I often contemplate my desk job and what exactly it means to me.  I then wonder what would I rather be doing instead of it.  Then I wonder why should it matter if I can make the time for that which I love. Then I wonder why I am wondering so much instead of paying attention to what I’m doing.

I think I can only make photographs when I am “present.”  This can mean a lot of things, of course, but for me, it means I’m concentrating on one thing – I am here.  As I walk a trail, I have to feel myself being there.  This means taking it all in and allowing spontaneous inspiration to take over my being.  In such a mind state, I see the light and patterns of nature much easier. I almost feel it and it leaves me giddy. And then it’s a lot easier to create an image rather than hoping an exposure will turn out.  I wish I could turn that on at will…

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Finding your own creative vision when in the midst of scenery that is very well photographed is hard.  I found it difficult not to get excited by the iconic scenes. Still, I wanted to make images that were me.  I’m still trying to find my vision.  Or maybe, I’m trying to let my vision find me.  Either way, the creative aspect of photography is really about finding what really triggers something deep inside you.  For me, I was just amazed at the near endlessness of aspen forest.  I kept wanting to find an image that showed that, yet not necessarily in the context of majestic rocky peaks and colorful skies.  I came across this scene outside of Ridgeway, Colorado and knew it was going to be one of my expressions for that awe of “Endlessness.”

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

I’m taking part in the 2009 Fall Tucson Open Studio Tour.  If you are in the area, please take part in visiting artists at their studios.  My studio, which is also my home, will be open to visitors Nov 14-15 from 11-4pm.  The tour is open through 5pm, however, I have classes that I’m trying to miss as little as possible, so I’m cutting my hours down a small bit.   Please do try to attend and come by to see some of my latest work in print.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Change in the Weather, Aspens, Colorado

It was really fun to see the 4×5 version of this image turn out so well.  I honestly thought I’d wasted the film.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Aspen and Oak Tapestry

For me, the trip to Colorado ended being about blankets of color, photographically speaking, anyway.  I saw these splashes of color weaved into a landscape and I wanted to make an image that represented the way I was seeing the color.  This was how I saw it.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Aspen Stand, Colorado

This is one of the first stands of aspen we found on our trip.  We’d driven up the Dolores river to Telluride and on a recommendation from Jimmy Gekas, we headed up last dollar road.  We found a few lovely stands of aspen, one just shy of turning completely yellow, the rest as you see here. We were enthralled.  For this image, I wanted to give the feeling of being right at the edge and feeling the bath of light as the sun filtered through the yellow leaves.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Cienega Creek, Cottonwoods

Before I start rolling out images from Colorado, I wanted to share a pretty little place in the Empire mountains of southeastern Arizona – Cienega Creek.  Actually, this is a feeder to Cienega Creek.  I hope to make an image of Cienega Creek proper at some point, but this what called to me the day I was there.

Cienega Creek is an important corridor for birds and wildlife.  Over 170 species of birds have been identified in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (NCA).  I re-stumbled upon this area while looking to explore the San Pedro Riparian NCA. Everything is primitive here.  There are no paved roads and just a few dirt roads left from the days of when the Empire and Cienega Ranches were in full operation.  Now it’s protected by the BLM.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Aspens, Storm Light

When clouds roll in, magic light happens.  There’s something about that soft light that can make an image sing sweetly.  When storms roll in, the light is even sweeter.

Harley, Rick, Jennifer, Jade, and myself were sitting on a side of a hill in no less than 50mph winds trying to make images.  For some reason, that was a good time and we were laughing at the sheer miserableness of the conditions.  I could not make a 4×5 image in these conditions at all. No way.  At one point, the wind was so strong it picked up my little digital camera and bonked it in my face.

Jade and I feel very lucky to have been able to see the sights we did, and I want to give thanks to Jimmy Gekas and Brent Doerzman for making our first fall journey into Colorado a wonderfully enjoyable trip. Thanks to Rick Dunn for clueing us to this view.

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Aspen Sun Burst

I’m off for a week to Colorado, and then the white mountains of Arizona for a few days after that to see if I have any luck finding aspen leaves turning golden yellow as in this image of populus tremuloides that I made in Lockett Meadow near Flagstaff, AZ.  I love trees, I love fall.  I’m tired of being hot, and I’m ready to shiver through the winter.

Making an image like this requires a bit of luck when using a view camera.  You have to predict where the sun is going to be when you fire the shutter.  Unlike most cameras, you can fairly see what’s happening when you pull the trigger.  I used a wide angle lens and a small aperture and simply guessed (well, I knew the sun would be behind the trees!) at when the right time for a  good sunburst would be.  This time, I guessed right!

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.

Little Wild Horse Tank, Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Sometimes it takes me a little while to get to my 4×5s.  For one reason or another, I didn’t bother scanning this image from summer 2008 until a few weeks ago.  I didn’t much care for it in color (the image was made on Provia), so I converted it to monochrome and I like it much better this way.

Little wild horse tank is a small rivulet that runs off the west side of the Rincon mountains just east of Tucson. The entire Rincon mountain range is protected in the Saguaro National Park, Rincon mountain district – also known as Saguaro east side.  It’s a great hike for an early summer morning…as long as you get back to the car before it gets too hot!

You are reading a blog posting from the photographer Laurent Baig. Feel the wilderness experience.