Friday, September 30, 2011

Beneath the Maple Trees

Beneath the Trees
Burlington, VT

Some said,
His tombstone read:
"He did his best
And came to rest
'Neath the trees
Amongst autumn leaves"
Al Hernandez

I've been busy selecting images for my greeting card and print series: Autumn Dreams. Each image has it's own unique sense of both warmth and nostalgia. To my own surprise even cemeteries provide warmth under overcast fall New England skies. Bright orange hues provide scenic warmth and backdrops against blue gray skies.

This photograph along with seven others will be featured in Autumn Dreams. The cost of each carefully crafted box set is $32/box plus shipping and handling of $5 in the continental US. If you purchase three or more box sets per order, shipping is free. For those who choose to order five or more boxes, you can purchase print of your choice for 50% of the retail price.  Click on the hyperlink here to contact me via email. I accept all forms credit card payments and PayPal.


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Live the Season

Serene Brook
Tannersville, NY
Live in each season as it passes;
 breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit,
 and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau

This morning I've been thinking about my new collection of Autumn Scenes. The collection is meant to both soothe and inspire. It's not just about showcasing my skills but rather using skills to touch you. I want to reach out and make you feel what I have witnessed. It truly is a great life, it becomes easier to see that once you remove the obstacles that impede your view.

Thoreau's quote above was exactly what I needed to hear this morning: "resign yourself to the influences of each". It's quite amazing how in grammar school we learned about linking verbs and the state of "being" but we were never taught how to just "be". It is the reason why I am drawn to nature. Simply put I want to learn to enjoy and absorb all thats glorious around me. In other words nature teaches me to be.

Photography provides me the ability to become a sponge that absorbs life in fractions of seconds that seem like days and at the appropriate time enables me to release what I have absorbed. My challenge is to share those moments with you and make you also aware. 

You can start viewing my card collection Autumn Scenes by clicking on the hyperlink for Autumn Scenes. In a few more days, I will also be adding four more cards to this series this coming week. To inquire about purchases or to make a purchase email me.





Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Thinking Pumpkins

Pumpkins
Simsbury, CT

After residing in Texas for most of my adult life, I find it amusing to think about how my home town was near everything. When you are from Connecticut, everything is nearby or at least within a hundred miles. By contrast, in Texas,we measure distance in hours, in Connecticut and the rest of New England, distance is only discussed in miles. If I travel from one side of Fort Worth to other side of Dallas, I just might have traversed the whole state of Connecticut.

It's all about perspective and your personal frame of reference. It's not uncommon for a driver in Texas to put on annual miles in excess of 15,000 to 20,0000 miles per year. We have an expansive state with diverse Texas accents and pretty homogenous landscapes. It is flat with an occasional bump called a hill. Mountains are something you find in El Paso on your way to New Mexico. Hills you might find South of Tyler and to the south and west of Austin.

It goes without saying why then I still have this romantic obsession with New England and the northeast this time of the year. I enjoy and miss the colorful landscapes and topography of my home state. So in the fall, I start thinking pumpkins and shorter days and cooler frost laden mornings all over again. It an annual thing for me. I have missed this ever since I left for college in 'the fall of '74. 

Leaving New England was not really a choice for me it was an exodus. It was something I had to do. The economy and my disdain for the overcast of winter forced me into exile. Nonetheless, I will always confess my allegiance to New England's autumn.

In just a few weeks, I will be back home. I am eager to capture more images from where I grew up and the things that still influence how I see the world. It's a romance that's been separated by years of distance but I have never stopped loving. The flame embers are still are alive and each year they are fanned by the advance of autumn.



Monday, September 26, 2011

Autumn Madness

Cascade in Catskills
Near Palenville, NY

Fall energizes me. I get excited all over again. I think about my native New England and how green leaves fade to bright oranges and reds as if the trees themselves were laden with flowers instead of leaves. The smells of hayrides, apple cider, and pumpkin pies all come to mind as vividly as the leaves themselves. Nature makes its own change exciting as it trumpets its autumnal fanfare to celebrate both harvest and hard work.

In a few weeks, I will be back home. I need to be back to experience the autumn first hand again. Of course, I will have my camera with me. I am working on putting together a new card series all about autumn from my perspective. Autumn memories as I recall them.

