Wednesday Wonderment – pt 23

The Universe is filled with many wonders and forces that we don’t fully understand at this time; in our endeavors to understand and control the world, in which we live, we have acquired much knowledge, but there is still much to be learned.  Some of what is unknown to us at this time fills us with wonder.

As I am a physicist by training, much of my life was dedicated toward gaining as complete an understanding of the universe as I could, with the expectation that there may be a point, at which we can explain and model the universe perfectly.  Of course, that outlook may have been a little naive, so it has been adjusted over the years, particularly after I started practicing yoga and learn more about Eastern philosophies.

At this point, my sense of the universe is that there is much connectivity across many planes of existence and that life’s energy does not merely start/stop at discrete points. This is where today’s image ties in…

Many locations on the battlefield imbued me with a deep sadness and some filled me with utter dread

Just over six years ago, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America had their national event in the Gettysburg area; as I had not been there before, I decided to go out and meet my wife there, so we could spend a couple of days to visit the area.

As I had been photographing another event in Southern Connecticut over the weekend, I drove down to Pennsylvania on Sunday night; as I was driving down a main road pretty close to the exit for our hotel, I spotted what I thought was a hazy human form crossing the road about 100 yards ahead of me, not once, but twice.  These apparitions were paired with a deep sadness that I could just not place.  I found the exit and nothing else unusual happened.

What I hadn’t realized that night is that the apparitions and sense of sadness occurred, as I was passing the battlefield site.

That Monday was filled with agility competition, at the end of which we drove around the battlefield site to plan our next day’s touristing.  Many locations around the battlefield imbued me with a deep sadness, whereas some filled me with sheer dread; it was as if the suffering had left an indelible mark on the landscape, a psychic imprint that could not be ignored.

This is one of the areas that fills me with wonder, as I cannot deny the real effect that I felt there, and several other locations, as well.

Image Details

The scene in this image is Warfield Ridge, aka Seminary Ridge.  I photographed it early in the morning on Tuesday before we went exploring.  It is an HDR image with 5 exposure captured using a Canon EOS 1D Mk III with an EF 17-40mm f/4L lens.  Processing was done with Photomatix Pro, after which some touch work was done in Photoshop.

Author: jansenphoto

A Fresh Perspective Photography is more than just a vehicle for capturing the world around me; it provides me with a palette and a set of brushes, with which I paint not only what I see, but also look to express the emotions that are evoked by the scene in front of me in that moment. Growing up in the Netherlands exposed me to a wide cross-section of visual arts that laid the foundation of my photographic view of all that surrounds me. Early influences were the Dutch Masters of the 17th century, to whom I was introduced by my grandfather during museum explorations; favorites among them are the scenes of quotidian life depicted by Jan Steen and Frans Hals and the vivid landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael. My classical high school education was supplemented by the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, where I spent many a lunch hour exploring its great collection. Here I was introduced to surrealism with a particular love for the approach taken by Salvador Dali; Dali also rekindled my appreciation for the work of Hieronymus Bosch, who often showed the folly of us mortals. Universal Connections My approach to any photographic subject is to look for understanding first; in this I look to establish either a connection between the viewer and the subject or capture the connection of the subject with its surroundings. The captured image then aims to portray this connection from a perspective that is part of my personal interpretation. This interpretation is often a form of externalized introspection, which may alternately display the connection of isolated beings and items with their environment or highlight the whimsy of the profound world, in which we find ourselves. The universe is full of connections, many of which are waiting to be discovered; part of my journey as a photographer is to document these connections. Any assignment, be it an event, a product shoot or a portrait session is always approached through communication with the client; this is where the first connection is established. Ideas are exchanged and a collaborative plan of action forms, ultimately resulting in a set of images that aim to exceed the expectations of each client. And, lest we forget, it is important to have fun while practicing the serious business of photography! View all posts by jansenphoto