Problematic

This bit of legislature is not really surprising considering who has signed it into law. After all, such action does very much reflect the view of many politicos as well as their constituents despite the ever-increasing impact of climate change-please see the link below. It is indeed ironic that a “if we don’t say it, it doesn’t exist” approach is coming from Florida-this is, however, not the first time for such.

NOAA will be releasing its outlook for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season on May 23. If you click that link, please be sure to take note of the photograph that leads the posting.

Summer is not yet here and we are already into this.

Last year the Pew Research Center published this report, which is very much worth a read as it directly addresses the thinking behind the lowering of climate change as a priority. It would not be surprising to have the label “alarmist” attached to my views on climate change. I think that is accurate, provided the negative, and definitely political, connotation be removed from the term. It is alarming to see the destruction wrought by amplified storms, droughts, and wildfires. The lives lost and billions spent. And yet laws and policies such as those passed in Florida continue.

Such legislation as that recently passed in Florida will not make climate change any less problematic. Of course, if you do not think it is an issue, then, what is the problem?

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Lichen

The above photograph was included in the post entitled “Failure”. While it did provide the opportunity to include a detail image of that newly fallen tree as well as to explain via the link that the lichen is not related to that tree’s falling, the photograph does a less than good job of differentiating the lichen from the bark as the tones and textures can seem to blend. Such is the issue with some examples of BW photography. I could have dodged (lightened) the lichen, but that would have created some tonal issues with regard to it’s representation.

So…

the above and following series of photographs show lichen growing on some of the rocks making up a couple of breastworks on the Gettysburg Battlefield-the rocks provide an excellent substrate on which the lichen can grow. They also provide better contrast, in both tone and texture, for photography.

This one could be an abstract global relief map…

while this one includes a few caterpillar-shaped mosses. This article describes the differences between lichen and mosses as well as a review of the identifying characteristics to differentiate between lichens.

I find lichens fascinating in terms of their “symbiotic relationships” (please read the link) and manner of existence. I also very much enjoy their varying tones and textures and what that contributes to the photographic process. From a compositional standpoint, I did not have a macro lens with me, so these are are not extreme close-ups of the structures of the lichen-all of the photographs were made with a 75mm equivalent lens, which is an excellent focal length for portraiture. As such, I did want to include enough of the rocks/walls so as to put the lichen in their environmental context.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Piles

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Failure

We have had a fair amount of rain thus far this month…no real downpours or severe storms, but enough to keep the area wet…the greens, for example, are really green.

Given that rain and the tenuous depth of the soil, this tall tree, which had been anchored on a slight downward slope directly adjacent to another (long dead and decaying) tree, has had it’s root system fail and has fallen across a hiking trail. I was last here on May 9 and the trail was not blocked by this tree, so it’s falling is a recent event.

Above is a closer look at some of the lichen growing on this particular tree. As per this discussion, these lichen would have played no part in this tree’s demise. The rain we have had, though, would certainly have also been useful to the lichen.

At some point, sawyers for the DNR will come to cut the trunk as they have others, such as the one above, which have previously fallen and also blocked the trail. There are quite a few tree rings visible, so this previously fallen tree had been upright for awhile.

There are many, many downed trees throughout this area that are in various states of decay. This newly fallen one joins the multitude.

And that brings with it a bit of sadness.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Boulders II

This is a follow-up to the previous post. The above is more an issue of shape-this particular boulder has been wedged within a crevasse between two much larger boulders.

Another prominent feature of some boulders and larger rock formations are the cracks that emerge and can enlarge with time. Cracks are often an asset to climbers as they provide space for fingers, hands, elbows, knees, and perhaps the entire body and any number of artificial devices in support of vertical, and at times, horizontal, movement.

Cracks also play an important role in the fracturing of larger boulders and rock formations. For example, water can seep into a crack, freeze, and thus lead to the breaking of the boulder, no matter how hard the geologic substance of which it is made. The same can happen when a climber adds too much weight to an unstable section of a climb. Also, the concept of “clean climbing” arose out of concern about the overuse of pitons and bolts and their degradation of the rock. If you are interested, please read through that entire link as the ethic of clean climbing, in Mr. Chouinard’s words, was not realized. Routes are routinely bolted, and in many cases, not possible without them, and chalk smears abound. This is about the ruination of the rock, whether functionally or aesthetically. While I certainly appreciated the role chalk plays in the climber’s safety, as a photographer, I find the stains left behind to be annoying.

And while on the subject of climbing, if you are interested and have not already done so, give “Free Solo” a look. That documentary won an Oscar and so emerged into popular culture. Another that will make your palms sweat, and was most likely not as widely seen, is “The Alpinist”. Those are two extraordinary climbers who greatly pushed the envelope as to what is possible on big walls. There are many others…

Circling back to the boulders themselves, though, given enough time and the necessary climatic and environmental conditions, large boulders can erode into smaller stones and pebbles. Eventually, they, too, are ground into rock dust.

