31-JAN-2008
Thursday's Totally Informal Transglobal Challenge for January 31, 2008 - "Movement"
To see how other PBasers interpreted this challenge CLICK HERE.
This was my most challenging Challenge thus far. I am so ill at ease with shutter speeds. I know next to nothing about them. I can only remember one other time that I set my camera on Tv, and that was during a snowstorm last winter when I wanted to capture the individual snowflakes as they fell. So today's theme of "movement" definitely stretched me beyond my comfort zone. But that's what it's all about. Hey, I even got out my tripod! And my husband Ed was a patient model as I kept saying, "Play some more boogie woogie!" That's when his hands fairly fly across the keys. What I didn't expect was this digital double exposure, but I kind of like it.
My regular PaD visitors might also enjoy checking out my most recent Duality.
CLICK HERE to see it.
30-JAN-2008
more winter nudes
I now have nine images in my "Winter Nudes" gallery.
CLICK HERE to see them.
And I thought
"Facing Up to My Face at 65" was an emotional series to photograph and post. How could I have known what I'd be doing five months later? Actually, I couldn't have imagined this even a week ago. I mean the idea of taking and putting up nude photos of myself and my friends would never have occurred to me. But I didn't know then what I know now: This work is NEEDED in today's world! How else can we counter our culture's insistence that the only beautiful flesh is firm, taut, thin and young. Well, guess what? There are billions of us out there who will never again be firm, taut, thin and/or young. So what are WE supposed to do? Cover ourselves in shame? Diet ourselves sick? Use all our money to buy the bodies we want from "cosmetic surgeons"? Ply ourselves with pills to take away our appetites? Work out at the gym for hours every day? Give up and become couch potatoes? Or can we learn to embrace our bodies as they are, to celebrate all our curves, even those we wish we didn't have. ESPECIALLY those.
For me personally this series is profoundly life-changing...and I've only been at it for four days! But it's the last two that have been getting under my skin, the days that I've been taking and posting nude self portraits. Yikes. What would my proper southern mother say??? Good thing she isn't around to see this. She always knew I marched to a different drummer, but I'm not sure there's even a drummer in front of me this time!
OK, so that's my little girl speaking, but my old-lady self? She's cackling with delight! And that 65 year-old crone is being revitalized. For too many years, whenever I thought about my body it was only in relation to the disability, or maybe the swimming and exercising at the gym. But my body as a sensual object? Hadn't considered that in a very long time. Now when I take these self portraits, that's exactly what I'm feeling...my sensuality. And it feels darn good. Your responses feel good too. Women & men, old & young, sending public comments & private messages. In every case you are letting me know this work is important, that it's changing your attitudes about your own and others' bodies. That's all I need to know.
29-JAN-2008
winter nude SP
At 65, there are two parts of my body of which I'm especially proud: my feet and my upper arms. My feet because they are still small and pretty, ie., no corns, bunions or misshapen toes. I'm not putting people down who have such foot concerns, it's just that I'm lucky I don't. Now, I can't take any credit for my feet, but I most definitely DO take credit for my upper arms. As you can see in this self portrait, unlike most women my age I have no "wings" under my arms. And let me tell you, that takes work! For me it means swimming the freestyle for 18-24 lengths twice a week, and working out regularly with a trainer at the gym. Yes, my friends, since March 2004 I've been pumping iron, doing leg & arm presses, cardio training on the ellyptical trainer and lots of other tough exercises twice a week. And being disabled doesn't mean Matt goes easy on me, either. He knows I'm a bulldog and treats me accordingly. I guess my being a former marathon runner makes me an athlete for life.
So when I started taking self portraits of my unclothed body for my new
WINTER NUDES gallery, it made sense to include photos that highlight my favorite parts. You can see my flabby belly later! Oh yes, I'm also fond of my unshaven armpits. I threw out my Lady Schick razor 13 years ago and haven't missed it for a minute. I mean, this is the way I'm made, so who says my underarm hair isn't pretty? It's so strange how we women let ourselves get hoodwinked into thinking we have to be with or without certain parts of our bodies to be considered "pretty." I say, hogwash! And that goes for those ultra-high fashion spikey high heels that mess up women's feet and give them chronic low back pain. Throw them out, women! T'ain't worth it!
I guess this new series of work is tapping into my feminist sensibilities BIG TIME. So be it. That's what art can do--touch your innermost being and dredge up feelings you didn't know or had forgotten you had. I sense this portfolio is going to be touching lots of people's sensibilities. I've already been getting comments to that effect, so keep 'em coming...
28-JAN-2008
new gallery: "Winter Nudes"
I woke up Sunday morning with a nasty cold. Perfect excuse to stay home and play with some of the photos I took of my friends on Saturday. I wanted to start a gallery even though I didn't have many images. Not yet, that is. I definitely intend to pursue this theme and already have a date set up with one of my friends to pose for me next week. As I spent time with these images, I found myself trying to find ways to express the sense of fluidity and softness I saw in their beautiful bodies. Even though I only ended up with four images to put in my new gallery, each one represented many other versions. As you can see, today's image is a different version of the one I posted yesterday.
