Abstract Thinking...

Or is it thinking in abstract???

A number of years ago now, 2021 to be exact, I took a workshop "Creative Exploration: Pushing your Photographic Boundaries and Lightroom" led by Julia Cumes at Miami University (Ohio). It was part of Miami U's "CraftSummer Program", which I believe has been discontinued ("on pause" they say - unfortunate). Outside of the Tremont Institute Photography Workshops, any other workshop I attend, I pay particular attention to the leader(s)/instructor(s) as I prefer to have photographers with styles and/or interests different than my own. I learn more from them. In this particular case, Julia brings a totally different eye to travel photography than I do. The condensed college class approach with daily assignments (vice weekly) was also unique to prior workshops I'd taken.

Anyway, every workshop I attend has something that sticks and alters or has an impact on my photography in one way or another. In Julia's case, the assignment on "Abstract" really stuck with me. I always shot "details", many to the point that they were a bit abstract. But the assignment and presentation she gave really stuck with me. I was thinking of her workshop when I revisted the first photo below for a rework and then again when I took the four following photos with my iPhone on a walk this weekend.

Into the Void

Abstract #1

Abrstact #2

Abstract #3 - Rivers and Canyons

Abstract #4 - The Tree

Inside and Out

Just to post a photo or two. A couple of days ago I went down to Cincinnati's most iconic building, The Hall of Justice, aka Union Terminal - The Museum Center for the "Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away" exhibition. It's a very cool building and at some point I'll have to take my cameras. Until then, here are just a few phone photos.

(and the Auschwitz exhibit is very good too, if you don't see contemporary parallels, you're not paying attention)

One of the Murals

The Ceiling

The Outside

The Approach

Snow

Like much of the eastern half of the U.S.A, we've had our fair share of snow this year. And like many other people, I took some photos.

Leaf in the Snow February 2026

Snow "Dunes" February 2026

The Little Miami River February 2026

Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery, Carriage Way Park, Milford OH February 2026

On, Now Off, the Road

A few days after presenting my photography workshop, I headed to the southwest on a roadtrip. Along the way, I followed the advice I tout in my photo workshop "7 Steps to Make Your Photos 10x Better" (see previous blog post)

Step 1. "Take Lots and Lots of Photos"...

Along the way we checked out:

• Gateway Arch National Park
• White Sands National Park
• BOTH sections of Saguaro National Park
• Then I spent three days on the Grand Canyon National Park south rim
• A couple days of "rest" in Sedona

After that, we had the long drive home.
The first day we drove quickly through Oak Creek Canyon,
then just a little more leisurely through Petrified Forest / Painted Desert National Park.
The final two days included just a pause to say hello to friends in St Louis.
...all the above are just the highlights.

I took over 1800 photos on a 17 day trip when a number of those days were just pure driving. I'm just beginning to wade through them all, but at first glance, here's some of my favorites:

Sunrise, Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis MO

White Sands National Park, NM

Sunset, Saguaro National Park, AZ

Sunrise, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sunrise, Sedona, AZ

Petrified Forest / Painted Desert National Park, AZ

New Year's Resolution - Finally!

I know it was one of my New Year's resolutions for 2025, and quite possibly 2024, but I finally did it!
I developed and taught an introductory photography workshop:

7 “steps” To Make YourPhotos 10x Better !
I have been developing the workshop, with photo examples and outlines, since at least mid-2024. The presentation itself, for well over 6 months. This past Saturday I had 9 people in the house as guinea pigs to take my 3-4 hr workshop. I invited a broad range of experience and interests to try to get the best feedback possible. I'm still waiting for some of the post workshop surveys to come back, but the vibe and the verbal feedback at the end was encouraging. I covered the basics of the exposure triangle, compositional considerations, Point-of-view vs Field-of-view and other ideas to help an interested person get better photos.

View from the back of the "classroom"

My view (pretend the "pupils" aka guinea pigs, are in the chairs)

Some of the samples of things they can do with their photos

Examples of problems and issues i,e, dust, home vs professional printing and so on

The "Revisit"

There are two types of "revisiting" that I've been known to do. The first type is when I wander back through my catalog of old photos and "revisit" them in terms of editing and processing. I've had a very long blog post in draft for a bit on that topic. It's so long that I'm considering moving to Substack for it and other essay style pieces I like to write...but

The second type of "revisiting" is what I'm here to talk about. Revisiting a place or setting. i.e. going to the same place on vacation every year and taking a similar photo each time. Or maybe recreating a specific pose or family portrait every year at Christmas or some other annual event. These photos show changes over the years from "hey that big tree is gone" to "that's the year Aunt Edna was sick and didn't come." It can be nice to see the changes over the years, yet get a sense of stability from the things that stay the same, visit after visit.

We make time for a getaway fairly regularly to Hocking Hills area of Ohio. The drive isn't too bad, just a couple hours or so. And the scenery, hiking, and quiet are all much appreciated. A great place to spend a few quiet days by ourselves or maybe another couple. So over the years there are a few things I've taken very similar photos of almost every trip.
Cedar Falls is the place I'll feature today.

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio June 2017

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio January 2021

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio A Day Later - January 2021

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio April 2022

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio May 2025

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio December 2025

Two in the Past, Two of the Future

Everything is political. That's been driven home time and time again this past year, both in my personal experience as well as in the news of the world today. It affects my photography, because it affects how I see things.

Gas

Derelict

Winds of Change

Sunny Days Ahead