Expect the Unexpected

Glowing Still Life. Eldorado Springs Canyon, Colorado, 2014

Yesterday, I headed out for a short walk up Gregory Canyon. Naturally, with the fading afternoon light, the wispy clouds and the gurgling creek, I expected I would be making some cutsie nature images of some kind.

As in the above, for example.

Then I got distracted by a motorcycle seat held together by duct tape:

Old Motorcycle Seat with Duct Tape. Flagstaff Mountain, Colorado, 2014

After that, I then discovered that Gregory Canyon had been severely whacked in last September’s flooding and the road was totaled (and, obviously, closed to all but foot traffic). A sample view:

Pavement, Gregory Canyon. Boulder, Colorado, 2014

Then, I started noticing these strange cracks and patterns in those broken pieces of asphalt. The freezing and thawing of the winter snows had buckled and twisted the sheets of macadam into all kinds of strange shapes and forms.

That immediately pushed my eye into abstract mode–a really fun way of seeing (for me, at least). The result was this short, abstract, Rorschach-like, photo essay (not sure why the different tonings as they were all processed the same…need to fix this):

Asphalt Abstract #11, Gregory Canyon. Boulder, Colorado, 2014

Asphalt Abstract #7 (Volcanoes), Gregory Canyon. Boulder, Colorado, 2014

Asphalt Abstract #12, Gregory Canyon. Boulder, Colorado, 2014

In the end, though, I did attempt one “nature” image…but even this one came out a bit on the abstract side once I got through with it in post-processing:

Dolphin Cascade #2. Gregory Canyon, Colorado, 2014

So, expect the unexpected. Follow your instincts.