Turning to the Light

There are times when we cannot see what waits around the bend, because we are unable to see things ahead in time.  The images I made of Quartz Mountain Flyer’s railway is an example of that.  Two days earlier I was traveling from Mangum to Hobart on SH 44, which passes by the Quartz Mountains State Park in Greer and Kiowa counties of Southwest Oklahoma.  The highway skirts around the southern end of Lake Altus-Lugert as it makes its way north to Lone Wolf.  Glancing toward the lake at every opening between the trees, I was captured by what I thought would make a wonderful HDR (high dynamic range) image under the right lighting conditions.  Due to the recent and abundant rains, the lake was full of deep blue water creating islands of several ancient granite peaks.  For me this has always been a mystical scene but on this day, at this time, it was magical, too.  I wanted badly to stop, if only for a minute, but couldn’t because my time was very short and I still had to drive on to Anadarko after stopping in Hobart.  However, I did begin plans to return on Saturday.  Saturday was two days away and difficult to see, much like things around a bend.Not being able to forget about Lake Altus-Lugert in the Quartz Mountains, I recreated the scene in my mind’s eye and considered different lighting options.  Sunrise seemed to be the best lighting opportunity and since I’m an early morning person, it would work out best for me.  It meant I’d have to get out of bed about 4:15 AM and be on the road by 5:00 AM, to be ready for the sunrise at 6:38 AM.  I packed the necessary gear Friday night to save time Saturday morning;  I’d be ready to go as soon as I got dressed and the coffee was finished brewing.

Saturday morning arrives and I’m up and ready to go!  I leave the house in Lawton on time and head west Quanah Parker Trailway (SH 62).  Reaching Altus, I take the Veterans Parkway north to SH 283, bypassing the main part of town.  I pass through the still sleeping Blair and glance at the “Backdoor to the Wichitas”, a very good steakhouse, right on the highway.  Excitement begins to rise  as I draw closer to the Quartz Mountains and the sky around grows lighter and lighter as the time for the sunrise creeps closer and closer.  As I reach the mountains and am now on the familiar SH 44, I’m anticipating and hoping I can find a good place to pull of the highway that provides me access to the lake.  I see a place that appears to be used extensively by fishermen.  I pull off the highway and onto a dirt road with mud puddles cutting all the way across.  I stop while I contemplate whether to chance getting stuck in the mud, or not.  Oh well, never the one to shy away from a risk, I picked out the least likely spot to cause trouble and plowed ahead.  After a couple of slips and slides I was through and on dry ground and deep ruts.  I eased up the incline onto higher ground that became a levy and the southern bank of Lake Altus-Lugert.  From this point I could enjoy a full view of what I was hoping to photograph.  Aagh!  It didn’t look the same!  The light was all wrong, the water was choppy, it wasn’t what I was wanting!  I was very disappointed.  However, I learned a long time ago, “Don’t be so focused on one thing that you don’t see the other possibilities.”

We always need to be looking for the other possibilities.  I began to look around for other “possibilities”.  What I saw were these wonderful railroad tracks of the Quartz Mountain Flyer, interesting light on the hills for a background, the sun rising, a blue sky with hints of clouds.  What more could I want!  My enthusiasm and excitement began to rise up in me just like the sun was rising in the east.  My canvas was spreading out before me and I could no sooner finish one “possibility” before another would appear.  I spent the next 1 1/2 hours totally absorbed and caught up as GOD unfolded a new day of creation before me.