Life on the New River is the origin of my passion for photography.
My Dad was an avid canoeist. This was in the 70s when no one spent time on the river unless they were fishing. Occasionally a bunch of teenagers would get a wild hair and procure some tractor inner tubes for a day of drinking on the river, but it was unusual to see people out there.
Dad and I would put in the river on Friday afternoon and canoe all weekend. We would float a couple of hours on Friday, then find a place to camp. After a lazy Saturday morning at camp, we would pack back up and float down river all day, taking our time picking through the shoals. Saturday evening it was time to camp again. Up Sunday, and it was a few more hours on the river before going home.
Finding a camping spot was easy. There were few houses on the river - and most of them were abandoned. Most of the land was farmland and the farmers didn’t care if you carved a spot for a night on the riverbank. In fact, most of them lived so far from the river they didn’t even know we were there.
Dad loved the beauty of the river. He decided to buy a 35mm camera to capture that beauty and share with friends. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with the camera. I loved the way it fit in my hands. The images I produced with the camera seemed altered from the scene I had viewed when taking the picture. I soon learned how to produce an image which conformed to my vision.
I didn’t spend enough time on the river with Dad. I was a teenager. As quick as I got my drivers license, the river life became boring.
I am spending time on the river now. It’s different than it used to be. You have to get it out early in the morning to find solitude. I’m glad people have discovered the river, however. Every pretty weekend in the summer there are people canoeing, kayaking, and tubing.