A Poor Substitute for the Real Thing

Yesterday, we made a side trip to Galtlinburg. Apparently for a lot of folks, it is the main destination for those who go to the Smokies. It mystifies me that at the edge of one of the most beautiful spots in the country is this monstrosity of touristy consumerism. I hadn't been there in about ten years and it has only gotten worse. It may be more expensive and slicker but it is just as offensive as it was ten years ago. The on-street parking is gone as now the streets are four-lane thoroughfares, although traffic moves agonizingly slow. We paid $5 to park in an off-street lot and stayed less than an hour. We had ventured to Gatlinburg to return to an outdoor gear store and visit some galleries. But I was disappointed in the photography gallery. The photos were disappointing in their quality. The mats were gorgeous, must have been computer designed and cut. But too many of the photos could have been composed differently and printed better. It is possible that the original exposures were deficient but in these days of digital enhancement there are many adjustments that can be made to less than perfect exposures. No, it was disappointing prints. It took me a little while to gather my thoughts about the experience. I have been to several photographers' galleries, notably Tom Mangelson and others. To visit their galleries is a mystical, spiritual, renewing experience. Each photo is carefully exhibited and well-lit like a museum. Just to stroll through the gallery is a joy. I would never be bored revisiting either of their galleries. But the Gatlinburg gallery was overwhelming with hundreds of images, as if one could make up for the lack of quality with a quantity of work. I found it boring, stifling, and enbarassing for those photographers who insist on quality in the presentation of their work. The other thing was that it was such an injustice to the beauty of nature that was just a few miles away.

Good Day

My grandaughter is beginning to develop a vocabulary which sometimes is dependent upon one's imagination or generous interpretation. I do believe that after the fun of a Sunday outing in the park she proclaimed it to be a "Good Day!" I could say the same for this day of being in the Smokies. We are staying in Townsend which we like much better than Gatlinburg because there is not the emphasis on all the tourist gaudiness and clutter. Although development is certainly more pronounced here than it was ten years ago by the evidence of banks, gas stations, and grocery stores. But the beauty of the mountains is still obvious. The lack of rain has significantly affected the autumn color and the warmth of October has delayed its peak. We went up the road past Tremont this morning and the air is crisp and the color is deeper and the on the Parkway this evening for sunset. I have enjoyed the opportunity to take some photos and learn more about my camera. And it has been delightful to spend this day with Judy. Madeline is right, it's been a good day!

A Poem for the end of October

Poem: "The Invention of Fractions" by Jessica Goodfellow, from A Pilgrim's Guide to Chaos in the Heartland. © Concrete Wolf Chapbook Series.

The Invention of Fractions
God himself made the whole numbers: everything else
is the work of man.—Leopold Kronnecker
God created the whole numbers:
the first born, the seventh seal,
Ten Commandments etched in stone,
the Twelve Tribes of Israel —
Ten we've already lost —
forty days and forty nights,
Saul's ten thousand and David's ten thousand.
'Be of one heart and one mind' —
the whole numbers, the counting numbers.
It took humankind to need less than this;
to invent fractions, percentages, decimals.
Only humankind could need the concepts
of splintering and dividing,
of things lost or broken,
of settling for the part instead of the whole.
Only humankind could find the whole numbers,
infinite as they are, to be wanting;
though given a limitless supply,
we still had no way
to measure what we keep
in our many-chambered hearts.

Taking Superior Home

Judy loves the rocks on the shore of Lake Superior. She is not the only one as there are books written about the variety of rocks and where to go to find particular ones. This is Paradise Beach, about 50 miles south of the Canadian border, where an abundance of agate can be found. You probably can't tell it but it is pouring rain in this picture and in the center far right there is a young eagle feasting on a fish. Several other eagles were in the nearby trees and occasionally swooped over the tree tops. The wind was blowing strongly from the northeast and the temperature was dropping. But the rock gatherer was undeterred. She picked up enough amazing agate rocks to fill a disposable Subway salad bowl. The variety is stunning. How does such a mixture of stones find its way to this beach? From where along this enormous lake did they originate and how long has it taken to get here, driven by wind and ice and water? But it is not just this one spot where rock gatherers bend at the waist but all around the shoreline are treasures of color and shape and texture, all polished by nature. It is a rock pickers' dream.

