Geez, it has turned out to be another hot summer. I suppose we all should be glad the beginning of July was wet and cool enough to hold the sizzling heat off until now.
I could always escape the heat by lazily lounging in my air-conditioned home reading a book or watching TV, but on Wednesday I thought a photo trip to nearby Chase Falls would be a better way to spend the day. It’s cool in that little canyon and the high rushing water is always finished by this time of year and makes for some good photography.
I called Jo and asked if she wanted me to take her kids to the falls with me so they could have a refreshing dip in the cold pools. She said “Great, I’ll drive.”
The Chase falls is always a photo op for me and even though I have photographed that place many times I can still find subjects to get creative with.
I grabbed my little Fuji mirrorless and because it was so bright and sunny also I brought my Infrared converted Nikon. I had two lenses for the Fuji, an 18-55-mm and a 55-200-mm that easily packs with the camera in a compact 5X10 inch bag. And I always use my 20-40-mm Sigma with the Nikon IR camera.
I was well prepared for a trip to the falls.
When we got to the falls, Jo and her children quickly took off. They knew I would be slowly wandering and looking for things to point my camera at. I am rarely in a hurry when I have a camera, everything grabs my attention and with the IR camera, I’m always testing the direction of sunlight for the strongest effect.
By the time I got to the falls, Jo and her children were already splashing in one of the little pools that the pounding spring waters create around the falls. It’s an energetic large rock scramble to get from the wooded path to the falls and every year those large boulders are moved to new locations. The power of that spring flood over the falls and down the tiny creek always amazes me.
I chose a place to sit and pulled out my Fuji to take some shots. I took a breath in and yikes! I almost choked to death on a swarm of mosquitoes. Well, it seemed that way as I coughed and coughed and…coughed. I wonder how many I swallowed?
When I regained my composure and aimed my camera at Jo and her kids, I saw my arm was covered with mosquitoes and I could feel many needle points poking my back through my T-shirt.
Mosquitoes rarely bother me, but that was one of those rare times. I said “Gosh there are a lot of mosquitoes,” and Jo replied, “We can’t take it anymore, we gotta go back to the car.”
Damn, we had no repellent!
As they hurried back I lagged behind to get more photos. As soon as we were away from the water we stopped being eaten. However, now the uncomfortable heat was back.
Oh well, I did get a few IR shots and although the adventure was short and quick, I did have a good time taking pictures and talking with my friend Jo.
Stay safe and be creative. These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
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