I will be taking a chance since you never know how bright the leaves will be. You don't know if the rain will mute the colors or even if the frost will nip the maple leaves in time to make them blush bright red. One strong gust of wind and it could be all over before it even starts. It's a chance I am willing to take. There are so many photographs I want to make on this journey. So much left to see and enjoy.



Sunday, September 25, 2011

Look Out For...

Snake On Journey
iPhone Artistry

Ok, I have several confessions to make. Don't worry they are not of a super personal variety. First confession is that although I have logged over 2,120 miles on my daily walks since April of last year, I am physically at the same place where I started from. Well not quite. 

This brings me to my second confession; I always bring with me at least an iPhone on my walks or wherever I go. I don't want to miss out on anything. There's always some kind of surprise along the journey.

You see I want to capture as much of my life as I can. I want to squeeze as much living as I can. In order to do that, I have to be prepared and ready and willing. Carpe Diem, seize the moment. It's a great life and its exciting to see how many different ways I can view even the most mundane images.
It doesn't matter to me whether my instrument is an iPhone or an expensive camera. I enjoy creating images and exploring ways to get my perspective across. Enjoy your unique journey on daily. Don't wait.



Friday, September 23, 2011

Tis The Gift to be Simple

Two Sheds and Barn
Near Greenville, PA

As I mentioned yesterday, I am working on my next card and print series and I am excited at the results.  The tones on the matte card stock are rich and ethereal. I don't know why I have not printed these before. It could very well be that it was not the right time.

You tend to forget some of the places that you have been to and the images you have captured along the journey. For the past eleven years, I stopped and taken the time to note where I am, study the light and frame the image at least in my mind. Often times, I come back another day when I have time to practice my craft.

Capturing the image is only part of the process. The real work starts with the post processing and image interpretation. Letting the image cure over time and letting your skills mature makes for interesting art. The bottom line is simply that I want my viewers to walk away grasping the emotion and warmth of the moment through the filter of my mind's eye.

Andrew Wyeth's paintings have inspired me for many years. If I could paint, my images would resemble his, a style which encompasses fantastic lighting, simple compositions, and romantic landscapes and images.



It's Here

Amish Barn
Near Greenville, PA

I've been touting the autumn's approach this week. Today we celebrate it's official birthday. I am excited to share new autumn images with you. This image was taken in the heart of Amish country just outside of Greenville, PA. It took me two business trips, but the second time I had to stop even if it was for a few moments. You have to make each day count even if you are away on business. Make each day count. 

This image will be featured in my new "Autumnal Joy" card and print series. It does me no good to just have the memories in digital form. My friend Harry Sandler once told me it's not a photograph until you print it. I share his sentiment.

You might want think about placing your orders soon. The last series "Memories of the Southwest" sold quickly to my delight. Again these cards are 5x7, archival, and printed on quality card stock. The collection features a box of eight hand crafted 5x7 limited edition card prints signed by me. It would make a wonderful gift. The cost is $32/box plus $4 shipping and handling. If you purchase two sets your total cost is $68.  If you purchase three sets or more, we will ship at no cost to you.  I do accept all major credit cards.  Let me know if you have an interest. Feel free to forward this blog to your friends. You can contact me directly at alh7672@gmail.com.

Thanks for friending me on Facebook and please continue to view my blog: Daily Journey.




Thursday, September 22, 2011

A Daily Affirmation

Chipinque Morn
Parque Chipinque, Monterrey, NL, Mexico

I failed my way to success.

Thomas Edison


It's a new day with an opportunity to start over fresh. It's up to me to make things happen. I choose to seek my own direction; the outcome will follow.

There's no time for bitterness and no room to hate. I choose to move forward and reaffirm my love to my wife, Kim, my family, and my friends. I choose not to let myself down and to treat others the way I deserve and want to be treated.

I acknowledge that truly none of us are alone in this world and pledge to be there for those that feel alone.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Fear

Coney Island Pier
Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person,
 "Always do what you are afraid to do." 
Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Everyone has to come to terms with their fears. While fear can be a powerful motivator, it can also be an equal deterrent. We have to make a conscious choice to move forward despite fear.

