Those words are a twist on that well-known phrase from the preface to a chapter in Joe Cornish‘s book “Light and the Art of Landscape Photography“. Joe is a wonderful British landscape photographer whose work I greatly admire.The idea being that the more you visit a place and become familiar, the more contented you become being in that location, the deeper you relate with it and the better your work there will evolve. That is how I feel about Dean Brook in Shutesbury and especially this one cascade which you have seen here a few times (assuming you’ve been with me for a while).
I’ve become quite enamored with this one grouping of rocks and the way they combine different textures. Often it is just a case of subtle differences in the flow that change the character and probably most folks don’t see that difference. There’s the familiarity part.
This is the same brook that gives me Murphy’s Falls and other spots…as well as painted trillums and pink lady’s slippers along with the occasional white lady’s slipper. On the way out I photographed another cascade and that will be here later.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
I do think the more I return to a spot the more I see…I believe that is part of what makes your image so special.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We can’t help but become more intimate with our subjects as a result of repeated encounters.
LikeLike
I see absolutely nothing wrong with making continuing studies of your favorite spots. And, as you indicate, no natural place can be exactly the same on any two days. The water flow, the light, the cloud-cover, you name it – all interact to change the character of the place minute-by-minute. Although I’ve never undertaken such a thing, I really like photos series taken from the same exact vantage at several times during the year – in the different seasons, for example. I once saw a series like this of a beautiful Sugar Maple. It went through the seasonal changes one could predict but what really made the series nice to look at was the interest in what else was going on in the surrounding environment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The series concept you mention is something I have often thought to do but have yet to follow through. I can think of several places that would lend themselves to such a project. When my brother first moved to S.F. many years ago, he mailed me a Parade article that did just that. A photographer shot from the same exact spot in each of the seasons. But his photographs were examples of the shades of brown that country side was experiencing and often does. No green was seen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful in B&W. Appears to be flowing very well. Seems almost like abstract art in my whack-a-doodle opinion. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, this is abstract as well as an intimate landscape, Yvonne. It could be more abstract, I guess. But abstract does not always mean unidentifiable and can also be a slice of life, so to speak….or, as David knows, a summary of a larger scientific work. Thanks. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank for the explanation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. I am very content with my little place. 🙂 From the bees buzzing to the birds gathering, there’s always something to enhance the familiar scenes. By the way, is your FineArtAmerica page a new venture? I thought this shower curtain would look good. http://fineartamerica.com/products/quabbin-shoreline-in-fog-at-site-of-submerged-morton-pond-by-goo-stephen-gingold-shower-curtain.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good of you to spot his FAA presence. I see from the page at
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/stephen-gingold.html
that he set up shop there just four days ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The not so good thing about FAA, and Amazon and many other online services is that shipping to NZ is always horrendous ( to my small budget, anyway). I know we are at the end of the world, and a very small market but……….surely e-commerce could think of a way to make shipping rates more equitable.
LikeLike
Fellow blogger and visitor here Andrew has purchased a couple of prints from me and the prices are exorbitant for shipping. He was in HK at the time which probably is as pricey as NZ. UPS and Fedex were over $200 for the box which was about 24″ square. Our post office charged $75, which is still a lot, and got it there surprisingly fast, especially compared to the month the other two were quoting.
LikeLike
Oops: make that a year and four days ago. I’m still living in 2015.
Sorry about your end-of-the-world-ness. At least it’s spatial and not temporal.
In the case of FAA, it seems the company could contract with a firm in New Zealand to do printing and delivering locally. The increase in business might compensate for the cut taken by the local company.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That suggestion makes sense and one has to wonder why they have not done that…unless, of course, the companies in question wanted too much for the service or FAA etc want to maintain control over the entire flow.
LikeLike
No, I’ve had the gallery for a year, more or less, Ann. Not a whole lot of success so far, but it takes time and I am one of the world’s worst self-promoters. That would make a nice shower curtain. Maybe I’ll get myself one. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, then you could write a review of it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that there’s much to be gained by revisiting familiar places. To some extent we know what to expect, which is comforting, but nothing is ever quite the same from one visit to the next, so there’s always the chance to see things in a new way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At different times and different conditions we can find things in quite a different state, whether flowers of landscapes, and that makes the revisits all the more rewarding. Plus, in the case of a flower, there may just be a unique visitor to add a bit of wonder.
LikeLike
One of my favorite pieces of writing from the NY Times supports your point. In 2009, Andy Newman chose to put in his 26.2 miles around his block in Brooklyn, rather than running the marathon. Around and around he went, and by the end of the experience, he’d seen more on his block than he ever had. You can read about it here. It’s one of those pieces I re-read from time to time, just as a reminder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of my favorite photographers, Jay Maisel, spends much of his time doing the same as Newman, just walking around NYC making wonderful images without going “anywhere”. It’s all in one’s vision. Of course, Brooklyn and the rest of NYC has so much going on that there can be constant discovery, not that one can’t do the same in a small town or small forest.
LikeLike
I’ve not really thought about it before, but it’s a logical notion. A photographer who really knows the location (or subject) is able to obtain better and better images. And the truth is, locations are ever changing. An experienced eye will see changes that another might miss entirely.
What a gorgeous pattern the water makes over those favourited rocks of yours! Captivating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never bought in to the contempt part of that old saying. I understand the principle, but we all have faults and why have contempt for another person’s when you have plenty of your own…you is general of course, I.K. 😉
And then there is the first impression saw. More than once have I misjudged another because of that first time meeting. It’s all too easy.
Thanks for your enjoyment of the water patterning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree 100%. The old adage can certainly be true, but it doesn’t have to be. Why would any of us ever want to get married! Lol. I much prefer your take on familiarity. Perhaps it will become the new adage.
LikeLiked by 1 person