The Hairy Monster in the Palouse

I am sitting here on a plane to San Francisco, taking a little time to catch up on some writing that I haven’t gotten to over the course of the last two busy weeks of work, travel, and family time. This past weekend the whole family and I went out to the Palouse in South Eastern Washington to experience this magical place for the first time. I have seen other photographer’s work from this region of the state and can now tell you from personal experience that this place is worth the trip. It is just another location that I could spend tons of time exploring for the remainder of my life. This image was taken courtesy of my daughter who pointed out the big hairy monster at the edge of the field. Newest lesson in my photographic journey–listen to the 5 year old when she spouts something out.

Kids have a tendency to look at the world through unfiltered glasses and as soon as I looked over to where she was pointing I thought of “Sully”, the character that John Goodman played in Monsters Inc. What an amazing experience the world is during one’s youth. I remember those days well, everything and everyone was open to interpretation and rarely judged with apprehension. To relive my youth now, through my daughter and my son, is quickly becoming a favorite avenue to my own personal creative enlightenment. I have to remember to view every location and every composition with that same openness of a 5 year old child. I do see the “Hairy Monster” in these windswept grasses. More importantly I see a composition of texture, formed and left by the ever changing forces of mother nature.