by hatfield13

Things that don’t last~

It was one of those rainy, sunny, rainy, cloudy, sunny, rainy-again days on Lake Champlain.  Which means perfect weather for this:

I love rainbow pictures.  I’ve rushed into the house for my camera so many times that I have a permanent bruise where my shin always slams into the last step on the deck.  We have a little gallery of lake-rainbow pictures in the front hallway. 

And I have a thing for lightning, too.  If you’ve never tried to photograph lightning with a regular, pretty cheap digital camera, you should know that it’s not easy.  I’ll sit through an entire storm on the sun porch with my trigger finger on the camera, just waiting for that bolt that lasts a split second longer than the rest. 

Here’s a shot from a couple weeks ago…

I mentioned my penchant for photographing lovely, intangible things to my very funny and very wicked friend Nancy at an English teachers’ lunch, and she smirked at me.

 “What will you be photographing next week?  Hope?  Serendipity?  Nuance, perhaps?’ 

And that’s when I figured it out.  Capturing things that don’t last,  things that hang in the air but can’t be touched, is the reason so many of us write.  It’s a way to make hope and prisms and jagged flashes of light last forever,  a way to share them and take them home.

20 Replies on “Things that don’t last~”

  1. I love your photographs, Kate. The lightening one is stunning. You’re one brave photographer. Are you right on the water? I would have definitely only gotten a blurry mess as I ran for safety.

    The most extraordinary rainbow I’ve ever seen was on a trip to Norway. It literally covered the whole sky.

  5. Thanks, Linda! And thanks again for your help with BIRCHES. I appreciated your revision suggestions. It’s getting there.

    The lightning photo was taken from an enclosed sun porch (I’m not that brave…). We are lucky to be right on the water, and we never take it for granted. The lake changes every day and is a constant inspiration.

  7. Thank you, Jo! My 5-year-old E is playing Happy Birthday to me on the piano as I type. I can tell it’s going to be a great day!

  8. Thanks, Tanya. We’re just south of Plattsburgh, looking out at Crab Island and Vermont. The lightning in the photograph is over Grand Isle, VT.

  9. Hi Kate, thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. Wishing you a Happy Birthday today – may it be a day filled with hope, serendipity and nuance.

  11. Beautiful pictures, Kate…and a good place to take them…I have not been as inspired to take photos down here as I was in the NorthEast when I was there, or on trips to the National Parks…and Happy Birthday, too.

  13. So you’ll be spending more time on the sun porch, waiting to get that perfect shot? I love our digital camera but there is a real delay .. the shutter seems to be so s-l-o-w. I’ve been wondering if you’ve had any more luck finding the owner of the Mystery Nature Journal. Hope you had a great day today and Happy 4th of July tomorrow.

  14. afraclose posted on her blog that it was your birthday yesterday. Sorry I’m late in wishing you a happy one. Hope it was great!

  15. Mystery Writer remains a mystery for now. We keep checking the trail logs, but we’re finding the books have been changed since Mystery Writer was there. Last week, I found a guy at the Department of Environmental Conservation who says he may be able to find the old ones, so we’ll see. I’ll post an update soon!

  19. It’s too bad there’s nowhere you could post a note, like sometimes there’s a message board at the trailhead, but maybe Mr. DEC will find those old logs. Luckily the Mystery Nature Journal was found by someone who would keep it safe until its owner might be found. I’ll look forward to hearing more of the ongoing saga.

    Hope you’re enjoying the holiday today!

  20. Sorry to be late with this. Hope you had a wonderful birthday Kate! Terrific photos. That’s a great lightening shot!

    “Capturing things that don’t last, things that hang in the air but can’t be touched,”

    I do that too, but my thing is playing around with shadows.