Foulk Photography

“Acid Trip”
- Coneflower, Abstract Macro

As we end another trippy week, here’s hoping you have a phenomenal weekend in store. In the meantime, have some color and enjoy the dance. What dance? Stare at the center of the flower for a few seconds… and once you see the spiral pattern nature built her colorful parts to, she’ll begin to gently dance for you.

Share it when you see it ;)

https://foulk.photography

“History”
- Fading Echoes of Wildflowers in Snow, Lava Fields of Southern Idaho

“History never looks like history when you are living through it.” -John W. Gardner

We are all spending a lot of time reflecting, lately. Reflecting on things that once were, things that currently are that will haunt the annals of history for another hundred years... and looking toward an uncertain future having no idea what’s really in store.

There’s a cycle to everything. A cycle to the rise and fall of the sea, a cycle to the light of day and dark of night, the ebb and flow of fortune in our lives. A spring for the flowers, and a winter to render them a finite place in history. An ebb and a flow of social norms, of catastrophe, and the human condition.

That is, in fact, why the quote,”Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana-1905) rings so true. When the cycles are sufficiently close together, we remember them and adapt. When they aren’t (or if we just plain fail to learn from them), we don’t and surprise… we repeat them.

Those that lived before us knew great calamity, they knew hardship, they knew strife. Their worlds changed before their very eyes as the reality they thought they knew collapsed around them due to something unforeseen. Some “thing” that wasn’t supposed to happen. Famine, disease, war, that terrible pattern of abuses exes… Cycles all.

The key is to look to the past and learn from it. Recall what once was, read about it if it was before your time, but the past is critically important because there’s a recurring cycle to everything. And if you’re blind to that cycle, you’re going to be a victim of it. As an engineer, I can clearly attest to the fact that I didn’t give our history its due in school, and now I’m playing catch up.

Eventually today will be yesteryear and the world will change again, though, history never looks much like history when you’re living through it...

https://foulk.photography

“Oxbow Bending”
- Snake River, Wyoming

“Boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Boy: There is no spoon.

Neo: There is no spoon?

Boy: Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.” - The Matrix

This image is a fleeting moment of sunrise. That frigid instance at the break of dawn, as winter closes in, where the coming of the sunrise reveals the recession of the Earth’s shadow to the West. It always amazes me how few people see and recognize the majesty of this line, and understand, at scale… what it is.

The transition of colors is a representation of something truly epic… it is the hallmark of celestial movements at a scale we as mortals still struggle to truly grasp… that purple band… is the shadow that our very home rock casts into the thin whisper of an atmosphere within which we exist, driven by the illumination of a massive onslaught of radiation from a massive ball of fusion. It is glorious, and beautiful… and you thought this was a photo of a mountain and a river! (ok, it is, but work with me here).

When you say you have no time, know that this photo was taken in the wee hours of the morning, about three hour’s drive from the location I was at for a meeting… and I drove to this location in the middle of the night, lovingly scraped the forming icicles off of my camera as I waited and took this shot, then raced back to the location of my meetings and slayed that mission too. You can almost always find a way. When you think “can’t”, just remember, there is no spoon and you’re the one that is bending.

Side note, it is too bad there was never a sequel to "The Matrix" ...

https://foulk.photography

“Alien World”
- South Idaho Lava Fields, at Sunset

I love a good challenge. Finding something that fits my photographic style among sprawling fields of sterile, ancient lava flows (in Idaho, no less) was a delightful challenge. This was one of the few times I’ve been able to make such a trip with a fellow engineer and photographer, this trip turned out to be a phenomenal endeavor.

I need you to imagine two engineers literally running through the desert, jumping across massive fissures in massive lakes of once molten rock… stopping only to try, in vain, to capture a scene in all of its alien glory… failing, and then running some more.

