Monday Missive — May 6, 2019

Quotes

“I decided to accept as true my own thinking. I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain, and I am quite free.” — Georgia O’Keeffe via Cole Thompson

“Sometimes you have to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding.” — Christopher Barzak via Cole Thompson

“Bread feeds the body indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.” — The Koran

Links

Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Indigenous cultures of the Phillipines
– The oldest trees by starlight Some of these images are truly magical.
– Exploration of North Africa by a French photographer
– Jordanna Kalman A little avant gard for me, but some interesting approaches in photographing photographs but also using natural objects

Photoshop/Lightroom Techniques
– Great tip to quickly open copies of large PSD files 1 minute video
– Picking a color from outside of photoshop 2 minute video
– Compositing two images and matching color with color match

Field/Studio
– Three things to know as a photographer

Miscellany
– You cannot claim “fair use” just because an image was on the internet
– Great video of Smith Island From Steve. Not strictly about photography but images by Dave Harp and some historic images, narrated by Tom Horton. Worth the time to watch.

Trail Report

Choat Mine and Red Run Trail at Soldier’s Delight Natural Environmental Area

The main entrance to Soldiers’s Delight is at 5100 Deer Park Rd, Owings Mills, MD 21117 (restrooms are available at the visitor’s center). About .3 miles north on Deer Park Road, on the left, is an overlook and pull off where you can park. The trailhead for the Choate Mine Tail is across the street and about 50 feet south. This is definitely not a runners’ trail as sections have loose rocks and I would recommned against walking it in sandals. The natural area is largely a serpentine barren with open fields; 39 rare, threatened or endangered plant species have been found there. Photographically it wasn’t particularly interesting at this time of year. There were clumps of small flowers and the occasional butterfly. The old mine openings are fenced and flooded and obvious on the right side of the trail several hundred yards in. Prickly briar plants edge the trail until you get into the forest a bit further on. The forest areas have little understory. About one third mile in, the Choate Mine Train connects with the Red Run Trail just at the back of some apartments and the trail heads up hill in open forest; trail maps are available online. The serpentine barrens can be interesting if you are into the rare plants, but participating in a guided tour with a ranger/naturalist is definitely recommended initially.