Autumn for photographers is akin to playoffs in football. The energy level is high and expectations are immense. Fly fishing is a truer analogy; the process can be much more rewarding than the catch of the day.

For the past couple of years I have not placed much effort into autumn photography. I have an enthusiasm for nature photography but haven’t placed focus into it because it has been typical/traditional photography that I have been purposely shying away from.

Ambient and city night photography have fulfilled my project catalog for the last two years. This autumn I am going back to basics; classical photography of autumn. The hurdle is time, October is booked up. Hopefully I will get my butt out of bed early a couple of mornings and make my way into the wilderness. In November time frees up and I am thinking about doing some deep forest photography of autumn.

Inevitably, you find a stream or mountaintop combined with colorful tree tops and shoot. My perspective is going to be “deep forest stillness within the light”. That will be the working title going into this new project.

Ebb and flow, maybe I’ll shoot in black and white? That’s classical.

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/29
Focal Length: 52 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

Sarah Palin has ruined this election campaign for me, as I suspect for others as well. I have been following and trying to educate myself on politics for the last eight years. Not an easy thing to do, cultivating yourself on politics? Politics appears to be more of religion vs. secularism than the civics of our nation.

Then inject the marketing scheme of “Palinism”. If it works, brilliant, and if it fails what a waste of time. You can read my wife’s rants on Palin (here) for an examination of her. For me, this election is only about the marketing of “fear vs. hope” with the right hook of a beauty pageant, PTA, hockey mom and spokes model for the Republican Party (a.k.a. George Bush with girl parts).

For me the gold at the end of rainbow is Tina Fey. God Bless you Tina…you have made all my efforts in this past eight years worth it.

If you want to read a really straightforward (and comical) point of view regarding Palin from a very talented writer, click (here.)

So…it appears I have been sportingly challenged on the previous statements I have made regarding Sarah Palin (I truly dig a good debate). In an effort to clear a few things up I decided to justify 10 of the 11 statements I listed, and partially concede to one. I was challenged here as you can read in the “comments” section of my original posting.

I’ll break down each one, one by one. I will be referring to the list of facts I wrote at the end of my original post.

Sorry this has taken me so long to reply to. A business, a house, a husband, a 2 and half year old…you get it.

1. “YES, she did vote YES for the “bridge to nowhere”. I was wrong that she didn’t “vote” for the bridge to nowhere, as the Governor she can’t. However, I was correct that she did in fact support the Bridge to Nowhere, until it became a kind-of laughing stock issue (which at the time McCain himself called out as pork-barrel spending), at which point Palin pulled her support as it became increasingly obvious that to continue her support would just be embarrassing. As a matter of fact, in the web page of facts from the individual that contested my statements, his claim states in number 59 that “yes, she did finally turn down the money for the bridge to nowhere”. In fact, she did not turn down the money at all. She simply re-allocated all of it to other transportation projects in Alaska.

And folks, truly it is not that she changed her mind. We all have the right to do that. It is the blatant disregard for our intelligence as Americans that she had the nerve to make the statement “I told Congress “thanks but no, thanks” for that bridge to nowhere”. I stand by my statement.

2. “The Right finds that Obama not wearing a flag pin is more of an issue than Palin’s association with the far right Alaskan Independence Party, which has been known to support succession from the US.” I never said she was a member. I simply said she was associated with this organization. She did in fact speak in front of this party in 2006 as a candidate for governor and furthermore, I think it is safe to say that given that her husband was a member for 7 years allows us to use the word “association” when discussing Palin and the Alaskan Independence Party. For the record, I never said she was a member, which was in fact a misconception widely printed and stated in the media. I stand by my statement.

3. “Palin, like her running mate, does not support funding for teen pregnancy programs.” This is a tricky one. Here’s where semantics can be a real pain in the ass. Although, as stated in the list of facts given by the individual contesting my claims, it seems the Alaskan government does appropriate a portion of its budget to help support programs for “troubled youths”, I still can’t seem to find where there was an “increase” in support. And mind you, these are programs that support all troubled youth. These are not “teen pregnancy programs”. However, with that being said, there is no direct facts that I can find stating that Sarah does not support those either. I can’t find that she does, and I can find that she doesn’t. I will partially concede my statement.

