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A Search for Wonder

I learned about Brazil, the magic of fireflies and the celestial spectacle of the Northern Lights from my father.  As a child in Chicago and later as a ship’s surgeon travelling to South America, his stories of nature’s wonders found their way into my mind and heart and had a lasting effect on the life I was to live in photography. At 23, I packed up my camera, 3 lenses and 2 mini-speed lights and went off to the Amazon to photograph poisonous frogs and bioluminescent creatures.  Needless to say, my experience was like that of many novice photographers, my love of picture making exceeded my technical and visual grasp. The photographs that I brought back were far from stellar, but the experience of the rain forest and the amazing diversity of plant and animal life created a lasting impression.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Since then I have been looking for “wonder” much closer to home. The challenges that I try to solve in my pursuit of landscape photography have less to do with what I see, and more to do with just how I “see” it.

I never know when I will find that next photograph. Each image seems to come in its own time, and only when I am ready to see it for what it can be.  Those moments of recognition don’t come often, and when they do, I had better have all the technical pieces in place or at least in my backpack. The saying goes that luck favors the prepared. That is the main reason that I go into the field with my Manfrotto Pro Backpack 50.

Ice and Pier, Oak Bluffs MA, Marthas Vineyard 800px

Michael Zide at work, Buffam Falls, Pelham MA 800 px

The Pro 50 is one of those products that delivers everything that it promises. From the outside in, the construction is designed with sturdiness and rugged use in mind.  I can put the pack in the trunk of my car and not worry about my camera bodies and lens clanging against each other no matter how rough the back road I may travel. I can reconfigure the velcro dividers to hold all my camera gear snuggly. This versatile backpack is also designed to hold a tripod and even my 15 inch laptop. On my back, the weight is comfortably distributed so that I can keep moving, no matter the season or the condition. Last February , trying to shoot at Buffam Falls might have been the exception. The depth of the snow made walking close to impossible.

The Flume, Shutesbury MA 800px

The Flume Deep Snow, Shutesbury, MA 800px

The saying, “The best photographs are made on days when sane people prefer to stay indoors”, is true, especially for landscape photography. Thunder storms, ice storms, snow storms, all add something unexpected and potentially evocative to landscape photographs. Creating exciting photographs usually means that they possess something extra; some mystery, mood and emotional tone. It’s a more heightened experience of what we might otherwise take for granted.

Three Rocks and Sun | Aquinnah, MA

South East Street, Amherst, MA 800px

The photographs taken of me at work span several months and seasons. I tend to work in or around water, balancing my bag and myself in some awkward positions at times. I appreciate those 4 rubber “feet” on one end of this backpack. They do a great job in keeping the bottom of my bag dry. The outside surface of the bag is water resistant which gives me an added feeling of security no matter where the backpack ends up.

Squibnocket Ocean Fence, Chilmark Marthas Vineyard 800px

It’s a backpack for anyone who needs to show up ready to work.

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