Val in Real Life LLC

Category: Being Human

  • Postcards from Real Life: Golden

    Postcards from Real Life: Golden

    I’m going for double the fun this week—golden grasses during golden hour courtesy of Wild Horse State Recreation Area in northern Nevada.

    Just like last week, I knew immediately which image in my library conjured up my feelings of the theme. This is another image that simply makes me feel calm and peaceful. Part of it is the magic that is Golden Hour.

    It’s one of the basics of photography that gets pounded into your head even in amateur workshops. And it’s why our field sessions happen at the beginnings and ends of days. Catching the low, soft light on the edges of the day is a lot of what makes a compelling image.

    But even non-photographers love golden hour light even if they can’t put their finger on why. Much like our brains like curves, Golden hour light is naturally appealing to our senses regardless of photographer status. The science behind it is pretty cool and you know I love me some science nerdery.

    In the case of this image, the colors of the grasses combined with the low Golden Hour sunlight create a sepia-toned monochromatic effect without me adding anything to the mix in post-processing. So that’s the golden double-your-pleasure bonus.

    I made this image back in our full-timing days during one of our stays at Wild Horse State Recreation Area north of Elko, Nevada. It one of our favorite front-country camping spots of all time.

    Despite the challenges we were facing at that time, I was able to spend a good amount of energy photographing the beauty there. And this golden-laden image is one of my lasting favorites from that time.

    Peace out!

    Share your thoughts in the comments below!

    Bluesky Art Show

    This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.

  • Postcards from Real Life: Undulating

    Postcards from Real Life: Undulating

    The undulation of rocking soothes our nervous systems. Can we achieve similar emotional comfort from an image? I know I can.

    We know the physical process of rocking is a magical panacea for our complex human nervous systems. It’s certainly why rocking a baby comes naturally to us. And why we can’t help but embrace the undulation of a rocking chair. Or the comfort of a hammock swaying in the breeze.

    But this week’s theme got be thinking about the visual equivalent.

    When I look at these undulating dunes, I experience the emotional parallels of the physical comfort of rocking. Simply looking at the soft, smooth, rolling sand dunes brings me a sense of calm.

    And in this case—being an image I took myself—I have the added benefit of being able to recall the sensory bliss of being there. And the good, happy times being immersed in this gorgeous place and doing something I love.

    This is another shot from Death Valley. Sunrise at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes to be more specific. The dunes there may not be a big and dramatic as at my beloved Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, but this image captures the feel of undulation better than my shots of Great Sand Dunes.

    I hope you find some comfort in the soothing patterns of the dunes, too.

    Peace out!

    Share your thoughts in the comments below!

    Bluesky Art Show

    This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.

  • Postcards from Real Life: Minimal

    Postcards from Real Life: Minimal

    Minimal desert environments are worthy of our curiosity. And there’s no bigger curiosity I’ve experienced than The Racetrack at Death Valley.

    I’m embracing my inner geo-dork again this week. The minimal theme is a good opportunity to talk about desert environments. And that they might be minimal compared to a lot of other environments. But they’re not barren wastelands devoid of value.

    There are a wide variety of desert types in the world. (Hopefully you’re aware of that so I’ll skip the details.) But one of the most minimal desert places I’ve ever experienced is the Racetrack in Death Valley.

    You might be tempted to call this place barren. But there is life. And the “sailing rocks” are an incredible, dynamic, mind-blowing geological phenomenon.

    So while it might be considered barren by most people’s standards, I find it complex and amazing. And I encourage you to be curious about how life plays out here and in other minimal environments.

    Peace out!

    Share your thoughts in the comments below!

    Bluesky Art Show

    This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.

  • Postcards from Real Life: Chaos

    Postcards from Real Life: Chaos

    Chaos rules our world. It’s what makes our lives so interesting. The surprises—for better or worse—are probably what keeps us from taking our life outcomes for granted.

    Chaos touches everything in our lives. Every moment of every day.

    I’m talking about the “science-y” chaos, of course. Not the descriptive meaning in the sense of something being messy, busy, jumbled, etc.

    While there’s overlap between them, the more technical of the two is often misunderstood. It’s important to remember that chaos in terms of our natural systems doesn’t mean everything is random, just difficult to predict.

    These systems are tremendously complex. One small input has cascading impacts. And the collection of small inputs builds into a massive array of possible outcomes.

    Which is amazing and mind-blowing when you consider the possibilities. If our world was easily predictable, life would probably be pretty damn boring. The Butterfly Effect is what keeps us on our toes. (Side note: That moniker of chaos theory is a huge oversimplification, but it gives us non-mathematicians a place to start.)

    And if we think about our own lives in a “Butterfly-Effect” philosophical kind of way, we get to the crux of why my tagline is “This was not in the brochure.”

    Because the collection of our life events and “inputs”—big and small—are just as intricately unpredictable as the natural systems that operate in the world. The decisions we make, combined with the things that happen to us in the course of our lives, make for a fuck-all crazy labyrinth of possibilities.

    Yet in our humanity, we still seek predictably in an unpredictable world. The metaphorical “brochure” says if you do “X” you’ll get “Y” and your life will be picture-perfect and fabulous. We all know that’s horse shit really, but we still seem to want to buy into the dream.

    But the truth is, if we knew how everything was going to work out-if our lives were predictable-that would be pretty fucking dull. And we’d take our life outcomes for granted. For better or worse, the unknowns are the heart of life.

    So when life delivers something unexpected think of having little Val on your shoulder saying, “Well that was not in the brochure!” If that surprise was for the worse, feel free to insert as many f-bombs as you need to work your way through it.

    As for my butterfly friend here—the unwitting poster-child of chaos—we’ll have to leave its impacts on the world to our imaginations. And continue to marvel at the complex workings of our world.

    Peace out!

    Share your thoughts in the comments below!

    Bluesky Art Show

    This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.

  • Face Time

    Face Time

    Welcome to my collection of facial pareidolia finds. And for shits and giggles, they all get names. Enjoy!

    Cactus with multiple scars resembling a weary face.

    Harold

    This poor bedraggled cactus looks like he’s just survived a pretty epic cage match. I found him in the lobby of the Hotel Indigo in El Paso, bathed in purple-y/pinky hipster light. And after a long day of travel I thought “I feel you, man.”

    Seymour

    My glasses with transitions lens were very happy to see me after I left them sitting on a table in the sunlight. (In case you can’t tell, the nose piece is the source of the exceedingly happy inverse shadow.)

    Close up of eyeglasses with transition lenses showing an inverse shadow of a happy face created by the nose piece.
    Prickly pear cactus paddle with fruits along its edge and scars that look like the mouth and eye of an eel.

    Moriah

    Who’s a fancy cactus? It’s Moriah, decked out in her pink fruit. Prickly pears give lots of opportunities for pareidolia fun. But this favorite of mine I discovered on a walk in Silver City, NM.