Could have been a beaver

Where I stare at rocks in the middle of a river
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It was a terrible time and place to shoot.

Lousy light. Bitter cold. The only worthwhile subject was the smallish river that created this entire valley.

I wanted to shoot the water, but needed to get up close and personal because I’m stupid like that.

I also didn’t want to drown. Or get soaked. Or ruin my equipment. Or otherwise have to explain my stupidity upon returning home.

So I walked carefully and kept my distance. Which made for crappy, generic photos that wouldn’t even qualify for inserts in the frame section at Walmart. I hadn’t drowned (yay!) but my pictures were awful (boo!)

Then I noticed how low the water was. Which meant maybe I could find an exposed, gravelly stretch along the bank. Which would solve my get-close-but-safely conundrum.

Sure enough, I found a couple of great spots. And before long I was happily shooting low-angled textured-water, tight depth of field scenes because in that moment they spoke to me in ways nothing else could.

These rocks probably won’t be visible in a couple of days, as a major winter storm now blanketing the region will likely push water levels way up. Or maybe they’ll disappear entirely. I’ll just have to go for another walk after the storm warnings get taken down.

The day still sucked for photography, but just being out there and working through this admittedly ridiculous creative process made it an experience I won’t soon forget.

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