“We all remain who we are. But on the way to healing or liberation we have to do what the Romans called agere contra: we have to act against the grain of our natural compulsions. This requires clear decisions. Because it does not happen by itself, it is in a way “unnatural” or “supernatural” . . . (we) simply have to cut loose now and then, and in the process . . . make mistakes.”
— Richard Rohr
I have read several posts over the past 3-4 months about making mistakes and I know that’s not a mistake. A couple days ago I headed to Blendon Woods Park in pursuit of a colorful sunset with gorgeous clouds almost like the clouds Jeff Lynch found in Texas or the clouds Sabrina found in Afica. However, I was greeted with a cloudless sky, high humidity and a squadron of mosquitos with full intent on sucking me dry. I gave it a try and shot about 50 frames, of mistakes.
A few days ago I posted an image of a door and window against a bright blue wall (with all it’s mistakes) and asked for input. And, I got the responses I needed. Thanks to all of you. I enjoy my mistakes. Actually some of them turn out pretty nice. Each time I look at my images in Lightroom I see the little things I can do next time to improve.
A great photograph is a distillation, a reduction of the chaos of our wider experience to a visually satisfying essence where what is excluded is as important as what is included. – David Ward – From the book: “Landscape Within”
I headed to Blendon Woods Metro Park in search of a sunset image. I must also admit it had a lot to do about clearing out the cobwebs between my ears. Gets kind of messy inside the mind every once in a while and I find time in nature and listening to it will clear those cobwebs. Most of the day was without clouds so the sunset was not what I hoped for. On my way to the car I found this small flower posing me. Hope everyone enjoys this upcoming weekend.
A couple of years ago I purchased a new 70-300mm lens and took to the streets to see how it worked. I wanted to make sure my investment was going to make me a better photographer. 🙂 I’d headed to the old part of town where they have an area setup as a square. It was around 10:30 in the morning when I noticed this young man sitting dejectedly. All of his body language seemed forlorn, telling me life was not going well. I kept my distance and shot this at 300mm. Just after I took this image a young lady joined him. I’d peeked into their lives for a moment and now needed to move on.
Anyway, the mood of this scene is why I raised my camera to my eye. His emotions and struggle are what I felt. I’m not sure how much attention I paid to the composition of this scene, it was taken too long ago. But, as I study the image, I think my focus was on his body language. There is a sadness in his face. The first time I posted this image I did it in black and white.  Since posting this image I’ve learned more about the  power of Lightroom and how to express more about what I felt when I took the image. So,I revisited this image and place more of the focus on him and tried to eliminate as much distraction as possible. I also added the sepia feel to go along with the mood I felt when taking this image. Again, I ask for feedback on what you think of this version.
“By managing the attention of your viewers, you guide them to the heart of the story and free them from the difficult task of wading through an ambiguous image and its distractions.” Vision and Voice by David duChemin
Found this door walking along the streets of old Richmond near Virginia Commonwealth University. I was in search of a coffee shop called Rev It Up. I found the  shop and met the owners, Dave and Sharon, who are from Colorado. I enjoyed my mocha and she even gave me the extra shot (decaf).
Anyway, the streets around the campus are loaded with wonderful architecture and bright colors. The distraction I find in this image is the reflection in the window, other than that I like. I would love to hear your critiques of this image. Is it too busy? Does it tell a story? Or am I just focusing on the colors? Let me have.
As I write this post it is almost 11:00 pm Sunday evening and I’m in my hotel room. Another day of flying is done and a long day at that. I’ve come to enjoy these times when I can relax and reflect back over the day. I smile when I think about the two little children sitting in row 12 who are excited because they are flying for the first time and heading for good times with grandma. I imagine grandma is excited too. I will pray for the middle aged man who struggled to smile because his dad is not expected to live and Hospice suggested the family call him. I also enjoyed reconnecting with a couple who were on one of my flights 3 days ago and are now heading home. And when the opportunity presents itself and I can peek out the window, the view from my office is so much nicer than the 8×8 cell I use to work in. The added bonus to the day was arriving at the hotel and finding a chocolate chip cookie with my name on it. 🙂 Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Goodnight.
If you’re gazing at this pretty face and it’s Sunday morning, then you will know I’m somewhere in the sky over the east coast where my final stop is in Richmond, VA. Will be staying at the Double Tree, one of our better hotels, where they greet you with these massive warm chocolate chip cookies. I’m posting this self-portrait because I still participate in the self-portrait Friday group on pbase and just figured I’d throw it up here. Hope you have a super Sunday!
Working as a flight attendant offers a good study in personalities as we watch how people react to situations or we watch for body language and what that can tell us. Here are some of my observations working on an Embraer 170 and 175 Regional jet that seat 76 or 86 passengers.
It’s interesting, and sometimes entertaining, to observe passengers trying to place a 14 inch bag in the 11 inch overhead space. Oh, and the look of confusion, then frustration, and some embarrassment when we realize it will not fit, even if I’m told it fit before. I enjoy watching the elderly gentleman walk on board the aircraft, ticket stub in one hand reading glasses in the other and no baggage. 🙂
Weather delays or mechanical delays can mess up the best laid plans for travelers. It’s not unusual to have passengers hitting their call buttons to ask us about their connecting flights. We can feel helpless in these situations as we know very little about what is going to happen 1-2 hours from now. Time travel is what people want rather than being present to where they are, after all they are taking traveling. My response; turn you phone off and fasten your seatbelt. We go nowhere until they do. Just kidding. 🙂
Some passengers wear suits or a sport coat, nice dresses, casual slacks, and loafers. While some passengers wear pajamas, really short shorts/mini-skirts, or pants halfway down their butts (which requires one hand to always hold them up), flip-flops, and tank tops. The second group almost always asks for blankets and pillows then get frustrated because we do not carry them on our size of aircraft. Dress for the occasion: layer next time. 🙂
But, and there’s always a but, we do feel for those who have been traveling for the past 20 hours and sometimes with small children. Or those who are on their way to a funeral, or going say good-bye to a dying family member or friend, or carrying the ashes of a daughter killed in a war, or are afraid to fly, or have constant back pain, a bum knee. The list could go on but will say that a good flight attendant will observe body and facial language. When we see those signs we try our best to make the next hour or two a pleasant experience for them. More importantly we want to get them to their destination safely because maybe they are going to see their new grandbaby.
Not really a post about photography but what the heck, it was on my mind. Okay, I’m done ranting.
