Ten minutes after the wolf arrived

If you asked me to find this wooded area again, I couldn’t do it.  I didn’t write down any coordinates, and my Boy Scout tracking skills are 40 years old and were never polished past Tenderfoot status.  So as far as I was concerned, I was walking around in circles, having wandered away from my car for what I thought would be a great afternoon photo shoot.

Background.

I was in the North Country, driving along some back roads on a Monday afternoon.  And then I saw it.  A half-worn side road.  It wasn’t paved or graded; it looked like the only thing that could navigate that rutted terrain was maybe a 4×4 or an SUV.

Or… as far as I was concerned… a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS.  Come on, Blackbird, let’s go exploring.

I drove about a mile along the dirt road.  Then I parked the car, got out, and started exploring.  That’s right.  Just me, my Nikon D700 with a 28mm f/2.8 E-series lens on it, and my cell phone in case I had to call for help.

I wandered around, trying to photograph something new.  A few weeks ago, I wedged my camera between two trees and shot straight up.  I tried it again.  Got this shot.

Nice.  Well, not so much “nice” as it is an “okay” shot.  I can do better.

Oh look… there’s a leaf that got stuck to a tree in mid-fall.  It’s almost as if the leaf didn’t want to leave.  Or the “leave” didn’t want to “leaf.”  Har.

And as I wanted further into the woods, I looked down at the ground.  And there I saw a small wooden basket.  Some red-yellow leaves floated toward and landed on its overturned handle.  If there were any provisions inside, they were probably eaten a long time ago.

And at that point I said to myself, “Self… you were fifteen seconds away from walking past this photo opportunity.  Get down on your knees and get this shot before someone else gets it, fool.”

Good thing I listen to myself, eh?

So what do I call this picture?  Basket Overturned in Autumn Leaves?  Basket in the Woods?  Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear?

Well, yeah, if I was going for the obvious…

So who used to carry a basket through the woods?

Yep. So until I can come up with a better title for this picture, I christen thee…

Ten Minutes After the Wolf Arrived.

And after a few more minutes of wandering through the woods, I finally saw a gingerbread house my car.  Got in, and drove home.

As I said before, I probably couldn’t find this location again if I tried.  But I was very lucky I found it when I did.

Yeah.  I’m going to put that basket photo somewhere safe.  Maybe look at it as a possibility for competition season 2014.

We shall see.