I always look forward to getting settling into our home in Montana.  Late spring and early summer is a special time here.  Form waking to the song of the Meadowlark to enjoying the warmth of the lengthening days it can be pretty heady stuff.

Hillsides covered in wildflowers, snow capped mountains, beautiful early summer thunderstorms leaving in their wake valleys full of fog and low lying clouds, vibrantly emerging grain fields creating patchworks of interesting colors, shapes and textures….all the ingredients for potential images.  Despite the abundance of an unusually wet May and June and all that it’s offered, I’ve drawn a significant blank photographically.  My annual trip to central Montana, shut out.  A couple of days on the Beartooth Pass, nothing.  Multiple drives to my favorite locations much closer to home, no go.  Despite the lack of images to show for the effort and a certain degree of frustration that’s come with it, the last 6 weeks have reinforced that it’s ultimately not about the images themselves.  I’ve experienced the places that I’ve come to love in different ways and in different conditions.  I’ve taken the time to see new places that have always peaked my curiosity but I’ve never gone to before.  These things in and of themselves have turned out to be rewarding in their own right.  To be certain, I’ll continue to put myself out there looking for new experiences with the confidence that the images will come in due time.  Ironically, the one image that I’ve created was literally made from the back deck of my house…which is just fine by me!

A Pretty Picture