No one relishes rejection, but you can't experience reward without effort. Life does not provide safety nets, it only provides time and opportunity. I don't know where the journey will take me, but I am compelled to action and to chase my dreams. The clock ticks and time marches on. It will not wait for you nor for me.


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

If Brooks and Rivers Could Speak


To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.
William Shakepeare

There is nothing more fascinating to me than watching the constant flow of waterfalls over rushing rocks. I think of the water's journey over each boulder and rock on its way to a river and out to sea. I travel vicariously with the stream.

If waterfalls, brooks and rivers could speak, I wonder what stories they would teach. For years, sojourners, like me, have stood by their shores to see what mysteries unfolds to each.

Downstream the rapids surge and I wish I could be a playful wave with friends in tow to the sea. What stories we would have to tell playing in the rushing waters on our way vibrantly.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

On It's Way


Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lately I've been getting up more early than usual. I keep stirring somewhere between four and five. I couldn't quite figure out why this was happening. After giving it more thought it hit me; autumn is about to start and in a while we will "fall back". It appears that my body clock automatically senses the season change.

In a few weeks, I will make the trek back to New England where I am from. It's a ritual that I love. I miss the bright colors and crisp mornings of the Berkshire foothills. I will get off the plane near Hartford and see the old tobacco sheds. I will drive by fruit stands offering apple cider and an assortment of pumpkins. I will navigate along the Farmington river and make my way home past Avon, and Simsbury, Canton, Satan's Kingdom and New Hartford.

My heart will race as I finally find myself near the Old Gilbert School. I know it wont be long then that I will see St. Joseph's Church and what I've been waiting for: ABC Pizza House. I know it all sounds silly, but my soul feels at ease once I've tasted a hot tunafish grinder again. It will be worth the migration up the river.

Simple pleasures and memories, I know, but they make me happy. I know I can't stay for long and I will be on a mission to photograph all I can. I promise I will share them with you but not the hot tunafish grinder. It's simply enough to tell you that ABC Pizza House is there on Main Street in Winsted, CT still waiting for me and perhaps you.


Saturday, September 17, 2011

Autumnal Passages

Norfolk Bench in Fall
Norfolk, CT



How beautifully leaves grow old.
How full of light and color are their last days.  
John Burroughs

It's been raining in Texas and it's given us a respite from the heat and drought. Rain always makes me slow down, reflect, and causes me to be more introspective. The contrast rain brings is more than welcome. Not all change is bad.


We are at the preface of natural change, autumn. Autumn always brings me back to my New England roots. There are so many pleasant memories I cherish that orbit and surround this season. Most of those memories were spent in my childhood.


Autumn colors awaken my spirit and imagination like no other season. The promise of autumn fills me with the excitement like the promise of a new school year, friends, and play. I distinctly remember that the thought of raking leaves always paled to the dreams of jumping in them with friends. As I recall, the leaves we bathed in had their own sweet fragrance of a natural decay. It took me little time to forget the toil of leaf raking.


I think of the colorful maples, as if painted by artistic design, on the foothills of the Berkshires where my hometown of Winsted, CT was nestled. Northwest of Hartford and Southeast of Albany, it was a town that was simply along the journey's way. The memories of that particular stop on my journey still remain etched in my mind that even today the advance of autumn conjures again.


Today, I think about a tree, a chestnut tree, ladened with nuts that only a precocious child would think to turn them into playful missiles to be hurled at each other. It was at the end of Prospect Street near the historic Solomon Rockwell house right before you crossed Lake Street (which eventually forked and led to Boyd) and hit Meadow Street. It all comes back to me as if it was only yesterday.


Each school walk to both elementary and high school, I remember well; painted indelibly on canvasses of my mind. Autumn foreshadows change, but autumnal change is not bad. I recall back then embracing change and loving the bouquet of colors, smells, and scenery it brought. Now in my autumn, in my season of mid-life discovery, I welcome changes that autumn brings and seek to make new memories once again.

Friday, September 16, 2011

This Side of Autumn

Footbridge in Palenville
Palenville, NY
Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus


I looked at the calendar this morning only to realize that we are this side of autumn. In five days, autumn will be here. It's hard to think about the concept of cooler weather when you have been victim to seventy days of 100 or more degrees. It seems that autumn comes at the most appropriate time.

