Looking up
I love to take photos; that’s obvious in the number I take in a year – good or bad. Yesterday I went to our local State Park, a favorite place, to take some photos around a pond and lake. As I was walking around the board walk next to the pond, it occurred to me that I was always looking ahead of me or down around my feet or down at the pond. I never looked up to see what was above me besides sky and trees; I wasn’t looking to see what might be IN the trees or the sky. What a realization that was!
We are so used to looking straight ahead or looking down at our feet or just beyond to see what we might see to take a photo of that we miss a very important part of our environment – that which is above us. How many times, sans camera, have we looked up to see sun rays peeking over the clouds, birds in flight, flocks of birds in trees or other animals, and wish we had our camera? And then, when we pack our gear and head out, we totally forget to look up, instead focusing on the scene before us. Not that that is wrong, mind you, but we forget all that neat stuff we saw when we didn’t have a camera to capture that neat moment in time.
A few weeks ago, at this same state park, my wife and I were walking around an area known as the “butterfly” garden, even though it’s not been kept up well. At my eye level I spotted a lot of butterflies that were just sitting on the tree trunk, flying or landing. We had never seen this phenomenon before so we were both fascinated by it. And then we looked up. Above us were banana spiders, one large and several much smaller, scattered throughout the trees. It was one of those rare times I thought to look up and had I not, I would have missed the spiders. Not that I could get a decent photo of any of them because of the angle, but they were there and something that might have been overlooked. Later that evening, while sitting on the beach by the lake, we happened to look up again and saw a Great Heron flying above us followed by two resident geese.
The environment above us should not be ignored, but often times we’re too “centered” on what is before us and below us to remember what is above us. We might not be able to capture the moment because we’re not quick enough, but at the same time we had the moment to see things that live outside our personal space.
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The 4th and Freedom
Independence Day, or more commonly known as The 4th of July, is a day of great celebration for our country. It is the day that commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which declared our independence from Great Britain. Many don’t know that the document was actually dated July 2nd, 1776, not July 4th, 1776, but was approved by Congress on July 4th, thus making this date the date that is recognized as our date of Independence.
This Day of Independence has become a big federal holiday, marked with parades, back yard barbecues, picnics, baseball games, water sports, and, of course, fireworks. When I was a kid living in Iowa we had a big neighborhood party complete with parade. All the kids would decorate their bicycles with streamers and cards pinned to the wheel spokes, and some would decorate wagons that the toddlers could ride in, a couple being pulled by bicycles. It was a big “to do” when we were younger, but as we got to be teens [we were all pretty much the same age], the parade went by the wayside and we focused more on the picnic and party that was held in several conjoining back yards. My parents, on a trip out West, had stopped one year at a fireworks stand and bought some fireworks, so we’d shoot those off at night – bottle rockets, Roman candles, sparklers, and such – giving a good 30 minute “show” to the adults who would “oooh” and “ahhh” appropriately. In the 1960’s it was still a time of innocence and as children we didn’t really understand the meaning of the holiday except that it provided a day of fun and lots of food.
In this day and time after September 11, 2001 our independence means more than it ever did. Long gone is the historical battle for freedom from our “Mother” country and the religious impositions that drove citizens to leave in search of of a place to worship freely and without dictation and fear. Now we strive to maintain, without restriction, the freedoms granted us by that Declaration and our Constitution: our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness; the freedom to assemble; the freedom of religious expression; freedom of speech; and freedom to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.
We often take photographs of our nations’ flag, that which we sentimentally call “Old Glory”, but when we do so, do we really think of the lives that have been lost defending that flag and our country, or do we just see a symbol, that flag that flies over buildings and in front of schools, something so commonplace we never think of its importance to our history, to our lives? Freedom came at a price, a huge price for those that believe in this country, that have given their lives for our Independence.
So, on the day that we celebrate with family and friends, with picnics, fun and fireworks, and with camera in hand, let us remember the reason behind this day and humbly pay tribute to something we take for granted: our Freedom.
Posted in Holidays by Jason with no comments yet.
Summertime!
