WalkAbout 2023
I had a general itinerary in mind: western Arizona, the Tehachapis in southern California, then on to Oregon and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. There were people to see during some of the stops along the way, but also more than enough delicious alone time. Alone, but not lonely. This is where art is created.
Every Photograph a Prayer
What are we trying to “say” with our images? Why are we so enamored with beauty? When we go out into the field, why do we sometimes feel the presence? Of other, of mystery, even of God? Why do we feel like we are trying and just missing expression in our images of something ineffable, sublime, even holy? With all the images, sacred and profane, on the internet are we just pissing in the ocean, contributing to the cacophony?
WalkAbout 2022
Have you ever just wanted get in your vehicle and go? Somewhere? Not necessarily anywhere? In December I started my seventy first year 😲 and wanted to head somewhere in search of beauty, somewhere I could listen for the voice of God in the stillness. So, I packed my gear and headed North, just north, with Fernando Ortega to accompany me on lonely state and county roads.
The Best Camera
I think it was Jay Maisel that said, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” So, I decided to test it out during a recent trip to England using my iPhone 11. I was shooting in jpeg with the phone camera and in raw (dng) with the Halide app and I let the camera choose the settings. Subject matter was that which usually interests me except, of course, images requiring a long telephoto. Post work in LR/PS.
Faces of Inferno
I took a new camera (Nikon Z7ii) to Carlsbad Caverns. Coupled to a Nikkor 24-120 S lens zoom, I gave it a good going over for its low-light performance at high ISO. The images captured in the cave reminded me of Dante’s Inferno; part of his epic poem, well worth a read.
Just Walking Around
The CoVID19 (Wuhan, Delta, Omicron) pandemic has had a strange effect on me. It is like everything has been on “pause” and that for almost two years! When is normal going to return? Tempus fugit when you’re having fun. But I’ve coined a new phrase, status fugit: nothing ever stays the same. My creative desire took a pretty heavy hit during these times,
Image: Arizona Fall
Unprecedented
I have been thinking a lot about the science and sociology of the current pandemic for a while. I was hesitant to write about it because I wasn’t sure it would help the public discussion and I am not a social media enthusiast. Nevertheless, given my background, friends and family have been asking me questions about what’s so and what isn’t. The following is my attempt to pull these thoughts and questions together.
Welcome to my new website!
I have transferred my website to Squarespace.com. This is not because WordPress was in any way limited or slow. I wanted to simplify the site and emphasize content so that images and blogs were more easily accessible and organized around projects.
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: