seamless
Blue.
like her smooth,
almost faceless
face
That's how it feels
sometimes.
Seamless.
Thin.
Or just gray. Or
not even gray
- just blank.
Monday, September 12
Sunday, September 11
Requiem for an Era
Earlier this summer, I spent an hour shooting out at our county fairgrounds, in the old stables and barns scattered about. At the pond was an enormous gathering of geese and ducks waiting for their daily white-bread handouts. The only boarders were two very sad looking horses in the worst of the stables. Most of the barns stood empty -- it had been a long time since they had been filled with the musty breath of cows, and the sweet smell of horse sweat, children's laughter, cowboy hollers and the voices of swanky announcers calling over their loudspeakers.
I went back intending to try for better photos of the horses, and was surprised to find nothing where three rows of stables and a large old barn had been -- a huge pile of twisted bent and rusty metal sat off to the side.
My first thought was that I just wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe the stables weren't where I remembered them (even though I'd been out to these same stables dozens of times over the last 25 years ...) I got out of the car and looked closely at the pile of metal hunks - and noticed some telltale signs of the old stables I remembered. It seemed they had been callously ripped apart and bulldozed into an almost unrecognizable mountain of debris.
From twenty feet away, the pile was an ugly reminder that we still live in a throwaway society, even though we know on a deep level that we cannot continue to use up the non-renewable resources at the rate we have been ... still, these historic -- and to me, beautiful --- structures were gone forever.
I stood there wishing I had come back earlier, had known this was going to happen, had been there to document the life, and demise of these wonderful, earthy-smelling, warm-colored stables.
I felt sad. I wanted to walk away from there. But I made myself approach the mountain of metal closer and saw there was true beauty in the tortured twistings and folds of old steel. Okay, then I would try to capture some of the that remaining beauty. Some of stables' elegance and grace. The forgotten rural values I remembered. I wanted to shoot the light here before the pile was sent to it's final resting place -- probably the dump.
I hope I can help even just one person share the way I see beauty in common garbage. I hope I can help even one person be able to look at the world of waste around them and see the possibilities of light. If you want to see the rest of the photos I took that day, click here.
I went back intending to try for better photos of the horses, and was surprised to find nothing where three rows of stables and a large old barn had been -- a huge pile of twisted bent and rusty metal sat off to the side.
My first thought was that I just wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe the stables weren't where I remembered them (even though I'd been out to these same stables dozens of times over the last 25 years ...) I got out of the car and looked closely at the pile of metal hunks - and noticed some telltale signs of the old stables I remembered. It seemed they had been callously ripped apart and bulldozed into an almost unrecognizable mountain of debris.
From twenty feet away, the pile was an ugly reminder that we still live in a throwaway society, even though we know on a deep level that we cannot continue to use up the non-renewable resources at the rate we have been ... still, these historic -- and to me, beautiful --- structures were gone forever.
I stood there wishing I had come back earlier, had known this was going to happen, had been there to document the life, and demise of these wonderful, earthy-smelling, warm-colored stables.
I felt sad. I wanted to walk away from there. But I made myself approach the mountain of metal closer and saw there was true beauty in the tortured twistings and folds of old steel. Okay, then I would try to capture some of the that remaining beauty. Some of stables' elegance and grace. The forgotten rural values I remembered. I wanted to shoot the light here before the pile was sent to it's final resting place -- probably the dump.
I hope I can help even just one person share the way I see beauty in common garbage. I hope I can help even one person be able to look at the world of waste around them and see the possibilities of light. If you want to see the rest of the photos I took that day, click here.
Saturday, September 10
"Do I have to put up with this indignity???"
Well, it happened - the vet put this thing on Sam. Much to his displeasure -- in fact, he seems quietly offended and refuses to look at me now. I shot this by just putting the camera on the ground and pretending I wasn't doing anything special. Otherwise, Sam pointedly looks the other way when faced with my little digital cam.
It turned out the growth was benign, which is good news, but it's taking a long time to heal. He was told ... if ya lick, ya get the lampshade ... but, did he listen? anh-hunh. I guess the licking is nigh on irresistible. And wrapping the foot didn't work -- trying to keep a bandage on this old guy's foot is like trying to keep a cheese sandwich dry in a swimming pool. Not fun!
I made a slideshow of Sam's life -- you can watch it by clicking on this button:
Chair Details
I added some photos of Tim's finished sanctuary furniture and the moving process, to the set about his woodworking. The furniture looks SO good in place, in the St. Paul's sanctuary. They are having their first service in their new church tomorrow.
Friday, September 9
Sky Bowl
In the next few days I will feature image sets for the seasons in Montana. This "Sky Bowl" photo (the sky reflected in our birdbath) represents my Montana Summer set. Click here to see the whole set.
Summer in the Rocky Mountain state of Montana begins late and ends early. In the brief phrase we call "summer" Montana makes a rich and complex statement of her essence: nature reigns here!
Montanans are among the world's most "outdoors-living" inhabitants. We make full use of the warm season to grow what we can in our gardens, explore nature and love life. Everything summerish gets compressed into a little under 10 weeks; then we get our first frost, the nights are cold enough for a comfortor again, migrating birds desert us for warmer climes.
Montana's largest city has a population easily under 100,000. Our entire state's population is three quarters of a million yet we have one of the largest land masses of any US state. Driving from one side of Montana to the other takes all day -- and we always pass at least one person we know on the road. Strangers wave at each other and smile. We can walk out the back door of our house (in the capitol city) and in one block, be past the city limits, into beautiful natural hiking country.
I love Montana. Although our economy isn't the greatest, and it's sometimes hard to find reasonable airfares in and out of our city, I wouldn't trade Montana for anywhere else on earth.
Summer in the Rocky Mountain state of Montana begins late and ends early. In the brief phrase we call "summer" Montana makes a rich and complex statement of her essence: nature reigns here!
Montanans are among the world's most "outdoors-living" inhabitants. We make full use of the warm season to grow what we can in our gardens, explore nature and love life. Everything summerish gets compressed into a little under 10 weeks; then we get our first frost, the nights are cold enough for a comfortor again, migrating birds desert us for warmer climes.
Montana's largest city has a population easily under 100,000. Our entire state's population is three quarters of a million yet we have one of the largest land masses of any US state. Driving from one side of Montana to the other takes all day -- and we always pass at least one person we know on the road. Strangers wave at each other and smile. We can walk out the back door of our house (in the capitol city) and in one block, be past the city limits, into beautiful natural hiking country.
I love Montana. Although our economy isn't the greatest, and it's sometimes hard to find reasonable airfares in and out of our city, I wouldn't trade Montana for anywhere else on earth.
Wednesday, September 7
Summer Jam Session around the Fire
Anika, Damon, Gabe, Kyle, Andy and someone's foot ...
I know, by professional standards these photos of our kids and their friends ... are just the worst ... but I'm keepin' 'em because they remind me of some of the best times we've had as a family sitting around our backyard fires, playing music, debating politics and philosophy, laughing & joking together.
I know, by professional standards these photos of our kids and their friends ... are just the worst ... but I'm keepin' 'em because they remind me of some of the best times we've had as a family sitting around our backyard fires, playing music, debating politics and philosophy, laughing & joking together.
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