Summertime has come to Texas, at least North Central Texas. It came a bit early this year, and with it 100 degree temps and very little rain. El Nino has now dried up and moved along, it’s current leaving us once again parched and sweltering.
I don’t “do” Summer. Sweat running down the back of my neck, dripping off my ears and eyebrows and in to my eyes is not my idea of a fun outdoor Summer existence. Early Spring, Autumn and Winter. Those are my seasons.
Summer. It’s the “green” time of year. Most of the Spring flowers are gone, the trees that were budding out a couple of months ago now have their full umbrella leaf spread into the welcoming of shade, and the heat waves are shimmering their way skyward from the pavement. Blue sky is beautiful, but blue skies with clouds are magnificent!
People that wore decent clothing during the Fall, Winter and Spring suddenly have lost all their modesty and strip down as far as the law allows, leaving little to the imagination. Grab the camera and “discover” the next “porn” star, but what was considered “racy” to – 20 years ago has now become commonplace. But still, there are
Strange cruise "fashion"
“fashions” out there that could provide some good laughs and chuckles and be immortalized forever.
So, summer is here – for the next 5 months in Texas. Five sweltering months watching the rain bypass Dallas desert, parching what had briefly become green with Spring. Here’s looking toward Autumn!
Posted in Seasons by Jason with no comments yet.
Appreciating what we see
Dorothea Lange said, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
In our busy, hum-drum world we often fail to really see the awesome sights around us. And, many times, we also fail to see those sights unless we have a camera plastered to our noses or in front of our field of vision, and then we only see them when we download the images to our computer. I can’t count how many times I’ve looked at a scene and not really “seen” it until I’ve taken a photo of it.
Having that digital camera plastered to my face over the last 10 years has made me really appreciate all the visuals that are around me, from the trash that lays in the alleyway in a run down neighborhood to the lines embedded in an elderly person’s face. One thing about having a camera in hand…it makes you stop and “smell the roses”, as it were.
Great photography can’t be rushed. Good photography can be rushed – a little. Bad photography is rushed and shows it. A patient photographer looks at every angle to see what would give the greatest expression of the scene that he’s witnessing so that his appreciation of the scene can be conveyed to the viewer of the resulting photograph that he has taken.
I know that many times I’ve thought, “I have my camera and I’m taking these great shot so that I can remember this place and time in time, but should I lower my camera and just look for a change?” Maybe I should. Maybe.
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Purely Texas
It’s Spring in Texas and that brings out the official state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet. It grows wild and on the right of ways cannot be mowed until after blooming season. Here in North Texas there is a Bluebonnet Festival, which really consists more of people driving around clogging the country highways, and plopping their kids, dogs and themselves down in the middle of the patches for photos. Of course, avid photographers that we are, we gullibly join the hunt for the best patches. Along with the Indian Paint Brush flower, which is a red to reddish orange in color, the countryside is awash in colors.
Yesterday was the start of the two day Festival in Ennis, Texas, and the only day that we were able to go for our drive. Granted, given the fact the bluebonnets have been out for weeks, we could have gone at any time, but it’s more fun watching the crowd and discovering all the places we could that had yet been trampled. Unfortunately, yesterday started out rainy and cool, so we were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to get any photos, but after a quick prayer, the sky dried up and we were blessed with temps in the upper 60’s to low 70’s and overcast skies – until very late afternoon. It was a perfect day for exploring the countryside and find some good photos.
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Making a difference
Ever since I can remember I have loved to look at pictures. It didn’t matter if they were of people I didn’t know or places that I had never been, or objects I had never seen. I just love looking at pictures, or photos, if you will. Black and white, color, sepia/vintage – those are the color formats that I love looking at.
When I got my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, I was excited, but only took those quick snapshots that kids back then took. Mostly of nothing and mostly frivolous. I loved the camera, but as a kid I wasn’t very serious about taking good photos.
My next camera was a Kodak [gotta love the brand!] Tele-Ektra 110mm camera, but at this point in life I don’t remember the model. I do remember thinking that at the time it was a pretty cool camera and it did take good photos. And it was this camera that started me wanting a 35mm camera.
