Backlight – Page 7 – In My Back Pocket

Water – within the past week I’ve slipped and nearly tumbled on water that’s oozed and frozen into globs of ice on High Level sidewalks during my morning walks. Water has met with gravitational pull and been transported as precipitation from clouds through a distance of kilometres to earth, sprinkling erratically. Water that’s changed state from snow or ice has in its melting been responsible for transport of dust and dirt from sidewalks to drains and through sewage systems. Water has been the key ingredient in transforming dirt into mud and curiously the removal of soil from our bodies is best accomplished with … water. And, within this photo water that is not in motion becomes mirror, an enigma catching my attention as I’m able to focus through its surface to the detail in my subject, the cattails. The water mirror allows cattails to become foreground to the backdrop of clouds of pink sunset, a feat that would not have been possible without this water mirror.

Listening to – Ray Lamontagne’s I Still Care For You, Ryan Adams’ Come Pick Me Up and David Gray’s Fugitive. The David Gray tune from yesterday that’s stuck in my head is We’re Not Right; the other is Shawn Colvin’s take on We All Fall Down. Today, David Gray’s My Oh My plays out to the end of this post.

Quote to Inspire – “In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz

Cattails 1 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 1 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 2 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 2 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 3 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 3 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 4 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 4 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 5 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 5 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 6 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 6 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 7 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 7 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 8 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 8 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 9 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 9 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 10 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 10 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 11 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 11 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 12 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 12 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 13 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 13 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 14 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 14 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 15 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 15 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 16 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 16 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 17 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 17 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 18 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 18 – High Level, Alberta

Cattails 19 - High Level, Alberta — Cattails 19 – High Level, Alberta

A cube or a box – the physical structure of the spaces we tend to inhabit for the majority of our days are cubes or boxes. There’s the cube or box of home. There’s the cube or box of work. As human beings it’s important that we find the third and fourth cubes beyond our work environment and beyond the home, the third and fourth elements of our day that balance out contact with work and withdrawal from endeavor. The analogy works forward in terms of thinking outside the box, breaking from routine and locating yourself in activities in the world to gain perspective on your world. Add a camera to the equation and the analogy drills down a step – you’re gaining perspective on the world you live in in much more concrete terms. Photography allows for that look at your broader context. Photography orients you to the beauty you’ll find that’s only minutes away. In fifteen minutes, I’d driven east and found these cattails at day’s end on a warmer spring day well into melt.

Listening to – The Five Blind Boys of Alabama and their rendition of Run On For A Long Time, Feed A Man by Billy Bragg & Wilco, Shakedown on 9^th Street by Ryan Adams, Buffalo by Kathleen Edwards, Fully Completely by The Tragically Hip, Wonderwall by Ryan Adams, Eh Hee by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, You Might Die Trying by the Dave Matthews Band, U2’s Wake Up Dead Man and Jack Johnson’s Rodeo Clowns.

Quote to Inspire – “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” – Ansel Adams

In My Back Pocket – Photography

Water Mirror

Perspective – Where to Stand

Category: Backlight

Versatile Blogger …

Water Mirror

Perspective – Where to Stand