I was thinking recently about Jim Brandenburg’s project in which he made one picture each day throughout the Fall. It ran in National Geographic in November 1997. He shot one frame each day for 90 days.
Many days when I’m out for a run, I’ve wished I’d had a camera. It’s always for simple, beautiful situations along the trail. I wind up thinking about what I missed for the next few miles. I’m always glad I saw what I saw, but that urge to make a photograph – or regret for not having done so – lingers.
March 30, 2012. Tryon Creek State Park
I saw Galen Rowell speak in the early 90s and I remember him saying he’d pack a camera on his morning runs and often come back with beautiful images. It seemed quite cumbersome to me at the time, but the idea has stuck in my mind. Times have changed, and I now follow friends’ bike rides or daily runs through the images they post online that they snapped with their phones.
I don’t think I could ever pull off what Mr. Brandenburg did. Nor will I be strapping a big SLR to my chest and heading out at sunrise like Mr. Rowell. Last week, I picked up a little Canon point-and-shoot that fits nicely on my hip and I will be bringing it with me when I step out for a run. I might make several pictures. Or, I suppose, I might not press the shutter release once. But now I won’t have that awkward sensation of having left something behind.
April 1, 2012. Reed Canyon
all content © Tim LaBarge 2012