Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON
I’m lucky to be able to travel to some amazing places with my camera. This was shot on the very edge of Lake Kathleen in Kluane National Park, in the Yukon.
I guess it’s a clear example of looking beyond the obvious for something to shoot.
The light was not great. It was mid-morning last September. There was a fairly strong breeze and there was heavy cloud cover. We were literally on the shale at the water’s edge and surrounded by hills to our left and right.
In front of us was the gateway to some amazing snowy peaks. All around us was autumn foliage that seemed to span every colour.
Yet my eye was drawn to this simple sight, so devoid of colour that it was almost a monochrome. The dappled light across the water was one factor; the beautiful variations across the wet wood of this heavy branch was another.
I only shot three frames, but I would have loved to know how long the thick branch had been there. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? A century, maybe?
Nature places many stunning sights in our path, The trick is to stop and identify them, even if they are not vivid splashes of colour.
Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.
27 comments:
How true, David, that we need to look at the monochrome parts of our lives and our surroundings and find the beauty. And I am reminded constantly of your comment that if we look a second time, it's worth a photo!
I like the story. So many times we pass by without casting the second glance, without giving a thought how much it has to tell.
Live life with your eyes open (and often your mouth closed) -- that's my motto.
Great shots here!
my kind of images! Beauty is where we find it. It is the overlooked subjects that lend themselves photogenic.
Everyone enjoys the graceful silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, but zoom in and notice the intricate steel webbing that is the Eiffel Tower.
If we keep our eyes open, we find beauty in the most unexpected places...even things that seem beyond their prime...like the old branch...one just needs to focus properly... :-) Thanks for sharing your wonderful perspective of life...
You captured the moments perfectly. I love these photos.
Breeze
Beautiful photos! They made me feel peaceful just be looking at them.
Those are great pictures. What talent you have.
And love your point, too. We should all slow down, and there is some beauty in everything.
Any shot with water seems to be scenic, or add the the scenery ... even if its just a chunk of wood.
Like people we see everyday, but pass on by. How often have we just looked the other way.
Great photos
That's what I like about you, you find the beauty in the ordinary!
OOO I love the closeup one. I'm guessing it had been there a while!
I never knew of a Lake Kathleen. I'll have pay a visit.
Your shots make me wish for an hour, a day, a week of solitude there, of time to retreat, meander, sit and listen for the quiet little voice inside that says: be still and know that I am.
Send directions, will you?
Do you know what was so fascinating and drew my eye? The tiny green moss in picture two! Brilliant all round. i loved it!
There are three abstract objects I saw in these three photographs. I'll name them in order:
Photo #1: An old woman with white long hair.
Photo #2 A monkey
Photo #3 A horse
I'm not telling which position they are. But if you have eyes for details, you'll know what I mean.
They are beautiful. I particularly love the first picture, breathtakingly beautiful yet such a simple thing. We all need to keep our eyes open, we have so much to be in wonder over.
I love the design of the last one but the second one captured a little alien world.
Oh David! I've been so busy and had so little time for the joy of blogging and commenting of late, but I just had to tell you how much I love these pictures! They make me want to be outside, in fact take me there. Thank you! I've seen water like that in the early morning hours driving past Corpus Christi Bay. Exquisite!
Cheers!
Lee
So well said and photographed. I take shots just like these and store them in my mind's eye. Perhaps they can't be shared, but I can always access them at a later time for more oooohing and ahhhing.
I really love the last picture
great photo friday
This is exactly the reason some people take photographs while others take pictures. And there's no better example of the concept than the closeup shot in your second frame here. I like them all (but I'm a fan of monochrome to begin with) but the tiny sprouts of ... whatever that is add just enough of a touch of color. We replicate this phenomenon in "spot color" shots all the time. Even before Photoshop people used hand tinting or airbrush to achieve the effect. Seeing the places where nature has done the job for us, is quite the trick!
great pics...you are an inspiration to a novice photographer!
How lucky you are to travel to so many lovely places! I love this:
"Nature places many stunning sights in our path, The trick is to stop and identify them, even if they are not vivid splashes of colour."
Those are wise words to live by. Beauty in all things.
this reminds me of a wonderful shot I was able to get of a spectacular mushroom growing on the side of a fallen Birch log.Produced a pastel drawing of the same photo I liked it so much.
Beautiful pics of the Yukon David. I've never been to either of the territories, but it's on my travel wish list.
Okay, that last shot? IT MUST BE ON A COVER OF A MAG. Fantastic David.
And the story? Perfection.
Interesting closeup shot of the wood, but i my favorite is the second shot with the sky, water, and log in the foreground!
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