Stepping back, it is curious as to how much I photograph and write about has to do with the passage of time…

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Boulders

Back in the early 80s, the discipline of bouldering began to emerge as a pursuit of its own instead of being seen as a means of training for climbing big walls or mountains. Outside magazine had published an article entitled “Rock Without Risk”, which definitely caught my attention. (As an aside, I did some research to try and find that article, but was unsuccessful.)

The appeal of bouldering was that it required no real specialized equipment-one did not need harnesses, ropes, carabiners, chocks/pitons, etc. and there were a few local places with boulders and rock formations large enough to get 10-30′ off the ground, if one were successful. The “without risk” in the article’s title meant that a fall would not often be lethal.

Even at those relatively low heights, there could still be a price that gravity would exert if one strayed too much beyond one’s limits, but that is not the same as peeling off the heights of Half Dome or El Capitan. Mind you, this was also before companies began making, marketing, and selling the “crash pads” that are ubiquitous at bouldering/climbing sites now. That extra protection is useful, no matter how goofy it looks for boulderers/climbers to be carrying what looks like folded mattresses through the woods.

I do very little bouldering now-that is, within the vertical aspect. I do still very much enjoy scrambling around and over boulder fields and get a visceral pleasure out of the physical feel of the rocks themselves. They do a great job of holding ambient temperatures; maintaining moisture levels (largely due to the lichens and fungi that cling to them); and have a variety of textures that coincide with their geological makeup. From a photographic standpoint, their nooks and crannies as well as their infinite variety of shapes and sizes make for fundamentally pleasing BW photography.

What’s not to like?

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Plastics

Here are a couple of reports (here and here) attempting to address the proliferation of plastics.

Plastic products certainly do continue to appear in places they really should not be as a result of the public at large being sold on the notion of “single use, then discard”. That discarding often appears to be wherever is most convenient.

There are prices to pay for such convenience-ones that are beyond the aesthetic considerations. The issues of bioaccumulation and biomagnification of plastics in marine life has been a focus of scientific study for years now (here and here are examples). Concern has also been raised about the human ingestion of micro- and nanoplastics. Such studies provide information that does raise concern about the toxic impact of plastics on biologicals as well as pointing to the need for further specific examinations.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Storm

Above is a photograph of a thunderstorm brewing as seen through a large walnut tree. In a short time, rain began to fall, which was accompanied by the requisite thunder and lightning. This was no boomer, but the lighting sure lit up the sky.

The afternoon temps had hit the low 90s: it was difficult to make the leap into what certainly felt like summer…not quite ready for that.

Coincidentally, this report aired earlier in the morning. Having worked in higher ed for 30 years, I found it truly important to incorporate climate education across the various curricula. Given the power, reach, and impact that the leaders of corporations have globally, gaining an understanding that maximum profits for shareholders comes at a very high cost to the environ is an important ethical lesson to be learned. As this is being typed, Gorden Gekko’s speech is playing in my head. He, of course, had a much different message. Three decades later, the world is dealing with the consequences of such thinking.

Perhaps the efforts Professor Usher and others are making to change the mindset of future business leaders will make a difference. Open, broad-based cooperation and coordination of messaging across business schools would seem to be a critical step-one that is clearly needed.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Decay

Sometimes when going on a walkabout, I have an idea of what I want to photograph before starting out. Other times, I’ll go to an area and then see what catches my eye-such was the case today. On this particular morning, the theme of decay seemed like a good choice.

It was a partly cloudy morning, and so the light was pretty soft. The decaying bark and exposed pulp provided ample texture and contrast for what are, essentially, environmental portraits. All of the trees and bits of trees shown here have been photographed before-they are just a bit further down the line in their decay. Most have also been photographed from the same point-of-view and therefore these are practically the same compositions. The differences between these images and those made in the past would be the result of the season, changes in the ambient light, and, moreso, the progressive state of their decomposition.

The three images above are from the same tree-again, one that has been photographed many times before. The difference is, though, the previous photographs had been from a much wider perspective: one that shows the tree in its entirety. Today, I moved in much closer for a more detailed look. As with the other photographs here, these show a more advanced state of decay. Time moves on.

Together, these trees will provide many more photographic opportunities as their inevitable decline continues. They were all once tall, stately beings.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P.Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Earth Day 2024

Earth Day 2024 began with a nearly full moon that was accented by wisps of clouds and lit up a relatively cool morning. Going much further back in history, here is an article about the beginnings of this important day.

The following are a series of photographs from a variety of places in celebration of what nature has to offer:

And some that illustrate how capable we are of carelessly mucking up such places…these certainly do not compare to the massive industrial pollution generated by large companies, let alone the destruction unleashed by the many wars currently being waged, but they do point to the common activities over which individuals have complete control and which significantly add up when multiplied over time:

Along with a couple of reports (here and here) of just how poorly people can behave in the outdoors.

Finally, it is best to add a palate-cleanser to close this post:

This is the only planet we have…we need to take care of it.

Take care.

Copyright 2024 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.