There's really no doubt about it, this current trip which I've been on over the last week or so has been absolutely picturesque, whether it's the breathtaking views of the lakes/rivers, castles, sky, mountains, people, or roads everything has seemingly caught my eyes.
I for one would consider myself a novice at this whole picture taking, photography stuff! It causes me to laugh internally when people say things like, "Your pictures are amazing" or "What equipment do you use". To be completely fair and honest, I have zero idea what any features on my camera really do; I know that if I play with a couple of switches/knobs I can either let more light in or darken what I'm looking at through the lens. When real photographers question me as to the settings, I sort of freeze like a possum in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle (I'm just not as funny looking).
On Thursday, I was attempting to use the photographic skills which I'd learned on the Travel Channel. Again, I found myself sleeping while my cousin drove through the roads of the famed Ring of Carey. I was awakened to my cousin saying, "Wake up man, you're missing these views..." so I stretched my wee little body let out a yawn, smacked my lips, scratched my arm pit, and looked out the window to see what he was going on about as far as view were concerned. "Hoooooly cuss, this is beautiful" I told him before I leaned down to grab my backpack and begin the mental process of what I wanted to capture.
For me, so many people take the same pictures and in this day of social media, Instagram to be exact, you can get the same view 150 times from 150 people and that leaves me scratching my head as if to say, "Didn't you see what the last guy did?"
The Ring of Carey is definitely special due the scenery which it affords its travelers but to me it's special because of the drive. How can I capture this, this drive? As I hopped out of the car and scurried to the edge of the road, I figured I'd lay wait for a moment or two, I figured that the noise I heard in the distance was the very picture I needed to tell a story, begin a story, and as I waited and as the noise of an approaching vehicle became louder and clearer, it was this picture which I captured.
To the outside observer, it's just a vehicle on a road but to me it's a vehicle on a road unlike any other I've ever been on or seen. Sometimes without the drive, we'll fail to see the beauty which is all around us.