What will come and what has been meet right in front of your eyes, every moment of every day. It's fleeting, ephemeral, and at times exhilarating; that tiny instant that is the here and now. You may spend it with loved ones, or alone. You may spread your attention outward to the beauty of your surroundings, or you may wander along, deep in thought.

The trails or shores lay before you in our state parks, beckoning to your feet and soul, "Come, I'll comfort you." What will you remember of these beautiful moments? 

"I think it annoys God if you walk by the color purple in a field and don’t notice."
-Alice Walker

I think Alice nailed it here, regardless of any spirituality we may weave through our lives. The universe may in fact get annoyed at us if we ignore the simple beauty it provides, with abundance, all around us. My intimate way of showing my own appreciation of it all is to photograph those marvelous, and ever-changing things, around me. Secondly, I do it to tempt others to get out and go see all Virginia has to offer, with their own eyes. In our state park system, so much begs to be framed, composed, and just possibly, recorded for all time. The color purple demands it, and how can you not stop and take a moment to bring it home with you as a photo.

Perhaps you arrive at our state parks with your family, or like me, your faithful hound. Maybe it's a solo trip, but regardless, you will see things you might want to remember someday.

You really do not need expensive camera equipment. Smart phones have great camera features nowadays, so you just need a good eye and a steady hand. That moment your toddler shrieks with excitement and wonder at finding a perfect shell at the beach could be framed on your wall at home by the next sundown.

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.”
-Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams thought big, really big! Yes, stunning vistas abound in our state parks. Include your loved one's in them, use them as backdrops, or capture the grandeur unfettered by mankind's presence.

No matter your intent, framing and angle is everything. If you carefully select before snapping, you won't have to crop later. Now, if your subject is tiny, it will look small when photographed from a high angle. Get down low, and a wee subject can be made to look huge and majestic.

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
- Edgar Degas

Well, Degas, at the time, did not realize the artist must also work with the brains ability to properly marvel at an intended artistic vision. There is something called the rule of thirds. You should at least know it is more about neurological science than art. Your brain has a special trick for reconciling 2 images into one, as each eye sends an image to the brain. The brain must meld those into one seamless view. It can't do it perfectly, and strains to deal with the center, and the edges. So, it just hopes you don't notice that it does the very best in certain areas of your view of the world. If you take a photo and draw a tic tac toe pattern on it, the main elements you framed and wanted to feature should fall along the lines, or at the intersections. Your brain appreciates this placement, as it can really focus your eyesight crisply on these areas.

That translates into most people finding photos that follow the rule of thirds "pleasing." It's your brain saying "Thanks for not making me work so hard!"

Shown is the cropping compensation of a beautiful state park sunset to follow the rule of thirds. Horizon is on a line, sunlit water follows a line, and the major rock feature out in the water falls on an intersection. This pleases your visual cortex, very much.

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."
-Rachel Carson

Keep in mind during state park visits that feeling of being comforted by immersion in nature. Those birds singing, the smells of the beach, or walnuts dropping from the forest canopy: you can bring these memories home with you as a photo. When you send your last child off to college, send a framed memory with them, that moment they shrieked with joy finding a perfect shell at the beach!

It's these moments that are priceless, and so many await in our Virginia State Park system. Go enjoy, and bring back some memories.

Good dog Myrtle was adopted from the local RSPCA

and loves Virginia State Parks as much as Bob and Kevin

About

Visit Bob and Kevin's Facebook page "Virginia Through Our Eyes," where they share more spectacular shots of Virginia State Parks, and images taken across the Commonwealth.

Click here to check out their blogging series on Virginia State Parks to learn more cell phone photography tips, and see more images taken with cell phone cameras.