ku # 1172 ~ what the frick??

Sunrise ~ Blue Mountain Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenOn the entry ku # 1168-71, Paul Maxim asked:

"Chasing the light" or "taking advantage of the light": What the frick is the difference??

IMO, the frickin' difference is: reflexively responding to a serendipitous encounter with the natural world vs. a fetishistic and obsessive-compulsive preoccupation, picture making wise, with picturing only the "right" landscape in the "right" light.

And, BTW, I didn't coin the phrase "chasing the light". It was coined, as an honorific self-aggrandizing title, by those who do, in fact, chase the light. I suspect they coined the phrase because they are very proud of the effort and work it takes to get it all so "right".

Whether one considers the nomenclature to be praise or demeaning, I am in basic agreement with the art critic, Sally Eauclaire, who so eloquently wrote:

... such photographers often choose such picturesque subject matter as prodigious crags, rippling sands, or flaming sunsets. Drawing upon the Hudson River School's legacy in painting, they burden it with ever coarser effects. Rather than humbly seek out the "spirit of fact", they assume the role of God's art director making His imminence unequivocal and protrusive.

To be certain, if "prodigious crags, rippling sands, or flaming sunsets" (et al) and "assuming the role of God's art director" float's one's picture making boat, then, by all means, have at it. It's big broad picture making world out there and somebody's got to do it.

For me, I'll just take it and make it as it comes.

civilized ku # 2319 / diptych ~ illegal to feed bear/deer

Road sign / wall of snapshots ~ between Inlet & Eagle Bay / Keyes Pancake House in Old Forge, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenIt's been a dry(ish) summer which has had the effect of severely diminishing the natural food sources of many wild animals. The most noticeable animals affected by this problem are bear and deer.

Bear and deer are most noticeable because their solution to the problem is to forage for food in close proximity to human populations. And, they're big. While deer are a nuisance - eating shrubs and munching their way through gardens and the like, bear are a pain in the ass. They have no inhibitions about coming into your kitchen through a screen door ... and I do mean through the door.

In any event, because of the dry weather / low natural food supply, 12 bears have been put down this summer as the result of being "nuisance" bears. All things considered, this number of downed bears, while unfortunate, hardly puts a dent of any consequence on the bear population inasmuch as 70% of New York State's estimated 7,000 bear population reside in the Adirondacks.

FYI, there has never been a fatal bear attack in the Adirondacks. Virtually all encounters with bears in NYS / Adirondacks are entirely benign. A bear's first instinct upon encountering a human is to turn butt and run. While there are occasional displays (when they feel threatened) of what is mistakenly thought of as aggression by a bear - swatting the ground with their paws, charging but stopping short of contact, slow and deliberate approaches, clacking teeth, huffing, growling, snorting and other sounds, those displays are, in fact, acts of defensive behavior. However, if given an opportunity to withdraw, the bear willingly and eagerly does so.

In only 1 of my several encounters with bears have I witnessed a display of all of the defensive responses listed above. The bear was defending a very large purloined tin bin of crackers and not about to give it up. His (I know the bear to be a male because he was big, much bigger than a female ever gets) display was both impressive and intimidating, so, true be told, I was the one to willingly and eagerly withdraw, albeit it very slowly.

civilized ku # 2318 ~ you can take it with you

RV + recliner ~ Old Forge, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenFiled under: where there's a will, there's a way, or, all the comforts of home, or alternatively, nothing could ever go wrong with this plan.

FYI, click here for the full version of RV bu Dana Lyons.

ku # 1168-71 ~ early morning gifts

Sunrise / birch ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Sunrise / mist ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Canoe / loon ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Shoreline / mist ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenDuring our stay on the shore of Blue Mountain Lake, the wife and I were treated to a number of spectacular sunrises. Needless to say, I made a few sunrise pictures - approximately 50 pictures to be approximate. So many that, as I post some of these pictures over the next week or so, one might come to think that I was "chasing the light".

However, if that were true, I would have had to set my alarm clock for 5:45AM, get up, make a pot of coffee, shake off some sleeping cobwebs, put on clothes, fill a coffee travel mug (with coffee), and then go outside to check out the goings on, sunrise wise, and hope for the best. But that's not at all how the pictures came to be ...

In fact, as my body's current age-related plumbing dictates, I am awaken every morning at 6-6:15 by an undeniable urge to pee. Most mornings it's just a minor annoyance inasmuch as I am able to pee, return to bed, and go back to sleep without any problem. However, last week, on at least 3 occasions, as I arose and looked out the bedroom picture window, I was confronted with some spectacular vistas and there was no chance of returning to bed.

So, instead of a well planned and orderly picture making event, I engaged in a barely-awake Chinese fire drill. At 6:15AM, Ma Nature had already raised the curtain on the picture show and, as is usually the case, she wasn't going to have an intermission just for me. My only choice was to hurry and pee (first things, first), grab whatever clothes were at hand (no time to deal with buttons or belts), grab the cameras, and head out the door with sleep in my eyes, at which point my picture making adrenaline kicked in and I was in my picture making element.

By the time the show had ended, the wife had made coffee and all was right with the world.

civlized ku # 2317 ~ small is beautiful

Principal's office / Inlet Common School ~ Inlet, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

Update on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 11:25AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Gilbert Plantinga wrote: "I saw it differently... in my Rt.28 series..." (ed. note: picture # 21 of 28)

civilized ku # 2316 ~ this one's for Colin

Chicken coop / gloves ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenOn ku # 1167, Colin Griffiths wrote:

It could be Scotland, and I'm sure that I can even smell the air! It looks like the kind of area that I could get passionate about ...

my response: Colin, thanks for the comment. In many areas here, I am certain that there some similarities between Scotland and the Adirondacks with the 2 primary differences being: 1) we've got lots of trees just about everywhere, and, 2) Scotland seems to have more gloves lying about.

ku # 1167 ~ early morning panoramic

Early morning fog and mist ~ Blue Mountain Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenI'm back and I'm processing my butt off. Lots more to come.

civilized ku # 2312-15 ~ state fair

Friday was State Fair day. While there, I visited with my cousin from California, whom I haven't seen for exacly half a century. I performed my brother's wedding on a train car at the historic train exhibit. I also saw lots of cool chickens, hot chicks, and cows. Then the wife and I were in Friday's State Fair parade.

What a day.