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Wispy Grass Embrace

A very, very busy highway in the Birmingham area has some beautiful scenery on either side (intermingled with numerous stores, businesses, and restaurants). One day I had two appointments located in buildings on that highway.  

This was one of those days I thought ahead. Even though it would be only about 30 minutes, I knew there would be time to kill... so I brought my camera. It was warm, even though well into November. The sun was shining. I felt fine even in short sleeves.

I started shooting in one area that had a fountain. There were geese and ducks surrounding what was probably a man-made lake (but that didn't make it less beautiful). I took numerous photos from different angles of just that scene before I deciding to see what else I could find.

There were a few interesting looking trees and the leaves hadn't all fallen yet, so I got some images of them. However, I got bored kind of quickly. I decided to go back to the fountain and play with various settings (I'm always learning!) to get different affects of the water. That soon played out so I decided to to try a new location.

After getting back in my car and driving less than a block away, I found something I thought was very interesting. Behind one building there was some kind of wispy, tall feathergrass. Time to explore!

What I found was lovely. There was an autumn leaf stuck in the grass, actually being held up by it. This is where I learned that it is hard to shoot a close-up of a leaf caught in some wispy, tall feathergrass if there's even a tiny bit of wind. I took shot after shot, trying to get the focus point on the leaf and not on the grass. I wanted to blur the grass in front of the leaf while getting the leaf perfectly in focus.

It took a lot of frames but I finally got one I was pleased with. But even more than the technical aspect of capturing that image was what it represented to me.

I have various mental and physical issues. There are so many times that I feel like a leaf trying to hang on to its tree, only to get blown off by the wind. At that point there's no way to control what's going on. The winds would blow me from place to place, tumbling throughout. The wind would sometimes pick me up and then drop me... hard. I would get a hole in me, just like this leaf.

But eventually I would end up being held. Sometimes what was holding me didn't look like much - and each part might not be strong on its own. But a combination of friends, family, and faith has held me through many times I thought I wouldn't make it otherwise.

I am that leaf... and I am held.
            
                                                      (All images by Tracy Riggs Frontz)




All of the images above are available to order as custom prints, fulfilled by a professional lab, at https://NovelPhotos.Instaproofs.com.

If you don’t have time to order today, feel free to take a business card and order later using the middle QR code. The photos will be under “Trussville Library Gallery.”

If you have any questions, email us at NovelPhotos@yahoo.com.

If you want any hand-signed, get in touch with us before ordering. We can direct you to a gallery that doesn't have our digital signatures on them and we can work out what works best for you to get the signature you want.

To order a signed copy of Tracy’s book: Behind the Lens of a Storyteller – My Journey as a Photographer/Writer, go to https://NovelPhotos.instaproofs.com/BehindtheLens Note that shipping is included – be sure to use the coupon code “SHIPPINGINCLUDED.”

Do you need a highly experienced, budget-friendly photographer for your family or business?

 Go to https://NovelPhotos.com to see our work. Use the “Contact Us” page or email us at NovelPhotos@yahoo.com to find out how we can meet your photography needs.


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