Light (6/23)

The next story I would like to share through my blog is my journey through Petrified Forest National Park.  Because it has been a few weeks since I visited, June 23 to be exact, I made some notes to jog my memory and began collecting photos to include in this post.  While going through the photos I realized that there are two stories I would like to tell about June 23, 2012.  One is about the events and adventures of the day, and the other is about light.


I recently heard the artist Moby interviewed on NPR - not about his music, but about his photography.  Regarding his photographs, he was asked by the host, "what story are you trying to tell?"  This question got me wondering - what story am I trying to tell with this blog and with my photographs?  


As part of Moby's answer he shared what his photography uncle instilled in him:  

And one thing - one sort of ethos that he instilled in me is the idea that if I'm gonna be a photographer, I should try and take pictures of things that other people either haven't documented, like things that I exclusively have access to or quotidian things that I see in a different way.

Although I am experiencing amazing natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest for the first time this summer, there are certainly well-photographed landscapes.  I do not have exclusive access to them and thankfully.  They are and should be available to all people.  But what I do have is my very own experience of these amazing places - the ability to see them in my own unique way.  

My Photography Ethos:  

I admit that this is partly due to laziness and time constraints, but I very rarely edit my photos other than cropping when necessary.  On a few occasions, I have adjusted the exposure or temperature of a photo to tone down or bring out the colors.  But for the most part, I leave them as they were taken.  I do not give them a sepia tone or blur the edges, even those these effects do look pretty great sometimes.  While part of this can be attributed to laziness and time constraints, I think a bigger part of it has to do with authenticity.  Being real, honest and truthful is something I pride myself in and seek out in others.  Leaving my photos in the form they were taken - the light, the contrast, the sometimes blurry subjects, the blemishes - is authentic.  

To obtain beautiful photos without altering them means experiencing beauty in one way or another - things that are traditionally beautiful or seeing beauty in untraditional circumstances.  Beautiful, natural light is a gift all photographers appreciate and something I greatly value.  On June 23 I was given the gift of my favorite light - a cloudy, blue-grey sky.  The clouds were a gift in the hot Arizona desert in more ways than one, but a special gift for me as a photographer.  

With that lengthy introduction, I will now share my journey through Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert with my photos.