Ideas and Works in Progress

I think its interesting where ideas for pictures come from.  Whenever I go out to take pictures I have, filed away in the back of my mind, numerous ideas for pictures I want to take eventually.  Some of those ideas have been kicking around in my brain for years, just waiting for the right combination of events and conditions to occur.  The ideas come from numerous source- things I observe, conversations with other people, etc.  Most of the time the picture I ultimately take is not exactly what I had in mind.  Sometimes its better, but most of the time its not quite what I wanted and so I take what I learn from one shot, file that information away in my head, and try to improve on the next opportunity.

The picture above, of a female Desert Box Turtle in the rain, is a good example.  In an online discussion recently with a friend the topic of these turtles and the dependance of their activity on the summer monsoon rains came up.  Later, while driving on a desert road with another friend during a downpour we had the unfortunate experience of encountering a Desert Box Turtle that had just been hit by a car.  These two events combined in my mind produced an idea for taking a photo of a Desert Box Turtle that would illustrate the importance of the monsoon rains to the species.

The next time it rained I went out looking for Box Turtles.  I found this female on a sand road in the rain and stopped my truck fairly close to her.  I then crawled under my truck, (to protect the camera and lens from the rain), and shot.  I think the resulting picture is a work in progress, its not quite what I wanted.  I want the rain to be more prominent next time which will require a combination of harder rain, (though this was hard enough to soak my back as I was getting under the truck!), and perhaps back-lighting to emphasize the rain.  I shot at 1/125 sec, because the light was low and I didn't want too fast an ISO.  I like the blurred rain, but also think I'd like to experiment with sharper rain, assuming I can find a turtle out in hard rain while the sun is shinning.  That combination can happen, but not very often.  I'd also like if the turtle where out of its shell more, maybe even walking.  Finally, not to be sexist, but I would really prefer a male turtle, simply because their heads and forelimbs are more colorful than those of females.

Thats part of what keeps nature photography interesting though.  You're never finished.  There's always something new to shoot or to improve on!

getting old sucks!

The footprints in the picture above were made by my very own short, wide hobbit feet.  Nearly three weeks ago I was at White Sands National Monument on the night of the full moon.  The footprints were made as I was racing to the top of the tallest dune I could find in anticipation of the moon rising, just after sunset.  Towards the top of the dune I found the easiest place to walk was right along the crest, but the problem was that my left foot ended up on the leeward side of the dune and my right on the windward side.  The sand on the leeward side was considerably firmer than on the windward side, (remember this is right along the crest, might be completely different further down either slope).  The result of that was that with every step my right foot would sink in the sand and my whole body would kind of lurch to the right.  What was a minor annoyance that evening became down right painful the next morning, when I could barely stand or walk without feeling an extreme pain in my right hip.  After a visit to my primary care physician and then to an orthopedist the diagnosis came back as sciatica.  I've been resting and recuperating and haven't really been out seriously taking pictures ever since, (100 degree temperatures have had something to do with that also).  On the bright side though I'm starting to feel a lot better and I had time to make this website!  Still, getting old sucks!