• Candid Portraits,  coffee life,  quotes

    Empathy and Compassion

    November 22, 2023

    It says something about our species that we have eradicated smallpox and invented vaccines and antibiotics for yellow fever and the Black Death, but war continues to plague us; that in the past century — this supposed pinnacle of enlightened modernity — war has claimed or maimed more of our children’s lives than any virus or bacterium. It says something about both our immense imagination and our immense blind spots: Our species’ failure to eradicate war is a failure of the imagination, a failure to imagine what it is like to be anybody else, without which there can be no empathy and compassion — those vital molecules of harmony, the other name for which is peace.

    Maria Popova

    Maria’s quote is spot on. Could it be that much of our world is unable to imagine what it is like to be anybody else, find our similarities, because we are trying hard to be somebody we aren’t rather than accepting who we are. I love her idea that molecules of harmony, empathy and compassion, will bring peace.

    About a month ago I posted a quote by Vincent Van Gogh which I liked. Just after I posted that quote they put up this new mural at Starry Night coffee shop. I had to have a photo the moment I saw the mural and quote. It’s interesting that as a photographer we can draw people’s attention to things they have not yet seen while sitting right next to them. You can see how the one woman turned to see what the silly photographer was pointing his camera at. Happens all the time! I’m off to meet Mark for breakfast and conversation.

    May you have a wonderful day and may what you do in love today be done well!!

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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee life

    Halloween – 2023

    October 31, 2023

    Looks like James, my barista, had a long night but is still smiling this morning. And, coming home from coffee shop I saw a six foot tall fluorescent green bunny rabbit walking along West Prospect. Suspect they were headed towards campus. Could be an interesting place to visit today.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  Humor,  People/Portraits

    One of the regulars

    July 30, 2023

    This is my reflections on Sunday morning from Starry Night. A young man sat against the south wall, phone in hand and a latte sitting on his table. He was not familiar to me. Sitting next to him was a couple who come here often, what we call regulars. A couple men sat in the lounge chairs near the front window deep in conversation, more regulars. Then Lucy came in who is one of the solid regulars. I see her almost every time I come to this coffee shop. She usually is out walking and stopping here is part of her routine. Sometimes she meets up with friends and sometimes she reads the paper. The baristas know her, as do us regulars. I asked if I could take her photo today. So meet Lucy!

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  • People/Portraits,  Portraits,  quotes

    I was wondering

    July 14, 2023
    Jamie

    I’ve read where every photograph is intended to express everything about the subject whether that’s nature, street or portraits. Not sure I am able to do that with portraits, yet. This is an image of a flight attendant I worked with back in 2009. Today I was wondering where she is in life, who she is today. I wonder what sort of portrait I’d see of her today.

    The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. It’s a question mark you put on somebody. Trying to say, “Who is it? What does it amount to? What is the significance of that face?” The difference between a portrait and a snapshot is that in the portrait, the person has agreed to be photographed.

    Henri Cartier-Bresson
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  • Candid Portraits,  Documentary/Street,  People/Portraits,  street photography,  Uncategorized

    Forgot My Phone

    July 11, 2023
    Students waiting at the CSU Transit Center

    After arriving at the Starry Night coffee shop and settling into my favorite chair, I realized I’d forgotten my phone. I’ve done this now a couple times over the past two weeks. It was interesting (almost frightening) to observe how often I reached for that phone but more frightening at how often I thought about it. These two episodes have sent a loud message as to how attached I am to that small device, as if its tendrils are wrapped around me. I made it through the two hours without it, no one got hurt and I actually was able to spend more time in my journal. Out of curiosity, I checked when I got home with the Screen Time Report on my phone (be warned of what that report may tell you) and it told me I was staring at the screen for an average of 2 hours and 56 minutes last week. In a posture of justification, at least 40 minutes a day is attributed to my meditation timer but still… In my mind this tells me I spend 2 hours a day not present to the world around me. Pretty scary to realize how attached I am to that thing. It also asks the question, “How did we survive without them?” Thinking I need to write more about this. Anyway, hoping you have a great day, with or without your phone!

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  • Art,  Cityscapes/Urban,  flowers,  People/Portraits,  quotes

    Entertaining a Thought

    April 17, 2023
    Crystal City, October of 2007

    “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

    Aristotle

    My ability to dream and fantasize goes way back. I could create a whole world in my head and stay there for hours simply by saying, “let’s pretend,” even when that was subconscious. I believe it’s an essential part of our young lives but there is a point where we cease pretending and begin living in the reality of life. Some of us do that sooner than others. I put myself in the later category. I’ve become aware of when to entertain thoughts without accepting them and let them go. Progress, as they say. Having said that I still find myself entertaining a thought just as this young lady seems to be doing but not accepting it as reality. Hope you had a good Monday!

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

    Self-portrait Friday

    March 3, 2023

    A few years ago I belonged to a photographers website called pbase. Someone on that website started a Self-portrait Friday challenge. It seemed like a good idea for a weekly project so I jumped right in. It required me to plan scenes rather than post a selfie in front of the bathroom mirror. This is one from that weekly project. I was living in Westerville Ohio at the time. I envisioned this image after seeing the street light and the mystery it created along with the brick wall in a small alley located in the older part of town. So after a bit of planning I set out to create this image. I needed the cigarettes and the lighter as props and was dumbfounded at the cost of those cigarettes. Glad I’m not a smoker anymore. Not sure this is exactly what I had in mind but it works for me even 13 years later. Here is a link to the post I made on this blog from that project but with a slightly different pose. Actually, I think I like this image better.

    I actually spent some time snooping around on pBase to see what it’s like. I saw some familiar names of photographers who are still active in that community. One is our friend Faye White, who’s blog can be found here. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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