World Communion Sunday

We have retreated to Eau Claire for a few days to escape the weather and the abyssmal photo opportunities. The summer has been too dry and the autumn too quick to provide photogenic color. The wind nor the pouring rain provide any assistance in that matter. Cloudy skies are no problem as one can photograph water and detail, but that has not been the case the last few days. We have attended church in Eau Claire and one of the pastors is a good friend of my bishop. The sermon is prophetic, delivered by a pastor from South Africa which gives real meaning to the day. The communion bread is the first bread I have had in more than two weeks due to this new diet and the small cup of juice is the first fruit juice in as long a time. True soul nourishment and connection to fellow Christians when we are far from home. We are not strangers at this table.

The Winds of November Came Early

Gordon Lightfoot sang about the sinking of the Edmund Fizgerald with the words of the opening verse:
"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early."
Lat night it felt every bit of November as thunder and lightning and strong winds howled outside the motel door. We have retreated to Wisconsin.

Ya Shudda Been Here Last Week

How many times have I heard this? The weather was purrrfect last week! The sunsets were spectacular last week. Conditions were so much better last week.

Duluth Dawn

Judy and I left our hotel room in Superior WI in the predawn darkness to drive to Canal Park in Duluth. We had scouted out the area the afternoon before and knew exactly where to go. The sky was rosy with the promise of dawn. I set up quickly and began to try different compostions and combinations. It was a beautiful sight as the pictures can testify.

New Volunteer at the Gallery

Gallery sitting this evening (doing my volunteer thing) with quite a crowd going through before the performance of Pirates of Penzance. Reminded me of Billy Hester from Savannah, GA and his story of how he and Cheri met. He told how he first saw this vivacious blonde across the room at a church meeting, and he admitted that he wanted to meet her but didn't have the courage. Weeks later as he was preparing to go to rehearsals in upper New York, the director called and asked Billy (since he had a car) if he would be willing to pick up the female lead. Billie found the address and parked the car and knocked on the door. And who should open the door---but the girl that he had seen across the church weeks before. He was speechless, but not for long for they starred in the musical, dated, and married. And now they have an amazing, art-filled, and gracious ministry at Asbury Memorial in Savannah. I told all this because of the mixture of gratification and awe I had this evening as I watched people go through the gallery and stop to admire different pieces of art work. I noticed one person who paused at my photographs. Rather humbling to have a stranger appreciate one of your photographs. It is a blessing. Wow!

River Dance, Step One

Last week, Judy and I made a quick tour of the east side of the state to photograph the remaining three rivers. I suspect I will find other opportunities to photograph all ten rivers in the future during different seasons, but I completed the first step so that the web site can display banners of each of the district rivers. The challenge is to be able to drop them at a 5 to 1 ratio for the web banner. That aspect has required a change in the way I compose a photograph. As a slide photographer for many years, I was aware of the entire frame. Consequently, all of my photos filled the 24mmx36mm frame. I became conscious of elements that either needed to be included in the frame or excluded. But these web banners suggested an entirely different approach of filling the width of the frame so that it could be cropped to fit. However, I found that within the picture, there were several crop possibilities each of which could be an image with impact. Digital unleashes the imagination. There is no one right composition or one right possibility. Some of my friends would not be surprised that I end here with a wealth of possibilities. Sounds like life!