To see my new gallery called "Winter Nudes",
CLICK HERE.
What follows is the introduction I wrote to accompany the gallery:
There are seasons of life just as there are seasons of the year. While Western culture tends to idealize the springtime of life, especially when setting standards for physical beauty, we women of age know there is much to be said for having bodies that show all that we have lived. There is beauty to be found in every wrinkle, fold, crease, ripple, stretch mark, bit of flab and fullness of contour. This gallery celebrates women who are coming into the winter of their lives with grace, wisdom, sensuality and adventuresome spirits. I invite you to view these images with respect and gratitude for their willingness to share their unclothed beauty so fearlessly.
27-JAN-2008
a winter nude
Women's bodies are so beautiful. Especially older women's bodies with their folds and creases, their ripples and flowing tides. The difference between a young and an older woman's body is like the difference between a sonata and a symphony. Both are lovely but one has many movements, a sense of time passing, of stories being told, of a beginning, middle and end. The beauty of a young woman's body is fleeting, whereas the older woman's body has settled into itself, it has no place to go, no clock to watch, no plane to catch. It is complete unto itself.
These reflections came after a day spent with two of my best women friends. We've been meeting to make art together for years, and today we dared to remove our clothes and let our naked bodies become our art. I was privileged to photograph my two friends, and one of them then photographed me. We didn't know it was going to unfold like this, but that's the nature of the beast: creativity has its own plans. Once the first of us dropped her modesty, it was easy for my other friend and I to do the same. Trust. Respect. Admiration. Courage. Playfulness. Comfort. Sensuality. All combined to produce feelings of love for our bodies and awe in the face of our friends' bodies. We were touched by magic.
As I looked through the viewfinder, I could not keep from expressing my appreciation of the beauty that I was seeing. Both of my friends said my affirming comments made them feel better about their bodies than they had felt in years. But it was true. They were stunningly beautiful. They ARE stunningly beautiful. After they'd left and I'd started working with some of the photos, I entered a state of awe-filled gratitude for the gifts these wonderful women had shared. The gift of themSelves.
With my friend's permission, I share here one of the photos that emerged from our time together. And I am delighted to say that she has agreed to come and pose for me again. How wonderful it would be if this were the first of a new series of work. May it be so.
26-JAN-2008
Duality #41
Sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet--forgive the pun--about a certain photo that I want to use in a duality. I can spent days trying to come up with a good match for it. I'll try different ideas until one finally hits me right. What I'm after is the unexpected, the surprising choice. It's a real mind-bending exercise, I can tell you. This photo of the fly in the flower proved to be one of my tougher challenges. And my finding a match ended up being pure luck.
I'd gone to the pool on Thursday with the idea of photographing one of the women floating with what's called the "noodle" under her arms. I'd hoped it would look like wings. It didn't. After swimming my laps, I got out my camera in the hopes that someone would be doing the breast stroke. I thought maybe their arms would resemble wings. But there was not a breast stroke to be seen. However, I did see Peggy right in front of me taking her ongoing swimming lessons from Tim, our lifeguard. Now, this is a senior's swim hour and Peggy is one of our older seniors. I've never asked, but I'd put her at least in her mid-70s. She could even be in her 80s. And now she's learning to swim for the first time in her life. And doing really well with it too. I thought I'd take some shots of her swimming to print out and give to her next week. The joys of finally having a photo printer!
I downloaded those photos on Thursday night, but it wasn't until I went back to them on Friday that I saw the possibility of Peggy being a match for the fly. When I'd cropped both images and lined up her arm with the fly's wing, I realized this was it. And you know, she's a match more than just visually, for Peggy does now have wings she'd never had before. She IS flying!
I dedicate this duality to Peggy and all the elders who keep growing and stretching their bodies and minds into new shapes.
25-JAN-2008
Duality #40
I've just posted three new images in my Dualities gallery.
CLICK HERE to see them.
Today I'd like to offer a BIG thank you to all of my regular visitors. I so appreciate your faithfulness, especially during these past weeks when I have not a faithful visitor to YOUR galleries. It is not through lack of interest, but because there aren't enough hours in the day (or night). This Duality series is like an infant--it makes constant demands on my time and attention. Especially now that I'm preparing this portfolio for submission to a magazine. And the creative energy keeps flowing. As I was printing and reworking a number of the images on Wednesday, three new Dualities appeared! I now have 40 Dualities, 30 of which are already printed. I'll soon be preparing a CD with files to send along with the printed images I choose to submit. I also need to write a one-page biography and another one-page introduction to the series.
So I ask for your continued patience. Hopefully things will calm down soon and I can again have a more reciprocal relationship with you, my PBase friends. I miss seeing your work. You always teach and inspire me.
24-JAN-2008
Thursday's Totally Informal Transglobal Challenge for January 24, 2008 - "Machinery"
It's because of this nifty machine that I've been able to get in our middle school pool twice a week for the past six years to swim laps. Let's hear it for machinery!
To see how other PBasers interpreted this challenge
CLICK HERE.
