Honesty

2015/12/282023/12/28 ruminator

The clip above is from Zack Arias, a photographer I follow now and again. He posts information/lessons from his experience and there is an honesty about him that is interesting. When I read Arias’ words, I get a sense that we are on this journey together. He has experience I don’t have. That’s why I’m along for the ride. But, there is a respect that comes from being on the same journey, even if at different points. There isn’t an attitude about him.

Watch his video. This bit of work was a turning point for his career. Until this video was produced for his guest post on Scott Kelby‘s site, he was still trying the make it. There is another video here in which he describes his journey.

Honesty really is the best way.

Hanging Around

2015/12/272023/12/27 ruminator

Capture from Walkies on a loop near my lodging, Lubbock, Texas.

While walking a loop around our hotel a few days ago, the Girl and I came across a crane idled for the long Christmas weekend. I’m always amused when I see equipment suspended from the boom to keep it away from vandals.

Happy Birthday, Sis!

2015/12/262015/12/26 ruminator

My youngest sister was born the day after Christmas. She would have been 56-years old today. Like the rest of my nuclear family, she is gone.

She made a lot of poor choices over the years and that lead to quite a bit of distance between us. But I still loved her and when she was in a good place she was a lot of fun to be around. I miss you Sis. Happy Birthday!

Christmas 2015

2015/12/252023/12/25 ruminator4 Comments

Merry Christmas, early this morning on 25 December 2016. It’s about 0300 hours as I write this. Sleep seems to come hard to me these days. I’m not sure why and I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll be up a few minutes, then back in the rack until it’s time to rise and start my day.

This is the first year I have not spent Christmas at home, well, at my house. When I sold my house in June, I had no idea where I would be when the holidays arrived. So, here I am sitting in a hotel room, early on Christmas morning. It’s not sad, really, but it is certainly odd.

This is the day Christians set aside to remember the birth of Jesus, the Christ child. It was an event the Jews waited to see for generations. The prophets promised God would send a deliverer, which he did. He just wasn’t the deliverer the Jews expected. The deliverance wasn’t from their physical troubles; it was from their broken relationship with God. That relationship was long broken by sin.

Jesus came to fix that problem. He came to provide access to God be restoring our relationship to him by forgiveness of the thing that separates men and women from God — sin. This he did, much later after the birth we celebrate today.

So, today is the day I remember, celebrate, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ-child. He is God-incarnate, fully God and fully human. He came to restore my access to God, which he did and I will celebrate that gift when Easter arrives. The dates are irrelevant; the remembrance and celebration are important, as is the act of faith that reconciles God’s children to God.

Merry Christmas, friends, and Christ is born. May there be peace on earth and goodwill to all, even in these times when it seems peace eludes us.

The Americans

2015/12/232015/12/23 ruminator

I ordered a copy of The Americans by Robert Frank a few days ago. It arrived Monday afternoon. The Girl and I needed to evacuate the room so that housekeeping could do their thing, so we drove over to the Denny’s at 50th and Slide for a break.

It was a good break from working on my report. I needed a bite, some coffee, and some time away from the hotel. She napped under my table, while I drank my coffee and made my first pass through Robert Frank’s The Americans.

The Americans is classic street photography. Many of the images are grainy, meaning they were probably shot on Kodak Tri-X, underexposed, and/or push-processed to enhance the film speed. Many of them have a raw quality that comes from either the subject being unaware of the photographer or just not caring that they are being photographed. The captures are all interesting and remind me of my favorite form of photography — wandering around and watching for the image to jump out at me. Once I spot something interesting, then I set up the shot and make the capture.

I can recommend The Americans without reservation if you have an interest in photography in general, street photography in specific, or what normal life looked like in the mid-1950s. You will not be disappointed by these classic images.

Denny’s, Lubbock, Texas

2015/12/222024/12/22 ruminator3 Comments

The ubiquitous Denny's, in Lubbock, Texas. — The ubiquitous Denny’s, in Lubbock, Texas.