I’ve had only two 35mm film cameras, and they were both pretty much alike: Pentax K-1000 and a ProMaster 1000. I loved my Pentax and used it extensively, but was limited by my budget. The ProMaster was a replacement/addition, but by the time I bought it relatively inexpensive digital cameras were becoming popular, and the camera was doomed to be obsolete.
Ever since I became serious about photography with my Pentax I had wanted to make a difference in life. Oh, I didn’t know how, or in what way, and still don’t, but that desire is there. I see publications such as Life and National Geographic and the photos that they have held over time and I know some of those photos have made a difference to people all over the world. Remember the famous Afghan woman whose beautiful face and eyes became one of the most famous National Geographic covers? For me, I had always wanted to take a photo like that, but of an elderly American Native woman on a reservation. That has, to date, never happened. , and most likely won’t.
My desire to make a difference hasn’t changed, but I realize that I probably won’t make a difference to anyone through my photos because I will never be famous, which might be a good thing because that would be overwhelming and I’d probably lose my love for the art. And so, my photos are there to make a difference to me; I’m not in any competition, I’m not out to make money, I’m not out to be famous. If I can share my photos from time to time and have them appreciated just because I took them, I think that for now, that is enough. They don’t have to be spectacular or life changing. They don’t have to be whimsical or stunning, or even taken quite well. Just appreciated for the time and thought.
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Springtime – at last!
Well, Spring finally made it to North Texas, but Winter is doing its best to hang on for dear life – and failing miserably.
On the first day of Spring it snowed. Oh, not like the snow we got in February, but it did snow enough to stick, at least until the next afternoon. Unlike the previous snowfall, however, I kept my camera tucked safely away. This time the snow wasn’t a novelty, nor was it “pretty”, and while there was enough to stick and show, it just wasn’t awesome enough to really care about. We probably got a quarter of an inch, if that, so it wasn’t worth braving the cold and wind to get a photo.
And so, it’s Spring, for better or for worse. You can tell because the temperatures fluctuate between warm and cold. But, you
Bee gathering pollen
I hope this Spring is a good one for North Texas. In recent years past we have seen our temperatures go from mild in early Spring to hot in mid Spring to down right late Summer like before Spring was done. And no rain. Well, okay, a little rain. But now we’re in an El Nino year and the prediction is that rain will continue at least through May with below-average temperatures. Hey, that will be nice for a change!
With Spring comes the Texas Bluebonnets and with all of the rain we’ve had since last Fall, this should be a great bluebonnet season. I can’t wait to get out with my camera and take a lot of bluebonnet photos, but it will be at least another two weeks before that happens because of our schedule, so I’ll just have to be patient. We almost always head to Ennis for the bluebonnet festival there and I suspect this year won’t be any different except that we might skip the craft fair and just go out hunting for good photo ops – along with a ton of other folks. We also usually take our dogs out for photos in the bluebonnets, but I don’t know if we’ll do that this year; we might, however, because we do have a new member of our family that we didn’t have at this time last year, and being a maltese, she’d look great among the bluebonnets – if she would hold still! The plans are up in the air, then, but bluebonnet photos will happen.
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Going home
“They” say you can never go home again. “They” are correct. Oh sure, you can physically go back to the place that you call home, usually the place you grew up, but it isn’t the same as when you once lived there. Many of us that have journeyed home after many years away discover that new businesses have sprung up, new restaurants have opened, and many new houses have been built. Home has changed in that it has progressed forward. Maybe not in ways that you would like, but it has moved forward and is no longer the place that you remember. Old buildings are gone, adults you knew growing up have passed away, fields that you once played in are now shopping centers. Nestled in all of the change is the home you once remembered, only memories for you and history for the “newcomers”.
But even though your hamlet, town, city, metropolis has moved forward and grown, it is really you that has moved on and grown beyond the boundaries of the place you grew up and remember. Home has now become the place you rest your head each evening, the friends you meet on the street or in your living room, the place you worship, the place you work and shop and make memories. Sure, you can go back to the place you think of as “home” and rekindle old friendships and revisit old places of haunt, but you must start anew at making this once again home, just as you did when you moved away in the first place.
