This is the last of the work from Allstones Creek, although I made many more images here. As I said in an earlier post about the abundance of material available – wow! I spent 2 1/2 hours along about 2km of the creek and came out with what I would consider an abundance of images which please me. Many times in the past I would head off on a day-trip to some great location in hopes of seeing and photographing amazing sites only to come back empty handed. I’ve spent the whole day trying my hardest to come up with an image that tells the story about the location only to be frustrated. My wife Laura tells me, on days like that, to just relax and enjoy what I’m seeing and not to worry about capturing “the” image. It’s hard to do that though when you’ve lugged 10kg or more around all day and not made good use of it. It’s almost like you are obligated to come back with something. This trip I had only one small camera with me, so I could move quickly, I had to, as the other two on this trip were making good time and I needed to play lots of catch-up. I think by simplifying my equipment I give far less thought into which camera or lens should be used for each image and instead having just the one camera, my eye starts to see the way that camera sees within it’s capabilities. The freedom is great, but I must decide in advance which gear to take. It is so tempting to haul it all along for the “just in case” scenario, but if I’m are seeing the way only one lens sees and a “wow” moment presents itself, I am far more likely to capture the moment instead of missing it while fumbling with lenses and tripods or what have you. Sometimes things just fall into place or I am in the right mood too. I think God just opened my eyes to His creation in a way that I was ready to receive! Maybe all the years of carrying every last bit of gear around while learning my technique paid off in being able to “see” and capture what was presented to me by Him! It was truly exhilarating.
[Canon G10]
Collin J Örthner - Photographer 