I’ve been to the Denny’s in Lubbock at Slide and 50th Street more times than I can count. Yesterday afternoon I needed to vacate my room for a bit so housekeeping could do their work. Plus I needed a nibble and a coffee. So the Girl and I drove south to Denny’s.

I figured that at mid-afternoon there would be little traffic. I was right. So the Girl snoozed under the table while I had a salad and some coffee. I also enjoyed flipping through my brand new (to me) copy of The Americans by Robert Frank. The images are captivating and I’ll spend much time studying what attracted Frank to each subject.

I also had to have a capture to commemorate my visit. I doubt that Denny’s looks much different than it did 50-years ago.

The Hero’s Journey

2015/12/212024/12/21 ruminator

A long time ago I first came across the Hero’s Journey when Steven Pressfield mentioned it in one of his essays. The HJ is an old device that is present in many of the heroic myths of our forebears and is still used by many writers.

The basic theme is the path a hero, who begins as an unassuming individual, is called through a process that tests/challenges his/her character, usually to the point of not knowing whether the individual can deal with the test. If the tests are passed, then the hero returns to save family, tribe, country, or world.

The theme works because it resonates so well. I sometimes think each of us is on a Hero’s Journey as we pass through this life. We move forward, facing the challenges placed before us, not knowing whether we will emerge on the other side damaged, intact, or grown.

I recently came upon another description of the Hero’s Journey through a podcast on Stitcher. The interweaving of the story line with bits and pieces of stories from real heroes fascinated me to the point that I shared the episode with a friend and now here.

Enjoy the podcast and consider your own Hero’s Journey. It takes courage to do the right thing. It takes courage to face one’s wrongs and mistakes and then to pick up and move forward to the next challenge with the will to pass the next challenge. It takes courage to live a life worth living. And, sometimes, it takes courage to to make another step forward.

I really believe we each are on our own Hero’s Journey.

Flags and Moon

2015/12/192015/12/19 ruminator

I met friends for supper at Red Lobster last night. While the Girl and I waited outside for a few minutes (after a nice walk around the perimeter of the property), I noticed the juxtaposition of the flags, mast, and moon in the darkening sky. So, I grabbed the capture.

The lesson, or at least one lesson, was to be aware. So many times I wander through this world too far in my head. I don’t let me eyes, and more specifically my mind, venture out from the inner space between my ears and take in this great big world. I finished Kennerly’s book a few days ago. One of his big themes was to look, because photographers have a different way of looking at the world. They see color, contrast, geometry, moment, composition, and a host of other small things that go into making a good capture, a good photograph.

That cannot happen when I’m in my head. I lose awareness of what’s going on about me and I lose connection with this world, God’s creation. I know I’ll drop into a reverie this morning when we walk. It’s part of the walking process for me. I like to think while the Girl and I are exercising.

But, I also like to interact with her while we’re exercising. She’s very interactive, when she’s not in Full Terrier Mode. We have a lot of fun interacting and the play time at the end of the walk is good for both of us.

A tired dog is a happy dog… And, I think, the same goes for an old man. But, even more than that, there is a time to spend in inner space and a time to be more aware of God’s creation — to take part in being in that creation, to be thankful for that gift. I’m learning.

Drops

2015/12/182015/12/17 ruminator

I went to early coffee at J&B Coffee with a friend a couple of days ago. The contrast of the condensation and the morning sky captured my attention while I waited.

Heart of Texas

2015/12/172015/12/15 ruminator

While walking in Higinbotham Park the last few days, the Girl and I pass this sculpture every time we round the track. One morning, I decided that an image of it would be required. Yesterday morning we stopped briefly to check the name of this sculpture, but the plaque was missing from the base.

Therefore, I decided to call it The Heart of Texas for no good reason, other than that’s what came to me when I look at it.