Wildness Photos by Gary O'Boyle

Michigan's disappearing outdoors

9/11/2018

For me photography is an escape. To be outdoors gives me peace. To capture what I see and where I go makes it even more meaningful. One way to preserve my memories is through the captured images I return home with. By editing and sharing these images I continue to feel that peace and I am able to show others what is out there to be found.

This year, there are 41,415 plants and animals on the threatened species list worldwide. !6,306 species are endangered. Many thousands more are of special concern.

I've put together a list of impacted species in my home state of Michigan. More are being added every year.

You can see it here.

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Comebacks

7/14/2018

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Nearly two years have passed since I updated this blog. I didn't realize it had been that long. During the last few years I have retreated more and more from hiking and photography to take care of more personal issues. I needed to put my needs aside for a time. The care of family members can take an emotional and physical toll on ones psyche. In some ways it leaves you stronger, but it also leaves you completely drained in soul and spirit. That is where I have found myself. Completely drained. But one thing my beautiful daughter has taught me is to never give up. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep moving forward. During the last few years I have kept this website running but that is about all. I've added a few pictures now and then, but it takes time and energy to keep something like this moving forward. The last few weeks, during the summer heat, I have started redesigning my website. Nothing too extreme but I feel it has a cleaner look now. I've been adding pictures and updating the basic organization of the galleries. I hope you can take some time to explore my site. If you like the outdoors maybe my images will touch your soul. Maybe brighten your day a little. My photography is my escape and each image I share is important to me in some way. I hope by sharing them I can share the peace I feel when I am on the trails.

Thank you for staying around during this period and I will be posting more often in the near future.

Check out my website at www.wildnessphotos.com. It is best viewed on a desktop or laptop computer. Some effects are lost on mobile devices.

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Getting away from Auto Mode

7/25/2016

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Here are a few slides I use when helping people learn the functions of their cameras. These may help you get away from auto mode and start experimenting with the other settings on your camera.

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Some of my favorites...

11/1/2015

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Over the past few years I have taken literally tens of thousands of photographs. I have also done some traveling in order to do this. The places I have seen will forever be etched in my mind and the images I have taken allow me to share these places and things with you. I have been compiling some of my favorites from over the years. This has become difficult. Each image is a part of my memories and so holds a special spot in my mind and heart.

When I alter them in post processing with filters or make them black and white or do any number of things to them, I am adding to them my personal feelings. To me there is more than what the eye sees. Each picture is something I have experienced. It is something that in some way changed and added to who I am. Knowing that a camera is a tool that only captures what I tell it to, I know that what I see in these places is often seen differently by someone else. The places I find beautiful can appear dull and boring to others. After all we are individuals with different likes and dislikes. So I don’t expect my images to touch everyone. But when others appreciate what I do it makes what I do worthwhile. I have seen the number of people who follow my work grow and so I continue to share my passion. For that I thank you!

I hope you will take a few minutes to look through the pictures I have added to this post. I have seen many of these places quickly changing from one visit to the next. What we have around us is very fragile and at times it seems we are in a rush to destroy what is left. I count myself fortunate to have seen what I have. And I am glad I can share these images with you.

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What's new...

7/25/2015

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Much has happened since the last I’ve written. Wildness Photos is still moving forward. At times, a little slower than I have hoped, but forward none the less. I haven’t had the opportunity to do much travel but I have done a little wandering locally. I have taught a couple Basic Photoshop classes and I am preparing a Photography class for the "Clio Center for the Arts." A wonderful location for such classes and some of my photos are currently on display there along with many other local artists. I have listed some of my work on the Fine Arts America website where they are offered in many different styles from prints to pillows. I can now be found on many social media sites from Flickr to Facebook. At the bottom of this blog I will include links to all these different sites where you can find me.

Most recently has been my acceptance into the "Art at the Market Gallery" located in the "Flint Farmers’ Market." The Gallery has limited space available so I will be one of around 30 artists showing and selling their work there. On July 29th I will be setting up my display area and it will be in place when the Gallery opens for business Thursday July 30th.

If you enjoy my work I encourage you to visit some of these sites and locations. When you do let me know where you visited and what you thought.

As always thank you so much for your support!

~ Gary

You can find me online at the following sites
Just click on the links below

Fine Art American

Facebook

Flicker

Tumblr

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram

YouPic

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Its has been three years

8/21/2014

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Photo Credits - Jeff O'Boyle

Wildness Photos is three years old this month. It first started out as a dream but it has now become a reality. It was with great trepidation that I took those first steps toward setting up a website. I enjoy heading out with my camera to see and record the world around me. I enjoy the art of processing the pictures as well. Now to be able to turn around and share them with you has truly been incredible. In the beginning I wondered if visitors to Wildness Photos would enjoy my work as much as I do. Would you appreciate what I see and would you know that these sights are important to me?