Home is where the heart is, where you rest your soul, and where you make your memories; memories captured in your mind or captured behind the digital lens.
Posted in Vacation by Jason with no comments yet.
Snow snow snow!
Well, we got our snow last week, and a heck of a lot of snow for here it was! We got 12.5″ of snow on Thursday, shattering an old record of 7.8″ for that date. It started earlier than they thought; it was supposed to rain during the night and then turn to snow by noon, but instead, it started snowing around 5:00 AM and continued snowing until about midnight.
It wasn’t so hard driving around on Thursday because the snow wasn’t sticking so much on the road although it was accumulating on the ground. Cars and trucks were playing it safe, though, and were driving slowly. A few cars ended up sliding off the road, but mostly because they hit large patches of slush.
I have to say, it was pretty. the snow sticking to the trees, bushes, and fences. It was a perfect photo opportunity for those of us that don’t get much snow where we live. I did grab up my camera and take photos, once again, mostly out of the kitchen window of the back yard.
Friday morning’s commute to the VA Hospital was a bit more trecherous, mostly because I had a hard time getting us out of our subdivision. Thursday evening I parked the car on the street because I knew I couldn’t get it up the driveway. A few brave souls had traveled our street, giving me a track I could follow once I got away from the curb, and that made it relatively easy to get out of the subdivision. And after I got out, it was easy because the main streets and highways were fairly clear. Had to watch for black ice, though, but it was warm enough that there wasn’t that much of it. Already the snow was beginning to melt, but it still gave me time to take more photos.
Driving around our little town, I was very surprised to see all the trees that had been damaged by the heavy snow. Nearly every tree in the Target parking lot had broken branches and limbs. Around town there were a few awnings that had come down, and in the neighboring town a major auto paint and body shop’s roof collapsed and part of the building caved in. It’s sad because they just did a major overhaul of their building.
And so, the great snowstorm of 2010 has passed leaving us cold and wet but with respect for Mother Nature and memories of the record snowfall.
Posted in Weather by Jason with no comments yet.
Winter
When I was a kid I loved winter, and I grew up in a “snow” state. Because of family circumstance, I did have to help with the shoveling, but for most of those winters we had a snow blower, so it was more snow blowing than shoveling, although I did have to shovel to break up ice. But, even still, I loved winter. The snow, the cold, the icicles hanging from the eves and trees – all held a beauty of their own.
Sadly, though, I had not yet discovered the joys of photography; from those years of living in Iowa I have no “record” of the beautiful winters that I experienced.
And now, I live in Texas and our winters are of rain and mud and cold winds that penetrate to the core. The trees are bare of their foliage leaving them looking like forlorn skeletons begging to be embraced by Spring and Summer. Only the evergreens seem to welcome the cold and rain.
This year we are experiencing an El Nino winter, which means we’re having a lot of much needed rain, along with a lot of cold. In recent years we’ve seen a few rainy days and cold snaps, but this year our temps have barely made it in to the 60’s and we’ve seen rain nearly every week, sometimes for days on end; our lakes and water reserves have been refilled.
It’s hard, though, with all of the rain and cold, to grab up a camera and head out and shoot photos, not that there are a lot of “subjects” around this area to photograph. This year in particular I just don’t have the desire to venture out in the cold, maybe because it is so wet and penetrating unlike years’ past and my arthritis is finally reacting to all of the cold. That leaves me with few things to photography, and those few things are my dogs and the birds at the feeders, and most of the bird photos are taken from the warmth and dryness of the kitchen.
I am so looking forward to our trip to Florida next week so that I can find some warmth and “new” things to photograph. I left Florida in 1996, well before the age of affordable digital cameras and when I moved to Texas I couldn’t really afford film and processing. The age of digital photography opened up a new world for me and my brief return to Florida for vacation will give me the opportunity to explore places I enjoy there in a new way – from behind the digital lens.
Posted in Weather by Jason with no comments yet.