Rhythmically № 3: A Rainy November Morning at Junction Creek
This is issue number three of Rhythmically, a newsletter containing my attempts to describe and share my photographic journey. My name is Jason Coward. I'm a father and a software architect with over twenty-five years of experience by day. I enjoy drumming and photographing the world around me to balance my work and family life when possible. You are receiving this because you subscribed or someone forwarded this newsletter to you. If you are not interested in this content, you can unsubscribe at any time with one click by following the link at the bottom of this email. I am sending this newsletter to share my photography without the burden of scrolling through social media. I also hope it allows me to express more about my experiences taking the photographs exactly how I would like to. You can follow the links in this email to see the full-resolution photographs and read about these experiences on my website HERE.
There is nothing like diffused, rainy day light
Junction Creek has been a significant part of my connection to Durango since relocating here from Pagosa Springs in 2018. The adorable stream flows right next to the elementary school my son has attended since before kindergarten. I remember many days after school when we hung out in and along the creek bed. As he got older, he loved hiking along the Junction Creek Trail from the trailhead at the Junction Creek Campground. So when I woke up on a rainy November morning, I decided to take my new Z 24-120 f/4 S lens to the trail after dropping Austin off at school and see what I could capture.
Love At First Sight
After parking at the Colorado Trail trailhead at the far end of the Junction Creek Campground trail, this Gambel oak leaf with beautiful muted tones ranging from pale green to pale brown immediately grabbed my attention before I even got a few steps away from the car. The gentle rain left beautiful water droplets on its surface. I knew the rest of the outing was going to be fruitful.
Rainy Day Light
It's hard to describe the contentful feeling being out there that morning brought over me. The diffused, rainy day light was making everything look beautiful. Armed with a circular polarizer on the lens to increase contrast and cut out the reflections from the wet surfaces, I hiked slowly along the familiar trail as if discovering it for the first time.
The trail hugs Junction Creek and provides many opportunities to get to the water. I took advantage on several occasions. My original motivation was to get out there and try to get some handheld long-exposure shots of the running water. And I did get a few images I liked of the creek.
But most of the day, I was distracted by the details along the trail, wonderfully illuminated by the veiled sunlight.
