This morning I awoke to seriously rumbling thunder and pouring rain. My week long wardrobe does not include rain boots and a poncho which is odd because I prefer to be annoyingly prepared for all kinds of weather. Instead of allowing this to bring me down, I decided to embrace the rain and go for a walk. Our photo theme this week is water so it was the perfect time to start a photo shoot! I shot a really great slow mo video of rain drops falling into a puddle. You can see it via FB and Instagram. If you look closely at the still, you can see my umbrella and reflection.
This morning we corralled in a van to visit a wildlife refuge. It is truly amazing to me that places like this exist. Aside from the terrible flies (which I can outrun, by the way), this place is a small slice of heaven on earth. Tiny creatures and handsome birds are going about their business in their natural habitat while we are lucky enough to watch. While I enjoy witnessing this, it is not something I prefer to document with a camera. My imagery is more inspired by textures and patterns. The photo of the leaf droplets is a good example of this.
While the refuge is virtually untouched, there have been minor changes made to the landscape in order for humans to explore it. In addition to an 8 mile long dirt road, there are minimal bridges, towers, and signs. Today I enjoyed exploring the juxtaposition of the natural and unnatural. After a long morning of work, we returned for a hearty lunch and spent the afternoon in the hot sun shooting some more at a marina and then a river. The combination of the humidity, sunshine, fly dodging, and immense use of creativity energy made me in dire need of a shower and nap (the kind where you drool on your pillow and don't hear your dinner alarm go off).
After a beautiful walk past the lake to dinner, I went into the printmaking studio to continue my chipboard house prints. I am so grateful to Eileen for teaching me such a simple and effective printmaking process. While I am thrilled to be here expanding my knowledge of digital photography with Wendel, my heart currently belongs to printmaking. I hope to explore more ways of combining the two this week. I look forward to getting into the lab tomorrow to see all of our hard work from today!
Now it's time for another great rest (with hopefully a little less drool).