4. “She has vehemently refused to support sex education in schools, other than abstinence.” In answer to this question from the Eagle Forum Alaska Questionnaire:
“Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?” Palin’s answer was: “Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.” So, yes she does support abstinence-only education. And even her own supposed supporters have stated that her comments on abstinence-only education and lessons on contraception didn’t sound clear and seemed disjointed. I stand by my statement.

5. “Palin does not support pro-choice abortion rights. So, while applauding her daughter for CHOOSING (interesting selection for a word, don’t you think?) to have her baby, she has made it a point to try and take away choice from other women.” Palin has stated many many many many many many times that she is pro-life. She has stated she thinks a woman should not have an abortion for any reason other than the mother’s life being in danger. She has stated that she believes it should not be a federal decision, but a state decision. Now, I know everyone will tell me “this is her personal opinion”, but what are we to judge her future decision-making on if not her “personal opinion”. And I will also give you my personal opinion that the reason this has remained a federal decision is because it is the only way to fully protect this right for women. Should it become a state decision I believe you will find many women taking many drastic measures, including ones that put the mother’s life in danger. AND during an interview with Newsmax.com, she answered “And your stand on abortion” with this: “I’m pro-life. I’ll do all I can to see every baby is created with a future and potential. The legislature should do all it can to protect human life.” I think that’s clear. I stand by my statement.

6. “She claims to want to put the smackdown on earmark spending, yet applied for over $200 million in earmark requests this year before being asked to accept the VP nomination. She also applied for and received thousands and millions in earmarks over the years during her stint as mayor of Wasilla. And a few of these earmarks were actually criticized at the time by McCain himself.” I fully stand by this statement. You can show me how she actually decreased earmark spending during her time in Alaska but the fact still remains that “Alaska has consistently topped the pork per capita ratings drawn up by Citizens Against Government Waste since 2000. According to the latest 2008 ranking, every Alaskan received $555 in pork over the last year, compared to $25 for every inhabitant of Illinois and $15 for every Arizonan.”

AND “While she has cut back on earmark requests, records cited by the Associated Press show that she has requested $750 million in federal subsidies during her two years as governor, the largest per-capita request in the nation.”

AND “McCain has also weighed in on the Gravina Island Bridge. In advertisements, McCain labeled the bridge as wasteful spending. [40] and in an August 2007 townhall speech recorded on video[41] and quoted again on April 30, 2008,[42] he blamed the tragedy of the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse on the Bridge to Nowhere. His advertising and comments which before September 21, 2006 contradicted Governor Sarah Palin’s support of the bridge drew the attention of the media,[43] when he chose Palin as his running mate.” (all citations left in this quote are backed up on the wikipedia page as linked above). I stand by my statement.

7. “She is in the middle of an investigation that is accusing her of abusing her powers surrounding the termination of her public safety commissioner. Apparently an attempt to get back at her ex-brother-in-law for violent (and unforgivable, if true) acts against her sister and her nephew, she pressured the public safety commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law. When he refused, she fired him.” I could link a whole bunch of articles stating this fact but I really don’t think I have to. It is common knowledge that Palin is in the middle of this investigation. She is, in fact, accused of the above. I stand by my statement.

8. “She tried to have books banned in the local library in Wasilla, Alaska during her time as mayor because “some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them”. This is a case of “you say potato, I say potato”. In my statement I claim she tried to have books banned. In the statement given by the person contesting my claims, he says “…she did ask the librarian if some books could be withdrawn because of being offensive…” So, here we are. I don’t support Palin, so I say “banned”. You do support Palin, so you say “withdrawn”. Potato/potato. I stand by my statement.

9. “She opposes same-sex marriage.” “Ms. Palin said she supported Alaska’s decision to amend its Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. But she used her first veto as governor to block a bill that would have prohibited the state from granting health benefits to same-sex partners of public employees. Ms. Palin said she vetoed the bill because it was unconstitutional, but raised the possibility of amending the state Constitution so the ban could pass muster.”

