The Shots: Lotus Blossoms

My trip to China was a whirlwind - 9 cities in 10 days. I saw a lot of traffic, airports, train stations and hotel ballrooms.

Artsy Beijing traffic

Actual Beijing traffic.

We did get a rest day in Jinan - conveniently scheduled, given that we arrived to our hotel at 3am - that included a trip to the Jinan springs and Daimen Lake.

It was at the lake that I fell in love with lotus blossoms.

The color, the size, the contrast between the flower and the leaves - it was such a joy to play with various angles, and I even tried the soft focus setting on the Olympus.

Our last city was Shanghai; I was lucky to have an afternoon with myself. I wandered over to People's Park, where I found another lotus pond. 

And now the important question: how do I grow these here in central North Carolina??

New additions - July 2013

Greetings, all.

This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to nine cities around northern/eastern China; it was amazing on so many levels - and a bit exhausting. I did manage to eek out a bit of time with my new camera and got some great shots. You'll find the newest additions in Architecture, Flora, Food, People, and Place.

Update: July 2013

It's been quite a while since I last posted.

Among other things, I recently upgraded my camera. My trusty Panasonic's light sensor (CCP) finally started to fail after five and a half years of loyal service. I'm now shooting on an Olympus SP 810. It's only been a few days, but I'm excited about the things I'll be able to do with this new piece.

Of course, equipment is just one piece of photography; the bigger part to capturing great shots is just plain dumb luck.

I haven't posted regularly in some time. Back in January, I tried to chalk it up to hibernating.  It's not an inaccurate assessment, but it doesn't fully capture the story.


Sometimes, things happen in life that shift our priorities. Sometimes, these are shifts of tectonic proportions. 


Beyond the occasional commission or collaboration, I haven't been able to work with my camera much. I have faith that I'll come back to it eventually, but I've also learned that it's not something I can force.


In the meantime, thank you for you reading. I hope to have new shots and stories to share sooner rather than later.

Sometimes Only Video Will Do

From condors to eagles, the world is watching our avian friends rear their young.

Now the Great Blue Herons have joined the action.

Given my history with herons, you can imagine how excited I am about this latest addition to the fledgling feeds.

Watch live streaming video from cornellherons at livestream.com

The Principles: To Edit or Not to Edit?

Recently, I was chatting with a friend about my work when the P Word came up:

"Photoshop"

My nose crinkled instinctively. Taking note of the puzzled look on his face, I explained my reaction:

"I don't edit my photos. That's a non-negotiable thing for me."

I feel that editing, airbrushing, colorizing, enhancing, and all those other '-ings' steal away from the integrity of the image.  To me, editing my work would feel like a betrayal of my subject, like saying that something could be just good enough to be my inspiration, but not good enough to be my final piece. 

We bantered back and forth, using pieces from the collections as discussion points.

Exhibit A:

Vietnam Roses

Roses Redux

Months ago, I tinkered with this image as an experiment in editing (pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone all the while). Blurring out the names brought the roses further into focus, but I struggled with how this literal blurring of names played against the intention of the memorial from whence they came. Could I be reading too much meaning into this otherwise simple act of altering the image? Surely. But what are we doing we when create but making meaning? I appreciate the idea of removing the names so that the roses stand out against the reflection of the cobblestones. However, for me, that takes away the heart from the greater image that comes from the fact that they are roses left at that memorial. Otherwise, it could be any other slab of black marble.

Can you create gorgeously amazing pieces with the use of Corel and Photoshop?  Absolutely.  Do those images exist in nature?  Absolutely not.

And that's what comes down to for me.  I want to capture those moments, those scenes, those places *as they are* - not as they could be with the help of advances in modern software. I want to preserve those scenes at that time, at that place, in that moment.

And so, there you have it. What you see is what I saw. I work to put the precision, framing, and composition into capturing each of my shots in real time.

In the end, he labeled me a purist and perhaps that's true. But that's surely a P Word I can get on board with.

The Sites: Millennium Park & The Bean

Chicago is a city of breathtaking architecture.  It tells the story of America's growth and prominence through its very skyline.  Monumental towers and facades dot the landscape.  It's a magical place and, personally, my favorite city in the US. 

Chicago Skyline from Lincoln Park

Nestled within all those soaring spires is something relatively new that's become as much a symbol of the city as the Hancock building or the tower-formerly-known-as-Sears.  


Adjacent to Grant Park, with its Buckingham Fountain gracing the credits of Married with Children (anyone? anyone?), Millennium Park is a swath of land reborn to host swarms of tourists, concerts, and general urban gathering.  It sits on the north side of the Art Institute of Chicago and offers a stunning panorama of some of the most iconic buildings in the city.


But everybody comes for The Bean.