It wasn’t until I came across an island of anomaly in the lava field where the living had claimed a foothold, that I found the blessed pile of contradiction I was seeking. It also serendipitously happened to be sunset over this scant bit of the Earth… and the effect of life, and death, and light, and shadow, filled me with joy as I snapped the photo that would finally let me go home.


https://foulk.photography

"Mountain Glow"
- Alpine Tundra at Sunset, Rocky Mountain NP, CO, +14,000ft

There is an amazing experience wrapped up in the long eternity of sunset in the alpine tundra. And by eternity, of course I mean it only really lasts a fleeting few moments from frigid cold daylight, to plunging deep into even colder night. But it sure feels like an eternity as the wind whips your face through the cold weather gear, and the clouds race by, enveloping you at that altitude in a way that makes you fear you'll never feel the passionate embrace of sunlight again... and then, when you are finally on location and the sun is scheduled to finally do its thing... the eternity stretches on as you struggle to breathe... not (just) because of the altitude, but because of the constant threat of waves of vaporous water fogging out any semblance of a shot. By the end of it... you're kinda glad to just be done with it, emotionally spent like the ragged throws of a hot and steamy, but futile relationship. And then, in the perfect metaphorical climax so common in life, you have to make it back down to safety, cold, blind, and in the dark. No rest for the weary, and on to the next.

https://foulk.photography

“The Prince of Puerto Rico”
- Domineering Iguana atop Castillo de San Cristóbal, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Take a lesson from our beloved Prince... It most certainly is NOT lonely at the top, for there will always be somebody crawling up your backside to take a picture.

Aspire to greatness, and bask in the warmth atop the highest peak you can ascend. Revel in the way others that look up to you, in awe of the heights you’ve attained. Look down on them for a moment in selfish satisfaction before realizing that, while it isn’t necessarily lonely up there, there’s no damn food up there and you’re hungry... So you’re gonna have to get down and go get something to eat just like everyone else.

Obey the Prince, and be a good human today.

https://foulk.photography

“Tranquility”
- Sunset over Key Largo, FL

I saw a note today from a dear friend. A dear friend who lamented that a trip to Aruba, twelve years in the making, had been hijacked by world events. My heart ached for her. Yes, there’s more tragedy in the world than a missed trip to Aruba, but still…

It got me thinking of my own inability to sit still… My own insatiable wanderlust, never content to sit quietly in the “here” that is where I am at any given moment. There have been times where I’d grab my macro lens and find a tiny, ugly spot of my yard and try to focus on details until I found something to remind me that there is beauty abound all around us wherever we are, if only we’d look… and it is true, there truly is beauty all around us… but it does little to settle the raging wanderlust… the pent up desire to be there… “Where?” you ask?

There, over there or way over there, somewhere there that isn’t here. And, ask me again when I’m there, and surely I’ll tell you, “Where? Neither here nor there! But rather, there!” And off we go. It never ends. At least, not until you fall in love with the idea that here is good, at least good enough, and that there will always be another there that always becomes here once you’re… there.

https://foulk.photography

"The Gathering"
- Fungal bloom, Chapman's Landing State Park, Maryland

"I tried to come up with a joke about social distancing.
This was as close as I could get."

When I took this photo, I never in a million years would have guessed that I'd be using it for a terrible dad-joke pun. *sigh*

Stay safe out there, my friends.

https://foulk.photography

"Impenetrable"
- Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico

I wonder how much of the world we build today will remain as it is in a few hundred years. Will what we build be marveled at, or at least present, or... will it simply be lost to the pages of time, broken to dust and overrun by the disposable consumer-driven world?

This historical landmark, while admittedly supported by a modern day preservation program... stood the test of time for hundreds of years before that. Imagine the effort and commitment it took in the sixteenth century to construct something so substantial, yet so beautiful. Imagine the difference if we all had this type of commitment to building something that lasts today...

https://foulk.photography

"Questions"
- Beach-side flowers, St. Augustine, FL

"Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement." -Ronald Reagan

An otherwise wordless Wednesday.

https://foulk.photography

"Wings of Nightshade"
- Hoverfly on Nightshade, Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake Forest, IL

"Our words have wings, but fly not where we would." -George Eliot

Imagine the patience of a scene so remarkable, so naturally vibrant... I mean, imagine a photographer, with all of his or her gear stowed, hiking along a trail back to the car after a sunrise shoot... imagine that photographer stumbling upon this flower, and this insect... that same photographer dropping his gear, setting up a tripod, changing lenses to mount a macro lens, mounting the camera and positioning, focusing, fidgeting... adjusting... all within inches of this. Imagine the patience of this little insect, waiting to fly until I've had my shot... err... I mean until that photographer has their shot...

