Backwoods Blog

PHOTO BUG

Backwoods Blog;

in the woods and on the road…

Buzz off
by Dave Hutchinson

The mind does not quickly tire itself
moving from thought to thought -
it is like an inquisitive insect
lighting on one object and then on to the next.
The insect may not realize that its life-span
is quite short as seen from our perspective;
the day is sun-lit and warm
and the energy of life is in its little insect body
its buzz and its flight internally wired 
and cannot be ignored or squelched.

We move and to what purpose?
It is a question that the mind flits around
(if but for a moment)
and then our day moves ahead
and the flower of thought and objects of curious desire
lay out before us in the open fields of time
and our once in a lifetime opportunities.

Give us this moment a stopping point
and one single object that resonates with meaning
that we may catch a temporal glimpse
that displays the advantageous aspect of our timeless being.

When I was going through some old files recently I came across this poem that I wrote years ago (buzz off) but I have no memory of writing it. When I asked my nephew about the bug photo he had no memory of taking it. Memory is indeed a curious thing…My nephew lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his family and photography is one of his side interests. He started taking pictures during his college years and it seemed like he always had a camera around his neck in those days. Now, with cell phone technology having evolved so much, he said it’s hard to want to carry around a heavy camera. When taking pictures his general philosophy is that if he takes enough shots, he might accidentally get a good one. He calls his approach “quantity over quality.”  I’ve included several of Garrett’s photos in this post as a sample of his work. All photos were taken with a Nikon D90 camera with the exception of “road” which was with a Canon Powershot. Even though Garrett doesn’t remember where the “bug shot” was taken, I do – it was taken next to our cabin when Garrett was visiting one summer. “Road” is a back road near Cedar Hill, Tennessee where he grew up. “Stadium seats” was taken at the amphitheater in World’s Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee.  “Buoy” was taken in the harbor of Port Clyde, Maine and “steps” is a staircase in an art gallery on Monhegan Island.

I find that taking photos are a way of assisting my memory. If I have a photo of something I am less likely to forget about it with the passing of time and it also triggers other memories that might be associated with the image. And the older I get the more I rely on my smart phone. I don’t carry my old camera around anymore either (I’ve got my iPhone) and I don’t even go to the grocery store anymore with my “mental shopping list” –  I enter the items in my grocery app. Now if I can only remember what I was going to do next…

In the woods,

Dave

August 8, 2022