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Franz Gisin
Landscape/nature photography has been one of my favorite hobbies for over 50 years. And like many photographers of my generation, I started out with film and a spare bathroom turned into a makeshift darkroom. But chemicals and I never really got along. Ditto for black-and-white. Which is why, when digital cameras and colorful ink-jet printers came on the scene, it was a no-brainer to switch.
Over the years, I've accumulated a fairly long list of favorite day-trip-sized go-to locations. A large majority of them are in places firmly anchored in geologic time. But at the same time, it was filled with vibrant energy that ebbs and flows in harmony with the seasons, the weather, and the position of the sun. In this case, California's Auburn SRA (State Recreational Area), where the intersection of two Sierra Nevada mountain canyons allows the north and middle forks of the American River to merge.
Curiosity has always been one of my favorite collections of positive emotions. I'll be strolling through life, absorbed in deep thought, when my eyes will see something interesting. And in a split second, faster than I can consciously comprehend, my curiosity will take command and start detouring in for a closer inspection. It’s the reason why I find small scenes of nature's intricate patterns and textures more interesting than epic, eye-popping, large-scale vistas. And why my 100 - 400 mm telephoto lens is my favorite lens because it allows me to zoom in on subjects that are not accessible by any other means. As you can see from these four images, this location perfectly fits my preferred compositional style "to a T".
