Monthly Archives: September 2010

Scenes from Hume Lake

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I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been to very many places in this world. Though my ambitions are high, my budget is low. Still, when I get a chance to wander out and explore, I make sure to embrace every moment I am given. Some places in this world, though simple on paper, have the ability to change your every desire and ambition. And my experience one week ago at Hume Lake, California falls right into that narrow category.

What makes Hume Lake so special isn't the scenery. The Sequoia National Park and Forest is full of wonderful scenes of nature in all its glory. Between giant trees and trickling streams set against the bluest sky you've ever seen, the natural beauty of it all is enough to bring you to tears. But Hume Lake has something more. While the nature is stunning and pristine, much of this place is perplexingly unnatural. The shallow lake itself is man-made, created as a logging pond for one of the many short-lived logging operations in this area. A dam holds up one end of the lake, dotted with remnants of an industrial past. The other end of the lake features a stunning complex of buildings that seem to blend in perfectly with the surrounding colors of brown and green. If anything, this dichotomy between the natural world and the man's own ambitions is what sets this place apart as a wonder to behold, and a haven for self-awakening.

One of the main attractions of this place is the large Christian camp complex, illuminated at night in the photograph above. From the stories I've heard, it's a place where great change happens in the lives of thousands of individuals every year, and is something that I'd very much like to experience one day. Additionally, a state-owned campground flanks one side of the lake, and the water itself offers plenty of recreation opportunities. Tenmile Creek, which flows into and out of Hume Lake, also offers plenty of chances for adventure along its increasingly enthralling banks. And the surrounding roads and trails make one's travel options limitless.

My only regret is the fact that I only had a couple of days to explore and capture this great area. With any luck, I'll be back up there sometime soon to attempt to capture this place in photographs once more. Until then, I can only try to bring a sliver of this peace and serenity back to my own environment.

Uncertainty and Constants

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My new Amazon Kindle 3 came today. Having never really used one before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Having no idea when the delivery man would come, I waited the better part of the day for a mere knock at my door. And when it finally arrived, it was every bit as beautiful as I had hoped.

One quirk with the Kindle is the e-ink display. Using no power to actually display an image (only to change it), the minds over at Amazon thought up a fun way to jazz up standby mode. Instead of showing a blank screen, a random image from the literary world is shown. As I put the device to sleep moments ago with every intention of falling asleep myself, an image of John Steinbeck appeared on the screen. Having read his works in the past, but never putting a face to the name, it was somewhat of a pleasant surprise. And in many ways, this element of uncertainty in that quick flash of the e-ink proved to be for the better.

As a photographer, uncertainty is a part of my everyday life, at least when a camera is involved. Whenever I'm shooting an event, posing a model, or simply hanging out in the waves waiting for a good swell, I'm never sure what my camera will capture. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's mediocre. The lighting can change at a moment's notice. The settings on my camera might happen to be wrong. There could be a giant smudge on my image sensor, and I'd never know it until reviewing my images. All of these factors make photography more difficult. Yet at the same time, they make it all the more interesting as well.

As beautiful as all this might sound, that joy for uncertainty doesn't translate over well into most other circumstances. When your life is as unorganized as mine is at this point in time, you tend to cherish and cling on to every little ounce of certainty you can muster up. Hearing a solid answer, be it "yes" or "no," is a thousand times more pleasing to the ear than the dreaded word "maybe." Why is it, then, that the word "maybe" has continued to haunt me over the past few months? Plans for a trip of Kerouac proportions fell through with a thud. The pleasant equilibrium I reached in my workflow was blown to pieces by last-minute hardware changes. Even my allergies can't decide for certain whether or not they'll plot to kill me on any given day.

Despite all this, there are still a few (relative) constants that I know I can hold on to in my daily life. Be they talents, beliefs or relationships, these constants have proven time and time again to be the anchors that get me through till morning. That is, unless they impede with the very act of sleeping itself, as the constant pile of laundry on my bed so sourly beckons me to fold it.