Imagination and Memory

Sometimes imagination is as useful to me as memory - both can be wonderful aids to breaking through the two-dimensional picture plane of the photographs that are often my source material in the winter months. A place I've never been, if it's the right kind of place, can invite me in and make me want to explore a landscape, to capture something of it's essence. Even if I don't know what a place sounds or smells like, and even when I have no idea what's just over 'my' shoulder with these static points-of-view, a pleasing combination of colors and contrasts arranged by nature 'just so' (or manipulated by me to alter the view a bit) can still work it's magic.

For a couple of weeks I've been working with photographs of the national parks of Wales:

There seems to be a bit of New Zealand in these views to me - a folded landscape with deep clefts - and the presence of moving water gives them a built-in sound that's attractive too.

In February, we're off to Joshua Tree National Park for a day, so I've been researching hikes and landscapes we might want to investigate if we can. This view of a sometimes dry reservoir called Barker Dam had wonderfully dark late afternoon shadows coupled with the golden glow of sunset on the rocks, but it started with a drawing that nailed the depth and motion of tumbled stones. Some days things just work - even if the drawing was dashed off in the front seat of my car while waiting for the kids to get out of school:

As always, clicking on any of these gives you a larger view...
Clay