MONTANA IS MY MUSE

It has been quite some time since I have posted to this blog. In my last epistle I spoke of plans changing. They surely did for me. I had planned to go to the Gulf Coast but hurricane Ike came along and cut a nasty swath right through my planned path. I aborted that arrangement and went to Arizona instead.

My odyssey to the southwest lasted six months. The first two months of my journey were spent in southern Arizona. I worked like a dog. Out every morning and evening hunting for that special moment. But, the Sonoran Desert was loath to give anything up to me. I mentioned to someone that I was having a very difficult time photographing the desert. This person could not understand why. She told me to look at Arizona Highway. The magazine “was loaded with pretty pictures”.

What was I to say? The truth was, I had taken a number of “pretty pictures” but pretty pictures are not my aim. My mission is to take photographs that capture special moments at their peak of perfection, images that more resemble paintings than digital images.

After all was said and done I was able to capture perhaps three such images in six months. I suppose by some peoples definition that makes me a pretty lousy photographer and perhaps they are right. I’m not the judge. I don’t do what I do for approval. I do it for love of it.

As mentioned, I took many pretty pictures and some of them can be viewed at my stock site www.kotybear.com. I confess I am way behind in my processing, partly because, at home, I use an Apple G5 which has such high quality graphics I am loath to go back to the laptop where all the trip images are currently stored. The other reason is; I am simply basking in the natural beauty that surrounds me. I have never taken psychedelic drugs but I am imagining it must be something like what happens to me when I’m at my ranch. I feel as though I am in a waking dream.

Although, not Catholics, my parents sent me to Catholic school. They felt the education was superior. I always felt like an outsider and was very lonely there. But, I did come away with great penmanship. I also came away with the wish I could be like St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Here at my ranch I almost am. The deer follow me as I walk through the forest, bird’s flit from branch to branch overhead and squirrels chatter at me as I wander. It’s very hard to do anything but be when just being is so beautiful.

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their fellow men."

-St. Francis of Assisi

I am beginning to feel refreshed and my Muse returning. I have always had the feeling that I am led to places where I can find those special moments otherwise how do I find them? I certainly don’t know on a conscious level why I go where I go. I just get an idea in my mind to go to a place and voila there it is.

No doubt living in the forest with just my Koty Bear makes me a bit of daffy dame but I swear I can hear my two mothers whisper to me. Who are my two mothers? They are Mother Nature and my birth mother. I reckon they are one now as my birth mother has long since departed this mortal plane. I love them both with heart and soul. Whilst I was away I didn’t seem to feel their presence. Now that I am home in Montana I seem to hear their whispers once more. I must find the fortitude to tear myself away from this place knowing there are wonders awaiting me out there.

If you would like to view some of my past moments visit Kinsey Barnard.Com and see if you don’t agree I have THE most awesome chaperons guiding me to experience earthly splendor.

©Kinsey Barnard

MAKING GOD LAUGH

There is an old saying "If you want to make God laugh, make plans". I don't know who to give credit to for that saying but I certainly think there is much truth in it. And, if there is truth in it God has been rolling on the floor laughing at me.

I recently started leaving my beloved Montana in the winter so that I could continue my quest for capturing nature at her finest and most interesting. It's not that there isn't plenty to capture here in the winter. Heaven only knows winter in Montana has it's own special beauty. The problem is traveling around it can be dangerous for a solo traveler. The roads are treacherous and quite honestly they terrify me. I found that I just wasn't getting out with my camera as much as I would like and it was beginning to frustrate me. So, I had an epiphany. I would saddle up my RV and go where the roads were clear. Last year I photographed from Cape Disappointment, Washington to San Luis Obispo, California.

Such a good and productive time did I have I started "planning" my 2008/2009 winter's junket whilst still on my 2007/2008 trek. I decided I would like to shoot the Gulf Coast and up into the Piney Woods region of Texas. I spent months collecting maps and information and plotting my course. Then Ike showed up and that was the end of any idea I could shoot the the Gulf Coast this year. That hurricane literally tore through every place I had planned to visit. I do not intend to trivialize the loss for the people who had to survive this natural disaster and my heart truly goes out to them for their loss.

Suddenly, it was the end of September and I had no place to go. I admit I am the type of person that gets a little discumbibulated when plans change late in the game. I was at a complete loss for what to do. It then occurred to me that the desert might be a likely subject for winter shooting so I started looking into Arizona. Normally, I fly by the seat of my pants and do not make reservations. I like to spend just a week or two in each location and move on to the next place. I soon learned that wasn't going to happen in Arizona. The RV parks fill up quickly. People book way in advance and for the whole winter. So, not only wasn't I going to get to take the trip I had so meticulously planned but I wasn't going to get to travel the way I like. I ended up booking two months in Tucson and two months in a place called Apache Junction which I gather is close to Phoenix.

At first I was not at all pleased with my new itinerary, a little petulant in fact. But, the more I thought about it I began to see how it just might be for the best. Over this past summer I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger. In addition to traveling to shoot I published a NEW BOOK and developed a NEW WEBSITE that did not go live until October 8th. Frankly, I was/am pretty tuckered out. Suddenly, sitting in one place started to seem not such a bad idea. Running a rig, towing a vehicle is a lot of work for one person. Every time you move there is a lot to do and a lot of responsibility.

I'm actually looking forward to this new way of doing things. And, I guess that's the lesson learned. Don't attach too much of yourself to your plans because they have a way of changing on you. And, if you look, you may find that it all turns out for the best!

The photograph above isn't really tied to this article. It's just one I recently took that I rather fancy and wanted to share. Please visit my new website. I think you will find other photographs that will give you a moments respite from this topsey turvey world. Kinsey Barnard's Fine Art of Photography

©Kinsey Barnard

Home Is Where The Heart Is

I know my title is a warn out bromide but I have found there is so much truth in these old, hackneyed sayings. I have just returned from five months on the road with my best friend, Koty Bear. We drove our motorhome Clementine and pulled along our little Shadow as I photographed the Pacific Coast from Cape Disappointment to Morro Bay.

It was a fantastic trip. We made many new friends and beheld many of Mother Nature's splendors, splendor of a sort one does not experience in Montana. The ocean is such a powerful and awe inspiring beast particularly in winter when storms have roused Her from a deep sleep and Her mood is clearly dark. It is truly breathtaking and a privilege to try and capture.

But, as great a time as we had, being back at the ranch is, well, being home. From the moment we crossed the border in Idaho, between Bonner’s Ferry and Libby I could feel a change come over me. It’s rather hard to explain. The feeling was like releasing a deep sigh of contentment.

The photograph above I named “Montana in My Dreams”. I called it that because it depicts the essence of why I call Montana my home. As a child growing up on a ranch in California (in case you missed it you may wish to read My California) I dreamed of one day living in Montana. Living here is quite literally a dream come true. Why the mountains call to me I cannot say. The mountains in the background are the Canadian Rockies, some of the most majestic mountains in the world. This was a particularly good year in terms of snow so they are at their very best.

I see this view every time I leave my place. The first time I left the ranch, after returning from the trip, I wept for the heartbreaking beauty of it. And, with those tears and that tightness in my chest I knew I was home again living my dream.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography