symphony of seasons
The Meadow Project
Do you ever circle back to an idea or a project again and again, and wonder what it is about it?
That’s how it is for me with the Meadow Project.
The summer of 2017, I found myself without a dog for the first time in 30 years. Our last golden retriever had passed away the previous October.
I have always been a morning dog walker, and by June I was really at a loss of what to do with my mornings. I decided I needed a summer project, and a summer photography project sounded like the perfect idea.
Since I am an early riser anyway, I thought why not a sunrise project. I have always wanted to shoot at sunrise, but never had, because I was always walking the dogs. The dilemma was where and what to shoot at sunrise.
Then one afternoon, I was hiking at a local county park when I saw the sign Meadow Loop and had a stroll through the loop. It was the perfect place for my sunrise project.
Sunrise comes early in June - six a.m. and the park doesn’t open until seven.
The saving grace was a stand of pine trees that delayed the sun reaching across the meadow.
This is the first image that I took on that June morning, at least the first image that I kept. While not bad, it wasn’t as good as it could be either. There was plenty of room for growth.
None of the images that first year where particularly great, despite having been at photography for five years already. But, this was also the first long term project I had ever done.
What I Learned That First Year
Commitment - I went once a week from mid-June until mid-October. I showed up and shot every week. Even when I didn’t feel like it.
Tripod - I learned to love the tripod. It forced me to slow down and really think about the shot. I know this was a game changer for me. I still use my tripod more than I hand hold.
Zoom Lens - I had a 55-250mm lens in my bag that I rarely used, but it was the perfect lens for the compressed, shallow depth of field shots that I love.