The snow is getting deeper and squeezing its way into my boots. I am seriously regretting leaving my ski pants in the truck but thankful my wife wore hers. She kindly makes a partial path in the snow. I’m concentrating on aligning my steps with her tracks while carefully scanning the forest around us. Neither is working particularly well.
I don’t know what I’m looking for but confident I’ll know when I see it. Photography can be a journey into the unknown – a search for elusive beauty. It’s a bit ironic that I now spend considerable time on this artistic side of life. It wasn’t always so.
Going way back to grade five, my art interest was negligible. I tried drawing horses but they somehow ended up looking strangely like pigs. With no satisfaction after a few attempts, I abandoned all hope and interest in what I knew to be art.
The rule in art class was that I had to draw one picture before I could read a book. I learned to quickly slap something together and get back to the wonderful world of fiction.
Suddenly my mind snaps back to the forest. I see the sun peek through the trees and hit the snowy forest floor. I found it! My wife wanders off as I raise my camera and try to determine the best composition. I have started the process of deleting.
Nature photographers start with a finished canvas and keep deleting until only the photo remains. I only need to see the beauty around me. That’s good because I’m pretty lousy at creating it. The problem with my grade five art class was that we started with a blank piece of paper.
I’m still learning the art of seeing. Sometimes that means not getting distracted by things like the cool feeling of snow melting in my boots.
I start heading back with a smile on my face. That was a beautiful spot. Now back to the truck and the safely stowed ski pants.
Krahnpix 
Two really beautiful photos. I love how you captured the sparkling snowflakes 🙂
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Thanks. Snow can really be a beauty blanket!
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top shot is wicked light and right moody lyle
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Thanks. I told you I like moody light,and can occasionally find it though not nearly as often as you!
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What a great writer you are!
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Well thank you.
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I really like that idea of “deleting” I studied drawing in college – the blank page takes more of out of you to fill with something good or worth looking at – with a camera all we need to do is put something inside the rectangle that is interesting to look at – it’s so right-brained that it’s almost instinctive. Nice post!
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When I first read about it (much later than you), it instantly made sense to me. When its starting to feel instinctive as you say, the creativity flows a lot more easily.
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Your post is the first I heard of the concept of “deleting” but I think it perfectly describes photography. I love when I lose time shooting – just reacting and framing.
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Lost in the zone is a pretty special place.
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Indeed it is
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Stunning photo; one of my favourites.
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Glad you liked it – much different than what I usually post.
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well there’s still snow………….
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I’m beginning to think that you like snow a lot.
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I relate to your thoughts on seeing rather than creating beauty. But what you cause your camera to see creates beauty for the rest of us. Thanks!
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I appreciate those thots. It’s true the camera provides me with the opportunity to create beauty.
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At a quick first glance at your post title I thought it was going to be about deleting images. I guess it’s because I’m in that frame of mind I have three external hard drives that are getting full and I have to make room.
I do agree with and appreciate your approach, I feel I often do the same out there in nature.
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Yes the photos seem to grow exponentially and more of that kind of deleting is also in order.
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Incredibly real description of the process – ‘I’ll know it when I see it…’ The hunt for beauty takes so many forms – but it seems to satisfy a heart-hunger somewhere deep, and it drives us to create and capture or record what our soul finds beautiful – the Arts in a nutshell. Great post. (Now, can you delete the snow?) 🙂
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Thanks. You described the hunger so well.
It turns out deleting the snow is really quite simple. Just tilt your camera upward a few degrees and it’s done.
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Haha – good tip! I’ll try it! 😉
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Wow, awesome!!!
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Thank you.
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Worth the wait… Looks wonderful!
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Thanks. There seems to be a lot of waiting involved in this whole area of photography.
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How true! We do not choose without rejecting what we haven’t chosen.
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Thanks. I wish I had stated it so well!
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I like your description of “seeing” and “creating”. Years ago, when learning to see a potential image, I would always know right away what I DIDN’T want it to look like. I didn’t always know what I wanted right away, but by weeding out what I DIDN’T want, it became easier to identify what made it special. Thank you for sharing. As always you inspire me to think about creating images that stand out from the rest.
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I am so pleased to be inspiring in some small way. The whole process of making photos fascinates me.
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A good description of the process. Sometimes you have to really focus on your subject and let the surroundings be what they are. I sometimes visualize the background as a blank canvas so that I only see my subject and then worry about the whole picture later.
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That’s an interesting approach – I’ll have to try it.
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Lovely photo with gorgeous lighting. Thank you dear friend. Well worth getting damp feet for. Like you, I tried to draw horses when I was very young and then gave up trying to be creative, convinced I was no good. All these years later, and like you, I am enjoying the emergence of hidden talents. I wonder how many more of us there are? I also always wanted to be able to write, so that’s my next project. Bless you for lighting the way for me.
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Thanks. I didn’t expect a fellow traveller on that indirect journey – perhaps there are others. All the best with your desire to add writing to the quiver!
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