23-JAN-2008
Duality #37
This Duality is courtesy of PBase. Usually I have to think of matches myself, but not this time. You know how PBase posts four of your photos in random order at the bottom of your Profile page? Well, a few days ago these two images showed up side by side. Even though they were in color, I knew I had something. So today I found the originals and finished the process. I've just added it to my
Dualities gallery.
The past three days have been spent printing out the Dualities in black & white. Some of the selectively colored ones work in B&W, but others don't. I'm preparing a portfolio to submit to a photography magazine. It will be my first attempt as a photographer to break into the publishing world, but I figure I have nothing to lose. All they can do is say no.
The more I use this printer--the Epson Stylus R2400--the more delighted I am with it. The blacks are deep and rich, and all the tonalities are wonderfully nuanced. Until now I didn't realize that printing is as much a part of the creative process as taking the photo in the first place. These high quality prints are showing subtleties in each duality that I hadn't noticed on my monitor. Some work and others don't. For this reason, a number of my dualities are undergoing change, some in small ways and others quite significantly. I am loving the process! I've always been an editor at heart.
22-JAN-2008
blissful SP
Starting last week my friend Pat Kolon is doing much more every Monday than bringing order out of chaos in my house: she is producing bliss in my mind/body/spirit by sharing her gift of massage therapy. Am I the luckiest person alive or what? If you're a regular visitor here you might remember my January 8th photo blog entry that showed Pat bringing order to our kitchen cabinets. (
CLICK HERE to see it) Today she continued that project--we have a kitchen with LOTS of cabinets--but before she got started in the kitchen, Pat gave me a half-hour chair massage. That's where the bliss came in.
So which would you prefer: order out of chaos or bliss? I'll take bliss first and, if there's time, we can get to the kitchen cabinets!
21-JAN-2008
free-falling into creativity
Creativity is a window into another world. Even if our intent is to show exactly what we see around us, the act of choosing our subject, point of view, area upon which to focus, ISO/WB/aperture/shutter speed, the moment to release the shutter button all combine to move our photo beyond the objective into the realm of originality. And everyone knows that originality is fraught with mystery. It is the place where all the "why's" crowd around the "who's", "how's", "where's" and "when's", hoping to be noticed. But all too often they aren't. Our minds get in the way, keeping us focused on everything but the essential question: Why did we take this photo exactly as we did? So often we don't hear the quiet voice asking this question because we don't want to. Its question makes us uncomfortable. It brings up "stuff" we'd rather keep hidden...even from ourselves. Especially from ourselves.
I know a photographer, a superb artist, who says he is giving it up. His photos are no longer what he wants or expects. He feels dry as a desert creek bed in the middle of summer. So he is saying thank you and goodbye. And why not? Isn't photography supposed to satisfy the photographer? I say not.
Creativity is not about satisfaction or inspiration or success or even expressing what you think you want to say: it is about mystery. It is about jumping off the cliff of knowing and free-falling into the unknown. It is about having not the slightest idea what you are doing, saying or becoming. True creativity is a mess that you don't want to look at, much less clean up. It is all about trust. Blind, unthinking trust. It's about forging ahead even when you think your work stinks. It can also be about taking time out. But not giving up or giving in to the feelings of despair and worthlessness that may assail you day after day, night after night. Once an artist, always an artist.
And who is an artist? Every single human being on the planet. We are ALL artists. We are all creative. We are all unique. Our choice of media is what sets us apart from others. And it may take a lifetime to find our particular niche, to find the artistic medium that fits our eye, ear, hands, voice and body. Or we may have different chapters of life, each of which is expressed through its own artistic means.
When people say to me, "You are so creative", of course I'm pleased. But I want to hold up a mirror so they can see themselves reflected in it, so they can see who and what I see--that they are artists too! You, who are reading these words, are an artist. No one in today's world or in the past or future has your vision, your creative gifts, your unique ways of working with the tools you choose. That's why it is so important that we encourage our PBase sisters and brothers in their search for excellence. And that we keep them from beating themselves up when they feel they've fallen short. My most significant creative breakthroughs have often come out of what I saw as a mistake, a failure, a bust. That's when the real Muse can get in. She slips in through the cracks of our failed expectations.
Funny how this simple photo of our kitchen window led me to this exploration of creativity. Maybe it was because I had no thoughts or expectations when I started to write. I just let myself free-fall into it, like jumping off a cliff.
20-JAN-2008
investing in oneself
When you spend time with a photographer like Paul Strand you see what originality looks like, especially in the context of his times (1890-1976). In this book published in Aperture's Masters of Photography series, I saw photographs from 1915 that looked like they could have been taken yesterday. I was particularly struck by his abstracted studies of light and shadow. By the way, the quality of prints in this book was quite high. You could see a wonderful range of values and detail in all of Strand's black & white photos.
Later in the day I was surprised to discover that my own work holds up well when seen in print.
