Eating Companions

This past Monday morning after an early morning errand, I found time for a breakfast stop before heading to work and paused at this small eatery in the downtown district of Pottstown, Pa for a bite. I love these types of places. In business since 1921, it has that essence that takes you back to it's beginnings. The aged pine paneling, old photos hanging on the walls from yesteryear's past glory of the wide Main Street outside the door and the bar stools worn by generations of hungry locals all point to eras when there were Model T's or Hudson Hornets parked out front and people made time for conversation. The kind of place where names like Harry and Estelle are still heard as the regulars come and go with a wave and phrases with "young lady" refer to women well into old age.

In a world crowded with generic drive in Cheeseburgers and internet shopping, I will always prefer this kind of history when given a choice. It carries the continuity of life.

The second image, was taken the later that day while having my lunch at a local park. I have enjoyed the company of these trees all summer and as the fall colors are starting to make their way to the ground to be turned into earth, I was able to catch the last of these Maples before they made the trip.

Unbridled Run

This image was shot about a week ago. I had gotten home from work and with a little light left outside, I took a quick walk out to our back field to see if any deer were out and about. There were none but on the way back to the house, I spotted the last of the setting sun illuminating these ornamental grass tops. I quickly went inside, grabbed my camera and made this last minute exposure.

While shooting and trying to capture what first caught my attention, the way they moved in the wind reminded me of the beautiful horses we used to have next door to our field and their tails as the herd would rumble thunderously by our house full gallop. It also for me invoked the energy that I see in the Bev Doolittle print Sacred Ground which is on display on my in-law's wall.

The horses sadly are no longer there to add to our rural experience, but I am glad these grasses that day brought back those memories for me.

Quiet Cold

Today finds me at Crater Lake in Oregon. Not physically, but revived in memory of time spent there through this photograph.

As both of my parents worked within the education system, our summers were free to camp and travel as a family and before I reached adulthood, I was blessed to have gotten to most of the U.S. states having been cross country more than once.

That travel continued as an early adult in my career as a corporate photographer and I would often extend assignments to get to special wild places when I could. This spot was one that I experienced as both a child and adult. When I was young, I remembered being amazed at the deep, deep blue color (as it is feed only by snow melt) and the incredible depth (at 1,943 ft. it is the deepest in the U.S. and 7th in the world). As an adult, what most struck me was the calming quiet. Arriving here at 1st light during a driving trip up the west coast, the soft, light breeze and natural beauty were my only companions from this vantage point.

When looking up facts for this blog about the lake, I couldn't help but notice that the photo on the Nps website http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm was taken from almost the same spot as mine. I prefer my own though for as when the sun broke from the horizon, a small grouping of trees in the foreground received just a hint of light, separating them out and creating the depth of distance I wanted.

The Old Way

Yesterday, on an afternoon errand trip with my son, we came upon this old covered bridge in Bucks County, Pa and stopped at the adjacent park for some quick fun. While there, we explored the creek, raced leaves over the dam and made a couple of photographs of the fall colors together. After we drove through the bridge on our way home, I began thinking about why these old bridges are covered? Was it purely an aesthetic/ cultural thing to the people who 1st settled here or was there some larger purpose in this mostly Northeastern practice?

Later, following some quick online research, I realized the answer of protection from the elements should have been obvious, but was obscured to me by my folly of looking for a deeper meaning. I went on to learn that the cover was not meant as protection for the travelers as I then assumed, but for the bridge support itself. Before our era of treated woods and modern materials, the heavy, beamed supporting structure and decking needed shelter to withstand the varied weather over the years and by doing so, the builder could extend the life of the bridge by decades. In covering the top, the underside, hidden support could be preserved from decay. Oddly, while this practice saved a valuable capital resource, it would also add an increase in other labor, as a tender would be necessary to now add snow to the inside in the winter to glide to sled's runners through.

While reading this morning, these simple facts lead me to think a bit about my life's shelter, support and guide and how I am both supported and sheltered by the same person and what a blessing it is to me that He is also the one who 'shovels the snow' to guide me and my family over and through the trials that confront us, much like a bridge and tender does.

In our area, there are still quite a few of these old, very cool bridges around to enjoy and as I am out and about in my travels I think I will view them just a little bit differently from now on.