So she supported amending the state’s constitution to ban it, then vetoed a bill trying to prohibit health benefits for same-sex partners, but went on to discuss amending the state’s constitution AGAIN to support the ban. You be the judge. I stand by my statement.

10. “She opposes embryonic stem-cell research.”
It is widely known that McCain supports embryonic stem cell research and his running mate does not. I stand by my statement.

11. “She opposes the decriminalization of marijuana for people with painful illnesses.”
Palin has stated several times she does not support the decriminalization of marijuana. I stand my statement.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 30 sec (30)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/25
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

The Maverick (Guest Posting from My Wife)

So my husband has asked me to “guest write” a blog entry today regarding my views on Sarah Palin. Where to begin…where to begin. There is so much to say I fear we could be hear all day, dear readers. Therefore, I will keep my lengthy list of issues regarding her life and views to just three for your benefit. However, I will include a small list of things I would love for you to keep in mind if you’re still on the fence about her.

(1) She has very little experience. I won’t say much here as every writer on the globe has said it so much better than me and has said it so many times, really…need I say more? But I will say this: THE FRIGGIN’ PTA DOES NOT COUNT AS EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE WHEN RUNNING FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITIED STATES. If I have to hear this one more time from some white-haired, suited up, old man with a red tie on I’m going to scream.

(2) Right from my feminist mouth: Palin needs to be home tending to her children. Yep, I said it. Now let me explain. Man or woman, mom or dad, the title makes no difference. As a PARENT it is very disappointing to me that it is more obvious to me that her family needs her right now more than it is obvious to her. She has a 17-year old pregnant daughter with photos strewn all over the internet posing with various forms of alcoholic beverages with captions like, “not only is she a whore, but an alkie too!” That’s enough right there, wouldn’t you agree? Her daughter is going thru a pretty rough time right now. She’s dealing with pregnancy, an impending marriage, and dropping out of high school. Any one of those things is enough to send me screaming for my mommy and she has to deal with them all at once AND in the media spotlight. While her daughter will be learning how to be a teen mom for the first, and hopefully the last, time her own mother could possibly be practically a nation away from her. But, you know, what the heck…she’s a “feminist” you know. She’s “furthering women-kind”. She’s “making history”. All I have to say is, you have just witnessed a feminist doing one of the most anti-feminist acts: walking away from her own child during a time of need. How sad.

(3) How am I supposed to believe that Palin is smart enough to help run this country but not smart enough to know that she was throwing her daughter to the wolves by accepting this nomination? This kid has been called every name in the book on every gossip site imaginable. Yep, that’s exactly who I want helping to run this country: a woman who sold out her pregnant daughter. We live in a country that does not value motherhood and most decisions on what to do about an unplanned pregnancy are based on fear (just take a look at those abortion statistics—do you really think they’re so high because young women just couldn’t be bothered??). So not only does her daughter have to deal with the “shame” of her situation, but she gets to do it in front of the whole world.

Now, in light of the fact that my rant against Sarah Palin has little to do with actual politics, I have included a short list of facts below that highlight her current and past involvements and decisions.

• YES, she did vote YES for the “bridge to nowhere”.
• The Right finds that Obama not wearing a flag pin is more of an issue than Palin’s association with the far right Alaskan Independence Party, which has been known to support succession from the US.
• Palin, like her running mate, does not support funding for teen pregnancy programs.
• She has vehemently refused to support sex education in schools, other than abstinence. Do I really need to discuss how ironic these last 2 statements are??
• Palin does not support pro-choice abortion rights. So, while applauding her daughter for CHOOSING (interesting selection for a word, don’t you think?) to have her baby, she has made it a point to try and take away choice from other women.
• She claims to want to put the smackdown on earmark spending, yet applied for over $200 million in earmark requests this year before being asked to accept the VP nomination. She also applied for and received thousands and millions in earmarks over the years during her stint as mayor of Wasilla. And a few of these earmarks were actually criticized at the time by McCain himself.
• She is in the middle of an investigation that is accusing her of abusing her powers surrounding the termination of her public safety commissioner. Apparently an attempt to get back at her ex-brother-in-law for violent (and unforgivable, if true) acts against her sister and her nephew, she pressured the public safety commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law. When he refused, she fired him.
• She tried to have books banned in the local library in Wasilla, Alaska during her time as mayor because “some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them”.
• She opposes same-sex marriage.
• She opposes embryonic stem-cell research.
• She opposes the decriminalization of marijuana for people with painful illnesses.