This week I bought my first photo printer, an Epson Stylus R2400. If you're familiar with photo printers you know this model has received consistently excellent reviews, especially for black & white printing jobs. It is also very expensive. I had a hard time talking myself into buying it. In fact I first bought the Epson Stylus R1400. But after printing a few color shots I could see that I wasn't getting the quality I'd hoped for. And I also knew from all the reviews that its black & white prints were weaker than the color. Since most of the photos I intended to print were B&W, it seemed shortsighted not to go ahead and get the best printer for the job. So I returned the R1400 and bought the R2400 instead. Today I set it up.
My first prints were of my Dualities. I didn't even bother with color but only focused on the B&W images. I printed seven of them on Epson's double-sided matte paper. I could not be more pleased! The tonality, range of values, crisp detail and accurate reproduction literally takes my breath away. To my eye, this series looks better in print than it does on screen.
Holding your photos in your hands is very different from seeing them on the computer. They become real. For the first time I feel like a real photographer. And it feels good. My intention is to print out and submit my Dualities to a respected photographic magazine that specializes in portfolios. I now see the investment I made in buying a high quality photo printer was worth it. And all it took was believing in myself. Why was that so hard?
18-JAN-2008
Duality #36
I was reminded of scissors the first time I saw this Aloe Vera plant in my friends' San Diego neighborhood last March. So why didn't it occur to me until tonight (Thursday) to photograph scissors so I could create a duality? Minds are such funny things. They only make connections in their own sweet time. Especially creative connections. I guess there's no rushing the process.
Speaking of creativity, how do the non-photographic folks in your life respond to your absorption/obsession with photography? Do they get it at all? What I mean is, do they appreciate your artistic eye, your originality, your creativity? Or are they apathetic, jealous, dismissive or even downright negative about the subject? When you're out together and you see something you want to photograph, how do they react when you whip out your camera? Are there groans, as in, "Oh no, here s/he goes again!", or do they patiently wait while you do your thing? Afterwards, are they interested in seeing your photos either online or in print? Can you discuss photography together or is it a verboten subject?
For some PBasers this community is the only place where they can fully express their feelings about their craft. For here we know we are among persons who DO get it, who encourage us in our growth, who share our enthusiasm, who love discussing all things photographic. Others may refer to PBase as a "virtual" community but we know differently. The friendships we make here are every bit as real as those with people we can see, hear and touch. Ask anyone who has attended a PBase meetup. They know. Many of the friends we make here will be with us for life. How fortunate we are to have found PBase, and through PBase, to have found one another.
17-JAN-2008
Thursday's Totally Informal Transglobal Challenge for January 17, 2008 - "The Eyes Have It"
How and what do we see through our eyes? If you're like me, you look through different lenses depending on the subject, whether or not you plan to photograph it, what emotional associations it sets up in you, the ambient lighting, whether you're alone or with others, if you're feeling rushed or at ease. Yet our eyes can be open and our minds closed. If that's the case it doesn't matter how hard we look, we will never see the nuanced meanings behind what is sitting right in front of us. But if we are open to life in all its facets, we will see INTO things in ways that others might not.
In this portrait, Leslie is seeing the world through seven different lenses. She chose each of the lenses herself, so together they reflect how she was seeing on this one particular day. I wish I'd thought to ask her why she'd chosen each one. I know she was looking for variety in color and design since she knew I wanted to photograph her with ALL of them on her face at one time. She knew the challenge to which I was responding and thought it was great fun to be part of it. But why seven? Why not six or eight?
According to a
Numerology web site, the number seven connotes: "philosopher, sage, wisdom seeker, reserved, inventor, stoic, contemplative, aloof, deep-thinker, introspective, spiritual, faith, esoteric, exotic, unusual, hidden, seeking perfection, ethereal, other worldly, enigma." I don't know Leslie well but I intuit that she is all of these things and more.
I doubt if our TITC moderators Lee and Bev imagined that those who responded to their challenge for this week would delve quite so deeply into its mysteries, but that's the nature of inspiration. You send something out into the Universe never knowing what it will trigger in others. To see what this Thursday's challenge triggered in lots of other PBasers,
CLICK HERE.
16-JAN-2008
Duality #35
Best viewed in Original size
In my last two dualities I've matched an old photo with a new one taken specifically for that purpose. Both of the old photos--the horse and the flying gull--are among the many that sit forgotten in my archives. I'm sure each of us has untold numbers of photos we have never shown, photos that moved out of our consciousness as soon as we'd backed them up and deleted them from our computer. But even if I hadn't thought for months about this photo of gulls, as soon as I saw it I recalled exactly when and where it was taken.
It was the first Sunday in March 2007 and I was visiting my sister and her husband in Burbank, California. That morning they'd asked me what I wanted to do and when I heard Ventura Beach was an option, I hopped on it. I'd arrived in Los Angeles by train on Friday and was staying with Emily and Gorsha for a long weekend before going down to visit friends in San Diego. I remember there were clouds overhead and significant winds, enough that we were wearing jackets. But, even so, there were lots of people on the beach enjoying this early spring day. I took this particular photo as we walk/scooted out to the end of the long wharf that juts out into the ocean. Having recently left ice and snow in Michigan, I was in a state of awe over the mild temperatures, beautiful palm trees, Pacific Ocean and breathtaking beauty of southern California. This gull was like my spirits that day, flying on winds of delight.
