Photographic Impressionistic Illusionistic
Photography Without Rules
Install the attic fan
Take out the garbage cans
Set up the garden beds
Adjust the doors on the garden sheds
Fix the leak
By end of week
Remake cabinet doors
Finish out kitchen floors
Paint the baseboard trim
Fix the light so dim
STOP!
How ’bout maybe just make some simple photos.
That’ll do.
Two more weeks and I’m officially “retired.”
Pretty sure I will stil have plenty to do!
A few more:
There now. Much better.
The Rest
She waited with nary a flinch
Though, I could read her disappointment
“I think I’m back” I said
“We’ll see” she quipped
“We’ll see”
Stealing time….doing something selfishly regenerative is sometimes an absolute.
So with camera in hand, I got back to a concerted session. Hoping the clouds busted up to reveal the moon…and who knows what can happen?!
It was nice. All that light reading put me in a state.
A spin cycle set:
Here’s the full set:
A walk in the natural world
Does wonders for the soul
It is not magic
Nor does it make all problems go away
It just sets persepctive in its proper place
Hmmm
Maybe it is magic, a little
Life comes at us so fast and sometimes we just get caught up in the swirl of it all.
Our “new” digs came with a couple of years of required maintenence fixes and upgrades in our future.
Floors, paint, appliance/fixture fixes/upgrades, leak reapirs. You know, the stuff that even black holes avoid.
In the meantime I allowed my WP payment to lapse and I was punished with having to “recover” my account.
“If you’ve lost access to your WordPress.com account, our Accounts Recovery team will get back to you as soon as possible to help you gain access to your account again. Please use this form…”
After 10 or 11 password attempts/changes I think I’m back.
Cover image is a 10-stack/stitch effort of an oak made on the Ramona Grasslands Preserve. (Trail is too close to it and I was using the 200-600)
I cannot image oaks without thinking of Alexander Kunz, who is a master at imaging these stately trees.Thanks for the inspiration Alex. you can find him here: https://www.alex-kunz.com/
I also have to say that I am thinking of you Alessandra and I my hope for you is to eventually see beyond the abyss.
My heart goes out to you.
The same tree, different perspective. Photographers seek different perspectives
Plans are for making
Constantly pushing
Constantly breaking
It was a Sunday. We spent the day prepping and painting. As the day was closing we sat at the top tier of the new property, exhausted. Peering through the trees, I spied the orange of the blood moon rising. A slight tinge rang up my spine. “I should be set up somewhere with a tripod and a decent lens making some images of this event.” It echoed in my brain like the nagging sore muscles that covered my body. It was a split second visceral reaction engrained into my psyche from the last eighteen years of concerted efforts in photography.
We drove home back to the old homestead of thirty-two years. The forty-minute drive was quiet. We were both thinking the same thing “what have we gotten ourselves into?” Neither one of us would say it. Now was a time for resolute dedication. There was no room for second guessing.
As I exited the car I gazed up at the beauty of that blood moon. It was so compelling and awe inspiring. It’s red-orange smokiness harbored eons of superstition and lore. Imagine entire kingdoms, generals and seers warning of impending doom based on the omen in the sky. Who could resist?! I made a quick monopod set-up and made some images with my 200-600. There was no getting focus, no matter what I tried. After several minutes, I gave in. I simply didn’t have the strength to continue.
That was twelve days ago. Since then, most of the paint is done. Much of the new floor needs installation. All of the baseboards need replacing. Today, one week after move-in we got hot water (another story). Yesterday, we figured out why our internet connection wasn’t working. We fixed it ourselves.
Tomorrow we finish cleaning the old home and turn over the keys. That little place is full of memories, laughter, tears, struggles and victories. Our grown daughters lived out their childhoods there. Now they have their own beginnings and it’s time for ours.
Tonight, I stood at the top tier of the property again. The mountain behind us is calling. It’s chaparral has its own secrets and tales ready to be seen and told. Soon enough, when the dust is settled and my knees are a little less sore we will meet and speak to one another. Who knows what will happen next?!
A very banal view from the rear of our property. Soon enough I can make time for good light.
A house is not necessarily a home.
Until voices and smells
Crying and laughing
Struggles and discovery
Make it so
(Draft started 3/30/22)
It’s been awhile since I’ve caught up on my WordPress reading/writing.
My wife Robin and I are moving to a new location.
After thirty-two years in the same location.
And, our daughter and her husband will be moving with us. (I know, don’t start a sentence with “and”).
What an utter disruption. All of the legality(s), buying, selling, upgrading, fixing, budgeting, signing, soon-to-be-light-construction is trying its best to kill my creative side. Through it all, I find the decompression of nature to be the finest balm. If I have a camera with me, even better.
When it came time to “stage” the house, I packed my main computer and have been using my laptop. I am grateful to have the laptop. It is very powerful. Old guy that I am, I prefer my PC. A nice big screen, a sure footed mouse, and no battery shenanigans. I wanted to go get it out of storage, but I haven’t been walking in several days and that comes first. After a brief search in the storage facility, I realized it’s behind a mass of boxes and stuff. Motivation won out and the PC is back in business.
I found a nesting hummingbird about a week ago at Mission Trails. I think I’ll go visit her today and forget about the floors, paint, counter tops, tree trimming,1% good faith down payment, caulking, electrical trim, new refrigerator, docu-sign, fix the gutters at the new place stuff (short list).
Update: I’ve returned several times to see the hummingbird and she’s a no-show.
Things will be different in the new location. Less light at night, less noise, fewer crowds. I’ve never lived that way. I’ve always lived near a freeway or main thoroughfare. The hum of the city and all its trappings will be something I go to and not live in. Hope we like it.
I am pretty sure I will not be visiting Mission Trails Regional Park as often as I do.
That story will need to wait. Too much emotion attached.
Photograph – multiple exposures- black phoebe – color manipulations and Polar Coordinates in PSE
Photographic Impressionistic Illusionistic 