Nature photography often plays “tricks” with me. Perhaps this is to teach me lessons about the bigger picture, about life?
One lesson that keeps coming up for me in my photography pursuits has a theme related to “The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence…” proverb.
I live in a beautiful area of Northern New Mexico, between Santa Fe and Taos, off of the “High Road to Taos.” This scenic route is a destination for many that want to see and experience the natural beauty and cultures of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Beautiful light and compositions abound here on any given day. I try to photograph the sunrise and sunset every day when I am at home and not on the road.
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Maybe I was getting tired of the same old scenery and needed to see some new landscapes? To quench my wanderlust and desire for exciting photographic opportunities, I packed up my truck and drove to the Tetons and Yellowstone in mid-December.
New Mexico had another dry and warm winter that year. The skiing at home was bleak. Changing that up for the deep snow and cold winter in Northwest Wyoming was my goal of this road trip.
Wolves, bison, foxes, bighorn sheep, and amazing alpine lighting on the Tetons were good highlights for this winter road trip. Satisfied with my nature photography exploits on my trip up north, I made the long venture home. Driving my old, yet trusty, truck for hundreds of miles on icy roads, through snowstorms and next to big rigs on the interstates was taxing on me.
By the time I got close to home, it was almost dark. Northern New Mexico welcomed me with deep and vibrant colors in the sky. I had taken enough photos on this trip, though, and all I wanted to do was get home and take a hot shower. As I drove slowly past a familiar pond, bright red and cold blues of the sky reflected off the ice and meltwater. I kept driving. I did not “need” any more photographs.
After passing the pond, that little voice inside my head spoke up. “What are you doing? That is an amazing scene, your camera, and tripod are on the seat next to you. Go back and photograph that!”.
Backing my truck up to the pond and looking through my viewfinder at the pond, a stunning reflection of a stately cottonwood tree, stark and bare of leaves, was precisely displayed in this frozen mirror. It was still and cold. In the ice and cold water, I could see every little branch of the tree.
My “lesson” for this trip showed me that this photograph was the best of a two-week winter road trip. The trip was a great experience, and that is what life for me is all about, experience first. The photos I created on the road trip were worthy. Ironically, the best photograph, in my view, was taken within a mile of home, when I returned to my place.