The photo of the orchid was taken on Tuesday. When I looked through my galleries in search of a match for the gull, I came upon photos of orchids that I'd taken last February at the florist/greenhouse down the street. To my eye there seemed to be a similar spirit in these two forms, but none of the photos I had was quite right. So I scooted down to the greenhouse in hopes of finding just the right orchid for this duality. They didn't have the species I was looking for, but this flower had the spirit I was after, and that was more important to me than similarities in shape.
I guess I'd have to say that the
process of creating these dualities is what keeps me coming back to it day after day. Yes, the end result pleases me, but nothing compares with the fun of the search and the stimulating aesthetic choices I get to make in putting the two photos together. Today--January 16--is my one month anniversary of starting this series and I now have 35 images in my Dualities gallery (
CLICK HERE to see them). And I'm sure there's more to come...
15-JAN-2008
Duality #34
How do you recognize that you've made a turning on your path? For me, feelings of irritation are often the first sign. Things I accepted without question begin to rub me the wrong way. Sometimes it's the people I've most admired who start pushing my buttons. Generally it's nothing big, just a laundry list of petty irritations. It's not their fault. They haven't changed; I have.
Since I picked up my first sable watercolor brush in January 1975, I've been fortunate to have fine teachers come into my life at just the right time. By now, there has been a l-o-n-g line of such creative mentors. Some were painters, others sculptors. There have been potters and performance artists, dancers and singers, poets and writers, and lately, photoshop experts and photographers. Each one has added something unique to my consciousness and creativity as an artist. Sometimes they give me specific tools, other times their gift is more conceptual. But I never stay with them forever. No, there comes the time when I must move on. But always with gratitude for gifts received.
Being an artist means seeing the world in ways that it's never been seen before. Those who look at your work may not get it. To them you might be just another painter or writer or photographer. Maybe your preferred subject is one that countless others have painted or photographed. It doesn't matter. You know within yourself that your artist's eye is unique, that your camera captures images that would not exist had you not hit the shutter release button at that particular second, that the way you pull elements together for a composite or diptych is yours and yours alone. No one has ever made the choices you're making. Nor will they again.
So when it comes time to leave the comfortable path you've been traveling and strike out on your own, don't apologize to anyone. Those who have companioned you to this point must be left behind. You must follow your own inner guide wherever it leads. Look at it this way: if you don't forge your path, who will?
14-JAN-2008
random acts of kindness
This is the table at which I enjoyed a veggie burger and fries after my unexpected encounter with random acts of kindness.
On Sunday afternoon I'd parked my wheelchair-accessible minivan behind the Coney Island restaurant where I planned to have a late lunch. I'd been careful to leave plenty of room for my ramp to unfold, with extra for me and my scooter to avoid the parking barrier that was coming in at a funny angle. At least I thought I'd left enough room. But, alas, I ended up running my scooter's rear wheels up onto the barrier, causing me and the scooter to land in a jumble on the pavement. I wasn't in a position to be at risk of being hit by a car, but my scooter was on top of me. Within a minute, two women had stopped their car, gotten out and come running to my side, crying, "Are you all right?" Within five minutes there were a dozen men and women of all ages and races surrounding me, each one offering help. Two of them righted my scooter. Two more gathered up my camera & case, wallet, glasses, cell phone and water bottle. As you might imagine, the first thing I'd asked was for someone to please pick up my camera and return it to its case. The camera was my main concern. I wasn't really hurt; I'd just banged my very hard head on the pavement. Actually the only damage was to my eyeglass frames that got knocked askew, but that will be easily fixed.
Before I knew it, a strong young man had his hands under my armpits and was lifting me up off the ground and depositing me in my scooter seat. After the others had left, three women remained. Two of them were the ones who had first come to my aid. They said they weren't going to leave until they saw that I was really OK. We introduced ourselves by name, I thanked them with all my heart, and one gave me a hug before believing my assurances that I was fine. Soon they went back to their cars and I went on to the restaurant.
Whoever said this world was going to hell in a handbasket didn't know what they were talking out. People are kind. So incredibly kind.
13-JAN-2008
"Unicorn" by Egal Bohen
Have you see the Unicorn?
He hides amidst a forest of words
Which make him hard to see
No
Not
Nothing
Is not
Cannot
Ever
Be
But he is there
At the edge of the wood
He sometimes comes to stand
To enlighten a world that does not see
The fabric of his land
See
See there beneath the tree!
See his silver coat
That gleams without the sun!
See his slender spiralled horn
That says we are one!
See with head tossed back
His feet strike sparks from out the ground!
See, with eyes of smouldering fire
Looks he around
This Unicorn
The symbol out of which ideas are born
Some say he is a myth and cannot be
As they pass by they do not even see the tree
But they should never mock his fabled crown
His concept is the path to where
True answers may be found
And should you think this talk is foolish and unsound
I shall not be offended
You are free to keep on looking at the ground
--Egal Bohen
Cornwall, England
I took this photo of one the ice sculptures on the first day of my community's winter festival. Alas, our unseasonably warm weather was already causing many of them to melt.
