Construction Site
I'm driving down Interstate 70 heading west to visit my parents. It's getting close to sunset. I cross an overpass at Highway 58 looking right as I always do to see the mountains and Clear Creek carving out it's little slice of nature through the suburban milieu. Upon first glance, it could be considered pedestrian. Actually, that might be putting it nicely. Many would consider it displeasing with the plethora of construction equipment and muddy piles of cleared land being readied for a new strip mall. Driving by at 65 mph, I notice the reflections in some of the drainage pools when on the bridge. The urge to stop is irrepressible. I get off the next exit and pull into a dirt lot. I grab my camera gear and go trudging through the mud with an imagined visual of what this place could look like with the right light. And voila, 30 minutes later, nature put on a beautiful show as it always does. Just me on a muddy island between two half frozen pools on a strip mall construction site with the cacophonous noise of nearby interstate traffic. Every distraction fades away and life is stripped down to my focus on the beauty laid out in front of me with a true sense of presence and connection. D It's these challenges that photography provide that invigorate me. Seeking out locations that can easily be overlooked. When everyone goes to take photos one direction, I tend to go the other. It doesn't make me better, it's just me being true to myself. It's my art and my conceptualization of the world around me. Slowing down to literally smell the proverbial roses. Skipping life's fast lane and driving in the right lane, so when I go over that next overpass, I can soak it all in absorbing what's around and allow room to stop and pause.
