Calm Photos

. . . lies a better place.

One of warmth, peace and love.

For Emma and Chloe

In the beauty of nature, there is only truth . . .

I need to write this one out while it is still fresh in my mind.Not less than an hour ago I went to the UPS Store in the Washington Square Shopping Center at the corner of Far Hills and Whipp Road, just a stone’s throw away from my studio. As I was walking to the door from my car when an elderly woman had just stepped out the store. She was dressed in designer clothing with more gold around her neck and on her ears than that stored at Ft. Knox. I could tell right away which circle she runs in.

I wasn’t even on the sidewalk yet before she glared at me and growled “I’M NOT HOLDING THE DOOR FOR YOU !”

“Well, you have a nice day too mam.”

Inside the store I told the clerk behind the counter about my encounter. “Oh, she was just in here cussing up a storm.”

That’s nice. It’s great in Dayton !

Anytime you venture out on the roads of the south suburbs of Dayton on a weekday, starting at about 10:00 am and going to 4:00 pm, you will see just how old the local demographics have become. It is during that time period when they make their Dorothy Lane Market/doctor visits/hair appointments/prescription pick-up runs, culminating with their evening meal from 4:00 to 5:00 pm at the MCL Cafeteria on David and Far Hills.

We need another series of extremely cold winters and blizzards so this group of crotchety old people start migrating to Florida again. This particular group of Ohioans (and what is it with them and gold and silver Buicks, especially in Centerville!) is well past the peak of their spending years, yet have more wealth stored away than they know what to do with. What always surprises me is how eccentric, cold and stingy they become the older they get, always stepping over dollars to pick-up pennies. Granted there are notable exceptions, one being my 84-year-old uncle who litterally runs circles around his contemporaries.

I contrast today’s experience with what I was exposed to yesterday while on an all-day photo shoot assignment for the University of Dayton, covering the speakers and participants at the annual R.I.S.E symposium on economics and finance held at the U.D. Arena (I got some great shots of the NASDAQ closing of the market ceremony). The last speaker of the day was Christopher Gardner, the investment broker who’s life story was the basis of the recent movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” starring Will Smith. Even before he spoke I had the opportunity to photograph Mr. Gardner interacting with students and posing for group shots. Here was a man who basically started out from not just the ground floor, but at one time was homeless, carrying everything he owned, as well as a 14-month old son, from shelter to shelter, all the while holding on to his dream of making it on Wall Street. Mr. Gardner was friendly to EVERYONE he came in contact with - from me, the photographer, to the wait staff in the Boesch Lounge to his interviewers to each and every student who came up to shake his hand.

As a freelance photographer who covers a variety events, I carefully observe group behavior, personalities and event dynamics. I’ve had both positive and negative experiences photographing all kinds of people. I can safely conclude that Christopher Gardner is one of those personalities that doesn’t need decorating with all kinds of gold jewelry or expensive clothes or an inflated ego. The gold he wears comes from deep inside. Although about 30 years junior to the old lady at the UPS Store, I think there’s an important lesson Mr. Gardner could teach the crotchety old bat. The problem is that she’s probably well past her capacity to learn and change.

Though the winter winds, snow and ice are sill upon us here in Ohio, one can’t help but notice the promise of spring with the gradual changes in the light and the small flashes of color. Just last week I was stunned to see a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds fly past me while I was photographing an icy landscape of the prairie at Sugarcreek MetroPark. And then another Bluebird just this past weekend as my daughter Chloe and I were departing Hocking Hills. I’m hopeful for an early spring. Most of all I am hopeful for life renewed and positive changes. Sometimes the Eagle has to drop southward, with talons at the ready, in order to climb to “higher ground.”

Enjoy the following nature, wildlife and landscape photographs of winter waning in Ohio, captured at Sugarcreek and Hills and Dales MetroParks, Calvary Cemetery and as always, Hocking Hills.

A hope for spring . . .

Already you can see the light turning.

Please enjoy my latest slide show creation, titled “Simple Gifts.” I put this video together so as to serve as an inspiration and hope for the coming spring. Many of the images you’ll see have been used in previous presentations, however, I’m using them again because of how much these photographs mean to me and the message communicated. Listen closely to the notes and words of the old Puritan hymn, “Simple Gifts,” as performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss.

The first time I heard this tune was on a bright, sunny Sunday morning in May of 1983. After my first week of boot camp and the intense process of having my identity stripped away, our platoon had the opportunity to attend Sunday morning church services at Parris Island. It was there that I experienced the first moment of quiet and reflection, and this tune came to my ears as the revised hymnal “Lord of the Dance.” I am not embarrassed to say that I wasn’t the only bald-headed recruit who started shedding tears.

When all is taken away and all that is left is the spirit and soul within, then, and only then, can we appreciate the “Simple Gifts” of God’s light, grace and peace. It is this lesson that I try to apply to the photographs that I discover and capture.

Winter at Sunwatch . . .

“Just get up and go get some coffee somewhere.”

That was my wife’s advice earlier this afternoon after I told her about the phone conversation that had taken place, just moments prior to my call to her.

I was put on a conference call that ended-up being very disturbing. I won’t go into details other than it was disturbingly familiar, a reminder of the frightening manipulations and mechanizations that nearly buried me a little over 13 years ago. The difference this time is that wisdom is increasingly on my side.

So up I went, right over to the coffee shop in the Washington Square shopping center across the street. It was there that I came upon a book highlighting the 60 years of work by Paul Strand - perhaps one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, along with Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. And like Weston and Adams, Strand was a wandering star, rarely at home or at peace in any one place other than within their own artistic visions. Always in search of the “good light” and landscapes that would become the canvas of their expressions and photographic interpretations of life and the world around them.

I can relate. Chances are they too had close relatives who said “you’re always chasing your %$#hole. Why can’t you be happy in one spot, get along and stop all this moving around. Keep your mouth shut. Never get in a pissing contest with a skunk who has more firepower than you. Why are you so selfish.”

I now take those words as a compliment considering what I’ve witnessed here in the south suburbs of Dayton, and considering the quality of life lived and work created by the likes of Strand, Weston and Adams.

By the time I had finished my coffee and browsed the book on Paul Strand, a recent quote I heard on TV started floating once again through my mind. It was few weeks ago when I watched an interview with actor Sir Anthony Hopkins on Inside the Actors Studio - “when I was young a Jesuit priest taught me what is known as the world’s shortest prayer: f*&$ it. ”

And that’s about how I now feel about that phone call.

Hey, I feel better already !