12-JAN-2008
Billy Childs, jazz pianist/composer
Best viewed in original size.
I took over 50 shots to get this one good one. But even 50 pages wouldn't be enough to describe what I heard tonight (Friday). All I can say is that hearing the Billy Childs Jazz-Chamber Ensemble playing Mr. Childs' original compositions and arrangements was one of the finest musical experiences of my life. And that includes having heard Thelonious Monk almost 50 years ago at The Stables in Washington, DC. Check out
Billy Childs' web site and buy his Grammy Award-winning CD, "Lyric" if you can. I did.
11-JAN-2008
Duality #33
Best viewed in original size.
This afternoon I received an email from a friend who thought we'd had a falling out because she hadn't heard from me in so long. Nothing could have been further from the truth; all that had happened was that I'd gotten so absorbed in my photography that I've thought of nothing else for months now. Does this happen to you? It's been especially true since I started working on this Dualities series. I know I've shared this before, but it keeps getting worse not better. Worse for my friends that is. For me things couldn't be better. I'm in dog heaven, as my southern mom used to say. I am never happier than when I'm fired up with creative passion. It's not that I think this series is god's gift to the world, it's just that I am loving every minute of creating it.
Like today's duality, #33. Last week I took a photo at the market of red onions. All week I've tried to think of a good match for it. I finally saw the match while sitting on the toilet one morning. It seemed to me that the "hair" of the wire woman hanging in my bathroom window related perfectly to the dried roots that stick out from red onions. But the photo I'd taken last week didn't show those roots clearly enough, so yesterday I went back to the market for another try. I also took a couple of close-up portraits of the wire woman. After volunteering all day at school on Thursday, I came home and started the rather time-consuming project of teasing out each strand of "hair" and each root for the selective coloring I wanted. And so Duality #33 was born.
By the way, I called my friend after receiving her email and we had a wonderful phone visit. As soon as her schedule clears, we'll be getting together. Hey, friends are important too!
10-JAN-2008
Thursday's Totally Informal Transglobal Challenge for January 10, 2008 - "A tribute to or in the style of Lee and/or Bev"
Do all children grow up in families where it's assumed that everyone has a special talent? And do all parents expect their friends to see and applaud these "talents" time and time again? My older sister Carolyn was the ballerina in the family so she'd be invited to grande jete across the living room floor, always ending in an arabesque. I was the acrobat so my act included doing the splits and sitting on the floor with my legs hooked behind my neck. The latter was not very attractive, especially when viewed from the front. I was encouraged not to do it in a skirt. My little sister Miss Em was the actress so she would do one of her best impersonations of Marilyn Monroe. But sometimes she'd just lie on the floor on her back. When you're only three and very cute that can be enough of a talent to get applause from a friendly crowd. Those were our official talents, but we had unofficial ones as well. From a young age Miss Em could close one eye completely while the other stayed wide open. When I visited Emily (her adult name) and her husband Gorsha in Burbank, California last March, she was proud to show me she could still do it. So of course I countered with my special trick--touching my tongue to my nose. Again, it may not be attractive but it IS an unusual skill. Carolyn could lift one eyebrow which I tried to do for years with no success. I guess I'm not the supercilious type.
Since this Thursday's Totally Informal Transglobal Challenge for January 10, 2008 is: "A tribute to or in the style of Lee and/or Bev," the moderators of TITC, I thought it was the perfect time to show off my special talent. If you check out the photos that were given as examples of their work, I think you'll agree that I'm in sync with these wonderfully quirky, incredibly inspired photographers/moderators! These are the links:
To see how others respond to this very cool Thursday challenge,
CLICK HERE.
09-JAN-2008
Duality #32
Each of us has one or two special butterfly moments to remember. Mine was back in the early 1990s. Ed and I used to housesit our friend Nan's cottage in the Michigan countryside. Her land had a pond, woods with at least three "fairy rings", and a wildflower-covered meadow in which Nan used to mow paths for walking. Back in those days I was able-bodied, so walk I did, either by myself or with our dog Timmy. At the edge of Nan's property was a large field, green with clover. It was a favorite grazing place for the deer so I had to be careful that Timmy didn't get excited and chase them.
One hot July afternoon I left Timmy back at the cottage with Ed and set off by myself. I walked through Nan's woods and across the clover field into the forest on the other side. This was a favorite place of mine, one where I felt at one with nature. I would sit on an old rotted log and listen to the sounds around me: birds tittering, breezes swaying the branches overhead, occasionally the slithering sounds of a snake making its way across the forest floor. But this day I heard a distinctive rustling that seemed to be coming from the log on which I was sitting. At first I thought it was my imagination, but when it persisted I dropped my head and peered closely into the depths of the log. That was when I saw the light grey outline of a cocoon. And emerging from that cocoon was a butterfly with its wet wings plastered to its side. For the next ten minutes I watched it dry those wings by gently fluttering them in the air. Then, as if touched by magic, this beautiful butterfly stretched its wings fully open and flew away. And I was the earthbound caterpillar left behind.
