Continual practice is the key to improvement… It also helps my mental well being immensely. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall…love ’em all. Getting consumed in this art is an easy thing to have happen. Here’s some recent creations ❤
Spent a great deal of the morning stone balancing at Linn Run State Park, PA. It was a chilly morning. I was quickly reminded of early winter balancing. Not all wet rocks are simply wet. Some are actually covered in a thin coating of ice. I was carrying an arm load of rocks that I had collected when all of a sudden I was airborne. Took a hard spill draping myself over a large boulder and eventually coming to a rest after smashing my forearm against something. Laid on the ground for a minute composing myself before “walking it off” and chuckling a bit. Went to work balancing coming up with several completed pieces. Lighting wasn’t ideal, but I did the best I could. Eventually I was stiff enough to head home. Time for a little therapy to help with the bumps and bruises -Cheers
After a few hours of frustration, found a combo of stones that inspired. Here are the results, which to me are kinda ehhh mixed. Personally I liked the top 3. Wanted to change stones 4,5,6 (counting down from the top) but ran out of daylight. Looks a tad “basic” in this configuration… but still something to smile about! Possibly revisit these agian someday soon.
Creating in the rain, can be a powerful experience. I spent a few hours fully immersed at Linn Run State Park during the creation and recording of this creation. The flowing creek, the rhythm of the drops hitting the earth. All good inspirational things 🙂
Time progression through the evening and into night offers many variations of light. This balance was constructed and photographed through magic hour (the hour just before dark) in Linn Run State Park. During this short period, it can get hectic trying to capture the perfect rendition of what my eyes are seeing and photographic artistry before the light fades to black… only possible if the balance doesn’t collapse.
I always remember to take a little time to enjoy the balance, setting, and experience despite being intent on capturing images during this short duration. An important part of the process. On this day the time leading up to magic hour was rather windy toppling this balance two time prior. After the 3rd build, the winds calmed and allowed for a wonderful hour of photography and balance enjoyment.
Spent a very tolerable afternoon/evening in Linn Run. It seems winter has released its grip once again. A warm breeze relieved the chill coming off the creek. I’ve been on a kick of spending massive amounts of time stone searching. Collecting FAR more than necessary for a balance. Reminds me of being young and looking for the perfect “skipping” stone. Very similar process only for a different purpose and far more complex. Either way some coolness came out of extensive search today.
I did a bunch of creation since my last post, but lacked free time to share…Sooo..I’ll catch up on those at some point. For now here are some photos from a recent outing to Linn Run State Park. Wasn’t really feeling any of the creek flows, so instead went with this little piece of mossy heaven as a creation spot. The sensation of the moss and soft earth around me while balancing this was friendly and inviting. A polar opposite compared to some of my less than comfortable chosen in-creek destinations.
Had a creatively wonderful day stone balancing and meeting friends both old and new in Linn Run state park on February 7, 2016
Despite being down a critical piece of equipment, some quality time was spent enjoying the snow and creating some balance prior to the large snowfall that hit our region. For a few days everything’s been under a few feet of snow making time away easier to cope with. The “Frozen” balance was one that was left overnight. The slightest amount of spray from the creek transformed the balance into a an object fixed in the creek. The other three photos are of a different creation that I took a liking to. I used a Nikon D50 (circa 2005) to shoot these photos. The batteries are as old as the camera and have barely enough life to snap a few photos in cold weather. I even used the cold weather trick of keeping them warm with “shake and bake” hand warmers trying to squeeze out as many images as possible. Luck and a small amount of skill netted several decent shots with a nostalgic “old school” digital appearance. Not that they’re worthy of massive enlargement, but they work for social media sharing after the arduous task of removing the hundreds of black dirt specs due to the badly neglected image sensor 🙂 Can’t wait to get a proper camera back in my hands!
A recent lightning storm had me running for cover from Meadow Run creek leaving a started, but unfinished balance. I stashed the rocks and returned the following day to finish what I had begun the day before. A massive top rock finished off what would become a personal favorite for 2015.
KeyStone Balance 