Time

IF you would indulge me for a minute, I'd like to take a step out in to left field and not talk about the image, but more what is it that compels me to capture such simple and perhaps meaningless scenes.

Actually, all our images have meaning to each of us and that's what I'd like to share here.

Each of us have our own connections with nature and photography. Many of us have our little call signs, niches or theme's about our photography. For many it's of course naturally about the light, it's the wildness, the wilderness, the healing of nature and the inner connection that many feel with the natural world. It's conservation or simply a combination of all of these things. For me, a big part of my connect is about "capturing time."

Like the Universe, "time" is something that is just hard to wrap your head around. To ponder the expanse of space and of our existence, is well, certainly beyond our ability to explain. We are here, but for a nano second in this universe of time. So many, many times I find myself out in great outdoors pondering things like, "Has anyone ever stood on this very rock," or "I wonder if this rock, tree or leaf has ever been photographed." Silly perhaps, but mind boggling to me, just like infinity.

While photographing this little section of the Merced River, I wondered about the millions, probably billions of molecules, mineral particles rushing through this frame, captured, frozen in time in this image. I wonder - where those molecules of water are now. Many reached the sea and have come full circle in the water and weather patterns coming back again as rain, snow in a stream somewhere in the Sierra or perhaps the Rock Mountains; or even carried across the globe in the jet stream to be frozen again in the Arctic. Other molecules are holed up in a local Reservoir, or have quenched the lands that bring us the food we eat. I wonder... and yet I know that never again throughout the entire universe of time, will these elements fall together in the same exact way or the same time ever again.

This image may never sell and I may never even print this. But I'm happy knowing that I have a piece of the Universe forever captured in a little piece of film.

Next time you're out capturing a beautiful moment, think about time. Think about how fleeting it is and how you can capture a moment of it, but yet you can never stop it.

Ok, feel free to tell me it's time for a padded cell and some meds.

thanks!

Lon

Edit: DOH! It's been so long since I've posted I forgot how to add the larger version and just put the same size up. Ignore the larger version and click here. This time thing got me all messed up.