Columbia River looking east from Wa. Rt. 14.

Landscape photography is often about the sublime, perfection. Evidence of people is avoided. I like to include something of mankind in landscapes-- we are here after all. This shot was a moment of stunning weather, color, receding line, space, and human intervention that is still beautiful. I have never seen the Columbia so green!

It always amazes me what a big impact inches of difference can have with point of view. With this Montana barn, I moved this way and that, sidling a foot to the right and left. It wasn't just getting the llama unobscured-- there was a difference in sensing the scale and shape of the barn depending on how much of the end in shadow was included. It was also crucial to let the mass of the building "rest" in the frame...giving proportion to the sky, horizon and ground. Microadjustments of the camera...snap.

Is harmony subjective? Probably. The thing is to recognize it when it happens. If it's harmonious just for you, then so be it. In this image, the bands connecting the sides of the frame also partially reflect the little island and give three dimensionality to it. The human in the shot gives scale, which often is missing in landscape. Sometimes ambiguity of size is wanted, but sometimes what appears imposing in person is not when it's trapped inside of a frame. Scale is an important element of context. 

Flora is miraculous. Over and over.

I am never at a loss for camera targets when I am tip-toeing in the mouldering, dew-strewn natural world. I certainly can't name most of what I'm observing, but ignorance seldom gets in the way of wonderment. Despite the infiniteness of it all, there are moments and places where we can put ourselves, capturing that wonder.

It involves being open, again, and pushing, expending effort. I always go a little fuzzy with my gaze just before pressing the shutter.

And, once more, it's a matter of millimeters.

Sometimes the language of an image is elusive. I took it, so it stirred me. But why? Color? Mystery? Depth, patina, evidence? Yes. Partly I like to paint with my camera. I'd like to see this one huge.

It's about following your instincts. Know thyself.