a tiny footprint - the plant itself is very small and very low-tech. It has been operating since 1984.