For me autumn is a gentle bridge I cross each year before the chill and dark of winter. I enjoy the decay and smells and sounds of autumn. The leaves crumple underneath my feet. I hear children screaming and playing in school playgrounds near by. The scent of the corny dogs and funnel cakes float from the Cotton Bowl and make me hungry and smile. Autumn is a bridge I don't mind crossing.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Keep It Simple

Caddo Lake on Drizzly Morn
Uncertain, TX

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
Henry David Thoreau 


For many of our generation, success is often measured by the accumulation of things. This measurement fails to account for our personal happiness and our physical well being. Suppose you have lots of stuff but have spent years of abusing your body to the point of ill health, are you truly successful? What if you have spent a life time accumulating but have neglected spending time with your family and friends are you successful? What if you have everything that you could want or imagine, but you feel no joy are you successful?

Please don't misconstrue my appreciation for money and for those that have accumulated money, but I find myself realizing the trap that I have personally dug for myself. My personal stress and my current "job less" situation, have forced me to revisit my definition of success. I ask myself what I want most and the answer comes up freedom to do what I want not what I have to do. Our credit crisis is driven by what we want and not by what we need.

During my travels these past ten years through out Mexico, I've always been fascinated by how happy cab drivers in Mexico appear to be. They all have less than me but they seem to be content with the fact that they provide for their families and have plenty to eat. The same holds true for many of the people I have met in the local towns and smaller cities of Mexico. Children are happy, people meet and greet each other and embrace the mornings and the church bells call to worship and celebration. The simple life has rewards beyond cash.


Please consider what Thoreau meant when he said: "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." Your ability to walk away from stuff is what measures your true wealth. Do your possessions own you or do you own them? This truly is the root cause of our global credit crisis.




Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Take A Chance: Find A Good Cause

Raffle Prize by
Southlake Lions Club 

The economy makes it too easy to wallow in self-pity. I confess I was one of those who felt sorry for himself. I lost my job and most recently lost my mother. Both experiences were emotional and painful. In order to stop feeling sorry for myself, I became active with the Southlake Lions Club. At first it was awkward but soon I found myself surrounded by new friends and people who really want to make a difference.

This year we have a very special fundraiser. We will be hosting a bike ride on October 1st and we will also be raffling off a brand new Harley Softail bike. The proceeds of both the ride and raffle will go towards the purchase of a leader dog for Dallas Wiens. Dallas was the first to receive a complete face transplant after being electrocuted. At twenty five years of age, Dallas has lots of living remaining and we wish to make his life better.

I lost a job, but this man lost his face. I will eventually find another job, but he will never have his old face back nor his eyesight. People like you and me can make a difference by either donating to this great cause or purchasing raffle tickets at Southlake Lions Club. Click on the link and find out more about how you can purchase, donate, or win. You do not have to be present to win. Please open your eyes and help a blind man.

Monday, September 12, 2011

E Pluribus Unum

E Pluribus Unum on 9/11/11
Keller, TX

For those of you who might have forgotten our national emblem reads E Pluribus Unum. It means in Latin out of many one. Whether we think of the origins of the diverse thirteen colonies that originally formed the union we still call the United States of America, or we think about the diversity of our country since then; we still are a nation that reacts as one and we represent many. This was reinforced by the reactions and behavior of our citizens on ten years on a bright morning in New York City, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA.

In Memory of Lives Lost and 9/11 Heroes
Keller, TX
Nearly three thousand were murdered that day. The dead represented a diverse group from ninety six different countries. That day we shared shared the horror as one nation, as Americans not as Democrats, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and Independents: E Pluribus Unum.

We all remember were we were that day. My wife was imploring me to stay and not catch my flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. I waived her off and headed to DFW Airport. After going through security and reaching my gate, I noticed that none of the TV monitors were working. I still was not sure about what had happened and I boarded my plane. Several minutes later we were all asked to leave the plane. The rest of the details became foggy, but I remember the eerie and surreal silence. It wasn't until I saw a TV in a nearby restaurant within the terminal that I realized what was happening. A plane had struck the Pentagon. I still didn't know about the others.

