Walking in...

   There are times, I must admit, that I would love to have one of those huge telephoto lenses.  But just thinking about the size and weight of them quickly puts that idea out of my mind.  There is certainly a need for large lenses but, for me, I prefer to just walk myself in.

   On a beach stroll this summer, I tried one of my favorite exercises.  Set yourself a destination and photograph along the way.  Horizontals, verticals, step by step.  Walk yourself into an intimate embrace of just one small part of the whole.  Don't let yourself become distracted by what surrounds you.  Stay focused.

   Now, I honestly thought I was walking into an embrace of the amazing rocks, which reminded me a lot of the ones I'd seen on Staffa this Spring, but as I walked closer and closer it was the sand that drew my eye...the "sand script".  It is what I ended up with, my final image, when we could walk no further.

   That is the advantage of letting the landscape pull you in...letting it direct your lens.  It may have something entirely different to say to you...something you may not have heard if you had stood at a distance and accessed it "remotely" with your huge lens.  Walk in...walk in...walk in.