The Hidden Green

This isn't where I was going. There was a specific destination in mind when the cameras were loaded into my car. However, there wasn't a level of excitement deep within me as I'd been to my intended destination many times before. Time hasn't been on my side of late and there was simply a deep need to get away - go outside - breathe some country air - dust off the camera and shoot something - anything -besides the backyard. Off I went, unsure but needy.

About 45 minutes from home I pull off the highway heading to my target spot. Rolling slowly through narrow roads framed by huge trees, covered in dappled lighting I'm uneasy. This just feels too .... I dunno .... planned? Safe? Ordinary? Non-adventurous? Yeah, all the above.

Restless, a little irritated and antsy it's clear my calling isn't here in this safe, albeit beautiful, place. I leave.

Instead of turning back to the highway my car is pointed west down a long abandoned roadway. Formerly a major highway, the road has been overshadowed by the newer interstate spur that parallels it. This 5 lane road is still used by fishermen and bird watchers and nature-loving men and women as it contains small dirt roads that leads you back to the Tennessee River deep into Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.


I'm not sure why I turned left because my iCar (Yaris) can't take those small offshoot roads. I'm just searching, seeking, and a little melancholy. Even my music was depressing me (NOT NORMAL!) so I turned it off and opened the windows wide, letting in bird calls and the sounds of the forest that's beginning to close in around me.

That the road goes over a waterway is barely noticeable as the area hasn't been kept up and is sorta overgrown, the road all weedy and cracked.

What made me look to the right just as I was going over the water I'll never know. My eyes were treated to a hidden green world of dark trees, reflections, water and elephant feet. I literally gasped. Or made some little sound. Thankfully, no one was around to hear it.

I shot and shot and shot, various angles both close and wide. Running across the street to see the other side I was dumbfounded at the different kinds of greens that were waiting for me. The sunlight was shifting and rays were coming through the trees at points, the color of the water changing.

This is a place of hobbits and elves and fairies and sprites.

And elephant feet.

Downloading the images at home it took me hours to decide which ones to process. They are all decent and/or good shots because the area was so beautiful. How do YOU decide which to process, which to print and which to put on a website? Any slight change in composition simply created a different look that was equally as good - imho - as the previous image. So how do you decide?