The positive energy I have received back has been the answer to that question. Thank you so much for those kind words both in person and through emails and messages. Because of you I have pushed the envelope of what I thought possible for me, only to find bigger and brighter areas ahead. I have experimented with different techniques looking for a style that identifies me and the vision of what I see around me. Along the way I have traveled to areas some people will never see except through my pictures. That has been incredible, every step of the way. In the last three years I have also seen my knowledge expand in ways I never thought were possible. And with each new thing learned my passion and excitement only grows stronger.

I have been able to share many of my photographs in gallery showings, art shows, restaurants, and even on a book cover. And I have met some very wonderful and interesting people along the way. I am also able to share Wildness Photos not only through my website but across the web through social media. There are links on my website to Flickr, Facebook and Pinterest. I have both a Twitter and Tumblr account (though I am still a little weak on them). And through all of these I have been able to see some of my pictures being shared around the world. It truly humbles me. Today I received a notice that “The Wilderness Society” started to follow me. This allows them to receive updates when I add pictures. To be followed by an organization that Ansel Adams was so deeply involved in….well the photographer in me was overwhelmed.

As I travel through my infancy of learning and adjusting to all these new technologies I want to thank you! Thank you for sticking it out with me on this wild ride. Thank you for being patient with me as I grow and explore new ideas and techniques. Thank you for your friendships and your encouraging words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You are all a part of the dream that started me on this incredible journey and I am looking forward to many more years of sharing my photography with you.

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The Reset Button

8/6/2014

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Ten years ago this week my daughter boarded a flight to start her trip from Michigan to Bethel Alaska. Bethel is located 400 miles west of Anchorage and it is far removed from the road system. To reach Bethel the last leg of the trip involves a flight over the Cook Inlet, two mountain ranges and a large expanse of tundra. Though Bethel has a population of roughly 6400 people it is not much more than a big village. It does have some things going for it that the smaller villages don’t. There are two major grocery stores, a hospital and a newly opened movie theater. The airport is large enough that supplies and mail for the region are funneled through it. But like many of the small Alaskan villages access is very limited....there are no roads in or out of Bethel. The weather can be fierce and cost of living is very high.

Mandy was going there to teach in the local high school. She found out about Bethel from a job fair at her college here in Michigan. The school district had sent representatives to look for new teachers. Many of these remote villages and towns have trouble keeping teachers for any length of time. Living conditions take a lot of getting used to, so teachers usually only last a few years. It is not a job for everyone.

It’s now been ten years….one decade.

As I look back over the last ten years I realize that, while Mandy is now living 4000 miles away, she is still teaching me some very valuable lessons. Not a day goes by since she was born in June of 1981 that she doesn’t teach me something. On that day so many years ago Mandy was born an extreme preemie. At birth she weighed just two pounds. Her mother lived with diabetes and we knew there would be risks involved. Mandy was born three months early and the first few months of her life we watched her weight drop before it started to rise again. We saw her struggle to breathe while hooked to so many machines. We spent long hours sitting by her incubator as she struggled to just live…..and we shed many tears. It took three long months before Mandy was ready for that first trip home in September. Two and a half weeks later her mom stopped breathing in her sleep. Mandy became my strength to carry on over the years after that.

Growing up Mandy faced all the challenges in her life with great courage, and there were many challenges to be faced. One of the biggest is that she lives with Cerebral Palsy. She has never been one to turn away from the difficulties life was dealt her. After watching her grow and becoming her best through her school years I wasn’t surprised when she came home from the job fair to tell me she was going to Alaska. That is just the person she is. Nothing and no one holds her back. After many years of struggles, disappointments and five surgeries she boarded a plane and flew into a new life.

Even though she now lives many miles away she has never stopped teaching me. One of the most important lessons she has taught me is to never give up on my dreams. It almost seems that society today is all about jumping on one bandwagon and riding it to the end with everyone else on there with you. We are constantly influenced by others who seem more than happy to tell us what we should think and who we should be. They feel entitled to tell us how we should live our life. We aren’t perfect and we never will be but that isn’t a reason to give up on the person you are. We all make mistakes and sometimes we will listen to others and do things that take us in the wrong direction but we are all able to correct that course. Don’t be afraid to live life for yourself. Live your dreams - Live your heart! The outcome in the end makes you a better person.

Mandy has taught me that sometimes it is more than OK to hit the reset button and start over.

* Some pictures from my first visit to Bethel Alaska *

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Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water

5/17/2014

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Well the month of May is now half over. The display of my photographs at Margaret Runyon Gallery in Clio Michigan ran an extra week and has now ended. We had a very nice turnout during the time of my display. I would like to thank everyone who turned out to show their support and those who were not able to be there but sent good wishes my way. Thank you so much! You have no idea how much that meant to me!

