Chasing the Light
Where do you find inspiration? Like every photographer, I capture moments that appeal to me and hope that they bring joy or resonate with the people that see them. Admittedly, one of my very favorite subjects to photograph is a field of wildflowers because they mark the beginning of spring and cue us to shake off the winter blues while inspiring me to go out and explore.
The Light Catcher Murders by Jo Cassie McRae
In Texas, spring and wildflower season is short but the brilliant and vivid colors that dot our highways and country backroads bring a smile to many a Texan’s face as they pop up across the state’s landscape. In central Texas, we are blessed with an abundance of our state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet, delicate and fragrant you cannot help but be drawn to them. Their color borders between a soft blue-ish lavender depending on the light. As seedlings sprout and then finally bloom, the anticipation and excitement of wildflower hunting begins in early to mid-March. A sea of Bluebonnets covering fields in the Texas Hill Country entice day trippers and visitors from all over the world to enjoy cooler weather and pretty views all across the state.
In early April 2018, a friend asked me if I would help her work on improving her landscape photography skills. So we set out to look for a Bluebonnet field. We traveled along a curvy farm to market road and with white skies overhead and no hope for a sunset we headed out anyway. A thirty-minute drive along some scenic stretch of Texas Hill Country road took us to a sign that pointed us to a little park that I had never visited. Deciding to take the detour, the road took us to a small recreational area that had a charming picnic and camping area. At the top of the parking lot, the hillside was covered with Bluebonnets and as far as your eye could see a blanket of blue covered a hillside that gently sloped down to the water’s edge of the north Lake Travis shoreline.
As I gingerly sidestepped my way into the field I was careful to not crush any blooms as I looked for the perfect composition. The white skies that had stuck around all day hinted at a possible chance that the sun might break through. At one point, I looked over at my friend, and told her that we just might luck out and get a pop of sunshine. Within minutes, sunlight cut through the tree line of old Oaks that sat atop the hill. I chose a spot at the base of the Bluebonnet-filled sea and smiled as rays of gold light lit the field and as quickly as it appeared it faded. I instinctively knew that I had caught something good. Maybe even magical.
The series of images from this small window of shooting garnered me kind words from the Director of Photography of the Nature Conservancy and later that year, my image which currently graces my home page was published in the Nature Conservancy of Texas’s annual report.
This evening, I picked up a box full of books that Texas-based author, Jo Cassie McRae (jocassiemcrae.com) signed for me. Ms. McRae was so inspired by the last image taken on that evening that she weaved it into the storyline for her first cozy mystery novel, The Light Catcher Murders.
Inspiration comes in all forms. Places we visit, people we meet, and in this case, an image of a Texas spring in full bloom. For someone to look at my work and then include it their own project—-in this case, an intriguing book is the ultimate form of flattery and I’m so pleased that I could be a small part of what will be a successful and much anticipated book series.