Fall Wood Ducks

Went to North Chagrin Reservation with my brother this evening.  Its part of the Cleveland Metroparks system, and is one of the best locations in North America to photograph wood ducks at close range; a fact that the small army of photographers all around us didn't neglect to remember today.  What makes it even better is the fall color reflecting off the water.  You put wood ducks this close to my lens, in great light, with fall color on the surface of the water and its pretty hard for me to miss.  I was supposed to get these birds in Mercer County, PA back when I had friends there, but I'll save that story for the movie. 

And no...snow on the trees doesn't make the water look as nice as fall leaves do.  So get out there and enjoy whats left before its too late!





Let's Eat!

It may or may not have crossed your mind as to how hungry a person has to get before they actually become a cannibal and eat a family member.  Rest easy.  Its apparently hunger on an unsurvivable scale. My brother Andrew and I bushwhacked our way all over Heberly Run in a remote area of PA State Game Lands 13 in Luzerne County yesterday.  We became so hungry that we had to talk each other out of staying on the mountain to die rather than exert additional effort to reach food.  Other than a few questionable looks, I didn't notice any signs that he was picturing me in a large pot over a fire or anything.

Yes, this could have been avoided by preparing correctly and taking food in our packs.  Hell, I bought my camera pack because it has a compartment for food built in.  But what fun would that be?  Its much better to creep .5mph down a logging road in the dark while your stomach growls loudly.  Why so slow?  The road  being crept on is hell bent on tearing the exhaust system off your car.  A result that certainly dooms all occupants to either cannibalism or death.  Both of which would likely ruin next Saturday night's plans. 

We tried to block out these fears by talking about steaks, pork chops and our all time favorite meals. Very effective. Favorite meals ran out around the time we got back into GPS range and saw signs of humanity.  Being resourceful men, once we had a calculatable distance and exact time to the nearest food source - another half hour away - we immediately distracted ourselves by staring at the clock the entire way.  Did you know its possible to stuff two hours of misery into twenty minutes of travel time?  (Play a couple games of magnetic travel bingo sometime while driving across Iowa and see for yourself.)

When the woman at Wendy's repeated my order for confirmation: "#2, no cheese, large sized with a Coke?" I thought it was some strange form of foreplay that rural people far from home do.  After a brief discussion with my brother, I nodded in the affirmative, pulled my pants back up and handed her my money.  It was one of the rare times I didn't feel repulsed while eating garbage food and to be honest, if enough ketchup was handy, I might have devoured the front door to the building on my way inside.

Another successful trip.

September/October Issue is Available!

The current issue is available now and contains a six page spread featuring several of my waterfall photographs and accompanying text!  It will be available through October 2010.

Out With the Old, in With the New

A good friend of mine is spending his last few hours as a twenty-something year old as I type these words. Right now he's pondering whether or not he'll fall off the edge of the world in his sleep when the clock strikes midnight tonight, and he has already talked to me about his life and where he is in it upon reaching one of the big birthdays. He has a beautiful family, has a good job, is starting his own business and enjoys a multitude of interests. He is in great health and has me as a friend. I know, its disgusting how blessed this kid is and how well he has done so far in his life.

On Day 10,950 of my own life I drove alone to Rimrock to watch the sun set on my twenties. I sat on the rocks looking out over the valley below reflecting on the things I had accomplished, learned and experienced in my twenties. I thought about the things I had done right and the things I had done wrong. I made a vow on the rocks of that hilltop just then that I was going to make my thirties the best damn decade of my life and that I was going to make it look like I'd sat around doing nothing in my twenties. As the sun disappeared and the curtain dropped to mark the end of another day, I hiked back to the car ready to live the next ten years rather than worry about having "lost" the last ten.

I confess to having lost track of that vow a little bit as I've started this decade of my life, but I figure I have plenty of time to get back on track. What better day to renew my vow than on the same evening my good friend is making his own?

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Now, its time to own this decade.

New Website

The new and improved website is up, albeit not yet finished.  For a long time now I've wanted a more professional looking site and have finally found a solution at photoshelter.com.  Its pretty pricey but it gives me the right combination of website elements that I've been wanting.  The new site allows me to add a lot more information in addition to photographs whereas the old site was just a straight photo hosting page.  Both of the URLs are here:

http://www.panaturephotography.com/ (new site)
www.pbase.com/tgrwoods6 (old site)

This is not the blog that will be here full time.  I have another one that will be incorporated into this site but for now, this one will have to do!