The title of this blog entry comes from a U2 song, “Promenade,” so, props to Bono.
From my journal: “Monday morning. Back from Ada and the Wichitas. How to describe the three-day trip? “Epic” won’t quite do. I came home inspired, ready to think and feel and act differently. When your lens aperture widens, it can shift your paradigm. This trip will serve as a mile marker.
“I have so far gotten at least three blog entries out of the trip, with more to come. I accomplished all I set out to do, fulfilling the directive of ‘goals, tools, ideas’ I had set for myself. I shot photos at Wintersmith Park in Ada (magic minute, awesome), at Richard’s gun range, and made brand-new pictures in the Wichitas in addition to re-doing some images I made in that region in 2014. (What a difference eight years of experience makes!)
“We visited Meers; the Cedar Plantation; the Visitors Center; the Holy City and Christ of the Wichitas; Forty-Foot Hole; various parks and grassland areas; Mt. Scott (of course), and Medicine Park. Also made various stops for photos in small towns en route. I shot very well, using my Canon 80D and Nikon “kit” camera (the same one I used in 2014). Various lenses. Hundreds upon hundreds of photos; I even made a few videos for posterity. On them, you can hear the ceaseless roar of the prairie winds. They are powerful enough to give you a moment of panic on some of the higher peaks.
“We didn’t stop for lunch, instead hitting everything on our photography agenda. Richard was in fine form (shooting in 100 percent monochrome), but I could tell that he was sad, perhaps knocked back harder by his loss than I anticipated. I think he needed this creative endeavor. Well, we both did.”
Open Aperture 