Not Forgotten
Keller, TX
People were in shock at the airport but under control. I called my son and he picked me up at the airport. I was still ok. Three days later, I couldn't stop shaking. Fear struck me. My whole job depended on my ability to get on an airplane and see clients and prospects.

By the end of the week, my nerves were in tatters and my wife knew she had to get me out of the house. We went to visit my father-in-law. He said to me in a matter of fact calm voice: "Damn there must have been something we did to piss those people off". Unfortunately, while we have succeed capturing and killing Bin Laden and many of his accomplices, we have not asked nor solved the question and riddle.

Fallen Americans
Keller, TX
As one nation, we should ask questions about both our national policies and our corporate policies. We know for certain that some hate us, but we need to ask why. For the most part, we are better off than most in the world. That is a wonderful thing, but we also consume as a nation more of the same resources that others want and need for their growth. Until we address our consumption including our energy footprint, we risk more attacks from extremists of all kinds. War does not answer the question why even when they are just. The next generation must ask why and prevent war. War is always more expensive than peace.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Along the Way

On Top of the World
Rocky Mountain National Park


Along the way on our most recent road trip, I met perfect strangers, sojourners like me. One of my new acquaintances was a young tall handsome man with a lean physique like a runner named Adam who was on his honeymoon with his beautiful wife Stefanie. Although I didn't know Adam, he approached me while I was shooting at the top of the summit of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Adam seemed to be curious and interested by what I was doing. He didn't hesitate to come up to me a stranger. We struck up a conversation about cameras and photography. He also had a similar camera to mine and I told him about all of its wonderful features. On top of the mountain, Adam got a personal tutorial from me.

Actually there was more that happened on top of that mountain. My wife and his wife waited patiently in our respective cars as we lost track of time. We couldn't help it. Something happened to me on that mountain that day. Adam drew it out of me. I love photography. It's not only an obsession, but also a passion of mine. I also enjoy teaching others what I know and I enjoy learning from them too. This is not only what interests me but it's who I really am.

After what appeared to be minutes but I am sure was forever for our spouses, I returned to our vehicle. I was a new person. All my worries and cares about what was ahead of me vanished. My fears and phobias subsided as I thought about what just transpired. It was part of my satori experience.

The journey is filled with many similar encounters. We must be receptive and listen to our discoveries along the way. Two strangers met on a mountain top and became friends, sojourners on parallel paths. I gave him my card and since then he "friended" me on Facebook. I hope to meet him again; this time we will pick up where we left off and continue our friendship, no longer strangers.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Smiling Phases: Changing Faces






Put a child in front of a camera you get a complete show. There's no need to do any Photoshop manipulation. What I saw was exactly what I wanted to feel. Let's face it during the course of any one day in our lives in this economy, we feel all of these emotions. Our little cousin Kenna provided us with her version of a day in the life of a child.

The Blood Sweat and Tears tune quickly came to my mind this morning as I was putting together these images: Smiling Phases. The world might be a better place if we all dared to express ourselves like children. What would it hurt to try?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Mid-life Discovery

Reagan National Airport
iPhone Capture


During the early stages of life, children spend endless amounts of time discovering their world through play. Discovery seems to stop somewhere along the age when responsible jobs and marriage take hold. The focus gets interrupted and growth for most stops or is postponed indefinitely.

For nearly ten years, I've been in a new phase of my life. At first, I thought it was a "mid-life" crisis but I soon learned that it had nothing to do with either sport cars, women, pinky rings, piercings, and or tattoos. For me instead, I felt a deep seated restlessness. I felt that I had some other purpose for my life but I didn't know what is was. In Spanish this restlessness is called inquietud. 

In time, I learned to accept the feeling and that feeling lead to a tremendous desire to self discover and to explore my universe. My mid-life crisis became mid-life discovery. Each day, I feel now that I need to write something about my journey. I am driven by it in fact. In addition, I find myself wanting to explore my world more with my camera and even iPhone as if I want to capture each moment that I am awake. 

Life is meant to be lived. Its not meant to be spent on a couch watching what others have accomplished. Retirement is a fools dream. We were meant to create, do, and act. That's been the largest part of my discovery. I no longer wish my days away nor do I choose to postpone things for a later day. I want to live each day fully and get the most out of it. I write and I photograph and I will write and photograph until I can no longer do either. If that happens, then you will just have to listen to me tell you my stories and verbally paint my images.

Outstretched Hand

Outstretched Hand & Harbor
National Harbor, MD

My niece orchestrated her wonderful wedding at National Harbor, MD. It was a great opportunity for us to once again escape from the oppressive Texas heat. Sixty plus days of 100 degree weather takes its toll on the spirit. Sitting at the edge of pier staring at calm waters of the Potomac was a welcome respite.

On the shore, I noticed the outstretched arm and hand of Poseidon. The silhouette captivated my attention. The position of the hand implied stress of some sort. The events of the past week and even the past month quickly came to mind. Financial markets succumbed to crisis of sovereign debt and lapses of political resolve. Mother nature inflicted its own natural stress with both an earthquake and a hurricane along the northeast corridor. Already saturated soil enabled rivers to overflow and add more injury.

The hand, the stressed hand reaches toward the sky defiantly and almost in anger challenging nature and fate. We are not helpless. We control how we react. Nature continues and so does life. There is an eventual balance to all of the perceived madness. I look across the banks of the Potomac and the river continues its flow towards the sea.



Sunday, September 4, 2011

Repost: The Future for Better or Worse


Hand and Universe
National Harbor, MD


An acquaintance of mine made a simple statement that troubled me. He stated that for the first time in our lives things were not going to be better for our children. He added that we needed to get rid of the debt burden this country faces. My friend is an intelligent man and by way of his vocation, a lawyer, has argued logically all his life.

Yes the future for our children does hold some legacy costs. There's no doubt about this fact. However, our children inherit a world that is no longer dominated by the threat of a nuclear war. Our children will not rehearse the fallout shelter drills we did as children. Nor will our children face the threat of global domination by either Russia or China. Their world could potentially be more peaceful, if we learn the lessons of consumption.

The period of change we now face is an opportunity to revisit how we consume and how we can reduce our consumption and reliance on non renewable energy. It's also about learning how to manage and recycle the resources which we have. One example that quickly comes to mind is the automobile. Since the '80's and after the energy crisis of the 70's, our vehicles have become larger and less efficient. The recent disruption of energy supplies served as an awakening to the automotive industry: change or lose business to competition. 

The overall weight of the automobile will have to come down in order to reduce fuel consumption. This means that manufactures will either have to use thinner gauge steel or use more aluminum parts to obtain energy efficiencies. This can be done now. This a lesson our children are learning right now. Aluminum by the way is one of the few metals that can be recycled indefinitely. High energy prices make this metal more attractive and a more viable substitute for steel. 

How we illuminate our homes, schools, work places, and highways is also changing. LED lighting like we are already using in our TV's and computer monitors, and smart phones will also reduce the amount of energy we consume. If what my friend means that his children wont have an 18,000 square ft home, then he is correct. He will be correct because it doesnot make sense to consume resources with disregard to the energy costs. The generation coming up will be very cognizant of their energy footprint. 

By changing how we consume now, we can in fact prepare ourselves and our children for a more efficient future. I would rather have both peace and a greener environment for our children. If this comes at the expense of reduced consumption and pollution so be it. As for the debt, think about what we have paid for and quietly start paying for it. In the process we need to wean ourselves from non renewable sources of energy. The costs are high but its time to use our ingenuity to conserve and look for ways to change our lifestyles and make productive living and cities our top priorities. We can and need to change. Our future depends on it. Insulate your home, check your thermostats, recycle, choose wisely your method of transportation, and protect your water. Our children can in fact have better futures by consuming less.

Since 9/11, few of us have sacrificed anything or anyone, for the sake of our future and our children we should reconsider consumption and growth. We cannot sustain nor afford our prior trajectory. The world has changed and requires that we share more of dwindling natural resources. This requires more ingenuity not less. It also requires the vision of sacrifice. That's a reasonable burden we should all be willing to share unless we choose to sacrifice more youth in wars that cannot be won.

Friday, September 2, 2011

The Future: Better or Worse?

