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© 2011 Max Lent
Starting in 1963 I began keeping field notes to fulfill a requirement of a biology class taught by
Murray M. Eells at Azusa High
School, in Azusa, CA. Mr. Eells required that field notebooks be kept
in the style described by Joseph Grinnell. My
notebook writing continued on through other classes in high school at Azusa High School, Glendora High School, college
and later.
I began writing my field notebook with a pencil. It wasn't until I saved up enough money to
purchase a Rapidograph pen.
Rapidograph pens were high status among field biology students. They were expensive, attractive, and when used
with India ink, permanent. They were also difficult to use. They would dry out and clog frequently.
The feel of writing with a Rapidograph pen was similar to writing with a pointed |
Field Notes
feather. It scratched along the writing paper rather than rolled. Smaller point size was also
a status symbol. Writing with an extremely small point enabled very small text. Printing was preferred over
handwritten script. I eventually became so proficient at printing that I printed all of my notes in high school
and college.
Taking field notes was valuable to me in many ways. The writing taught me to observe the world in
which I live more acutely and accurately. I learned to pay better attention to what was going on around me, where
I was, and what I was experiencing. Later, when I took up photography, I learned a new language of observation.
The combination of learning to view the world carefully and record it in multiple ways enriched my perception of the
world.
©1995- 2011 Max Lent
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