These were all taken with my brand new Canon RF 24 to 105mm f/4 L IS. I used the EF model of for years as my workhorse in wedding photography. This updated and reconsidered version seems much more three-dimensional and has a pop and that I find very satisfying. It’s a bit of a brick compared to my other non-lenses. I bought it primarily for video work because it has image stabilization. But just walking around with it, it’s so much fun to break free of the constraints of using a prime lens. The ability to compose on the fly and grab moments is unparalleled.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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Photography has to be a habit. The more you do it, the more interesting and satisfying it becomes. I always shoot RAW in manual and spend time afterwards tweaking. It’s my daily crossword puzzle. It’s also a form of meditation.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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The seasons of life start to accentuate as one dog starts getting towards the end while the other is fully in his prime. Blue welcomed Blaze 7 years ago with all his heart, and now he’s slowing down dramatically. But he still manages to make it up and down the ramp on the RAV4 tailgate. We have to keep him on a lead to keep him out of trouble in the woods. He sleeps so soundly afterwards.

Before we had color film, everything was in black-and-white. Some things still look better in black-and-white. Just for fun, I converted these nine pictures. Do you see any you prefer in black-and-white? The only ones that are mildly appealing to me are the ones of still life. Especially the ones with Blaze, our golden retriever, scream “color only” to me.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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There’s a great discipline that comes from using prime lenses, especially if you just pick one and limit yourself to it for the session. 16 mm is very wide, but it also has an interesting ability to capture an enormous depth of the field. You don’t really have to worry about stuff being in focus when you shoot super wide. The Canon RF 16 mm f/2.8 however has a great ability to get up close and personal with its very short minimum focusing distance. You have to be careful with faces but a tiger lily in full bloom doesn’t really care if its features get a little bit distorted, it’s such a vibrant and flamboyant living thing — what’s a little more gonna do?

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

e-book ~ kindle ~ paperback ~ hardcover ~ signed paperback

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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A quiet end to a breezy day filled with sailing clouds and intermittent July sunshine…

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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Another perfect day. We earned it last February, believe me.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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The RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 costs a mere fraction of those legendary white whales — it’s made largely out of plastic, and that includes the optics. But it is super light, compact and affordable, and somewhat inconspicuous in comparison. It suits me perfectly and the thing that’s really important to me is the tech that’s built into this camera/lens combination. I’m talking about next level auto focus and the ability to shoot intuitively and quickly in full manual to get precisely what I want, shooting raw files which can later be manipulated with maximum creativity and flexibility.

It’s a real pleasure to not be on assignment. No one to please, but myself. All the time in the world and the lightness of being in the moment.

The R6 Mark II is not a super high resolution camera in the way that an R5 Mark II would be, but you can still crop in with no apparent loss and resolution. An example is the shot of Blaze by the fence line below, where I cropped into an effective 600 mm.

This lens can be used indoors as well, due to its generous range.

I’ve always been a “gear head” and I’ve always loved playing with cameras, lenses, tripods, drones, windsurfing equipment — and going back to my childhood, mechanical typewriter, HO scale trains and even tinkertoys. My mother said she would often find me when I was three years old up before dawn constructing massive creations in my room.

All my life I wanted to be a successful professional and now I’m just thrilled to be an amateur, a hobbyist, or what the Brits call a “punter” - but the key is loving what you’re doing, which is the root of all those words.

“Amateur” comes from the French amateur, which comes directly from the Latin amator — “lover, devoted friend,” from amare, “to love.”

So at its root, an amateur isn’t someone unskilled — it’s someone who does a thing for love of it, rather than for money or obligation. The word only picked up its diminished, “unskilled/dabbler” connotation later, in English, as a contrast to “professional.”

In the original sense, calling yourself an amateur photographer or amateur musician was a statement about motive, not competence.