If this isn’t enough to make a firm decision on Sarah Palin, have no worries. She’ll sink herself soon enough. After all, she’s a “maverick” don’t cha know?? She needs no help from me.

Fear or hope: a story of Obama living the American dream and a story of McCain living an American nightmare. This is where we are at as a country. We need to choose.

For the last two weeks at 10 pm EST I turn on the TV and watch. The Olympics of speechwriters, this is how I see the conventions. The artist in me gets pumped up for all the writers out there being inspired to spin a new phrase. Politicians, preachers, prophets, pundits, pirates all make their way to the podium to spew their rhetoric to the masses. I love it, the super bowl with spellchecker, grammar pro and limited commercials.

I have to vote democratic, it’s mandatory if I wish to keep my acoustics guitars. I do. It’s true when you purchase an acoustic guitar they actually make you sign a form stating you will be a life-long democrat and mock all republicans with songs entitled “three chords and the truth”. On the flip side I am told when you purchase a gun you have to also sign a life-long republican voter form stating you will oppose all big government interference as long as the big government still enforces pro-gun, anti-choice, and anti-global thinking.

The debates next month should be pay-per-view events: In this corner HOPE weighing in at 175 lbs with 10 knock-outs and two best sellers to his name. In the other corner FEAR weighing in at 155 lbs being knocked down 15 times but getting up from all of them with the patented thumbs up to the crowd.

Enjoy the show…

Last night’s conversation was focused around the language of art. Sitting in a well-laid out office with a pair of web/graphic designers I was able to speak fluently in art-ese. It was nice. Often artists have to speak in parables, examples and metaphors to be understood. It’s not that the language of art is complicated, but rather it is a language of “feeling”, which can be problematic. The syntax of art-academics is easily understood, but the culture of communicating a “feeling” is hard to express to someone who is not involved in a compositional practice.

The polysemous nature of descriptive terms for fine aesthetics are un-definable, specific and dualistic in significance.   Slow art, resonate, vibe, groove, pulse, moment, pocket, timing, imagination, color, texture, renewal, flow, classical education, and aesthetic philosophy is the definition of “polysemy” itself; “something having multiple meanings”.   Mathew Dallman, publisher and Editor-In-Chief of POLYSEMY.com does a great job at bringing these quandaries to a conversational level. Read “The Nature of Aesthetic Study” by Dallman for a deeper syntax, etymology and real life purpose for talking about fine art.  For me last night was a moment of flow, form and function. All I needed was Chianti Classico and Bach cello suites playing in the background to complete the bliss.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 10 sec (10)
Aperture: f/29
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

Been feeling uninspired lately: Historically that means I am about to do something great. “Great”, meaning that I dig the new work and new direction. Now I sit and wait for the brilliance. Writer’s block, photographer’s block, guitar player’s block are things that I do not experience too often. I practice everything-everyday a lot. It’s my creative spring. I figure if I play guitar everyday, write a page a day, and complete two to three photo sessions a week, I will generate something pleasant to look at, listen to or read.

As of writing this, the greatness of something new hasn’t happened. I hope for all of us that this piece of writing isn’t the great stuff. If it is thanks for reading… it’s been nice having the company. Hopefully this is just a fluffy nonsensical piece to get me to the good stuff. Played some funky guitar music for my daughter yesterday morning, hope I can remember it next time I pick up the guitar. She danced to it, must’ve been ok. I want a Lute, that instrument that Sting made trendy. Trendy to those who are currently uninspired and are easily influenced by Sting, that would be me. In times of creative drought I like to buy things, actually I just like to internet shop and never purchase the item. The idea that you have to buy something to get that photo, sound or creative impulse is an abomination of all I hold sacred.

