Map Check 2023

Field Notes XXXV: A review of the past year's photography and adventures and where things are headed from here.

Welcome to Field Notes!

Here we are on the last day of 2023! I feel like I am standing on a precipice, looking out over a wilderness of exciting possibilities ahead. I couldn’t be happier with how Field Notes is going and I’m truly humbled by all of your interest and support. I started Field Notes in May by saying that I knew it would evolve over time, and it really has. But, before we look ahead at what’s on the horizon, lets see how we got here.

This is a long one, so buckle up! I’m including a lot of photos in this issue and to do so I’m using photo grids. Your experience may vary a bit depending on whether you are reading this in the email, on line, or in the app. My guess is that the website would be best.

Lets go!

At the beginning of 2023 my main outlet for sharing my photography was Instagram. These posts were re-shared on Facebook and I also tried some other social platforms such as Vero and 500px. I had varying degrees of success and some larger accounts occasionally shared a few of my photos.

We didn’t get any snow this year, but January started out chilly and foggy. I was at work on New Years Day and found both of these scenes.

On February 3 I went waterfall chasing with in South Carolina. I just bought a 10 stop ND filter for my main lens and experimented taking some very long exposures. These are Yellowbranch Falls and ‘The Veil’ at Brasstown Falls in the Sumter National Forest.

February 23 I discovered some blooming bloodroot at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia.

On March 7 I took a great image of the setting full worm moon. Unfortunately, I tried to focus stack the shot and there was a slight breeze that caused the daffodil to move slightly, resulting in an unfocused blur around the edge of the flower that I could not eliminate. Lesson learned.

March 10 I had a chance close encounter with an owl, which I wrote about in Field Notes XXXI.

Dyar’s Pasture is a interesting wetland area about 30 minutes South of Athens, Ga. I’ve been there several times, and when I visited on March 18 I took this long exposure showing the clouds moving across the morning sky.

The Tallulah Gorge is a massive canyon in Northeast Georgia, cradling the Tallulah River. The river is now controlled by a dam owned by Georgia Power, which periodically releases the water flow for kayakers or just for aesthetic reasons. April 1 was the first water release this year and I was there to catch some kayakers with my long lens.

I then went waterfall chasing again on April 19. This time it was to Raven Cliff Falls in North Georgia. This was a great location because there are several waterfalls to photograph along the Dodd Creek. I later wrote about the details of taking the photo at Raven Cliff Falls in Field Notes I and then published the adventure story of the trip in Field Notes XIII.

May 4 I went on my first backpacking trip of the year. I was hoping to find some blooming Catawba rhododendrons, but the location that I chose at Green Knob in the Middle Prong Wilderness of Western North Carolina was too high elevation this early in the year. I later wrote about the challenges of this trip in Field Notes III and published the adventure story of the trip in Field Notes XXXIV.

It was in late April and early May that I was becoming very disillusioned with social media. The experience was very shallow and seemed to be going nowhere. My images have been physically challenging to obtain and have taken a lot of work to process, not to mention the uncountable hours I’ve spent trying to learn how to do all of this. I would then post them on Instagram, for them to be seen for half a day before they vanished into the ether of cyberspace.

I believed I could do more and had the idea of writing essays to accompany my photos. I created Field Notes with my and sent out my first issue on May 9. Additionally, I set a goal to try to go on a 1 to 2 night backpacking trip once a month.

I was determined to photograph the Catawba rhododendrons, so June 6 - 8 I backpacked the Shining Rock Wilderness, North Carolina. It was still a little early in the high elevation, but I found some dang flowers! Field Notes VI and Field Notes VII. Field Notes was still new and, looking back, I believe I was trying to make these posts a behind the scenes look at my trips. I was saving my best photos for my portfolio site or social media, and I hadn’t really embraced the creative writing ‘adventure story’ format yet.

July 12 was an overnight trip to the Cohutta Wilderness in Northwest Georgia. This one had a huge number of crossings of the Conasauga River. The water was a relief from the mid summer heat, but the final climb to the top of Panther Creek was crushingly hot and humid. Field Notes XI and Field Notes XII.