08-JAN-2008
Bringing order out of chaos
As I mentioned during my year-end assessment, one of the gifts of 2007 was my friend Pat Kolon helping me bring order to the house Ed and I have lived in since 1971. Two string-savers in one family does not make for a minimalist approach to cabinets, closets and drawers. But since I hired Pat to come every Monday, things are looking much better. Not only is less becoming more, but my surplus can now be used by folks who need it. Today's task was the kitchen cabinets that house everyday glasses, mugs, vases, bowls and plates. Not only did I want to weed out what we no longer need, but to find easy-to-reach places for the things I use every day. Being a mobility scooter-rider means I can only reach so far. Yes, I can stand up, but any kind of serious stretching is not safe. And Pat, being the wonderful housekeeper that she is, wanted to wash all the items and scrub down the shelves. This was in addition to packing up my giveaways so she could take them to the Latino Family Service. What a job!
As Pat was working, it occurred to me that this process of bringing order out of chaos could be a metaphor for those times when each of us is called to examine the deep dark recesses of our hearts and minds. Those times when we must decide what no longer serves us, what others might be able to use, and how best to organize that which we choose to keep. This might refer to our ways of doing things, our attitudes about our past and present lives, any grudges we might be holding, how we relate to others, and, most importantly, how we relate to our Selves. It can be an unsettling, even painful, process, one with which we might need help. Like I've been needing Pat's help every Monday for months. And, as with my kitchen cabinets, closets and drawers, we are never really done. To keep our lives in order, every so often we must go through this process again. We can only hope that each time we will have less to deal with. But more than that, each time we hope that we'll be able to travel lighter than before.
07-JAN-2008
Duality #31
Ann LT has the most amazing quote by Diane Arbus on her Profile page. It is:
"It's important to take bad pictures. It's the bad ones that have to do with what you've never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn't seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again." - Diane Arbus
I spent much of this day taking bad photos and she's right. That's how you learn. This morning I'd recalled a photo of a sunflower that I'd taken in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC back in July 2006. I thought it might be a good start for a duality. After finding and downloading this photo off its backup CD, I could see that a possible match would be a self portrait taken in the mirror with my camera at my eye. Sounds simple, right? Wrong.
I must have taken at least 40 frames of me and my camera reflected in the mirror. Every single one was overexposed. Now, I'm sure you experienced photographers know exactly why that was, but I didn't. At least not at first. It took me the l-o-n-g-e-s-t time to figure out that my spot meter was exposing for the black hole of my camera, meaning everything around it would be overexposed. This camera--the Canon 40D--and I are relatively new to one another so I'm still getting the hang of things. My old Canon Rebel XT didn't even have spot metering, so I had no idea of its limitations. Well, thanks to my having had a bad photo day, now I do. When I finally brought out the 40D manual, I saw that evaluative metering would be my best bet. Instead of exposing for what was in the center of my lens, it would include the area around it and average out to an exposure that would work for everything. And work it did!
So my thanks go to Ann LT and Diane Arbus for giving me permission to take bad photos. It's a great way to learn.
06-JAN-2008
Presence
Occasionally individuals come into your life whose very presence benefits the world. They are rarely in positions of power, but prefer to work behind the scenes with little need for recognition. In group situations they generally let others take center stage. These persons speak only after having reflected on all sides of an issue, and when they speak people listen. They define the word "mature." Their capacity to love is endless. Arlene is one such individual.
I first met Arlene at a Carolyn McDade singing retreat in Paris, Ontario in October 2001. Carolyn and I were the only Americans present and both of us were heartsick over the events of September 11 and our country's recent vengeful attacks on Afghanistan. Arlene and her Canadian sisters drew us to their collective bosom and held us close during that entire weekend. In September 2002, Arlene, who lives in Georgetown, Ontario near Toronto, became a member of the Windsor/Detroit community of women who gathered the first Saturday of every month to work on Carolyn McDade's "O Beautiful Gaia" CD project. That CD was recorded in June 2003 by 150 women in three regions of Canada and the U.S., and was released in November of that year. In September 2006, this community--now called the Gaia Women of the Great Lakes Basin--joined hundreds of women from across Canada and the United States in another Carolyn McDade-inspired CD project. This CD is called "My Heart Is Moved" and features original songs based on the Earth Charter. It was just released in November 2007. The Gaia Women of the Great Lakes Basin continue to spend the first Saturday of every month together, and Arlene from Georgetown and Mary from Toronto continue to make the long drive to join them. Arlene also works behind the scenes as their group email coordinator.
After a two-year hiatus, I have just rejoined the community and took this candid photo at our January 5th gathering in Windsor, Ontario. It was my good fortune to be seated next to Arlene whose loving presence seeped into my pores and filled me with peace. Arlene is one among many such women of presence in this group and together they are changing our world.
05-JAN-08
Duality #30
This is one of two new images in my Dualities gallery.
CLICK HERE to see them.
