• Black and White,  lifestyles,  musings,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Love of Books

    Love of Books
    Love of Books

    It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.

    C.S. Lewis

    I bought a kindle e-reader about five years ago and fell in love with it. It ignited a fire to read more. Prior to this purchase I read few books, 2-3 a year. Most of my reading consisted of reading books required for school assignments, books on spirituality/religions and a few photography books in my attempt to improve at the craft. I was never interested in novels and still that way. I may read a novel every couple years.

    I now have an appreciation for books. I love spending time at the library (that’s where I’m at now) or a book store getting my hands of a few. One of the draws to the Bean Cycle Coffeehouse in Old Town is the nonprofit book store they have. Sometimes I’ll take my latte upstairs, grab a book and skim through part of one. I’ve bought one book from them and donated a few I’ve finished and do not want to keep in my library.

  • Black and White,  journal,  musings,  writing/reading

    Another Journal

    Another  Journal

    Started another journal on October 5th. This is my 22nd book since my first journal entry back on October 7, 1990. The first entry consisted of five sentences at a time of struggle. There was a lot going on inside mading it difficult to express myself in any coherent way.  I wrote about a struggling marriage, family issues, job changes, entering into another unnecessary war and the downward spiral of our society. That was 24 years ago. The marriage ended 9 months later. There are still family issues, I’m now retired, we’re still senselessly killing and our society still has a broken thinker.

    I’ve noticed my writing style has changed. I’m not writing to necessarily find answers but to pursue other questions. My journals are a mix of diaries, writings to a Higher Power (God) and co-authored with him. My audience is for family and friends as well as myself. The journals have been therapy for me. Some things I write and then read back over can enlighten me to a deeper knowledge of myself and allow for an acceptance of the world around me. I find it brings clarity, focus, slows down my troubled thinker and helps organize it. It has become an important part of my life. Now, if I could put words in some sort of coherency instead of feeling like I’m babbling.

  • Black and White,  Documentary/Street,  street photography

    Sunday Morning

    20140914_DSCF4383-Edit.jpg
    Street Clock

    It’s Sunday morning in Fort Collins. Start the day with meditation. Make and enjoy my latte. Watch sunrise from my window. Take a refreshing walk in Old Town. It’s 8:40. Temperature is 46 degrees. Streets are empty. My coat keeps me warm. Hands are in my coat pockets. Camera is around my neck. I breathe and stay present, accepting whatever image is given.

  • Black and White,  People/Portraits,  quotes,  Self-portraits

    Dark and Mysterious

    One Light Portrait
    One Light Portrait

    “There’s just something unsettling about studying your reflection. It’s not a matter of being dissatisfied with your face or of being embarrassed by your vanity. Maybe it’s that when you gaze into your own eyes, you don’t see what you wish to see—or glimpse something that you wish weren’t there.” 

    Dean Koontz, Deeply Odd

    I again called upon the older guy to model for me as I played with some exposure and lighting effects.  Shot this in the afternoon with window light only. I wanted to use the camera and flash to darken the background. I set the camera on manual at f2.0 and a shuter speed of 400th of a second.  This darkened the background while I used off camera flash, set on manual, and powered at 1/64th to light only my face. It is through using myself I learn about flash and how to play with it. It takes longer to experiment. After I feel comfortable I can then use a different model. Black and white conversion was done in Silver Efex Pro.