Bubbles: trapped for the winter

Today, Todd posed this very good question to me in a comment: "I noticed you usually walk the streets around Seldon. Have you ever thought about getting some photos by walking other areas? Reflection Lake is at the Knik River Exit and has an easy 1 mile loop with some good scenery."*

I have thought that once in awhile, I might drive off to another neighborhood, begin my walk there and carry my iPad with me, in case I find a stranger who I might want to photograph who might also be curious as to what my blog is about.

Truth is, though, I set out on my daily walk not in search of scenic pictures, but to get oxygen flowing through my blood and circulating into my faltering brain.

I usually do wind up on Seldon for at least a portion of my walk, as it is the only through street that cuts through my subdivision. I carry a camera with me, because that's what I do - I take pictures - but I never set out with any particular picture in mind. I do carry an inner hope a cat will present itself to me but this happens only rarely.

So I just take a picture of whatever grabs me and says, usually in a whisper, "take my picture." Today, bubbles whispered to me - bubbles of gas that percolated up from decay at the bottom of the upper marsh. As the ice thickened, the bubbles got trapped sooner and sooner, deeper and deeper. Right now, we can see them. Soon, the ice will be covered with snow and we won't see them anymore.

But when I set out on my walk, I had no intention of photographing bubbles. It's just that when I reached this end of the upper marsh, I thought, "hey, why don't I walk across there?" So I did. I saw the bubbles and the bubbles whispered to me.

Still, even though I am a serious photographer, I am a not a serious bubble photographer, just as I am not a serious scenic photographer. If I were a serious bubble photographer, I would have brought a tripod. I would have set my ISO at 100, my f stop at 22 to get the greatest depth of field and sharpness possible, and I would have spent a couple of hours at it - maybe the whole day - looking for just the right bubbles, searching for just the right composition, in just the right mix of light and shadow.

But all I was doing was taking a walk - trying to get my brain to function and to build up the courage to face the day. So I quickly shot the first bubbles that caught my eye and then the second ones and third ones, too. Then I continued on until I reached my house.

I have no idea what I might photograph on my walk tomorrow. Maybe I won't even take a walk. I must go to Anchorage tomorrow and I must be there no later than noon so I can meet Lisa for lunch. Then I've got things to do in the afternoon, like get a haircut and beard trim and try to find a good parka I can take to Anaktuvuk Pass. The last time I was there in November, the temperature dropped well into the -40's. I don't think it will get that cold this time, but it could get pretty cold, none-the-less. I need a good parka.

I did not want to buy a commercial one. I wanted to get another light but warm lamb skin and fur, Iñupiaq-made hunting parka with a white snow shirt, like the one the late Mary Edwardson made for me, but it wore out. I don't think I am going to be able to get such a parka for awhile, though. So I had better buy a good commercial parka for now. It won't be as good as Mary's, but if it keeps me from freezing, then okay.

I won't get a down parka. Down parkas are awful. They are okay when you first put them on - in fact, they are quite warm - until the moisture from your body causes the down to start to mat up and pack down. Then they are awful - just awful. Especially if you are out in the cold for days on end. I don't expect that to happen, this trip, but sooner or later it will and I need a parka that can stand up to it.

Down can't.

If I don't take a walk tomorrow, I will be dragging even more than normal throughout the entire day.

*Todd left this address for anyone who would like drop by his site and see some of his pictures of the aforementioned place where I might wind up taking a walk one day:

http://www.akstafford.blogspot.com/2012/10/reflection-lake-palmer-hay-flats.html

Comments

[twain12]

I love the bubbles

[Mrs Gunka]

Every time I see a school bus going down the road it conjures up a million memories of days gone bye.....on the 3rd generation of memories now. Icy Bubbles reminds me of winters as a child sledding on the hill west of town and ending up on the crick at the bottom. Many times face down! Every photographer see different things that leaves or imprints on our minds, a memory to capture or relive in our minds. It's nice to have different lens angles to stimulate every corner of our minds.....to stimulate or imprint a picture we will carry with us always. Tiny bubbles or panoramic views. Thank you both gentlemen!