Side Story

Years ago, a good family friend of ours was retiring after many years as Captain of the Trenton, N.J. Fire Department and I had offered to take a portrait of him at the station before he gave up his helmet and boots for the last time. This image was one of many that resulted from that time together.

The idea behind a portrait for me is more than just making a nice photo of the likeness of the subject, but more about the story of who they are within the context of the image. In this case, 

I wanted to honor Pete and his lifetime of public service but inside the shot, give just a little bit more. With the shadow projected here onto the engine cover, I wanted to represent the large shadow that he was in fact leaving behind for those that would follow after him and although this was a nice photo of Pete himself that he was very well pleased with, the real story for me lies off of the subject and to the right, within the truck, bell and image he left there.

True Light

Today is a very special weekend (Sunday) post for me to highlight a large 'light' that shines bright in my own life.

In all photographs, any photographer would agree that it is the light that is the one quality that makes it memorable. Whether it is revealed in the contrast or the color or even movement, regardless of the careful placement of the subject or complicated composition, light is the key to it all.

In this photo of my daughter taken last year on a special bike ride date with her dad, it is that late afternoon glow shining ahead, reflecting off the fence and through the trees that makes this image posses a timeless quality for me.

As I reflect on this image today....... her birthday, I also ponder on the light she has been in my life and for many, many others over her young years. She has truly been and continues to be a compassionate inspiration and an endless joy to me in her sharing of 'her light', the love of Christ.

H2 NO

Today I am featuring a photo I took years ago of the ancient Roman aqueduct located in Segovia while traveling through Spain after I had finished up an assignment there. This amazing structure was constructed around the 1st century A.D., has certainly stood the test of time and is now listed as a world heritage site.

It is approximately 94' H at this point and travels in total about 20 miles through the countryside and has carried life giving water to countless generations over the millennium since it's construction. Each base column measure about 8' X 10' and is made from solid granite blocks, dry stacked on top of each other. Certainly the effort to build such a pathway was enormous and is a great testimony to the precious life giving qualities of the water it brought.

With about 70% of the world covered in it, only approximately 2% of the world's water is drinkable and sadly 25% of the world population in over 80 countries currently has no access to this important resource. As our bodies are made up of about 60% water it is mostly what sustains us on a daily basis.

It makes me think to last summer when in our home we had a short term waste water crisis, we were on conserve mode for quite a while until it could be solved and I was impressed with our saving efforts, but have to report that now as it has faded from memory, our old patterns have taken hold again.

In light of looking at this aqueduct today, maybe we should think again about how we all collectively use this limited resource.

Times X

This fall photo is actual not just one photo, but many photos in one. In the now olden days of film cameras, I was experimenting with a technique of making multiple exposures over and over again onto the same piece of film,something I don't think is possible any more with digital photography, save for perhaps somehow post processing the image. Here the frame was exposed without mechanically advancing the film, resulting in multiplying the image on top of itself. In this case, the subtle movement of the leaves and tree changed the photo slightly in each shot creating the sense of movement with the desired sharpness I was looking for.

As much as I now enjoy digital work, the color flexibility and immediacy it brings to photography, I also at the same time miss film. The tactile quality of film, the loading and unloading the camera, the knowledge that there are just 36 exposures ahead of you all added a responsibility to make it right the 1st time, not to mention that special 'gift' feeling that I would experience every time I opened up a box of slides fresh back from the processor. It was literally like opening a present, the excited anticipation to see what was inside to see and enjoy. I do miss that.

Hidden Potential

This huge batch of coconuts was shot down in the Bahamas while on a walk-a-bout during an awesome extended family vacation a couple of years ago. I found these all gathered in what seemed to be an abandoned and roofless building in a big pile a few feet deep. Scattered about within the structure were a few that were just starting to send tiny shoots up towards the sky and fragile roots to the ground below. Still others, from years ago, had already grown up into the towering palms they were meant to be, providing a much needed canopy for this old shed. This group however remained unassumingly trapped within it's own tough shell and fibrous mat inside.

After later struggling through wrestling open a few of these massive seeds for snacks, we found the promised sweet milk and delicious white fruit previously hidden away from sight. A true delight to the eyes as well as the palate.

Just like these seemingly lifeless coconuts, hidden inside of us also is a potential that we cannot see or sometimes even do not know is there. Only by exploring, learning and trying things now unknown to us, can we unlock and release these trapped talents and abilities, finding our potential and the fruit we have to give.

