Wildside Galleries by Chris Perry

I was roaming around an area in Alaska where many bears have frequented recently. It was rainy and really cold..The wet kind of cold that it is so hard to shake out of the bones.

There were no bears. None at all..No moose, deer, mice, anything….Just on and off rain..

When it finally occurred to me that anything big or furry was simply not around, or simply still sleeping I changed out the big lens to the macro (Tamron 90mm f 2.8) and began looking closer at WAS around.

Seemingly suspended in space was this little drop of dew between two pine trees. Upon closer inspection this little drop was dangling on a single strand of webbing.
I spent the next 45 minutes trying to catch it between small wind gust and with out a tripod. Still using my my film camera I had no idea any of the shots would even be recognizable let alone something I would be oroud of.
This one shot, which after it was scanned I turned upside down so the little forrest could be seen upright came out “good enough”

More importantly it donned on me the powerful gift this craft of photography had given me. For 45 minutes, I completely forgot about the cold, wet and supposedly barren forrest that early morning.

It was anything but barren. In fact I simply just had not been looking close enough.

It may not be the best technical shot I ever took, but I did the best I could with what I had, but I owe much of the gift of seeing to my camera. Each day is like another little treasure hunt and each day I am always rewarded with something good if my eyes and heart are open to it.
And once again, art teaches us (me) about everyday life.