Be the Willow …

If you consider everything you are in control of in life, my guess is that the list would be quite short. You can make your own list, but mine in this post focuses on photography. You can extend the metaphors to your own life in and out of photography You will understand the reason for being the willow when you are through reading here.

I didn’t even know that this was a maple leaf until I used my macro lens.

WHAT WE ARE “IN CHARGE” OF

You’ll notice I didn’t say what we’re in “control” of. That’s another story. As photographers, we get to decide when and where we go to photograph. We get to decide what we want, hope and expect to photograph. We get to decide what equipment we are able to purchase and how much or little of it we are able to pack for our adventures by car (much more) or by plane (much less), and what we are able to carry on our backs or pull behind us (when conditions allow) in a cart or wagon. We are able to decide what our favorite subjects and places are and how often we spend time with them. We’re able to choose who we invite on our adventures or who we don’t when we need some “solo time.”

As an instructor and workshop leader, I am able to visit and explore new places with the possibility of sharing with groups. I’m able to decide which locations are conducive for most photographers, which are safe, photogenic and oftentimes which have unique features that not everyone would have discovered on their own. I get to create new experiences for myself and share them with others.

And, last, though not least, I am in charge of my attitude and perspective, especially when conditions don’t always work out in my favor – when my expectations are not met precisely as I would strongly hope for them to work out. And, that’s the rub. That’s where the willow comes in.

And this scene begged for motion.

WHAT ABOUT THE WILLOW?

When I was growing up, there were weeping willows in my neighborhood. Their branches and limbs were intricate, beautiful and blowing gracefully in the winds. The metaphor that still holds true in my mind is how the willow symbolizes flexibility. When the winds blow, the branches are not broken, they bend without snapping. While I am drawn to and admire the mighty oaks, strong and stable, it’s the willow that so very often whispers in my mind when making plans, of any kind. In a strong enough wind, the oaks will break while the willows will bend. A blend of these two trees and their associated qualities would be most advantageous in managing anticipated and unexpected circumstances. I must admit that there is a lot of “oak” in me, and the willow is in constant training. It is getting better.

In researching the willow, I learned that “Willow” is a feminine name of Old English origin meaning “willow tree,” and derived from the word welig, which is Old English for “willow.” The trees are graceful and known for resilience. Folklore also attaches sadness and mourning to this tree. How does sadness and mourning come into the picture? Well, it can slip in with the rain, with gray skies, with closed gates, with subjects that are no longer because they have been moved or have fallen into grave disrepair.  However, if we embrace the more useful quality of flexibility as we meander through this journey, we will be better served.

Not the Willow, but a Mighty Oak that Broke

WHAT WE ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF

After a season of chasing fall colors and favorable conditions in several states over the past three months, I can attest to one definitive aspect of photography that we will NEVER be in charge of, and that’s THE WEATHER. If I could make the sun shine, the rains fall, the temperatures ebb and flow according to my wishes, I would. If I could make the flowers grow and bloom and withstand the heat and hard freezes to offer colorful subjects to photograph for myself and my clients, I most certainly would. OR WOULD I?

Actually, as much as it would be nice on occasion to have some control over the weather conditions, NOT being in charge of it provides me and you with opportunities to practice being the willow. It gives us opportunities to look for other things. It gives us opportunities to look at subjects differently and with new eyes that are necessary in order to adjust to the conditions before us. If not for the ever-changing and not “made-to-order” weather, we would have but one perspective and expectation as we made our way out the door to photograph whatever was on our list. How do I know? Keep reading, and I’ll share a few scenarios.

The playtime started with a box of blocks on wheels and the Lensbaby Double Glass II.

Then, I just had to find my initials …

CHASING FALL COLORS IN TWO STATES

We have all heard the phrase about our “best laid plans,” right? Well, tell that to the weather in West Virginia and northern Georgia. Two different workshops planned for fall colors along with other explorations were on my calendar. I had been to both areas numerous times during the same week(s) in different years with amazing offerings of the season. I have images to remind myself that it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. In both states and dates, one could anticipate (okay, expect) good to beautiful color in all or most of our locations. In both cases, what we could not anticipate was a lack of rain, winds and a few hard freezes that definitely had an impact on the foliage colors and conditions along with the flowering plants in the gardens.

Always be on the lookout for the smaller story.