End of day

Sunsets (and Sunrises for that matter) are notoriously easy to shoot and this was no exception. God does it all and all that we have to do is rest on His work, make a decent exposure and enjoy it. I hope in this one taken on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, my framing and placement of the sun under the treeline canopy made it just a bit more enjoyable

Sticks and Stones

I was struggling this morning to present an image that 'spoke' to me when I came upon this fun one. Taken while on a skiing holiday with friends in Davos, Switzerland years ago, I have always liked this one of a set of curling stones and brooms (rocks and brushes in the sport's terminology)
It is a fun sport to watch as the team members furiously sweep upon the ice in front of the stone to melt a pathway and allow the stone to glide a little bit more until it reaches it's appointed destination. Kind of like he man shuffleboard I guess!

Delicious Fat and Joe

Here is a more editorial type of photo taken at the Cafe Du Monde this spring. My wife and I stopped into this long standing New Orleans eatery for a couple of their famous Beignets, a cup of hot Chicory coffee and some memories right around midnight. They have been serving these most tasty, squarish, powdered doughnuts and a very small compliment of drink choices 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas since 1862.

That night it was a fun and interesting experience watching the numerous wait staff circle around the tables in a flurry mixed with what seemed to be sudden and frequent extended cigarette breaks on the row of benches right outside (outside the outside dining that is). There is another photo of this activity coming sometime later in the future perhaps.

In this exposure, I set up the camera balanced on top of our napkin holder and made some shots of the lull in the crowd after some customers had headed out into the night. Here is a link to this
wonderful little spot in the culinary world. http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Mind's Eye

This post is more about the mind's eye than outward vision. On a late summer weekend trip a few of years ago to Maryland's Eastern shore we were blessed by a enthusiastic hotel manager and his excellent advice to spend some time at the nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. We did and found an awesome area of scenic beauty and plentiful bird watching. While on the lookout for one of several reported bald eagles, we came upon this spot featuring the pictured graphic dead tree.

Our son, 7 at the time, saw this tree and exclaimed "this is where the eagles are.... in the 'leafless' trees!" seeing in his minds eye all the classic bald eagle photos with the magnificent bird alone, surveying the landscape on a craggy branch. I chuckled at his simple 'truth' and made this exposure. After a little bit and around a few corners, we did in fact see an eagle.... perched in a 'leafless tree' as predicted and shown in this second image. His mind's eye had proven itself out in reality this time and reminded me of the many times on shoots to places or in situations that I didn't know before hand, my own foresight helped to pave the way for a successful image.

As he turns 10 today, I wanted to honor him with this post and his always optimistic mind's eye and inspiring attitude about life.

Unseen worlds

Years ago, I worked on a self imposed project to photograph and compare things that are in total contrast with each other in size, but parallel in structure or form. They would both be only within the worlds of the very small or very large, not normally visible to a casual observer in everyday life. This photo is one from that project, a small detail of tiny moss captured on a moist forest floor in the woods of the Cumberland State Forest in Virginia. I think it comprised an area of less than a square inch at most and would have been easy to trample under foot without the slightest notice.

Within the project parameters, this image would have been later mirrored/ fade-combined with another image of tall evergreen tree tops photographed from the air above showing perhaps a several hundred foot area, again, a view not visible within our normal natural experiences. Although many images over time were shot with this intent and well on it's way, the final project never came to completion for various reasons, but with a small bit of imagination these tiny sprouts still to me become mighty conifers. As they are here, they are a beautiful reminder of the things all around us that remain in plain view, but are ultimately unseen. A certain tip to the title of this blog and the corresponding reference within my profile.

Moving at high speed

Here is a photo, taken in the fall of 1986 of a sunset reflection as viewed through a side rear view mirror of my newly purchased 1987 Porsche while on a road trip to bring it home to N.J. from the dealer in Seattle, Washington.

My dad and I had taken on the trip, flying out to pick this awesome machine up and journeying together cross country via the Northern U.S. Route 2. We traveled through scenic National Parks, long desolate stretches of seemingly uninhabited open highways and stopped to visit old friends together, enjoying our own fellowship along the way. It was a very memorable week or so for me as I enjoyed the time alone with my father and the chats we had, although he since has revealed that one point on the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, he did not enjoy the conversation as much, as I was whizzing around the curves with a cliff to his door, but we did if fact to my credit, make it home in tact. The sunset shot from this particular vehicle is even more meaningful to me now, as the car itself has faced it's temporary sunset in a garage under a blanket, hopefully to enjoy a revival trip and a real sunset at it's back again someday.

