The Series: Old Well

The Carolina campus is one of my favorite settings.  It is that quintessential college campus that has so many interesting facets to capture and, quite honestly, it's tough to take a bad picture there, even on the rainiest of days.

It's certainly a conundrum, this trying to capture an entire campus in one shot -- how do you do it?  There are those iconic images, those hidden gems, places where historical buildings meet innovative structures.  The student body is so varied; how do you portray that through the lens in a way that doesn't appear staged?  An ideal shot would be a panoramic of the quad with morning light AND students...but some things just don't exist in nature.

Every campus has their one symbol that is instantly identifiable as theirs.  At Iowa, it's the Old Capitol - imagine our horror when it caught on fire in 2001 (at least this was an accident, unlike the Auburn oaks).

At UNC, it's the Old Well.  What once served as the original water source for campus now stands as the gathering point for everyone from visitors to current students to alumni.  It is an image that immediately evokes a sense of this place, arguably more than any other on the Carolina campus.

When the azaleas come into bloom, this space is nothing short of magical, especially when the sky is clear to reveal that perfect Carolina blue canopy overhead.  It is simply Carolina, then, now, and forever.

 

 

 

The Series: Great Blue Herons

Many Native American traditions believe in totem animals that provide spiritual guidance and lessons throughout our lives.  In this tradition, the Great Blue Heron stands for individuality, uniqueness, balance, and peace.

Herons seem to have a way of finding me.

Back in Davenport, we had a large pond out back that was home to the standard run of urban woodland creatures: squirrels, deer, raccoons, ducks, the occasional groundhog -- but we also had a heron nest that was used every year.  Though I moved away many years ago, my mother tells me that the herons are still there.

Last fall, I traveled through western North Carolina, starting with an afternoon sitting on an empty cove along the shores of Lake Norman.  As I read under the shade of the trees, I enjoyed the quiet, broken only by the occasional boat in the distance and the steady lapping of the water against the shore.

And then there it was.

I sat, still and silent, watching the heron wade in the shallows, catching minnows and whatever other small creatures were living there.  After about twenty minutes, it meandered off...and so did I.

That next spring, I was caught completely off guard by a heron on my roof.  These are the best shots I have of the creature, as I had the perfect combination of good lighting, clear blue sky, and a patient subject that somehow stayed still long enough for me to capture it in great detail.

 On a recent trip to DC, I was exploring the Jefferson Memorial as part of a segway safari (incidentally, a fabulously fun way to see the city).  As my friend and I made our way around the perimeter of the monument, I spotted another heron in the shallows of the Tidal Basin.  The fading evening light and the compressed timeframe made for a less than ideal shot, but the blurry edges of it almost captures the moment better: something fleeting and on the edge of your vision.

I've since seen my current resident heron flying overhead a few more times, once with a partner, so I imagine somewhere off in the grove of trees there are little heron chicks getting ready to make their first flights.  I can only hope they make another stop on my roof and that I'm there to witness it.

Today is an 8

Whatever you think of horoscopes in a general sense, I enjoy reading mine.  Today's seems to be written just for me and my camera:
 
Today is an 8 - Get lost in the beauty, wherever you find it. True love gets revealed in an unexpected place. Savor the moment by living it to the fullest. Take pictures, if you must.
 
I wonder what I'll find for my daily photo quest today...

The Shot: Mantis Dance

It's about the little things.

While tending to my basil a few weeks ago, I came across a tiny praying mantis -- just a baby, but already in full attack mode, hunting for insects.  How it got all the way up to my deck, I haven't a clue.  I grabbed the camera and began to snap, adjusting my own distance to allow my macro setting to work best.

Incidentally, always wear a wrist strap or neck strap or some other means of attaching your camera to your body.  A multi-story drop is not ideal for your equipment.

As it turns out, basil is not only tasty, it's beautiful to photograph.  And it apparently provides a good starter home for one of my favorite insects.

Trying to move the pot to get a better angle only startled it -- even in a controlled environment, you can't control everything. 

It stuck around for a couple of weeks, growing a bit.  I haven't see it for awhile now; at first, I thought it was just hiding in the ever bushier leaves, but by now, I'm pretty sure it's gone off in search of better hunting grounds. 

The Projects: Daily photo blog

I enjoy a challenge. I'm also inspired by others.

To that end, I'm pulling some bits and pieces of ideas together from a variety of places and starting an on-going project. In addition to the weekly in-depth posts here, I am trying to keep a daily wordless photo journal over here.


This isn't meant to be my journal per se, but moreso a journal of interesting shots I come across during the day. The pictures will likely be completely unrelated (though there may be themes that crop up, as I tend to be drawn to things like windows, reflections, and bees & butterflies), but they'll harken back to the ideas of finding the beauty in the everyday, seeking the extraordinary in the ordinary, and rethinking the mundane.  Of course, there will also be opportunities to embrace a sense of humor, too.

 

The link will stay live in the rightside column here, plus you'll be able to get back here from there by scrolling to the bottom.  Come along, browse, and enjoy!