August 22 I sought elevation as a relief from the summer temps. This was a 2 night trip to the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness Area, Western North Carolina. This was another very tough trip. It hadn’t rained in a long time, so I tried to conserve water. This resulted in major cramps in my legs on day 1. The air was also very hazy on this trip due to massive wildfires in Canada. Field Notes XVIII, Field Notes XIX, and Field Notes XX. In these issues I began to fully express the ‘adventure story,’ which I experience as the voice of Anthony Bourdain narrating the journey in my mind.

I live fairly close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had never backpacked in the park because I thought the amount of regulations was too daunting. It definitely is a hurdle and a deterrent, but on September 26 I decided to go on an overnight trip to Gregory Bald. This was as much to learn to navigate the system as it was for the trip itself. Field Notes XXIII and Field Notes XXIV.

Just before this trip I got a GoPro camera and learned to use it to make much higher quality films, starting with this adventure. Gregory Bald Film.

On October 13 I went on a wonderful day trip of waterfall chasing at Hemlock Falls in North Georgia. It was a short but excellent fall outing! Field Notes XXV and Hemlock Falls Film.

I planned a return trip to Shining Rock on October 25. I would follow a loop in the Southern portion of the wilderness, parts of which I hadn’t been to before. Just a few days before, I received some devastating news about my Mom’s health. It almost cancelled my trip and I wrestled with the knowledge this entire time. Field Notes XXVII, Field Notes XXVIII, Field Notes XXIX, and Shining Rock Film.

And so came November and December. Multiple factors came together to prevent me from going on another backpacking trip this year. Most of this was a very tight schedule, but I also wasn’t confident in how my cold weather gear would handle a cold snap in the mountains.

At this point I realized that I enjoy the writing process much more than I ever expected. It occurred to me that for the past 16 or more years a large portion of my job has been writing stories about events that happen to other people. Now that I turned that writing experience back towards my own interests, I re-awakened an idea of being a writer that led me to get my college degree in English Lit back in the late 1990’s.

So, for these couple of months were I didn’t travel, I focused on some creative writing experiments and made some interesting local photos of Athens, Georgia nature.

As 2023 draws to a close I am looking at the trails ahead. All I can think is that this journey has barely even begun and I’m ready to see what’s over the next ridge!

I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am to have you along for these journeys! My goal through my photography, writing, and film is to show how profoundly stunning the natural world is. It exists right outside all of our doors, and I hope that I’ve inspired you to seek it.

2024 calendar sales were a success and I plan to re-invest the earnings into photography in order to improve the content of Field Notes. Some will go to an on line photography course I plan to take and the rest is yet to be determined, but may go to camera maintenance and sensor cleaning. This was the first calendar I have created and I used photos I already had. Since it worked, I’m starting to plan now for next year’s version.

Now that I have discovered the Lulu.com site where I create the calendars, the wheels in my mind are turning. No solid plans yet, but I’m beginning to think about creating a photobook or ebook to offer.

I have a ton of ideas for upcoming trips in 2024. Obviously, the emphasis will be photography, but I am also looking forward to honing my writing and film making abilities. I have some new cold weather gear and hope to get outside in January and February. Once the spring warms up I plan to try out a cheap kayak on some waterborne adventures! The goal is to push the limits. Maybe some longer trips and definitely destinations that I haven’t been to before.

I do plan on offering a paid subscription option for Field Notes in 2024. Do not fear! The weekly edition of Field Notes will always remain free. However, I am considering limiting access to the archives after a period of time and am considering some other small benefits for paid subscribers. Its still a work in progress. This will likely go into effect after April, when I have proven to myself that I am able to maintain this publication long term. I plan to use any earnings towards improving what I have to offer here.

Also, I am keeping an eye on local art shows and exhibitions. If I am able to make enough inventory, I hope to have a booth or an exhibit at a small venue this year for anyone in the Athens, Georgia area to check out.

2023 has been epic and I am quite literally jittery with excitement to get a start on 2024. A heartfelt THANK YOU to all who have followed this far! Now,

Lets Go!

-Erik

2024 calendars are still available!