I doubt if I could have imagined a year ago that I would ever have chosen to bring attention to my wrinkles like this. And I wonder if my attitude could have changed so dramatically had I not become a photographer. It was more than just creating my
"Facing Up To My Face at 65" photo gallery that changed things for me. How can I say this? It's as if looking through the lens of my camera has trained my eye to see things as they are, not as I wish they were. And to accept that reality without needing to gloss over it or turn away. Instead of simply seeing flowers, sunsets and beautiful faces, now I see empty liquor bottles in brown paper bags on city sidewalks, lakefront mansions one mile from boarded-up shop windows, and the wrinkles on my face. It just is what is.
Maybe this is why I think my spirituality is tied to my photography. Mindfulness is a core value in both. And living in the present moment. And seeing the truth of the world around me. And accepting life as it is. And being grateful for it all.
04-JAN-2008
window to the soul
If it's true that the eyes are the window to the soul, I'm afraid some of us hang drapes over that window. But not children. When you look into the crystal clear eyes of a child, you free fall into their depths. That's how it was for me at school on Thursday. As students were waiting for the art teacher to help them with their weaving, I asked if they'd let me take close-up pictures of their eyes. By now they're used to Ms. Patricia and her strange requests. I must have looked into at least a dozen pairs of 10 & 11 year-old eyes. I could hardly focus my camera I was so in awe of their beauty. Each one looked straight at me with total trust. I'm getting chills remembering it. Later I wished I'd had my macro lens, but then I would have needed a tripod and that would have been a bit too much for the circumstances. I may not have gotten the clarity of focus I'd hoped for, but I got something much more than that -- a glimpse into the souls of the innocent.
03-JAN-2008
Duality #27
This is one of two new images in my Dualities gallery.
CLICK HERE to see them.
Eyes and hands, the two most expressive parts of our body. And for those who are blind, I'm sure the voice is every bit as expressive. We may think we can cover up our inner feelings but I don't think that's possible. Not to anyone who's sensitive to others. I remember when I worked at a local bookstore, I could feel the energy--both good and bad--of certain individuals the minute they walked in the door. I didn't even need to see them. All this to say how important it is that we deal with our "stuff" before going out among others. If our energy is clear we can benefit the world simply by being. We don't need to do a thing.
02-JAN-2008
"...that wild thing inside"
I seem to be on a run of portraits here. Maybe it's that time of year. I don't know. But when my friend Dorothy emailed me her brand new poem as a New Year's gift last night, I knew I wanted to share it with you. So I was thinking of her poem when I took this self portrait.
Sudden Turns
I want to live my life all over again, to begin again,
to be utterly wild.
(Mary Oliver, “A Meeting”)
Do you want to live your life again,
to let that wild thing inside you
have its way this time,
to not hold back when the invitation
came on the silver platter,
the one which would have changed
your life forever.
Do you wish you had stood up
and said your truth
in a louder voice
even when the others didn’t want to hear
what you were saying?
Do you wish you had told them
how wrong they were,
how they didn’t understand?
Do you wish you had picked up
and moved to the mountains,
even if the snow blocked the door
in winter and the streams froze over,
and gone swimming naked in the pond
that summer with the stranger
who stopped by,
or hitchhiked through Greece with
a backpack and a smile.
Would you give up all the things
you did in exchange for what you refused,
surrender all those treasures in your
memory box,
the times when you were,
in fact,
quietly, suddenly wild,
took the unexpected turns in the path
which brought you here,
the place you are now,
this life you love
and would not trade.
Dorothy Walters
December 31, 2007
01-JAN-2008
Stay up till midnight? I don't think so!
Happy New Year! Some folks celebrate its coming with champagne; others with yawns. My sweet Eddie is of the yawn variety. And even though I'm usually a night owl, I'm barely going to make it to midnight myself. But before I take myself off to bed, I want to say once again how much you mean to me. Finding PBase was one of the most serendipitous occurrences of my life. Not only have you taught me so much about the artistic and technical aspects of photography, but the global community we've formed here gives me hope for our world.
As a longtime peace activist, I've attended innumerable rallies, marched on countless U.S. and Canadian streets, made more signs than I can count, listened to hundreds of speakers, spoken myself at national and international rallies and gatherings, created and sold original peace postcards, T-shirts and posters, written and sung peace songs with the Raging Grannies, organized and coordinated peace groups, facilitated peace workshops and retreats, and had my drawings and writings about peace appear in publications across the globe. All this to say that I've been working for peace in every way I could think of for a long, long time.
So now that I've allowed myself to follow my creative passion and focus almost exclusively on photography, I've found myself in a community of persons from around the world who are already living the dream of peace that I'd almost lost hope could ever exist. What I experience here on PBase is the new world I had dreamed of, but had come to fear I would never see in my lifetime. But here you are, persons of different generations, from different countries, speaking different languages, following different religions, of different backgrounds and cultures, holding different political views, living in every time zone on the planet, yet supporting, encouraging, educating and sharing with one another, often on a daily basis.
How could I not have hope for our world? You, dear PBasers, have given me that hope and I thank you. From the depths of my heart, I thank you.