One by one

A more recent shot from this spring, this photo, taken of a reflections and drips within a large hotel fountain to me has a certain luminescent quality about it. It's glassy, jeweled appearance of colors and rings of subtle waves colliding into each with each water droplet that hits the surface leads the eye around and around, never stopping at any particular point, only to find pattern after pattern continually emerge, just as it did with my eye when I photographed it.
One by one, the drips would change out the scene, never to repeat itself, just a photographs themselves are only a brief frozen window into a specific moment in time, never to be repeated.
Life itself is but tiny fractions of time, given to us to use as we wish, but passing imperceptibly one by one...... May you today think about those tiny passing moments and make the best of them within your own life.

Walking with nowhere to go

While on a corporate assignment in Paris, France years ago covering a meeting, I had an afternoon/evening break and took to the streets for a walk as I would usually do when I was frequently on my own in a foreign place. Outfitted with a new wool scarf, this brisk fall day day found me on the Left Bank, near the Notre Dame De Paris around the Boulevard Saint Germain and Rue Lagrange. The 12th century tight cobble streets, bustling shoppers and the occasional obligatory bike rider with a french bread loaf hanging out the back were all there. I was enjoying the scene, the welcoming scent of meals being prepared in the air and that special twilight mixture of sunset and shop lights when I spotted this small display of fruit in a small shop window. Nothing particularly special other than the artistic austerity of it and the contrast between their color and old worn shelf they sat upon. If my memory serves me right, I soon after enjoyed a really nice Turkish meal of lamb stew and warm bread in a local sidewalk cafe.
I someday would very much like to return to that small corner of that city in the warm company of my wife and that scarf to once again enjoy it's culinary and visual fruits.

Roots

To a tree, roots serve a very important purpose. They anchor the tree to the earth, extract nutrients from it to sustain it's life and provide a broad base of support for the trunk, branches, fruit and canopy of leaves that we get to enjoy. The funny thing is they provide all this service hidden from view, below the surface. Many do not know that often a trees roots will encompass an area below as large as the branches above. On the occasions that they rise above the ground as they do here, I find them fascinating an always an interesting art form. Here is an example that caught my roving eye in Louisiana this past spring that has made me reflect on where the 'roots' in my life are. In one circle of my influence, they lie professionally with the object of today's second blog, along with other master photographers/friends such as Ernst Haas, Galen Rowell and Art Kane to name a quick short list, but in more personal thoughts, this root is with the living God, Jesus Christ, who has sustained me, also below the surface and hidden from view and has given me the the mind and vision I have. I would hope that this image today would also prompt you to think about your own 'roots' in life.

Roots B

This additional post today is a tag along entry to the one above.
Sadly, the photography world has lost another one of it foundations or 'roots'. Irvin Penn (June 16, 1917-October 7, 2009) died yesterday at his home in Manhattan. His influence on the art of photography and design as well as my own work is substantial both directly and indirect. He along with Richard Avedon and Art Kane (a teacher and mentor of mine) was a student of the very influential Alexi Brodvovich.
Penn's work was widely varied with pursuits and major success in fashion, fine art and portrait photography, drawing, painting and design among many others. He photographed the famous to the ordinary and made memorable images of them all. Here are two shots that have always come to my mind when I have thought of him. The first of Truman Capote which I think envelopes the essence of portraiture in capturing this particular personality and the second of Picasso, whom within this image reveals only one eye. This detail along with the strong graphic elements I think plays on the artists own work.

In your face

Although not of great photo interest or reflective thoughts like recent posts, this close up shot is from a up close camel that was resting for packing when I encountered him in a bazaar while on a quick trip to Morocco, Africa. It has always been a 'fun' shot for me as I just love the comedy in their faces with their fleshy snout, rubbery nose and long eye lashes, designed to keep the blowing sand storms at bay. The personality of most is far from comedic though and this was no exception. While I avoided getting bitten after getting so close, he did manage to gather some spit and send it in my direction. All in a day's work for the both of us.