It’s a nice word to reclaim, especially for creative work — the amateur is the one still doing it for love.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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The first two shots are of what we call Buio’s Rock, a notable slab of granite high on Sterling Peak, visible with the naked eye from our deck. We named it after our golden retriever that died in 2013. The last three shots were in the woods below our deck. Sniper shots of details made notable by shafts of sunlight.

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After a weird smoky, yellow sky and humid stagnant air yesterday, we were treated to a wonderfully windy and sunny bluebird afternoon today. Veronica picked blueberries and I demo’d a massive lens that I will be returning, even though it was fun. I just can’t see it in my bag.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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Golden moments during the golden hour. None last, unless you’re there.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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You may have noticed that I’m enjoying taking photos again. Sorry, not sorry, if I’m over sharing, lol…

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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There’s 365 days in a year, but they’re only a handful that can truly be qualified as perfect. Today is one of them. To top it off I had a great night sleep and I landed a lot of planes yesterday, in my mind and in my life. Sometimes your inner weather and the outer weather align and you’re truly happy and today is such a day.

The boys look a little glum because Veronica went to work at her studio. But all will be well after lunch because we’re gonna go somewhere special when she gets home.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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Our black lab is in his 14th year and slowing down noticeably, with significant hearing and vision loss. But he still has the urge for adventure. He just needs supervision and patience. Blaze is in his 8th year and in his prime. Veronica and I are closer to Blue’s stage of life than Blaze’s, so we make up quite a team, swatting mosquitoes and stumbling through the undergrowth and over the slippery stream beds. Sunny, hot and humid with a breeze, plenty of shade and very cool water made our little adventure worth every hassle.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

e-book ~ kindle ~ paperback ~ hardcover ~ signed paperback

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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I took a stroll along the road in front of our house today trying to familiarize myself with my new portrait lens.

I was lucky enough to run into a neighbor I hadn’t seen in years and despite his protestations managed to snag a pretty decent portrait of him.

The blueberries are getting ready for their big moment and Blaze is wondering why he’s not walking with me.

But Veronica already walked him and I’ll walk him later — so he’s pretty much covered.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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It feels really good to be getting back into photography. The winters are so long in Vermont when summer finally comes it feels like you’ve died and gone to heaven.

Tomorrow is going to be another hot one. I am looking forward to making more photographs.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

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Last night I put the 800mm on the top of the cottonwood down the road a hundred yards — a hundred feet up — and waited. Two crows came in against a sky that couldn’t make up its mind between dusk and storm. A thunderhead lit gold behind them. They were watching the sun set. One was grooming the other, then flew off. The remaining one waited a beat and then followed.

It’s the same story the crow told me, it’s the only one he knows.

Here’s what I keep turning over. We tend to read that line as the crow being simple — nothing to say but the same old caw. But the crow is one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet. They recognize human faces, use tools, solve problems, and warn each other about danger. They hold a grudge for up to seventeen years. And this is the part that stops me cold — parent crows teach their young which humans to fear, so a bird that never met you can already carry the verdict on your face.

That’s not a simple animal. That’s a being with a long memory and strong opinions about who you are.

So the one story the crow knows — maybe it isn’t simple at all. Maybe it’s the whole thing compressed into something ancient and efficient.

Like the morning sun you come, and like the wind you go.

You arrive. You leave. No time to hate — barely time to wait — and in between there’s only the one real question the whole song is circling toward, the one Hunter saves for last:

Whoa-oh, what I want to know is — are you kind?

Not are you smart. The crow’s got smart covered. Not are you strong, or right, or winning. Are you kind. The crow remembers your face for seventeen years either way. He’s just keeping track of which kind of person you turned out to be.

This morning a robin landed on the fence rail, orange chest lit up, asking nothing of anybody. Different bird, different story. But I think it’s the same question underneath.

Are you kind. It’s the only one he knows. Maybe it’s the only one worth knowing.

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

e-book ~ kindle ~ paperback ~ hardcover ~ signed paperback

“Thumb Out” Book One of my memoir trilogy “The Spaces Between” is available now

e-book ~ kindle ~ paperback ~ hardcover ~ signed paperback