As I was preparing for the display in Clio I was contacted by Little Curlew Press. They are an independent literary press that publishes works with a strong ecological undercurrent, including place-based eco-fiction, environmental nonfiction, and environmental journalism. Little Curlew Press has been working on a project with author Rebecca Lawton. The summer of 2014 will see the release of her book titled Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water. Steelies is a collection of 15 stories that are linked by water and it spans from oceans and rivers to the people who love them.

I am pleased to be able to share with you that the cover image is a photograph that I took of Presque Isle River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is one of several that Little Curlew Press was considering for use on the cover. The cover itself was designed by James Knake.

It is an honor to be included in this project and be a part of something that draws awareness to the plight of the magical waters around us. I will share more details about the release of the book in the near future.

Gary O'Boyle

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Rainy Day Hike

4/10/2014

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I awoke this morning on the Torch River to a beautiful red sunrise and incoming rain. Things were pretty quiet here and I thought I would have enough time for some hiking before any rain moved in. So I grabbed my gear and headed to the Grass River Nature Area about 7 miles away. A vast amount of the snow has melted in the last few weeks so the road into the nature area was closed because of mud. I was able to park near the entrance and headed out on the trail closest to the road.

One thing I have always enjoyed is hiking through Red Pine forests and that is how todays hike started out. I lingered in this area enjoying the pine scent and the filtered light through thee high branches. As I followed the trail out, I ran into some ice and snow on the trail. One shaded area still had knee deep snow that I had to work through. I crossed over an old railroad bed that has been converted to a trail and entered a more diverse forest area. I could hear many types of birds around me but they stayed hidden.

This stretch of trail proved a little more difficult with more standing water and large muddy areas. There were also a few mosquitoes flying low over the water. But all of these challenges are part of the fun of hiking and I moved on. My goal today was to reach the Grass River about a mile and a quarter away. After working through the flooded area I finally reach the main parking area.

From the parking area it is a short walk to the cabin used for programs by the nature area. As I reached the cabin I found myself surrounded by a small flock of very curious Black Capped Chickadees. I stopped to enjoy their company and was rewarded with several flying just over my shoulder as they moved from tree to tree.

It was then that the rain caught up with me. It started out as a light rain and I decided to sit in the pavilion by the cabin to see if it would quit. After about five minutes the rain increased. I dug my phone out of my pack so I could check the weather radar app. Looks like I was on the front edge of a heavy and prolonged rain. I debated about going on but decided I still had about a mile hike back to my car and I turned back.

The rain continued and the temperature dropped throughout the walk back to my car so it was a good choice. Since this weather was turning nasty I decided to check out some access points alone Torch Lake where I could stay close to my car. Though my time on the trail was cut short it was still a good day to be out on my first rainy day hike of the year.

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Finding Beauty

3/28/2014

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If you truly love nature,
you will find beauty everywhere.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

These words were written over a century ago, but for me they could have been written yesterday. There is so much around us that is beautiful, if we just stop long enough to see it. But in our rush to get from point A to point B we sometimes don't see it. We don't stop. We don't look. We allow our lives to move too fast.

When I hike with my camera I slow down. I slow way down. Sometimes it's so easy to get lost in the big things we forget to look at the details. Big sweeping vistas can stop us in our tracks, but it's the times you look closer you see that everything is connected and it's all beautiful. One lone autumn leaf swinging on a bare branch, a dew drop hanging from a blade of grass or a bee working in a flower. These things and many others are so often overlooked but when they are combined they create the big vistas that originally stopped us.

When I take a picture I am taking a picture for me. In that moment when I am looking through the camera I am searching for what pleases me. The images I share all have a special meaning to me. A memory...a feeling...a reminder. And there is a part of me in every picture I take. When I receive feedback about my pictures I know somehow my picture struck a chord with another person. We could be exact opposites and we are often complete strangers but there was something in that picture we shared. Too often we forget how to connect with each other and we lose out on the big picture.

It's time to put down the phone, turn of the computer, grab your family and go for a walk. Explore the woods, sit by a stream, feel the wind on your face, talk to each other and take some pictures. You just might find the little things that make the sweeping vistas so beautiful.

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Michigan's disappearing outdoors

Comebacks

Getting away from Auto Mode

Some of my favorites...

What's new...

Its has been three years

Photo Credits - Jeff O'Boyle

The Reset Button

* Some pictures from my first visit to Bethel Alaska *

Steelies and Other Endangered Species: Stories on Water

Rainy Day Hike

Finding Beauty

Gary O'Boyle

Archives

Categories

﻿Photo Credits - Jeff O'Boyle﻿

﻿ * Some pictures from my first visit to Bethel Alaska *﻿

Gary O'Boyle

Archives

Categories

Photo Credits - Jeff O'Boyle

* Some pictures from my first visit to Bethel Alaska *