An Amazing Morning

I admit that before I went to bed last night I thought about getting up early for a photo trip, but I didn't really think about it too intently and fell asleep without any substantial plans for Labor Day. But we awoke early. The house might have been too warm and we grew restless. For whatever reason, we awoke at 3:45 a.m. I wondered what time sunrise was and how far it might be to drive north and take photos of the Illinois and maybe the Spoon. You see, I have a project of getting photos of 10 rivers in Illinois for the Conference Web Site. I already have the Sangamon, Cache, Mississippi, and LaMoine. I have one as well of the Illinois at Peoria, but it was rather lackluster and could not be cropped well for a banner. So, in the dark, I pondered if this might be an opportunity to get some river pictures. So we loaded up the car and drove north in the early morning dark. While there are few cars at 4 am, it is still surprising that some folk are out on the road so early. After a Hardees stop in Havana, we crossed the bridge and drove along the western edge of the Illinois. It was surpising to see fog in the lowlands and I contemplated what a picture might look like. The sky was rather plain, no clouds, but a nice rosy color from the sun below the horizon. I took a few preliminary photos along the road of the intermittent fog, but I pushed on to the little town of Liverpool that I knew from the map sat right on the banks of the Illinois. We parked just as two fisherman came to launch their boats in the dawn mist. The sun was coming up just over the fog and turned the river golden and the fisherman started on his quest and I pushed the shutter. Actually, I took a lot of photos from that site and surely one will be appropriate for the web. I know I was glad I got out of bed.

A Quote for the Last Day of August

"Any life, however long
is too short
if the mind is bereft of splendor,
the passions under worked,
the memories sparse,
and the imagination unlit by radiant musings."
Norman Cousins

On View at the Gallery!

Saturday, the September-October show opens at the H. D. Smith Gallery at the Hoogland Art Center where I am a juried artist. This time I have five photographs on display including the one above. The whole process of photography takes on another dimension when one begins to make prints for display that are exhibited for public viewing. While I earned money with my photography years ago when I was a student in seminary and for a year after graduation, I was still surprised that some anonymous person paid a substantial sum for a print in the May-June show. I guess it is a measure, certainly not the only one, of one's skill as a photographer to have someone appreciate your work to such an extent that they are willing to purchase it. Not only was I surprised, but it encouraged me to be more diligent to make the art that I exhibited as high quality as I could make it. For a number of years, I have given away framed photographs as presents and I believe the recipients have appreciated the gifts. And I consider the relationship between giver and receiver enhances the value of the photograph. But to have an unknown stranger pay more than what I expected has increased my awareness of my skill. Being accepted as a juried artist into the Prairie Art Alliance which represents more than 100 truly gifted, diverse artists is wonderfully affirming. And then to sell a photo in the first show was amazing. Now I have carefully prepared five more and I admit I am pleased and proud of what they represent. Maybe they too will go home with someone who is attracted to what I saw and the way I captured that vision. Who knows? It has happened before.

Learn Something!

It was just a personal send-off of encouragement that bid farewell to my children each morning as they left for school. It is pretty easy as a child to learn something new every day. It is absolutely amazing to watch how real that learning ability is with our granddaughter, Madeline. Not yet 15 months old, she is of course the brightest child in all of Tennessee. What a delight it is to witness the knowledge that grows exponentially every time we see her. It may be more stunning to learn something at an age much older than 15 months. But as someone else said, if you are not learning, you are probably dead. So here I am learning about blogging and hyperlinks and information management and tons of other stuff. It is not surprising to my children that Dad is learning something new. My son observed some years ago that Dad seems to always be picking up a new skill. What one is it this year? Well, just take a look. Ain't this a hoot!

Sunset Road 0399

Sunset Road 0399
Originally uploaded by johnhrtlrd

Photographic opportunities are available when least expected. I took my camera with me to have dinner with friends and while we were dining in the restaurant, we had a rather torrential downspour. I suspected that there was a rainbow just outside the door and there was (although not a very attractive setting.) Later I drove to a highway overpass as the sun was setting to take some pictures of the retreating storm clouds and noticed how the sun reflected off the wet pavement, much as it appears on the beach. It was a fun evening.