Scouting Adventure

I knew when I left the house that I was going to be way past that magical golden morning hour for perfectly lit photos. My destination was a good 30-45 minutes away making my arrival time about 10 a.m.

My destination was the Eastmanville Farm, a county park that I had never been to. I looked at this outing as a scouting adventure, scouting out good places and things to photograph, and scouting out whether morning or evening would be the better time to come shoot.

The thought of this being just a scouting adventure went right out the window as soon as I turned into the park. There at the end of the gravel driveway was a beautifully restored 1930's red barn. Quickly out came the camera and the tripod. I figured I could try and get a few decent shots, if nothing else it would be helpful for composition ideas on my next visit.

As I was getting my gear out, a couple of lovely ladies and their furry companions came over and chatted for a few minutes. There must be something about photography gear that naturally attracts people's curiosity. Which is why I like to make sure nobody is around when I do self-portrait work.

After more than a few shots of the barn, I put my tripod back in the car and headed for the trails. The trails are widely mown paths in the prairie-like grass. Easy to follow and wonderfully maintained. The only thing you have to look out for when walking is horse poo since these are equestrian trails as well.

As I meandered along the paths enjoying the weak warmth of the November sun, I felt such a calming quiet come over me. This was someplace I could while away the day, looking for treasures to photograph or sitting quietly on a bench looking out at the landscape with my writing journal on my lap, writing down random thoughts as they came to me.

I determined that evening will be a great time to come back and photograph the barn, every time I turned a corner and looked back at the barn I could picture it with the golden glow of sunset on it and I was filled with joy.

My scouting adventure was a great success, more than I ever expected it to be. I got a few good shots, but more than that I got a sense of peace that I never would have know if I hadn't come to explore.

This wasn't what I had originally planned for Walk and Click Wednesday this week, but I have learned over the last month to stop questioning the gift of the unexpected.