Hand and Universe
National Harbor, MD


An acquaintance of mine made a simple statement that troubled me. He stated that for the first time in our lives things were not going to be better for our children. He added that we needed to get rid of the debt burden this country faces. My friend is an intelligent man and by way of his vocation, a lawyer, has argued logically all his life.


Yes the future for our children does hold some legacy costs. There's no doubt about this fact. However, our children inherit a world that is no longer dominated by the threat of a nuclear war. Our children will not rehearse the fallout shelter drills we did as children. Nor will our children face the threat of global domination by either Russia or China. Their world could potentially be more peaceful, if we learn the lessons of consumption.


The period of change we now face is an opportunity to revisit how we consume and how we can reduce our consumption and reliance on non renewable energy. It's also about learning how to manage and recycle the resources which we have. One example that quickly comes to mind is the automobile. Since the '80's and after the energy crisis of the 70's, our vehicles have become larger and less efficient. The recent disruption of energy supplies served as an awakening to the automotive industry: change or lose business to competition. 


The overall weight of the automobile will have to come down in order to reduce fuel consumption. This means that manufactures will either have to use thinner gauge steel or use more aluminum parts to obtain energy efficiencies. This can be done now. This a lesson our children are learning right now. Aluminum by the way is one of the few metals that can be recycled indefinitely. High energy prices make this metal more attractive and a more viable substitute for steel. 


How we illuminate our homes, schools, work places, and highways is also changing. LED lighting like we are already using in our TV's and computer monitors, and smart phones will also reduce the amount of energy we consume. If what my friend means that his children wont have an 18,000 square ft home, then he is correct. He will be correct because it doesnot make sense to consume resources with disregard to the energy costs. The generation coming up will be very cognizant of their energy footprint. 


By changing how we consume now, we can in fact prepare ourselves and our children for a more efficient future. I would rather have both peace and a greener environment for our children. If this comes at the expense of reduced consumption and pollution so be it. As for the debt, think about what we have paid for and quietly start paying for it. In the process we need to wean ourselves from non renewable sources of energy. The costs are high but its time to use our ingenuity to conserve and look for ways to change our lifestyles and make productive living and cities our top priorities. We can and need to change. Our future depends on it. Insulate your home, check your thermostats, recycle, choose wisely your method of transportation, and protect your water. Our children can in fact have better futures by consuming less.


Since 9/11, few of us have sacrificed anything or anyone, for the sake of our future and our children we should reconsider consumption and growth. We cannot sustain nor afford our prior trajectory. The world has changed and requires that we share more of dwindling natural resources. This requires more ingenuity not less. It also requires the vision of sacrifice. That's a reasonable burden we should all be willing to share unless we choose to sacrifice more youth in wars that cannot be won.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Always on My Mind

Buffalos Grazing
North of Raton, NM

Sometimes life gets in the way. I get busy but I've a confession: "You are always on my mind". That's right I think about all of you. Recently, I have had so many positive things going on in my life that for a moment I got too busy, but I've not forgotten you. So from my heart, I want to let you know that I love sharing with you my experiences. I believe that life is meant to be enjoyed and shared. My promise is this: as long as I can breathe, speak, write, and photograph, I will share with you. This is my journey and I have not reached my final destination yet. Please continue to join my sojourn with me.

Buffalo Dust Bath
This past couple of weeks my journey took me 2,200 miles from the high plains of Amarillo to the Rocky Mountains of Estes Park and back down the Santa Fe trail through Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico and through mesa and plain home again. All that time all of you were always on my mind. There were so many things to see and simply not enough time to absorb all of it.

For many years, I believed that we had our thinking all reversed. We really should "retire" early and start working when we are around seventy and ready to sit down. If you postpone the things that require physical activity you may never get to do them. Do it now. Live now!!

My journey took a different turn last year but now I am grateful for what transpired. I now have an opportunity to practice my hidden crafts writing and photography. This is who I am. I am a photographer and a writer. My job is to simply improve and tell the stories.

Now I choose to print more of my images and sell them. This is my vocation and my calling. I shoot commercial work and weddings too  but my passion lies with creating fine art images. I do both with my passion and art in mind. This is truly who I am and I can't fight my calling.