Going back
Sometimes you go back. Things don’t/didn’t change much. The lamppost of buoys is still there. The lighthouse has not gone away. I am still with the one I love. No, they did not open the Olsen House. The museum is open. The house is not? Go figure. Only a handful of folks visit the Olsen House. Plenty of folks wander the museum in Rockland without a mask in sight…. Going back. It’s never quite the same.
One more step
Colleen would not walk all the way out on the breakwater to the lighthouse. She was nervous about the rocks. They are flat but have gaps. She was afraid to fall.
And, she wanted to go up to the top of the Owls Head lighthouse but the cash was in the car. Ha ha, she said she would not hear the end of it – walking the breakwater rocks. And, had I walked to the top of Owl’s Head, we would have seen the breakwater light. Got it? Confused? What I shoulda done is walk the extra steps. We didn’t. No harm came to us. I did not get the shot. And we are still just fine and dandy! Yeah! Close, but no cigar.
Surprise
This is a mix of shots Colleen made as we drove up to Maine. Yes!? She shot through the windshield rather than have me do so while driving. Ok! Not bad! In fact she got some first class shots! Really! I mixed in a couple of my own. Who could resist? But, Colleen did a great job. She complained or lamented that she missed shots. So? We all do. I do! Nice work. She’s becoming a photographer and doesn’t suspect that the lessons are taking hold….yet. Lee… no peas were harmed in the making of her dinner.
What’s in your day?
You visit Maine. You go to Freeport. You visit LL Bean. Colleen used to look at the catalog with longing. Now we visit to get stuff to fill out the wardrobe. Fun?! Along the way we always have fun. The leaves are changing. The season is changing. Our humor remains high. Great photography? Today was about fun.
More or less
Lotta of water under the bridge… After posting my images from my other catalog – 1, 10, 100 …. I thought maybe I would look at… So, it starts with my Canon G3, my first digital camera and hence the first digital images. and, it goes more or less until 2016. Aha! There was madness to the method. My other catalog is titled 2016 images and beyond. My database is far more reliable and logical.
1, 10: Naturally, the first images out of the Canon G3 were of the family at hand, Dave and Lisa. Jules was in college.
100: Easter followed shortly thereafter. I must have shot film and digital together.
1000: Jules and Lila, my favorite daughter and her grandma, naturally, I will say it was Dave’s graduation, or, Thanksgiving. I could look it up…
10,000: Rugby! Jules quit track to captain the college rugby team. The Australians think nothing of pulling hair. (They wear leather helmets to cover their ears.) Lisa screamed at the TV, “But Jules has a long ponytail!!”
100,000: Damarascotta, Colleen’s favorite town in Maine! It was fall during my “Maine days.”
200,000: Saudi. Jeddah. I was making a late-night meal in Subway. (Yeah, they got one there.) Three guys saw me, posed, and I took their pic.
300,000: Wedding day. Still married. Two kids. My favorite son is still footloose.
400,000: It’s Xmas and Colleen is with her favorite daughter. Well… she’s the one she’s with. Talk about ambiguous use of pronouns…
End: And me. Ummm… the more or less end of the catalog. 2003 to 2016. 2016 to 2022 would see my next catalog easily exceed 400k images too. The exact total of all digital images is in doubt. Slides? The count is more or less 117k.
In this time I have used 17 digital cameras at least. There were several versions of iPhone. The workhorse cameras began with Nikon D70 and D200. Canon G7X and Sony RX100 were mainstay point and shoot digital cameras for me. And now, I am on to the Nikon Z5. It’s been a heck of journey… so far.
Now
Nowadays. Life is still disorganized. Sure, why would it be different? Come as you are. Discover adventure as you go. We don’t work with a plan. I take pictures. Random discoveries, scenes, locations, cats, weaving, and selfies dot my work. You never know what reflection will present itself or what sunset will come next. Though life can be unpredictable, it has and is certainly a lot of fun.
1, 10, 100…
I use a photo catalog. Don’t you? It numbered 413k+ images at the time I composed this post. I don’t ask. It is a very large catalog. The catalog title/contents indicate the images are 2016 and onward. So, early slides from the seventies and digital images from 2004 onward are in different catalogs? Hey! I was always moving images around… but since 2016, there are roughly 413k images collected and (loosely) curated.
Are there redundancies? What constitutes first? What’s last? Here are the numbers: 1, 10, 100, 1000… 100k, 200k, 300k, 400k …on up to the last (see captions) Ok, the key: Me; lighthouse in Maine: Jules whitewater rafting in Maine; Jules shooting basketball in Saudi Arabia; Lulu my cat in Jeddah; Colleen and I vacation in Rockport, ME; Colleen in a restaurant in Scotland; cardinal on my deck; Dover, DE, autumn fair; kitchen renovation in progress.