Ate lunch outside today, sat under an oak tree. That seems to be creative nature in itself. Wrote in my journal, listened to the birds of Pittsburgh flutter in the trees and daydream about….

Thinks I just got my inspiration… gotta go….

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 5 sec (5)
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 46 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

During conception, in the womb, and through the first years of life we are always accompanied with companionship. Even in dreams we are guided by some force or narrative. It is not our nature to be alone. Why do I crave solitude? The economy of space and silence within my own understanding is the immersion of liberation that haunts me. Caustic pain of seclusion, it’s my lure, it’s my mistress. A palette of time, observation and study of myself, my environment is considered necessary. People are noise, I need quiet to grow.

11:02pm: rice timer beeps, lunch for tomorrow. Last hint of headache lingers in my temples; my tongue is dry, rice smells sweet. My wife and daughter sleep. Is this solitude?

Greatest hits fom my vacation, (Slide Show)

~ See you August 18^th

The selections of music that I buy next, I will probably not like.Music I like I do not buy, not too often anymore that is. I become bored with music I like, its everywhere. Why buy it?

Commercials, radio, internet, office buildings, evaluators, and sidewalk dissonant sounds fight to fill up my audible range of the day. I am always listening to music, be it in my car or the mix of the world’s sound. I am not advocating stealing or not listening. I am campaigner for mindful hearing of music.

I have paid for my share of music, about twenty five years of purchasing and re-purchasing and formatting and re-formatting music again and again and again. Albums, eight-tracks, cassette-tapes, CD’s, and downloads. I have bought them all. My personal collection is a library of archived music that I like…no, that I love…collecting dust in a dark basement. I have never counted them all, but I could easily purchase a car, my dream hybrid car, for the investment of music that I have sitting collecting dust.

It could be my age or the ego-of-the-artist inside of me, but if music doesn’t make me think, feel, and question and even make me uncomfortable with the resonance, than it’s not for me. I have stacks of great music that is no longer for me. Music needs to educate, push, inspire and expand what I already know. I am blessed to have a musical nature and suffer from musicophobia of redundancy – a Musicophilia addiction fills my veins, tag me obsessed.

Charlotte Rains Dixon is a freelance writer, novelist, copywriter, ghostwriter and creative writing teacher living in Portland. Charlotte has a Master of Fine Arts in Writing and is the editor of “Book Strumpet” and the author of the “Word Strumpet” blog. Dixon graciously agreed to take part in my ongoing “5 Question Interview Series”.

What’s a Word Strumpet & why name your blog after a Middle English name for a prostitute?

A wordstrumpet is someone who can’t get enough writing, or enough words. The implication being that the prostitute can’t get enough sex, which is probably an erroneous assumption, but oh well. And thank you for knowing what the word strumpet means, you’d be surprised how many people don’t. My inspiration for the name comes from how we say (at least I do) “I’m an email whore” or “I’m a slut for email.” Kind of along those lines. Most people intuitively get it. I’ve also had people think the title means Words Trumpet, which also makes sense so I guess its okay.

Why blog? How did you get started with blogging?

I was actually trying to remember the other day what motivated me to start blogging. I can’t remember the exact inspiration. I was doing a lot of copywriting for the internet and I needed a website and a blog seemed to be the easiest way to get one. Now I think of it as sort of a website/blog hybrid, which I think is becoming more and more common. Often I land on traditional websites and get bored, thinking, where’s all the new info? The updates? The interesting personal stuff?

What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?

Oh God, that’s such a good question. What inspires me? I don’t even know. Life, the people in my life, family, friends, the absolute absurdity of the human condition. Love, wanting to figure it out (when really it’s very simple), relationships, helping others. One of my writing mentors, Melissa Pritchard, once said that to be a good writer you have to know a lot about life. I think that’s true—and I also think that I, at least, figure life out as I write about it. Making up stories about my life gives it meaning. How do I stay motivated? Trying to figure the next thing out. Also, I’ve reached the point in my life where I don’t seem to be able to stop writing. Whether it is for self-initiated projects or for others, I’m writing a lot every day. I’ve said this a million times, but for me, writing truly is like breathing. I just don’t get how people live without it.

