Skip to main content

Top Ten (#2)

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography

 

Here is # 2.

Technical aspects:

Camera – Fuji X100F

Aperture – F/5.6

Shutter Speed – 1/800 sec.

Focal Length – 23mm

ISO – 320

Film Simulation – Acros+R

Location – Burnsville, NC (https://goo.gl/maps/T5CTUdfEJ2kVzbm1A)

Date – April 26, 2019 @ 12:09 pm

As we reached my top 2 at the time of this writing I can easily waver back and forth between the shot above and my soon to be revealed number one.  For now, this ranks as my number two, not for the shot itself, but the shot, memory, and experience when I took it.

Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi summiting at 6684 feet.  Mark and I planned to visit this on our five day trip from Indiana through this area of North Carolina before returning home again, but not in this condition.  As we left the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed up the road it was not long before we had to pull off at an overlook.  We sat in the Jeep as we were pelted with hail (some that can be seen in the shot), rocked by various gusts of wind, sat surrounded by fog, yet we were both able to snag some moody pictures (from the Jeep).

The experience of sitting in Mark’s Jeep swaying by the winds, being rhythmically pelted by hail and having most of my sight hindered by the fog surrounding us, made this picture and the details of it meaningful.  So often in life beauty surrounds me amidst the chaos of life.  This picture is a true example of that.  The Jeep was getting beat up, the surroundings were torrential, yet from it all, I got one of my most favorite shots.  Nature again provides for me and teaches me another life lesson.

This picture along with others from my trip has helped me tap into thoughts and feelings I would otherwise dissemble.  I am learning to open up and tell stories, at least in my mind about the shots I take.  They help me have a voice and share my experience with others, which for me is the ultimate gratification.

I will leave you with a quote that I feel best sums up what I saw at that moment “I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes from the fog.” Om Malik.

Until next time,

Tim

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mentor

  When my photography journey rekindled back in 2015 with a trip to Maine, I never knew how far I would come and how important pushing a button on a camera would be. I have come a long way, but still have so much more to learn. A mentor is described as an experienced and trusted adviser (noun) . Also, as someone who will advise or train (someone, especially a younger  colleague ) (verb). Wikipedia also states mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.  Since I have gotten more serious about my photography, I have been looking for a mentor that fits these categories listed above. Seeking guidance, I reached out to a handful of “professional” photographers to inquire about mentorship. I received no response from one person, another person casually mentioned that they rarely mentor, and a third person kindly explained that they ...

Nobody's Listening

  I recently had conversations with two people I know that had experienced a sudden rash of acute anxiety. One was medication related, the other was situational. Both stated that they now had a better understanding of what I have been dealing with. With the recent changes to my medication, Although I still feel anxiety, it no longer takes control of my emotions like it did in the past. However, I know acutely that it still lurks on the fringes, patiently awaiting its chance to pounce on me. During my recent visit to Dr. Erin, she assigned me an exercise where I had to jot down three things each day that I felt I excelled at. This is proving to be difficult for me. The parameters are straightforward and easy to understand. “Anything I do well that day,” she said. As I continued with this exercise, I began thinking of a song by Linkin Par called Nobody’s Listening. I got a heart full of pain, head full of stress Handful of anger held in my chest And everything left’s a wast...

Tested

  Life is a series of tests, pushing us to our limits and forcing us to grow. All blessings originate from a God, yet they manifest through different circumstances, encounters, and individuals. Throughout the past six weeks, I have encountered a myriad of these tests. This is part of the reason I have not written in a while - the constant distractions that have consumed my time and focus. Balancing my mental state and warding off anxiety has consumed my attention, leaving no room to articulate my thoughts through writing. My journey began recently when, with the advice of a medical professional, I began taking Trintellix at its lowest dose of 5mg per day. Gradually I increased to 10mg a day and now am at 20mg a day. During this time, my anxiety has lessened quite a bit, but recent events have put this medication to the test. Our initial challenge was to carefully research vans, searching for ones that would be ideal for safely transporting our furry companions. The cramped spac...