So? I merely followed a line of curiosity. Random choice for pics to post. It is an interesting series of selections for me. Number one was digital. Number ten was a slide. Hey! It’s how it was in the catalog. The others are, indeed, digital. What to say? I have had an eventful decade as this collection spans images/pics 2007 (not strictly 2016) to present. There are no particular surprises in this potpourri. It reinforces the notion that I am more photojournalist than fine art photographer. Exactly. I picked the right name for my blog! Pictures/stories! Yup!
Less is more
Maine. Colleen would move there in a heartbeat. I don’t have another move in me. Where I am is just fine. We can go anywhere. Been there, done that, I lived in Maine. It’s a long way from family. The healthcare is not the greatest. It’s nice to visit and then go home. I will admit that I was never in the Co-Op store while I lived there…. ditto, the yarn store. Damarascotta was a pass-thru town for me – Colleen’s favorite. “Pop” went to U of M. Fall colors – minimal. Red’s? We never ate there and never have. Runaround Pond, my refuge of peace and tranquility, sharing it is a very personal thing. Very! I’m glad we could and we did. Yes, we live to eat. Today? I ran backwards in my catalog to choose. Too many pics, not enough time. But, we try to make every moment count.
Got one
I have been seeking the quintessential fall color image of the year. In the parking lot behind a bank this scene snuck up on me. There are many other shots and many other candidates all over and around Maine from our trip. All worthy images, but, this one jumped out at this point, right now. Yes, it was tweaked a bit to focus on the richness of color in the scene. It reaches an emotional level beyond prose. Ok!
Phone me
There is one convenience that can’t be beat with the iPhone. Panorama. It’s dead simple. Ha! I can Photoshop. It’s easy enough. But…. So, I ask? Dave advised me to tap on the mountain to adjust the exposure so there would not be overexposure. When did he get so smart? Meanwhile pano is a neat trick I pull out of the pocket on occasion.
Stopping
You simply cannot not stop at every potential photo-op. Even while I drove alone, I did not do it. Traveling with your wife is enough to try her patience many times over. Colleen is such a good sport. I am careful not to overdo things? Ha! Have I been known to be moderate? You can see some of the results of stopping by the roadside. And, you may ascertain some of the image shot thru the windshield on the go. Actually, Colleen has acquired some skill shooting on the go. She thinks she’s better than if I try to drive and shoot. Stop, go, hey! It’s all the same when I edit the images. Good, or, bad? Keep it, or, discard it? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell. I will readily admit that I tend to draw a crowd while I am stopped by the roadside.
Solitude
My point? During leaf peeping season in Acadia, Maine, it’s hard to find a place off the beaten track. In fact, parking around Acadia – Bar Harbor – was at a premium. I actually cruised for a while before locating a parking spot. The same can be said for Jordan Pond, an extremely popular site. My map reading skill took me off the path. Ignore Siri and GPS. Voila! Serenity, peace, solitude. It was Colleen and I, no one else in sight or hearing. A downy woodpecker came to rest nearby. Yes, Sommesville had a hoard of tourists hovering over the requisite shot. And, Jordan Pond found a photographer with a tripod who lingered long after the evening sunset glow was gone. ??? I am not them. We moved on to more peace and definite serenity. Remember, you are never lost as long as you do not put the car in reverse.
Help
We usually do our selfies without assistance. That’s me, my modus operandi. I take a shot of Colleen. Then Colleen takes one of me in the same spot while I sit in the next chair over. It works well. A helpful wife urged her photographer husband to shoot the two of us. Oddly, I could not reciprocate. Ok! There was an old lady in black who was in the background in all the shots. That was a pain. I simply blotted her out. More work? Which method was better? Hey! We got a selfie. Do I need help? … more than you know.
Location
A day later in a different area of the state, we found fall color. Location, location, location. I should be satisfied. I was vaguely unrequited. No matter. We did get color. I do believe it was more user (photographer) dissatisfaction than it was nature. I like to think of myself as always changing and improving. It also helps to be in the right place at the right time.
Shot of the day
I got a series of three for this scene. None are more informative. Amish family, three kids, the dad drives from the right seat. The kids sit on folding chairs in the back. They wear distinctive traditional garb that marks them. I had seen horse shit by the side of the road. This now closed the information loop on how it got there. There is a lot to be learned passing a two horse cart on the side of the road.
Shot of the day? We finally saw color. This is one of many on a successful day finding fall color.
Do over
Regret? I’ve had a few. This one time I had an opportunity to go back and shoot one more time. Did I do better? Well, it’s different. It was a scene full of possibility and opportunity. We love all of our children… and cats… some better than others? No. Sometimes, you just cannot choose. Can you? Oh boy. We spent time with a psychiatrist (chance acquaintance) between shoots. Subtle, sublimation, transference? Do over? It’s different. Better? It’s in our mind. Confused? You bet! Me too!