On the completion of your novel: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by your blog audience compare with writing the blog?

It’s funny, the blog is very free form to me. I get an idea for a post, and sometimes it is just a vague idea based on my writing life, and I start writing and it just flows. Often the posts end up being way longer than I think they are going to be when I’ve started. In some respects, writing the novel was the same way, at least in the first draft. After that, there’s a lot more shaping involved, since the plot has to work and the characters need an arc and all that. I try not to be too specific about my novel in the blog, my idea being that readers want to read about the process of writing it, not the novel itself. So it will be interesting to see the reaction when it is published.

Your life seems to be a journey that is totally expressed by blogging: Do we know the real you or do you keep a private life that is not told to your readers?

I’d probably panic if I went back and read all my past posts and realized how much of myself I’ve revealed. But in truth, I write so much that I tend to write things and forget about them. I’m on to the next thing. The thought occurs that this could be a self-protective mechanism. I’m halfway toying with the idea of starting a memoir next, so what you don’t get from the blog you’ll probably get in there. I’d say people get about 90% of the real me. Everybody deserves a few secrets, don’t you think?

What follows is a zygote of an idea. Once a week I will be posting snap shots of my current writing project. All posts will be titled “The Original Whatever”.

“When humans know themselves, the rest of nature is right there” – Gary SnyderIt’s 4am, the “non-time of day”…an unspeakable point of the day. Picture this: desk lamp on, computer screen at full brightness, the wall clock has stopped. I sit to write. I’m wearing boxer shorts that are 15 years old, a tank top that is well over 20 years old and just experienced that moment when your breath turns into morning breath (my wife is such a lucky person). I smell funny and it feels like there is no oxygen in the air. This is a dreadful mix of when sleeplessness, madness and the creative impulse equals schizophrenia. No wonder why all great writers go insane. Four o’clock in the morning is not meant for the living.This is my second attempt at writing chapter 3. Chapter 1 and 2 went well. I passed out a zygote draft to friends and strangers and got feedback. Some people even said they found the writing to be motivational. This is not good. Motivational books end up in the discount bin quickly. Motivational books become trendy for an instant and cheesy for a life time. I can see it, my face on a book with an award winning smile and 99-cent sticker plastered on my forehead.

Have you noticed how much people love to be motivated, but hate to follow through on the effort part? Remember, people hate effort especially when it entails that they have to do something.

Motivational speakers, this is something that people love. Again this is not good for me because I am writing at 4am and speaking to no one. There is a definite criteria to being a motivational speaker and if you do not fit the criteria bad things will happen to you.

1. You have to be tall, at least over six feet.
2. Caucasian
3. Must have extremely white teeth.

If you do not have these three attributes then you cannot be a motivational speaker. People who think of themselves as motivational and do not have these attributes are simply people who like to egg other people on. These are the people who think that they are right on everything. I hate these people.

There have been only two people in recorded history that have been motivational speakers without the aide of the three traits. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, but note they were both tall with extremely white teeth, and Jesus. He was motivational as well, but he is tall and white in all the pictures that I have ever seen him in.

Life does not turn out good for people who are motivational speakers but do not have the 3 traits. Jesus, Gandhi and MLK all ask us to place effort into “love thy neighbor” and they got assassinated. Seriously not funny…fuck don’t you just hate humanity at times?

The good news is that Jesus told us the “meek shall inherit the earth”. This is good news for all humanity. I personally know the Meek family and what they plan to do with their inheritance.

Their plan is quite nice as long as you do not like Mexican food or Austria. The Meeks hate Mexican food and have plans to completely eradicate it from the face of the Earth. Goodbye to Austria, the entire continent has to be removed from the planet to pay off the inheritance tax. The previous owners, the brothers Evolution and Creationism, who by the way could never get along, were just going to give the continent over to the global warming franchise to put the kibosh on all the mixed messages being reported by the media. Goodbye Mexican food, goodbye Austria, say hello to environmentally sustainable living, all credited to the Meek-inheritance-family-plan. I told you bad things happen to those who try to be motivational who do not possess the quality of being tall, Caucasian with extremely white teeth.

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/29
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

I have spent money this week.  I bought two pairs of pants, one pair of shoes, a new belt, some books, also ate lunch out twice, one cookie, and numerous cups of coffee. I am not one for spending money on things that don’t keep me alive out of jail.  Food, mortgage, utilities, taxes and wine, and that’s about it.   I get books, DVDs and music from the library (most of them).  I am not growing out of my clothes so it’s rare that I wear them out.  Traditionally my fashion preference is black, gray or white so my clothing choices seldom go out of style.   

An out-of-the-ordinary thing happened to me that brought on this spending spree. Couple of weeks ago I lost a pair of pants in my own home.  It’s true.  There was no changing clothes anywhere, no girlfriend on the side nor do I think my wife tossed them out just to see me wear something new.  I think my socks stole them (I also lost a much-loved blazer to my house).  Do I live in fear of my socks stealing other things?  Do I ask a Priest to cast out evil clothing-stealing-spirits?  Do I accuse my wife until she makes a full confession? What to do…  A good thing from my shopping experience was that I discovered that my waist line is an inch smaller.  32-inch waist, 32-inch inseam is how I bought pants in the past.  Today I purchased two pairs of 31-inch waist, 31-inch inseam, the missing inch around my waist I will not miss but the missing inch on my inseam has me curious?  I am getting shorter…getting smaller only happens to really, really, really old people…I am not old…not even close to being old. The answer came to me. Can socks that steal clothing from my home also steal the actual length from my legs?  At first I thought, “this is dumb”, what is a sock going to do with a leg? Then it hit me…socks go on feet, feet are attached to legs, legs needs pants and I am missing pants.  Now I am panicking.

Cloning – What happened to the idea of cloning humans???

If I had the power to clone, I would clone my 2 ½ year old daughter and keep a cloned version of her with me at all times. Two and half is the age of angels, just old enough to talk but not old enough to ask questions that I can’t answer. Old enough to enjoy running around all day and still young enough to go to bed early. At 2 ½ the biggest horror in her life is that we run out of bananas and the greatest joy is hugging her Daddy. That’s me…Daddy. I am sure hugging mommy is also of great joy but mommy is not writing this so I get to be the greatest joy of my daughter’s life.

I see cloning as a win-win. My daughter, the non-cloned version, gets to grow up and have a fulfilling life packed with all the glory and splendors that life has to offer. I get to keep a 2 ½ year old angel with me at all times for the rest of my life that is left on this planet.

(Before reading: Click on the photo to view an enlargment)

Photography documents authenticate time. Human, by default, cannot see time. We experience instant after instant that when stitched together we call the ever-present moment of now. Time is an abstract perception, a judgment of how we relate split seconds of now. The above photograph is 15 seconds of time. It’s impossible for a human to have the understanding, the physical and visual experiences of what this photograph is showing. The human eye, by construction, is ever-changing to fit the environment. The camera has an omnipresent eye. Photographs may be the only way to understand a poetic version of how God may see the universal present moment of now.

Photos taken at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
Photographed an event there this past Saturday night, wonderful space.

I am starting to think about next year’s photography project. The current themes that have been going through my head are:

- Obscure portraits (see this)
- Pittsburgh at sunrise
- Motion & stillness (see this)
- Abandonment architecture

My gut is pushing me towards the abandonment subject matter. Pittsburgh is a town that is half a ghost town and half a town of resurrection.

The previous works have been “City Night” photography and “Ambient Art” photography, both topics I could easily stay with. My ambient portfolio is not completed as of yet. I still have the autumn season to document. Further, I have enjoyed the idea of removing the subject from a photo (the storytelling aspect) and leaving the viewer to have more of a visual experience when considering the work (see this). Photographing rock images has also been calling me but I feel it would be too similar to the ambient.

What’s your pick?

Camera: Nikon D70s
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

This is to go with the photo from Monday that I would also like to see printed in 40 x 60 or even larger. Hot steamy day in Pittsburgh, I am going to the pool.