Outside

 There is nothing to replace going to the library and browsing the actual shelf, as opposed to looking on line. That's fine if you're looking for a specific book. I love being able to put a hold on something, then going to pick it up in a few days. Or weeks. Or in some cases, months.

But serendipity strikes when you browse the shelf. I usually go first to the photography section. Mostly I'm thinking, "read that, read that, read that." But then something new appears, or even a bunch of new books.

I don't mean new in the sense they were printed recently, I mean new in the sense they haven't been on the shelf in this particular library before. I think they rotate stocks of books between the libraries. I pounce on the ones I haven't read. Some don't interest me, for whatever reason. Some are ho-hum, nice photos, but nothing special. 

Some hit that sweet spot for me. Subjects I'm interested in. Arresting photos. The right level of technical detail in the right voice. All that might change as I change. It wasn't so long ago that books relating to film photography wouldn't have interested me. Now it does. 

The edge of the world, by the editors of Outside Magazine, is amazing! Most of the photos are stunning, even if some of them make me cringe as I think about what could have gone wrong. Even better, they usually talk a bit about what the photographer had to go through to get the photo. In some cases it's just as scary as what the subject was doing. I'm willing to go to some lengths for a great photo, but like in the words of the song, I won't do that.

There's all sorts of subjects here; about the only thing they have in common is that they're outside. Various activities on mountains and other steep bits. Caves. Bicycles, (one of which was juxtapositioned with a train in a way that terrified me, and probably made the train driver pee himself.) Various activities in water. 

The photos are all stunning, even if you'd never dream of doing that activity. This is a great gift for the outdoor enthusiast in your life. Or the photographer. 

I have to admit I was thinking about my cousin Rene while reading. I've seen video of him doing some of the activities in the book, and yes, I was terrified just watching. He probably knows some of the people mentioned, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has been some of the places mentioned.

Complete with a file number serendipity, as an example of how different you can make an image look, starting from the same file.

Of the Day

Driftwood

Flower

Peony

Tombstone, with some of my tour buddies looking for an image.

River reflections

Lynx

Celina

I was taking the book photo (above) and noticed the light was nice on Celina. Except she wasn't really having it. I miss Curtis posing for the camera.

Film

This is the second in a series of photos carrying the camera around mid-October. This is the start of one of my favourite walks in Fish Creek. I was hoping the path would show up a bit better.