Chasing fall
New England, Maine, in the fall (every family relative asked) – have you seen the leaves change? Yet? Climate change, it’s been whacky. When we arrived, we were definitely too early. There was barely a hint of color change. As the weeks passed (yes, we were here for a few weeks) colors changed subtly. And, then, suddenly they were here/changed, only to fade quickly. Within the span of the few times we passed by, a tree in Rockland faded drastically losing its leaves. I shot individual trees; I shot individual leaves; I shot scenes; I shot reflections; I shot fog. Quintessential?! Sort of. I feel vaguely unrequited. I did get color. For sure. I’ve done better. And, I’ve done worse. I hate the randomness of my finding a suitable scene. Mostly, we were on the way to somewhere else and I shot out the from the car window or we stopped, paused, shot, and then quickly drove onward. I cannot say that I ever got that “Ah!!” shot. Otherwise, if I were chasing wool (fiber), I would say we were successful. Priorities! Keep priority straight and it’s a completely different picture. (pun intended)
Odds and …
I kept passing this charming cottage and failed to take a picture… till this time. I missed a picture of the “pot” T shirt we got the kids. Pop up books? Frank Lloyd Wright? Yup, I found it in the library’s second-hand book section. Really?! They bought this for the library? And, it remained intact? Poor Frank must be rolling in his… I will admit to taking photos of carved signs. Sometimes they stack up.
Group shot
I do not purport to be good. I just want to fool the average viewer. There are Photoshop gurus who can make this all look too real. I’m a bit more casual. You can call me lazy. But, I do have some skill. Anyway, it’s all in fun. My model is cooperative. Everyone has a good time. Luckily, we do not require the help of strangers to stage our antics.
This was about catching the reflection of the lighthouse. Once again, people walked by and never looked down. There were a few savvy photographers. Yes! A few trips ago, I found out Colleen was a tree hugger. It has not affected our relationship. She has told me white birch is one of her favorites. Imagine?! Competing with a tree! But then, I have always been beside myself.
One that got away
There’s not much to show (the one I missed). We got a spectacular sunset at the lighthouse complete with ‘angel light.’ I got the reflection one more time. Colleen did not come down on the rocks. The light was fading too much. I got sunset hitting the top of the lighthouse. Colleen made me sit! Yes, actually, sit. No pictures, just sit. It worked for a minute. Ha!
We just missed the golden pink glow hitting right under all the clouds. Timing. We left a bit too early. Who knew? That would have been spectacular. The hint of it that I shot … well, it’s enough to make you wistful. Hey! We got another great ending to the day! We passed a local favorite – Moody’s. Maybe, someday….
Parked
I watch people when there is no scenery to photograph. Library? Yes, again. The building was picturesque enough to demand a visit. Books? But, of course! There was a sale of used books! Oh, surprise! We came away with a couple (books, not people). Hat? Hats? Alpaca, you gotta feel! Soft!! Of course, they are all the more stylish in this year’s fashion cat mask. Imagine me, parked, patiently sitting in one place? Hardly! I usefully perused my phone for a place to eat. Yeah, all that sittin’ makes me hungry.
Amblin’
Without an agenda, we ambled up and down the coast of Maine. I was always a failure at fishing (non sequitur). Lobstermen make a fine living every day? We stop by chance at stores along the road. For instance, this is a weaving store stop. They spin and weave expensive items. We don’t buy. I have my very own spinner and weaver in the car. But, we look. Ideas. The prices are breathtaking for handwoven articles. We just don’t produce in quantity. So, I will never break even. Colleen looks; I get photo ops – free.
Cloudy with a chance
If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute… so, they say. They made chairs out of old lobster traps. We sat. 50% chance of rain means 50% no rain, too. We got quite a cloud formation as the weather stopped storming. That would be 100% priceless. Colleen sit? I had to make her sit in the lobster chair; she thought it was wet. Ha!? Rain??
Solitude
A revisit to Rockland got me to the only tree of color (so far). The lighthouse was off in the distance. A heron posed. Raindrops adorned the geranium. And, we reflected on a rainy day. Colleen shopped the farmer’s market. Some days are just made for quiet contemplation away from chaos. Is this the reason Maine calls to Colleen? Me? … all go and more go…. Hey! I was (came from) in NYC.
Tech alert: I shot the lighthouse from far away with a tiny point and shoot – Sony RX100 VI. The zoom is as good as my large heavy Nikon 80-400mm zoom. There is no comparison in weight. I think heavily (pun) on whether to carry the big lens for only a few telephoto zoom shots.
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