Tell me the story behind some photos ...

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Every photo has a story ... here is the first of many ...

Evening at Ha Ha Tonak #1:

This photo actually was done as part of a series of photos, taken in preparation for a charity event. It was a gorgeous autumn day and I had been anxious to get out to Ha Ha Tonka State Park. I had not been there since I was a young girl with my Dad and I could remember how pretty it was and also, in the heat of summer, how lovely it was to be down by the spring, where the air was so much cooler in the valley.

I had a vision for the photos I wanted, so I had been collecting the props I needed for a bit of time, picking up a last few things on the way to the park.

I went up by the "castle" first, to scope out the setting, since my memory had faded of the details. I took some photos then, but light was still quite bright and not conducive to the image I had in my head. So I went down to the spring and photographed there for quite awhile, enjoying the beauty of the spring area.

When the light started to turn that lovely late-day golden, I went back up to the castle. I got out all my equipment and props from the car, hanging bags all over me, and hiked up the path back to the castle. I walked around the ruins one more time and tried to observe the best locale. The left window frame seemed like an ideal spot.

I set up my still life props and took a few test photos, moving the items around until they were pleasing to the eye. I then got out the red food dye and bottle of water, making my "wine" for the photos. I ended up taking close to 100 photos, moving the items around and changing my angles, throughout the process And also stopping to chat with a few people, interested in what I was doing.

When I felt like I had what had been in my head, I packed it all back down to the car, just in time for the park closing for the evening.

This photo was a result of that series ... it has been worked with in Photoshop to get the romantic quality, but the image remains what was there that day.

Hope you like it!!

More stories of other photos to come ...