![\"\"](\"https:\/\/markgunterphotography.com\/abo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/W_MGP2018_Oklahoma_Pond_Leaf-300x200.jpg\")
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Like most of the nation, Oklahoma is getting hot. Not Hawaiian volcanic eruption hot or, “what’s that sudden\u00a0 crack in the Tetons mean” hot. Just standard, run-of-the-mill, Oklahoma summer, triple-digit heat. The pond weed is blooming, the dragonflies are zooming, and we are all looking for swimming pools and air-conditioning.<\/p>\n
In the relatively cool morning hours, it was not quite to the 90’s yet, so I grabbed my camera. I took the long hike to the pond, making sure provisions, especially water, were readily available. Establishing where I would camp, I looked over my shoulder. Yes, the back door is only about a hundred feet away. All is good.<\/p>\n
![\"Target](\"https:\/\/markgunterphotography.com\/abo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/W_MGP2018_Oklahoma_Pond_Target_Acquired.jpg\")
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I spent a while exploring the possibilities. A pin-hole lens which I haven’t mastered. A 28mm for wider shots. A fisheye attached to that 28mm for something different. Then, I pulled out one of my all-time favorites: the 100-400mm zoom. For the last 8-9 years, this has been a favorite for a variety of reasons. Today, it was to get me a little closer to the insects flying across the pond’s surface.<\/p>\n
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Lately, I have been planted in front of computer monitors and have not been able to spend much time just shooting for fun. I did not spend a lot of time at the pond, but what I did spend was valuable. The quiet time, just myself and nature, was certainly worth the long, uphill trudge back to the house. It is not the shallow grade of the hill that wears me out, but the going inside knowing I’m missing something I could be photographing.<\/p>\n
We all lose sight of the little things that help us find our center from time to time. Mine is sitting behind a lens, watching life unfold in front of me. It reminds me that I may just be one small part of the world, but I am a part of it.<\/p>\n
Where do you find your center?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like most of the nation, Oklahoma is getting hot. Not Hawaiian volcanic eruption hot or, “what’s that sudden\u00a0 crack in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","wpcat-15-id"],"yoast_head":"\n