Non-Fiction Writing | Painting With Light

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The Road

September 20, 2009

“The Road” © R.L. Herron

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~ from “The Road Not Taken”
by Robert Frost

I took this photo the other day with my Canon 30-D dSLR. It was late in the afternoon in Bald Mountain State Park. There’s not a lot of activity in the park this time of year, and the roads and trails, lakes and picnic tables are little used.

It was really too early in the year to see any fall color and not late enough in the day to take advantage of the waning sun for the decent, warm light photographers want for their photographs … except here.

The narrow road seemed almost enveloped by the park’s underbrush and trees, and the late afternoon sun made it seem like this stretch was a long, dark tunnel coming out into the light.

I could not help being reminded of those last three lines of Frost’s famous poem, one of my favorites. It often amazes me where life has led to this point.

The journey’s certainly not been what I envisioned for myself at sixteen. But, as I look back on it, it hasn’t been bad, either. It’s actually been pretty good, and it’s just … well, it just is.

And I can hardly wait to see what’s on the road tomorrow.

Posted in Non-Fiction Writing, Storytelling | 2 Comments »

The Fence Post

September 15, 2009

“The Fence Post” © R.L. Herron

I don’t know what it is about this particular image that captivated me so much. I do know that I took several pictures of it, and this is the one I liked the best.

It wasn’t too far from the picture of the field in the post just before this. Nothing spectacular about it. An overgrown field, full of soon-to-flower goldenrod (oh! my allergies!) and Queen Anne’s Lace, surrounded by a lot of tall grasses and other weeds, with an old wooden fence post, accompanied by some metal posts for support.

Perhaps it was the tiny, solitary yellow flower in this sea of weeds (hard to see here … it’s just to the right of the old post … click on the image to see a larger version). I know it sounds trite, but to me it’s a telling image of diversity and life, thriving even without man’s intervention. Or perhaps I’m seeing more than there really is to see.

I could have just written about it, but that’s the neat thing about cameras. This whole painting with light thing called photography … it allows you to record the images you see that mean something to you, and share them. Kind of the whole rationale behind the social media explosion, which is a marketing venue that is just beginning to come into its own.

I know it may not be everyone’s idea of an image worth sharing, but I liked it, and now I’ve shared it here.

Posted in Non-Fiction Writing | 1 Comment »

Plowing as Art

September 3, 2009

I’ve been a little lax in posting lately. After my father passed away, writing and taking pictures just didn’t seem as relevant as it once did. The urge to create is coming back, but it’s a slow process.

I came across this photograph, taken earlier this year when we were visiting my in-laws.

My father-in-law is almost 93. His tractor is older than a lot of folks I know, but he was willing to fire it up and use it to plow a small area on his farm for his daughter (my wife), so a few things like corn and squash could be planted.

Nothing spectacular, just a small garden.

Other than occasional mowing, nothing much has been done with this particular portion of the field for years. This picture was taken just as he was getting started. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the challenge. He’s really a remarkable man.

His efforts reminded me of the irrepressible urge of humanity at all ages to create, on whatever level possible.

It got me thinking again about continuing to use my meager talents to do what I enjoy so much, creating interesting or thought-provoking images, or writing about the human condition.

I hope you don’t mind.