Struggles
I’ve struggled for a long time trying to make presentable images of the Minnesota River bottoms in the Louisville Swamp unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. In spring, fall, and winter, this place is stark to say the least. In the summer its humid and dark. This area of the river bottom sees significant spring flooding as you can see by the horizontal bands on the trees pictured below. As a result of the flooding, the area has very little underbrush. What it does have, is lots of dirt and debris that washes in with the flood waters and a number of tree species that are week and like to drop limbs or just tip over. Add to that the mosquitoes, giants that vacation here from Alaska. I once hiked in (about a mile) doused in 100% DEET insect repellent wearing long sleeves and jeans and left with over 100 bites. But that’s another story. What you end up with is a chaotic mess that doesn’t make landscape photographers flock to it.
I’ve tried wide, ultra-wide, telephoto, panoramic, view camera, medium format, film, digital, you name it. Not much inspired me.
Enter the Lens Baby Composer. I’m certainly not the first to blog about the creative fun you can have with this little lens. But what better way to photograph chaos than with a lens that imparts even more chaos into the image? I made this image early spring, before the canopy fills in and blocks most of the daylight.
Its a start. Being so close to my home, I’ll keep going back. Someday, I’ll get that keeper I’m looking for. If you want to go and see for yourself, here’s the link. Show me what images you make in the bottoms and don’t forget the insect repellent! You can see more images from the refuge at www.joemamer.com
