With my 70^th birthday sneaking up Father Time has been peeking in the window.  Well, he finally got a swipe at me. Downsizing to a smaller and lighter camera, yet still multiple format camera is still filling up the backpack at just over 40 lbs. Sometimes I try to zero in on the lens and format for a particular location before leaving the car in an effort to lighten the load. That wasn’t the case for this month’s image.

   Only one town from me the Mattabasset Creek has been a resource for a number of images I respond with. While still working I used to drive by this particular location twice a day, I was always intrigued by a stand of trees in a triangular shape. On an overcast Dec. 30^th I loaded up the camera with an eye towards making an image of the stand of trees that had been kicking around in my head for several years.  Several tries to access the vantage point I was after were denied by numerous areas of standing water I would have to cross to arrive at an appropriate vantage point. A secondary access point behind where my granddaughter plays basketball seemed to offer the least restrictive access. After a steep decline down to the creek level I still encountered a number of small trails of shallow water that required crossing. I was not able to get to the vantage point I wanted because of a section simply too deep to venture across.

   I began searching for a worthy image for my efforts and settled on the one seen as this month’s image. The vantage point I chose still required crossing low standing water as seen in the cell-phone snapshot below. The camera was essentially standing on a spit of land surrounded by water to gain a vantage point for an interesting image. Early in this winter season I had put a large trash bag in my pack to cover the camera during falling snow. Turned out the first time I would use that trash bag was to provide a buffer between the wet muddy ground and the backpack itself. 

   I was drawn to this composition first from the black branch hanging over the creek and the reflection of water itself. The water’s reflection acts just like a mirror in your living room, it gives the impression of a larger space, in the case of a 2 dimensional photograph it offers the impression of depth, a vital compositional element for me. For me, the image is successful in the sense it provides a visual journey throughout all parts of the composition, while providing enough confusion to attract the viewer’s interest as to just what the purpose of the image is. I exposed the 5×7″ film and headed back for the steep climb back to the car.

   On the drive home I continued to wonder how I could access the stand of triangular trees I had been denied earlier in the day. Once home I checked the tide table app on my phone and found the tide was nearly at its highest point during the time I was there. I checked the coming days for tides and found Jan. 2^nd a much lower tide would provide the access across some of the standing water allowing me access to the area I was after. 

   Fortunately, Jan. 2^nd was an overcast day and would provide the elements important to make an image. I returned and made my way towards the location from another direction and came upon the stand of water that had halted me the previous week. With a full backpack I chose to cross the stream with a fallen tree on my left side so if something went wrong I had something secure to prevent a serious consequence to my plan. Leading with my right foot across the standing water my foot instantly sunk into 4-5 inches of mud. With my left elbow along the top of the fallen tree (seen here) I braced and hung on, memory tells me I simply withdrew my foot from the muck and I continued onto the vantage point I was after. At that point there was no pain in my knee, I was simply relieved I didn’t fall with a heavy backpack and some pricey equipment inside.

   The irony to this tale, I was ultimately stopped by the full creek denying access to even reveal the stand of 3 trees, essentially the front tree was obscuring the 3rd tree in the middle and somewhat behind. By the next morning the pain in my right knee was significant, something was wrong. Jump ahead to March 3^rd, just home from quick trip to Texas I had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus from the January 2^nd brush with Father Time. Not long after learning of the knee issue I came to grips with ways to reduce the weight of the backpack on my backside. Unwilling to give up camera equipment in the backpack it became clear, I had to somehow lighten my load. Fortunately, I’m more than halfway to shedding 40 lbs on the front side…Father Time maybe undefeated, but he hasn’t completely had his way with me yet !