Babler State Park Photo Walk

Taking advantage of the great weather on Wednesday was a no-brainer! Deciding exactly WHAT to do, however; that was not so simple. I am an outdoorsy person and absolutely love to be in the woods. I obsess over trees and leaves and dirt - obsess, as in, I love them and feel hollow after not being 'out' (out of the hustle and bustle and into the woods where I can touch the earth) for a while. Weird? Yes, I know.

I decided a while ago that I wanted to check out Babler State Park in Wildwood. It looked as if it offered a lot of promise for a hike-loving, tree-hugging girl like me. And I tell you true, it did not disappoint - but that is for a separate article. What I wanted to blog about here is the details of the Photo Walk and discuss the results.

Most of the time us photographers avoid shooting at noon. The light and shadows are just so harsh, and that tends to flatten out the images. I know all about shooting in ambient light, however, so I wanted to shoot something in challenging light. Well, everything is also still brown and dry, and the trees are naked and skinny - and I had already determined I was going into the woods. What on earth is there to shoot at noon, in the woods, just before Spring decides to grace us with her flowery, prima donna glory? Landscapes aren't much to look at, with no green, Autumnal blazing color, or snow. So I let my eyes caress the hillside and trail before me, and found plenty of one thing in particular: texture.

I went out with the idea that every photo would be black and white, and the focus would be on the texture. Sometimes I accomplished the task at hand better than others - and a few times I failed altogether and shot the sky. But it did feel good to have an avenue of focus - instead of just shooting willy nilly, I had to take my time in the viewfinder more, and ask myself "does that really fit into what you're trying to accomplish?" The entire photo walk was an exercise in discipline (as well as a great workout for my thighs).

Sometimes though, inspiration strikes and tells you to hell with your discipline when a great shot presents itself. And your guts scream, "press that button or lose this amazing shot forever!" -And you let the shutter fly, avenue of focus, discipline, and current project at hand, all forgotten.

This photo walk was really fun. But I think next time I'm going completely urban.