Don’t Go There
f/7.1, 1/800, ISO-200, 50mm
The other day I had a really bad day. By the end of it I was feeling useless, obsolete, and forgotten. I was growing increasingly aware that my advancing years are coming quickly, and a new day is dawning faster than I can keep up with, much like the sun to an unprepared landscape photographer.
I needed a good dose of photo-therapy. I needed to remind myself that there is something I can do well. It was cold – near freezing – and a biting north wind was blowing. There were good reasons not to go. That kind of weather tends to make me clumsy and sloppy, rushing thing. Not only could it mean bad photographs, but given where I planned to shoot – quite near a river – it could mean ruined equipment.
But I went anyway and I’m glad I did. I didn’t stay long, less than an hour. I froze my butt off. But for some reason extreme low angle shots spoke to me and I gave it my best. This is one of them. The camera was mounted upside down under the tripod, between its legs and nearly brushing the ground. It was so low it was impossible to see through the viewfinder. Even the LCD screen was an iffy proposition.
This is the kind of B&W I’ve always dreamed of taking, but never quite pulled off before. High contrast and visually striking, fairly sharp, but nothing blown out.
I felt a lot better at the end of the day, and reminded myself not to go places that are too dark, and too unforgiving.
Don’t Go There by Anthony Bopp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Visual Journey Photography 
We all have days like that, but good for you for getting out and doing something you enjoy to get you out of the mood instead of wallowing in self pity. Glad you’re feeling better and great shot by the way :).
Thank you! I am feeling much better now. Thank heavens for my camera!
I use photo therapy all the time. It’s the best thing around.
Yes, it’s certainly hard to argue with that!
Love the low angle of this image and the dramatic contrasts. I must agree..what’s with this getting older and starting to doubt ourselves. Just plain silliness I say. Great wisdom comes with age..now where’s my antidepressants? :-)
Thanks! I ha e something like a mystery photo come up in a few days