I only ask that all those in my life are as patient with me as this little guy was. I'll endeavor to return the favor. :)

https://foulk.photography

"On The Bored Walk"
- Piscataway Park, Maryland

Cloudy, rainy days and blindingly bright sunny days are both fantastic opportunities to embrace a change of pace. The shift from chasing great light to chasing great texture is an awesome mental exercise, once you get past the anguish.

I love this photo almost as much for what it isn't, as what it is. This was a fabulous sunset over the Potomac River in the making... overrun at the last minute by drizzly overcast skies that weren't in the forecast. We are adaptable, if we allow ourselves to be.

https://foulk.photography

"Fare Thee Well By Fire"
- Winter sunrise over Bryce Canyon, Utah

"It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake." -Frederick Douglass

This image, for me, evokes thoughts of triumph over adversity, and the quote reminds me that it is only through that adversity that our true potential is honed.

This was an amazing trip, even thought the tourist count is nearly unbearable even in the dead of winter. This dawn was a treat given that the night was spent battling the icy winds, trying in vain to keep the tripod steady enough for long exposures of the milky way.



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"War"
- WWII Tank Yielding to Nature on Flamenco Beach, The Island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.

"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories." - Sun Tzu

What we were isn't what we are. Time and the forces of nature mold us, evolve us, weather and wear us... but we'd be wise to remember, it is all still beautiful if you learn to just appreciate it for what it is. And that... is the war that rages within us all, isn't it?

"Of Blood and Gold"
- Macro of a blood red cosmo, Chicago Botanical Gardens

I have almost as much fun getting lost in the minutia as I do seeking sweeping vistas. The world around us is made up of such amazingly fascinating abstract bits.

The only thing I like better than this brooding flower, is the way it looks printed 3ft wide on canvas, and hanging on a wall in a happy client's home. That piece was difficult to part with!!!

https://foulk.photography

"Midnight Train"
- Canyon Lake, along the Apache Trail, Arizona.

I have to admit, the Apache Trail in Arizona is one of my favorite places to explore and photograph in the US. The water, the canyons, the history. Simply breathtaking, if you're the type that can appreciate the desert.

This image was a blast to capture. It is a several minute long exposure, late in the night as a train of clouds streamed across the moonlit sky. I can't wait for the opportunity to return.

https://foulk.photography

"Waves of Gold"
- White Sands, New Mexico at sunset.

"The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I remember this sunset quite vividly. It was a moment of magical transition between the blindingly bright scorched earth of day, and the unnerving and otherworldly feel of night. Nightfall in White Sands is a one of a kind experience. The white sand turns a strange hue of blue and with the dark night sky, it is beautifully disorienting as the whole world feels upside down.

I was fortunate on this adventure to share the freedom with a good friend as we sprinted across the southwest in a whirlwind tour of desert vistas. And yes, I still have the scars from Bisbee.

We take our freedom for granted, don't you think?

https://foulk.photography

"Loving Nightmares"

With just a little effort, we can take something beautiful and make a completely terrifying mess out of it. Humans are really quite good at it. On a completely unrelated note... here is the soft and cuddly childhood toy belonging to a dear friend of mine. She's the stuff of nightmares, I tell you. The toy. Not the friend.

Stay safe out there, and share something beautiful!

https://foulk.photography

"Desert Shadow"
- Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley, CA

There are very few photos in my archive that do not have a story behind them. Many of them involve me in situations wherein I was lucky to survive. This one, while not death defying, is very fitting for today.

This is a high-contrast image of the Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley, California taken only moments after sunrise. This one image was the sole purpose of my three day trip to the Valley, an epic place I encourage everyone to visit and admire at some point in their life. The park has elevations from -283ft to over 11,000 ft all viewable from the same vantage points... the twisted sense of scale here is just unimaginable.