Still, as we all adopted the willow approach, we were blessed with some amazing colors in different areas, and we were challenged to shift our perspectives to look at what was in front of us with new eyes. Both groups experimented with motion, with multiple exposures and with smaller stories, which is more challenging for landscape photographers. In West Virginia (with my co-leader, Nicole Deen), new skills were learned and practiced by our group. In northern Georgia (with my co-leader, Mary Presson Roberts), we were blessed days after scouting and following two unexpected freezes with wonderful red maples and other colors at Gibbs Gardens. We got to see fall color combined with old cars that gave us an opportunity to embrace the wabi sabi perspective at one of my favorite places, Old Car City USA.

Scene from a West Virginia stream.

Did I wish for “perfect” conditions for our workshop groups? Of course. Do I know better? Yes, I do. That’s where the bending, not breaking, and changed perspectives and focus comes in handy. Actually, it saves my sanity to know that I am not in charge of the weather, ever.

Following a trail of leaves and rust

AND THEN THE RAINS AND GRAY CAME

If ever there has been a time when my “Super Willow” was required, it was a few weeks ago during my last workshop of the year based on Jekyll Island, Georgia. I’ve done this workshop numerous times and have never (I mean, never) experienced such gray and super windy and sometimes rainy days (or the prospect of rains) as with this one. Two years ago I was buying a short-sleeve tee shirt because it was hot and sunny. I’m trying to remember if this time we even saw blue sky.

And, yet, I and my group of willows weathered the weather with boots, rain gear, sweaters and flexible attitudes. Instead of blue skies and beautiful sunrises or sunsets, we had gray. We worked Driftwood Beach for its bones and beauty with the idea of black/white in mind. We managed not to get rained on for our “sunset” boat tour in the Okefenokee Swamp and mostly dodged showers by going to lunch or by skipping the non-sunrise event and leaving later. The weather, as always, was a moving target, and it changed almost by the hour.

Our sunset colors in the fall swamp cypress

We had a wonderful stretch of time with the live oaks south of Darien, at Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation, and some of the group photographed in infrared for the first time, seeing the world with new eyes. We all made the “lemonade” and excelled in our “willow skills.” Again, there was work with motion and multiples, exploring shapes and lines and patterns and more – in part, because the iconic scenes we all would have loved to have had before us were not going to happen. That’s life. That’s photography. We worked with the light and conditions we were offered, and I can promise you that we all found things to photograph in new ways.

The live oaks beckoned for infrared and black and white

KEEP THE WEATHER OUTSIDE AND DO STILL LIFE

There are many ways to adjust to weather conditions. They are available during your photographic explorations near and far. You could sit in your hotel room. You could don all the appropriate clothing and camera protection gear and venture out. You could find indoor options like museums, art galleries or cool restaurants. You have multiple options to deal with the weather wherever you are.

When you’re home and don’t feel like fighting wind, heat, cold, rain, snow or whatever other condition you can think of, there’s always still life. You can work from the comfort of your own home, keep your set-ups in place as you please. You can buy or grow flowers and bring them inside to photograph. You can plunder antique stores and bring back “smalls” to shoot on their own or create small stories and still life set-ups. You can practice arranging, composing and lighting. Are you in charge of “everything?” No, not even in your own home, but you have a lot more flexibility and time to figure out how to manage any challenges that come before you. You could also find an indoor learning option like ones I offer, including Beat the Cold in January.

Mail-order ranunculus still life by window light

Indoor set-ups and still life can be fun and creative. I’ve made it a mission to be on the lookout for small things when I visit places that sell “old stuff.” I have quite a collection. The smalls have gotten so numerous that I’ve had to limit my acquisitions to things that are small and that match the themes of subjects I have already collected (sewing, baking, vintage, dead stuff, and so on). Oh, to have had the opportunity to go through my grandparents’ home before it was sold. I would have had a field day …

BE OPEN, BE FLEXIBLE, BE BLESSED

I hope that sharing these experiences will help you in your travels to see things differently, to be open to what is before you and to see the blessings that come with not getting everything you want. I know that I’m always surprised by the images that come out of less-than-ideal situations. As the Rolling Stones say in one of their famous songs, “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes well, you just might find, you get what you need.”

Cheers’s to getting what we need! Enjoy the blessings that come from the unexpected.

Willow on!

Going with the “willow flow” in the fading Georgia light at Berry College