Profound and Profane
I was able to take my first workshop this year after an 18 month dry spell. No air travel required, I drove directly to Joshua Tree National Park where I’d always wanted to return, having been quite frustrated with the results of my first visit.
Quarantini Musings
I was out on the deck last Friday, enjoying a quarantini* while huddled next to the propane MrHeater. My wife and I were talking about, despite the cold made more intense by a slight breeze, the beauty of Arizona’s Verde Valley. I’ve shared many photographs of Sedona’s red rock cliffs, but not many from just right around me. Somehow, the fact that we are restricted in unprecedented ways leads us to believe we are surrounded by mundane things:
Inevitability
Maybe I am going crazy. I don’t think so, but it’s possible. I feel like the world is cartwheeling towards a new stage of evolution, an inexorable grind into something inevitable, slouching perhaps towards a new destiny, a new normal? Inevitable. Unavoidable. Necessary. Smart. Scientific. Safe. But is it? Can we really live our lives without risk?
Desert Solitude and Vancouver Island Reprise
I was planning a follow-up to my January blog on Embracing Solitude with Desert Solitude. After this, I was going to write about my trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino with two photographer friends,
Embracing Solitude
In October 2019, I was again privileged to partake of a workshop by Freeman Patterson and Andre Gallant in St Martins, New Brunswick, Canada. I wanted, no, I needed, to return and make sure I had not missed anything from the first go round last year.
Lost in the Fog
I was visiting California last spring and I had promised Jenna, my niece, that we could do some shooting together so off we went. I never should have let her drive! We were heading up to the top of Mt Tamalpais, close to where I grew up, and Jenna decided to show me how well her little Honda could corner on the twisty roads. Turning green, I had to make her stop so I could regain my equilibrium. I never did. At least I didn't ruin her nice car.
When does a photograph become a painting?
My dad saw one of my recent photographs and told me how it brought to mind a particular favorite author, Zane Grey. He went on to say that the image reminded him of The Call of the Canyon, his most liked story. To have catalyzed such a memory, any memory, any emotion, is the desire of the photographic artist, at least it is for me and I thought I should explore further.
NSFW: Grace
Sometimes I get carried away as I write about images or experiences. This post is NSFW if you are offended by disturbing allusions to spirituality, iconic religious symbols, theological language, or things so sublime I must resort to metaphor for their expression. If so, stop reading! You'll only harm yourself.
