Mangrove saplings in pond on the Caribbean island of Bonaire
While poking around for more images I wanted to process, I came across this shot from last March when we were down in Bonaire. I thought this pond was interesting because it had a lot of young mangrove trees just starting to take hold. I photographed this because all of the mangroves I have seen were quite well developed. This area seemed unique. These young saplings in the wide open space of a Caribbean shoreline seemed to represent a new beginning. The cycle of nature repeating once again and taking hold.
In making images like this, it causes me to ask questions. I don’t know much about mangroves except for their protection of shorelines and providing habitat and protection for many small ocean animals when they are young. In doing a little research, I picked up a new vocabulary word, viviparous. This means the seeds from these trees start their germination on the parent tree versus in the soil. The seeds are buoyant , an obvious property given their habitat, which helps them drift and spread.
For me that is a rewarding benefit of photography. The more we photograph, the more we ask questions, the more we learn about the world around us.
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Finding a path into the Caribbean
Well, I started to write this post to try to tie in something about photography into the US holiday today, Independence Day. I thought there were some parallels in the paths we take as photographers and those that founded this country took. The writing started to get too deep and heady even for me! 
Let’s just say it started out with ideas around wandering into a sea of billions of images and wanting to find your own path, etc, etc, etc. I was a couple paragraphs into it and thought “Where the heck am I going with this??!” Writer’s block set in, I deleted and started over. So here I am, writing about what I couldn’t write about.
I have been having a lot of these blocks lately, both in what to write about and ideas for photographs that just don’t quite gel together.
So I am taking the easy way out today, will enjoy the holiday day off, and perhaps work on some older images. Have a nice 4th!
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Rugged coral beach with rainbow, Bonaire, Netherland Antilles
There is an interesting dichotomy between the shoreline and the life existing not too far away underneath the water’s surface. The shoreline… a rough, textured crusty surface that is for the most part, dead rock. Remnants of animal life that used to exist around and on these large hard structures. In essence, it is a boneyard. Walking through here is like walking through a graveyard of history of many shapes and forms.
Walking along here isn’t just your casual stroll along the beach. You definitely feel the uneven surface beneath your shoes. No barefoot walks here. It becomes a little more unnerving when you start to think about what you are walking on. Skeletons of a reef long gone.
I saw a lot of ironies in making this image. The rainbow in the distance often associated with happy feelings, hope, a refreshing rain, and bringing of life giving water. Yet scattered across the foreground, lit with warm morning light, are these reminders of life that is often hidden from our view. Life that once needed the water so close by to survive.
So many questions come to mind. What animals used to call this “rock” home? How long ago was this piece of dead coral surrounded with vibrant life? Were human beings even present when this piece was thriving at its prime? It is a lot to wrap your head around for a simple walk along a shoreline just looking for pretty pictures.
Venture a bit off shore, and travel downward about 50 feet, and you see the structures you saw on shore hosting the most diverse set of life one can imagine. Living structures that are likely hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years old.
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Life in the grand aquarium, Bonaire, Netherland Antilles
I imagine for most people, a walk through the forest is one that involves mostly observing trees and other plantlife, and an occasional animal. Imagine just the reverse, where your field of vision is surrounded by animal life, and only an occasional plant or two. Sound only like a Disney film? What you just imagined is much of what it is like on a reef.
This aspect of the ocean just mesmerized me when I first started diving. Everything I was looking at was some form of animal life, with rarely a plant seen. Things that moved, things that didn’t move ,and things that looked more like some alien planter than an animal. Your definition of what is an animal is becomes a lot broader, no matter how much you studied biology.
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A friendly donkey on Bonaire, with a question on his mind... in this case, I believe it is "do you have any food?"
I have received a number of emails about photo contests lately, and it brought to mind a problem I have with judging and critique of photographs. That problem is one of The Missing Question. Now of course contests aren’t meant to be constructive, but many photographs are judged in a similar fashion. The basic premise of a critique is an attempt to guide people on what they can improve upon. Others may just want some affirmation that they created something worthwhile the effort.
More often than not, the photograph is examined at face value and the judge offers their opinion of it based upon whatever background and experiences they may (or may not!) have. They may even apply some type of numerical score to an image if it is in some type of competition. This very process can be completely useless to the photographer on the other end. Why? Because of The Missing Question.
The Missing Question is one that asks “What was your goal with this image?” Note this is a different question than “what are you attempting to communicate” or “what’s your subject?” because those things often come through without explanation in a well composed image. However, it is impossible to know the goal of the photographer without asking first. The goal offers vital information that would help frame feedback in a constructive way. Were they out to improve on their use of backgrounds? Did they aim to imitate the work of a more well known photographer they admire? Were they simply trying to show what they found interesting about a special place? Is there a theme or project of other images involved? Were they simply trying to make a better image than their last?
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