This was the last morning of my trip after working the Valley for three days capturing other vistas and plotting where and when to come after this image. But, day one started atop a 5,200ft peak in the Black Mountains to the east, overlooking the depths of the Valley and 11,000ft Panamint Mountains to the west. I was on peak within view of, but quite distant from, a parking area. As I was photographing sunset, I noticed a man with a wide round hat in the parking lot watching me. He packed up and nearly sprinted to my location, and promptly placed his tripod next to mine (no, literally intertwined with mine) to take the same shots I was taking. Flattering, but inconvenient. He spoke no English, and I spoke no Mandarin, so we danced like this for about half an hour, trying to take photos.

For the next two days in the park, any time this man saw my 4WD, he'd stop, track me down and repeat. I've never experienced anything like this (I have since). This made the final shot, the purpose of my trip, a little more challenging. You see, the Mesquite Dunes are heavily trodden by tourists since there is a road and a parking lot immediately adjacent to the dune field. Getting a textured shot like this without foot prints is... a challenge. I had to work all that much harder to get the job done because I knew I'd have a friend in tow and my 4WD (an eyesore really) was impossible to hide.

3AM I depart my campsite and drive west to a location about two miles from the dune field. I parked my vehicle on the side of the road, and set out over the salt flats to hide my footprints and hiked for nearly three hours to get to the far side of the dune field, and made my approach. As the sun rose nature flooded the canvas with light illuminating the texture of dunes touched only by the Mojave winds... and I had what I came for.

After an hour of shooting, the light became less flattering, and I packed up my gear for the return hike. As I lifted my gear to my back, I looked south, and cresting the dunes... there he was. I've no idea how... but there he was. I waved and headed back to the salt flats, victorious. Annoyed, but victorious.

There will always be roadblocks and challenges, nothing will ever be easy, and things seldom go "right"... I try to remember that each and every disappointment in life is a product of MY expectations, and nothing more and nothing less. Cheers to the weekend, my friends!

Let's brighten the day a bit, shall we? Spring is underway and even though the world isn't exactly as we remember it, the world is bustling with beauty for us to behold at every turn. We just have to focus on the bright parts, while still learning to admire the majesty of the dark parts.

"Daylight and Defiance"
-Botanical macro, Waimea Valley, O'ahu

https://foulk.photography

"The Journey"
-The Mojave Desert at sunset.

This is the sun setting over the rails and iconic mountain profile near my childhood home that still hum. The solace and silence of the Mojave often only broken by the sounds of steel wheels upon these rails, the massive engines that power them, and the highway that follows alongside.

As I looked at this scene, it reminded me of a Will Rogers quote, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." No matter the times we face, keep moving.

This is the final picture I took for my last exhibit, and there's no small amount of irony that the photo was of the place where I began. As straight as the tracks may seem at times, there's always a chance they'll lead you full circle, and bring you home. Keep moving and cherish the the journey.

More at: https://foulk.photography

Celebrating the end of a fantastic exhibition at the Mattawoman Creek Art Center in Maryland! Proud to support the mission of MCAC and have been blessed to teach multiple classes and ad hoc workshops over the past five weeks during the exhibit. More classes to come, so watch for the announcements!

The remaining peices of the exhibit will remain on sale for the next week, so it isn't too late to take that piece home! 25% of all work purchased this week will go to benefit MCAC and its mission.

The exhibit may be viewed online at https://foulk.photography so check it out and support the arts!

And, lastly, thanks to the many who supported the effort to hang and host this exhibit. You've been a blessing.

Another gorgeous day at the Mattawoman Creek Art Center!!! Weather is perfect for a picnic and I'm having a blast chatting with our visitors about photography, travel, and the arts! Today is a perfect day to come join us!

I am both biased, and torn on the decision, but I think this might be my favorite piece currently on display at the Mattawoman Creek Art Center gallery!

Honored to have the opportunity, and the engagement with our art appreciating community has been such a blessing!

MCAC Exhibit: Chasing the Light... all of the art is now available for online purchase.

Chasing the Light: A Gallery Exhibit by Foulk Photography

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