Notes from the Woods

seeing · environment · exploration · photography

Independence Day

Caribbean pictures of coral beaches and shorelines

SL9456-2

Written by Mark

Born and raised in Detroit, c. 323 ppm CO2, Mark Graf is a Michigan photographer, naturalist, and diver whose muse is summoned by exploring the endless connections in nature; land, sea, and sky.

Monday, July 4, 2011

coral shoreline in Bonaire, Netherland Antilles showing rough coast of the Caribbean Sea

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!

graf nature photo divider

this post is tagged with these subjects, you are invited to explore and wander …

Tweaking Darker & Refined

Tweaking Darker & Refined

Since my last major website redesign in 2018, it seems like I have been in a constant "tweaking" mode. Part of it was learning two new platforms (Divi and NextGen Gallery) to build it with, combined with building from scratch in WordPress, combined with my own...

read more
Gallery Update

Gallery Update

Several months ago I wrote about how I was redoing the galleries of my website.   Work is still ongoing on this front, but I am making progress.   Overall, I am still fairly happy with my selection of NextGen Gallery Pro as the foundation for...

read more

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Thank you for spending a little bit of your day here. I truly appreciate it! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Topics

I truly appreciate your comments and feedback!.   If you are commenting for the first time – welcome!  Your comment will be held in moderation until I approve it.  This is a courtesy effort to prevent any spam from going out to post subscribers.  No worries, once approved, it’s a one-time-only process.  You are then part of the cool folks who leave thoughtful comments on blogs.  🙂

12 Comments

  1. Aswirly

    The texture in the foreground is just fantastic…as are those fluffy clouds. What a beautiful day this image depicts. Ive been having alot of blocks lately too…

    • Mark

      I thought the rough texture vs. the silky water was an interesting contrast – so thanks! It was a great day.

  2. David Leland Hyde

    Happy Independence Day, Mark. Hope you had a good holiday off.

  3. Mark

    Thank you all for your comments. It is reassuring knowing I am not the only one that experiences this abandonment!

  4. Anita Jesse

    The photograph is beautiful and serene. The thoughts are welcome, because they cover familiar ground. Like others, I, too, have tackled countless subjects that I had to abandon. Curious that we begin thinking that we have a quite decent handle on what we want to say. Soon, however, we realize we are going in circles and have confused ourselves to the point that we are no longer certain what exactly it is we thought we might say. Cyberspace must be getting crowded with all those “flushed” posts.

  5. Teena in Toronto

    Happy blogoversary 🙂

  6. Monte Stevens

    I love the blue in this image, feels comforting and relaxing. Kinda stirs a desire to sit there to watch and listen to the waves. I too, have been there, done that, but I did not buy the t-shirt, too broke. Hope you have a good 4th.

  7. pj

    I feel that way a couple of sentences into every post I start…

    You recovered admirably — hope you had a good holiday.

  8. Paul

    LOL! Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt! 🙂 Also, I liked your recovery. Writing about what you couldn’t write about. Lovely pictures, too!

  9. Brad Mangas

    I can sure relate to the first paragraph. I don’t know how many posts I have started with the that result, where in the heck am I going with this! Guess it’s the nature of the writing beast.

    Hope you had a good 4th.

  10. Earl

    Mark, a beautiful relaxing photo. I love the shades of blue and turquoise. It really pulls my eye to the horizon after quickly absorbing details of the coral beach.

    Just the other day I deleted a bunch of post drafts for my blog which had withered and died upon the vine. They all began with good intentions and inspired ideas but became lost and stranded in limbo.

    I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July Holiday!

  11. ken bello

    Take time to celebrate. Enjoy the day.