24 Sep 11. While subbing on Thur & Fri of this week I noticed a rather nice retaining wall outside this newly remodeled school which was "crawling" with some lovely vines. Portions were turning a vivid red and most of the rest were a vibrant green. I thought the wall with the vines would make a nice image, but I didn't have the camera with me and, even if I had, the crowds of students would have made the shot all but impossible. So Jan and I went there this afternoon, and with NO kiddies anywhere near, I was able to get several nice images. The wall runs in two portions along the entire length of a city block, with a break in the middle for the steps to the school. As it turned out, each of the images I took would stand on their own quite nicely, but I thought that putting them together to show off 1/2 of the wall would make for a much nicer presentation, so that's just what I've done. This is the western half of the retaining wall that fronts Hamilton International 6-8. ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f / 5 for each of the 5 images that make up the panel.
26 Sep 11. In all the years I've been visiting Mt Rainier, I've never stopped at a small little river with associated falls called Paradise River that is literally just yards from where the road from Reflection Lakes joins the main route to Paradise. I've passed by it every time I've visited the lakes, but never took the time to look it over, until last week when we visited in the rainy weather. It was just beginning to go south, weather wise, when we stopped, and upon looking over the little bridge area separating the road from the water, I was simply amazed at what I was seeing. Not exactly sure what I was looking at, but raven black rocks with veins of what looks like gold to me running through them! I tried to get a good representation of what I was seeing but in the end, even though I tried several different approaches, failed to capture exactly what I was "seeing." Of course a lot of that can be attributed to one's personal experience, which often is hard to convey, so here is the best representation I can share with you of that sight. The water coursing over the rocks wasn't more than 6 inches deep, and in some places not that, so large portions of the rock bed were just slightly wet. I'm sure the situation changes with the time of year, but last week there wasn't much water flowing, at least in Paradise River. Next trip I have some ideas I want to incorporate when I try my hand at it again. ISO 400; 1/20 sec hand held @ f / 5.
27 Sep 11. Whether it be the weed in the sidewalk, the tree in the side of a rock cliff, or any such similar activity, I have always been amazed at the ability of plant life to break down those things in the world that seem impenetrable. I know I'm not alone in this area as I can think of a few songs where this activity has been central to the theme of the story being told by the singer. It is a reassuring thing to know that eventually, no matter what we construct, nature will eventually render it back to its original beginnings. Of course we won't be around to see it happen fully, but it will happen with time as has been wonderfully documented in the book 1491. The image for today is of a stone retaining wall supporting the road near Paradise in Mt Rainier and shows the very early beginnings of the process. How these plants ever get their initial foothold on a shear wall like this is just amazing, but you can see it happening all over the park. I rather assume that it can be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on personal perspective, but I see it mostly as reminder that nothing man made will endure for long in the big picture. ISO 320; 1/250 sec @ f / 8.