Fall Find

Fall has finally started to arrive here in South Eastern Pennsylvania. Sure there have been the occasional early trees to drop the less than stunning ones, but the colorful trees have yet to turn and I suspect it will be a couple more weeks until we can really enjoy this reverse 'bloom'.

On the way home yesterday I made a point to stop by our local Swamp Creek to scout out how things were progressing and as I got out of the car at the roadside there was duckweed growing in a drainage ditch suspending and framing a pretty maple leaf. After awkwardly balancing myself with one foot on a concrete pipe, the other in some muck and leaning way over it all, I was able to frame this shot. I am sure there will be more fall posts to follow as the season gets into full swing.

Lucky Lindy

That's what they called Charles Lindbergh when he completed his transatlantic flight on May 21, 1927 from Roosevelt Field, NY to Le Bourget, France, a distance of 3,500 miles.

On Saturday, our own 'Lindbergh' hatched, pumped it wings full of the needed fluid, dried them out (giving me the time to take this 1st photograph) and took off for it's own journey to Angangueo, Mexico. It totally amazes me on closely inspecting this incredibly made creature, the transformation it goes through from simple egg to magnificent Monarch and the jaunt that lies ahead for this one. We have been blessed to witness this metamorphosis process thanks to friends and a few we found in our own field this year. If his trip is successful, he will have traveled about 2,400 miles, all on these delicate and beautiful wings, one flutter at a time.

In the second photo is shown the interior structure and fabric covering the wings of the Spirit of St. Louis, delicate and beautiful in it's own way. I wonder whether Lindbergh felt like a butterfly leaving the earth, lifted by air moving under a simple light wood frame and fabric, flying blind for such a great distance. Perhaps in completion he was 'lucky' indeed, but I think it had allot more to do with thoughtful advanced planning and great bravery. Likewise, I believe this butterfly, whose construction and long journey is an amazing feat, is laid out by the master planner Himself.

Lapstrack Relfections

This detail from the reflection of a Lapstrake Wherry was taken on a beautiful day while attending a workshop at the Maine Photographic Workshop http://www.theworkshops.com/ in Rockport, Maine. The programs and week long seminars they offer are an excellent way to connect with other working photographers and spend some quality time under the tutilage of masters of the art.

The Lapstrake construction design is utilized in many boat patterns, here as a Wherry, which is a beautiful and versatile small boat that can be outfitted with sails, used as a yacht tender or as it was here, a simple rowboat.

The workshop was a yearly pilgrimage for me as time and the corporate budgets allowed and was always a place of enrichment, connection, learning, joy in new vision and as you see here, reflection.

Some like it hot

Now for something completely different. This photo is of an area of cooling lava about 30'x 50' in size from the Pu`u `Ō `ō eruption of Mount Kilauea on the big island of Hawaii. I had been on the other side of the island in Kailua Kona on a shoot and had 8 hours or so in between assignments when I heard it was erupting, so I quickly arranged for a helicopter to fly me over it and then drove like lightning around the coast to get to the Hilo based airport and into the air. The pilot thought it was a cool idea, took the doors off and rigged a harness strapped around the drive shaft to where I was able to stand outside the fuselage on the landing skids which allowed me look down almost directly parallel with the ground when he leaned to that side. Although a seemingly quiet scene here, the active (orange) lava was just below the inches thick surface crust shown. It was a very visceral experience for me, seeing this new earth twist and move in the midst of the challenge to endure the searing heat. We would swoop down to about 50' and stay for maybe 10 seconds before we were overcome and had to pull back to cool off and escape the cuastic gases. I had a bandanna on my face for protection and at one point a just-shot roll of film toppled out of my shirt breast pocket and exploded into flame before even hitting the surface. I surmise they must have been the best shots....lost of course!

The Henge and a gray day

On this gray day (another in a long sting here lately), I have decided to post a shot from another very gray day long ago. When I arrived at Stonehenge on the Salisbury plains of of U.K. the weather was typical England, cold, damp and cloudy. With zero interesting light and very limited time to make a photograph of this incredible and mysterious ancient structure, I decide to dramatically underexpose it and enhance the mystique of it all, losing the plastic link fence that was keeping me at bay in the foreground in the process. I like the way the clouds seem to radiate out from this very recognizable monument.