Its formal name may be Cloud Gate, but let's be honest: nobody calls it that.  Mention "The Bean" and everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. Its steel plates are immaculately polished to create a seamless surface that reflects everything around it, especially the people swarming its perimeter.  Light dances off its silvery canvas and you cannot take the same picture twice, as the details are always shifting between the people, the light, and the angle of the buildings around it.


It's easy to spend a lot of time here.  I did & it still wasn't enough.

Lessons from Nature

In the winter, when all the trees are bare, the weather is gray, and the ground crunches underneath your feet, it's hard to remember what all the fuss was about over those warm - even hot! - days in August when all you wanted was a cool breeze. 

I mean, really, what the hell were we thinking?  It's cold out there & by golly, could we get some sunshine?!

But there's a rhythm to it all.  Nature knows what she's doing.  And sometimes we could learn a thing or two from her ways.

I haven't posted in a few weeks.  There are several reasons for this, but I'm going to take a cue from Nature and simply say:

Sometimes we just need to hibernate.

The Sites: Playmakers Theatre

The Playmakers Theater stands at the center of the UNC campus, a Greek Revival building surrounded by the staunch architecture of the University's historic architectural core.  Under the columns of its facade, two windows face out onto Bynum Circle, which, along with Bynum Fountain, serves as a popular crossroad on campus.

As the seasons change, the trees on campus flush with color, framing the circle in a setting of natural fire.

The doors to the theater stand guard against the elements.

But the window on the front is my favorite subject on a campus rife with material:

Winter

Autumn

Spring/Summer

The Shots: Giraffe Eyelash

Paired with my affection for aquariums is a zeal for zoos.


On my recent trip to Chicago, I found myself free of scheduled obligations on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  I was meeting a friend for dinner that evening up in her neighborhood near Lincoln Park, so it seemed logical to spend the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo.


On all my previous trips to Chicago, I'd never made it to the zoo.  Now, having been, I can't imagine not going every time I'm there.


The African Journey occupies most of the northern end of the park, with both exterior and interior habitats (for some reason, the polar bears are up here as well, while the lions are more towards the center by the entrances, an arrangement that only now just strikes me as odd).  In the interior habitat, somewhere between the spoonbills and the meerkats, there is an observation area for the giraffes.


Creatures of ridiculous beauty, giraffes are incredibly fun to photograph: between the interesting angles of their bodies and the expressiveness of their faces, they have so many details to capture.


On this particular day, one of the giraffes was making a meal for herself out of the moss growing along a rocky outcrop adjacent to the observation window.  I attempted to capture an action shot of sorts, trying to catch her tongue as it crept through the nooks and crannies in search of a snack, but nothing quite came out as I'd hoped.


As she bent to drink from an elevated fountain immediately outside the glass barrier, I received something even better:

The Series: Duke

Each year for Thanksgiving, I travel to South Carolina to meet family & friends for a weekend of food, cards, and some much needed down time.  Our hosts have a beautiful Chow Chow named Duke, who reigns over the yard like a queen.  With the equally beautiful weather, I spent some time outside with Duke & my camera:

The Shot: Mississippi River Sunrise

It's not just about sunsets.


Sunrise is actually my favorite time of day.  The promise of a new beginning, the unlimited possibility to start anew, light returning to a dark world -- these are the metaphors of the sunrise that resonate with me.


A recent trip to New Orleans found me meandering along the banks of the Mississippi one morning, just as the city was starting to awaken.  At this point in its path, the river is wide, like it is back in Iowa, but the geography feels off.  Here, the river is to the east, not the south; it flows from right to left, rather than left to right.  It is at once the same and different, just like every other river I've traveled along, but this one is different.


If ever one could possess a river, the Mississippi would be mine.


Standing there on the levee, it is impossible not to think about the destruction that swamped this city barely six years ago.  It is impossible not to appreciate the power of the water as it flows majestically to the Gulf, slowing at this point in its travels as the grade of the land lessens and it prepares to drop its sediments into its ever-shifting delta. 


But standing there at sunrise, watching the light dance across the water, it is impossible not to be in awe:

The Trips: Fall 2011

You may have noticed I haven't posted in a few weeks.


I've been on the road, criss-crossing the state and the country for the past two months, but am now settling back into my home base in North Carolina for an extended period.  


From Atlanta to New Orleans to the Sandhills to Chicago, I've put in a lot of long days at work, but still managed to eek out some time to explore.


Here a preview of what's coming:

The Collections: New Additions

New photos have been added to Architecture, Fauna, Nature, People, and Place.  Please use the links to the right to explore at your leisure.

The Sites: Fearrington Village

Fearrington Village is a community nestled in north eastern Chatham County that boasts fine dining, local artists, and - perhaps their most famous residents - a herd of Belted Galloway cattle.  


After having driven past it countless times, I finally had the opportunity to visit twice in as many days, which gave me a chance to get up close & personal with the locals: