Light, design, texture and other cool stuff.
My Leopard photo was selected for the 21st annual World of the Wild Art show at Utah’s Hogle Zoo. If you are interested in seeing the exhibit it runs from February 1 through March 16.
Utah’s Hogle Zoo
2600 E. Sunnyside Avenue
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Light, shadow, shape and texture, overwhelmingly surrounded by the sights of Rome. Architecture, people, ruins and religion. I am not so naive as to think that I could see it all in one day. Having spent one day in Rome, I am not so naive as to think that I could see it all in a week, or a month, or even a year. Rome has been around for a very long time. It would take a long time to see it, really see it. It would take longer to photograph it, really capture the essence of it. Yet, while I was there, with my camera, I stopped time. I saw things others have photographed with much more skill than I possess. Yet, I saw things others may have missed. This series is the first of four galleries of stuff–cool stuff–you may see in rome, if you are looking.
I thought, since it is New Years Eve, I would post a photo gallery of shots from some of the places I’ve been around the world. Sort of a “Best of” gallery from previous posts. I’ve been only blogging since August, so I have yet to post shots from everywhere I’ve been. And, I have yet to even start posting video from all of these places. That is what 2014 is for. Resolution 🙂
The world is a big, beautiful place, filled with interesting people, amazing sights, random coincidences and occasional tender mercies. I have been blessed to travel. I have been blessed to make friends on every continent. I hope to keep the friends I have made and make more as time goes by. However, my greatest blessings are found at home, with a warm fire, a good meal and my family, who love me.
I hope you enjoy the photographs. Happy New Year.
If you’ve listened to selected shorts on PRI for awhile (http://www.wnyc.org/shows/shorts/), you’ve heard Roger Kellaway’s, “Come to the Meadow.” The music is lyrical, whimsical and evocative. I can see wildflowers and feel the wind in his composition. The music, for me, paints a spring song in the meadow, evergreen and blooming. Yet, when I found myself in The Meadows on a cold November morning, I was captivated by the patterns, shapes and lines of summer grasses, now glowing golden in the glorious morning light. Come to the meadow with me, on a glorious autumn morning. Bring Roger Kellaway, if you can. There are more seasons in the meadow than you might expect.
It was noon and the sun was directly overhead. Hot. And Humid. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The hard light cast hard shadows. Appropriate–in Alex, life is hard. One of the poorest urban areas in South Africa, Alexandra Township is part of Johannesburg and is home to nearly 200,000 souls. Many do not have running water, or proper sanitation. Many live in informal shacks made of corrugated metal or cinderblock brick. Unemployment is high. Drugs are rampant and gangs compete with law for control. When I entered Alex to take pictures, I stood out dramatically–white on black, with hard shadows. The harsh light was not what I would have chosen for good pictures. Nevertheless, the time of day was a metaphor for life in Alex–harsh and hard. In this post I wanted to show some of the conditions inside. Partial understanding comes through knowing. Tomorrow I’ll show their faces.
There are numerous cross-cultural references to the Tree of Life. I don’t know the actual name for this tree, but the symmetrical shape reminded me of drawings I’ve seen from many parts of the world. In a land teeming with such diversity of life, the symbolism was not hard to find. Africa is an amazing place, bursting with life, much of it tenuous. This tree, thriving amongst the harshness, was an inspiring reminder of my own mortality.
Standing near a watering hole, this African Elephant felt the need to make other arrangements. He dug a hole with his trunk until he struck water. Then, he drank to his heart’s content.
A Red-billed Oxpecker hitches a ride on a willing Water Buffalo. The Oxpecker lives in a symbiotic relationship with the Water Buffalo. It eats the bugs off the back of the large beast for food. The Water Buffalo benefits from a good cleaning.
We came upon this Leopard eating the hind quarter of an Impala at the base of a tree. Up in the tree, twenty-five feet above us, the gutted and thrashed Impala was still starring at us. The Leopard killed the Impala, gutted it and hauled it up the tree. The Impala weighed almost as much as the Leopard.
He didn’t like us watching him eat so he took his dinner and sauntered into the bush. We followed. He decided to ignore us and sat down to finish his meal. When he was done, he just sat there, resting.
People, places, things–I think I’ve pretty much covered it. This will be my last post from Paris–a collection of random stuff–shapes, lines, designs, stuff–much of it transportation related–since we were running, literally, around the city. The city of lights, the city of love, good food, great architecture, interesting people–Paris has it all. Some may wonder, then, why shoot this–stuff? Storytelling, for me, begins with the wide shot and gets more specific. I am fascinated by shapes, lines, interesting stuff. It is so easy to miss the interesting stuff. It is even more difficult to see the interesting stuff, in interesting ways. The story of my visit to Paris–a story I will never forget–and, one I hope to visit again–concludes with the specific, yet random–from my treasure box of stuff.
They're Calling To Me 