By Ted Grussing
Sometimes after putting in hours working on straight photos you just need to take a break from reality and create your own. Fueled by music from the 5th Dimension and “Learn How to Fly” among other songs I cruised recent incoming folders and came up with three images that looked like I could have some fun with them and this is the result. A log from Sunset Crater area, the Verde River coming down from an earthen dam near Tuzigoot and a shot of One lying in the grass back of our home and now watching the river flow past her, perhaps waiting for a fish to grab … certainly better than the lizard she brought in this morning. That is more wood in the background, not rock. Anyhow it was fun and hope you enjoy it …
I have a true love of predators and it is fun to watch One as she waits motionless waiting for the opportunity to either strike out at little bunnies, birds or whatever. The moment she senses she has a chance to get her prey she launches her attack like a lightning bolt … she doesn’t always get her target because prey instinctively sense the start of the attack and take to flight. Predators are able to survive because they are able to catch prey off guard … prey survive because their instinct is to take flight first without thought … if they pause to think whether to flee or not, they are lost. This is simply the way things are in the natural world. Although I have known all this for as long as I can remember there are some creatures I have never thought about as being prey, but in a discussion on the way home yesterday we were talking about training horses and for the first time I discovered the reason that horses bolt and get spooked … in the real world they too are prey and their instinct if they perceive a threat is to bolt and take flight without thinking about it. If they sense a Puma or pack of wolves in the fields they either take flight immediately or they become a meal. So the thing with training them for riding is get them to stop and think about what is a real threat and what is not … I think? Anyhow, fun to learn and rethink what you believe you know … we are primarily predators, but there are situations where we are the prey J
Got a bunch of stuff done today and a bunch of stuff that will have to wait for another day … and if not, oh well …
Have a beautiful day today, share a smile with those you meet … probably no threat to you … keep breathing and smiling.
Ted
…I yield myself to the thousand enchantments of sky and field and wood,
and play again like a child on the soft green of the earth.
And as the God of the universe has made thee to bloom in tenderness,
so also may my heart be made to bloom again.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
More about Ted Grussing …
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