My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
… topped with nutmeg. Mmmmmm! Tis the season, ya know. 🙂
And, since it is also the season for consumerism, I thought I’d help Ken out and pass along a link to his Christmas list. I’m going to watch and see how it goes for him then possibly make my own next year or borrow some of his new stuff. Have a good weekend.
This is the same fence as this image only under different weather conditions. The temperature was 15 degrees for this image and minus 5 in the other image. Both taken around the same time of day. It is a good example of how different the mood and colors of a scene can change when the weather is different. And let me tell you, the light breeze at my back when taking this image made it feel just as cold as the other image.
I like how this infant has her hand on her mother’s arm. You can tell she is comfortable and content, feeling safe and sleeping.
Perhaps the greatest tribute ever given to Muir took place in a private conversation between two great contemporary mountaineers. Galen Rowell once asked Rheinhold Messner why the greatest mountains and valleys of the Alps are so highly developed, why they have hotels, funicular railways, and veritable cities washing up against sites that, in America, are maintained relatively unencumbered by development. Messner explained the difference in three words. He said, “You had Muir.”
The state of mind of a photographer while creating is a blank…For those who would equate “blank” with a kind of static emptiness, I must explain that this is a special kind of blank. It is a very active state of mind really, a very receptive state of mind, ready at an instant to grasp an image, yet with no image pre-formed in it at any time. We should note that the lack of a pre-formed pattern or preconceived idea of how anything ought to look is essential to this blank condition. Such a state of mind is not unlike a sheet of film itself – seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second’s exposure conceives a life in it. (Not just life, but “a” life).
Minor White, The Camera Mind and Eye
There was a time when my idea of conceiving life was nowhere close to this quote. I was in a different place in life and in my photography. I now feel the words I share, the way I live life and the images I share all have the power to conceive a life. That belief is the reason I will do my best to treat people in a positive way.That belief is also the reason I will venture out on a cold December day with a camera and tripod. And as I head out the door there is no “pre-formed” scene just a desire to experience this beautiful world. And, just what will I find?
“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
John of the Mountains by John Muir
Muir was a naturalist, author, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. He loved the natural world and spent a great deal of time living in nature, which is something much of our western culture does not experience. He started out as a student of nature through detailed observation, “to study the inventions of God.” When you read about him or in his writing you will come to understand that he lived each day fully, staying present to the world around him. His way of living was not shared by everyone as he mentioned about his fellow Californians, “The love of Nature among Californians is desperately moderate; consuming enthusiasm is almost wholly unknown.” I think many people enjoy looking at images, still or video, of nature but so few of us venture into that world so close to us. His writings, as well as others, is another reason I will leave my warm bed to spend time in the cold or rain or heat. It’s not so much about the image as just being there “as the round earth rolls.”
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
Henry Thoreau
This is the morning sunrise I was able to see last Tuesday morning when the temperature was below zero.
PS: Here is a link to a good post by Guy Tal, if anyone is interested.
On December 8, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – (is) a date which will live in infamy.” He was referring to the Japanese surprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, the attack that catapulted the United States into the Second World War. As momentous as the attack on Pearl Harbor was, December 7, 1941 was also the date of another event of no less consequence for mankind. The first transports set out for the first extermination camp, Chelmno, which began its murderous operations the following day, December 8.
There are some who will brave the cold to see this hoar frost covered grass. And, some will not experience this frost covered grass but be reading an article about Tebow’s latest win. Interesting how some events receive a lot of attention while others go by almost unnoticed.
Seventy years ago on December 7, 1941 a Japansese force consisting of six carriers with 423 planes began an attack on Pearl Harbor. By 9:45 am casualties included servicemen and civilians with many people wounded. The Japansese suffered minimal losses and severely crippled the U.S. naval and air strength in the Pacific. During the attack the USS Arizona sank with a loss of more than 1,100 men. The following is an exert from a story about one of the survivors of that attack and wanted to share it with you. My ex-father-in-law, who died several years ago, was also a survivor of the attack.
Lee Soucy decided that when he died he wanted to join his shipmates killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Soucy lived to be 90, passing away just last year. On Tuesday, seven decades after dozens of fellow sailors were killed when the USS Utah sank on Dec. 7, 1941, a Navy diver will take a small urn containing his ashes and place it in a porthole of the ship.
The ceremony is one of five memorials being held this week for servicemen who lived through the assault and want their remains placed in Pearl Harbor out of pride and affinity for those they left behind. “They want to return and be with the shipmates that they lost during the attack,” said Jim Taylor, a retired sailor who coordinates the ceremonies.
The memorials are happening the same week the country observes the 70th anniversary of the aerial bombing that killed 2,390 Americans and brought the United States into World War II. A larger ceremony to remember all those who perished will be held Wednesday just before 8 a.m. Hawaii time — the same moment the devastating attack began.
Most of the 12 ships that sank or were beached that day were removed from the harbor, their metal hulls salvaged for scrap. Just the Utah and the USS Arizona still lie in the dark blue waters. Only survivors of those vessels may return in death to their ships.
If you’re interested you can read the full story here.
“Life is about turning up. The more you get yourself out there, whether you wake up at 5:00 a.m. to pouring rain or not, the more you’re likely to experience the wonderful happenings that are going on all around you. Sometimes the most interesting visual phenomena occur when you least expect it. Other times, you think you’re getting something amazing and the photographs turn out to be boring and predictable. So I think that’s why, a long time ago, I consciously tried to let go of artist’s angst, and instead just hope for the best and enjoy it. I love the journey as much as the destination. If I wasn’t a photographer, I’d still be a traveler.”
Michael Kenna
The temperature in my car registered -3 degrees (F) this morning, much colder than my bed. My toes are still cold. Stay warm!