Shinny object Syndrome. A Saturday Walkabout

Cave Creek, AZ. 12/1/2017.

I had overheard some colleagues of mine, talking this week about Cave Creek, and I, that had been wondering where I would spend my Saturday walkabout, had my interest perked.

Having had no other idea of where else to visit, I headed towards Cave Creek this Saturday morning.

Close but a little remote, nestled close to the mountains and hills, with a western kind of feel to it, I approached it, keeping an eye open in case I saw a good spot to stop at and wait for dawn. I saw a couple of spots that appealed to me a little, one with Saguaros, and another with some power lines leading into the distance. Finding nothing else, I doubled back and decided to greet dawn with power lines leading into it.

As I walked around this parking lot, I decided to hike into the brush, as I didn't like how small the lines seemed, but when I closed in on them more, there was way more brush and houses around, crowding the frame. I walk back to the parking lot and take a few shots, dawn starts.

I start developing this feeling you get, when you're after something, you don't know what and that it remains slightly out of your reach, for one reason or another.

I think I needed to change the scenery so I drove to the Saguaros I had spotted, parked and hiked up this hill, turning to face east very now and then, to see how the image lined up against the brightening dawn. I walked around for bit, trying to line a shot as well and nothing. I start walking down, feeling defeated and with the intention of forgetting about the dawn and start doing street photography, that I glance south and see two thorny bushes, arching to each other with a Saguaro in the background.

I realized I fell victim to a shinny object syndrome. I had pictured taking one of those aphrodisiac landscape pictures for some reason, and wasn't finding it, which was leading me to feel incompetent and then it hit me as I saw the scene before me. Somehow I had forgotten how I tend to and like taking my pictures, and landscape photography isn't it. Landscape photography is an area I need further work on if I am to find and take good shots, but I had become hyper-focused on finding it, that I forgot that I like playing with objects in fore and background, seeking their intersections, framing color in an abstract way, etc.

After that centering change in perspective I felt more at ease under my skin, and enjoyed exploring the scenes both nature and street offered me. I hope you like it.

Andres Gonzalez