tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78878648810035703832024-03-12T22:01:08.602-05:00Daily JourneyAl Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.comBlogger610125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-6484348531616459702023-03-25T06:42:00.005-05:002023-03-25T06:42:56.890-05:00Overcoming Fear<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcdCIts996RMgkW0si84H-q25KOn8fD1ALOax40ZFOxpi3aKzk_kiTa3UM32tXPJM-DjLlQbtuQQky5bsF6_AOWkDil4pxRgFtIdQ9vkMumDeq6pYogLIfb5fFJgNnziwQULjyqqVLkQQ3v4cGHjKYgIVnb5n0w_MlszA7HHIxilcmWtaVwtkcA/s512/IMG_0366.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcdCIts996RMgkW0si84H-q25KOn8fD1ALOax40ZFOxpi3aKzk_kiTa3UM32tXPJM-DjLlQbtuQQky5bsF6_AOWkDil4pxRgFtIdQ9vkMumDeq6pYogLIfb5fFJgNnziwQULjyqqVLkQQ3v4cGHjKYgIVnb5n0w_MlszA7HHIxilcmWtaVwtkcA/w240-h320/IMG_0366.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Practice What You Preach</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Fear and anxiety have always plagued me through out my life. As a child, I remember the day I fell from a fire escape in The Bronx after retrieving my slipper. I fell possibly a story down alongside the fire escape (or so it seemed to me). From that point forward I feared both heights and falling. I became risk averse.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Anxiety can cripple your personal growth. It can overwhelm. Medication alone can't remedy the underlying issues. Replacing that anxiety with knowledge can help you move forward. Understanding the consequences of failure and thinking through those consequences helps. Learning again to trust yourself and to deal with facts also helps. You are in charge.</span></div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WgwUvyOAfhGt4eoYsaRxX_mCvOdmLiZN0AnWeoGzppU8EWuOaZn_1se80_gZKMDtt20ht5fWVQ0ZPhItpl1U5rCARBFjqhqCc7sIXwERl81GHhJuHjRgQerjpJBP6TiABiw3iIvPJKAIin6V6hG0LDWwfXOPpns7BeLcLYCH2OINi32PwYHNlw/s4032/IMG_0154.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WgwUvyOAfhGt4eoYsaRxX_mCvOdmLiZN0AnWeoGzppU8EWuOaZn_1se80_gZKMDtt20ht5fWVQ0ZPhItpl1U5rCARBFjqhqCc7sIXwERl81GHhJuHjRgQerjpJBP6TiABiw3iIvPJKAIin6V6hG0LDWwfXOPpns7BeLcLYCH2OINi32PwYHNlw/w200-h150/IMG_0154.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Capuchin (White Faced Monkey)</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We recently took a well deserved vacation to Costa Rica. Kim, my wife, was set on zip lining with our friends. I on the other hand was hoping everyone would forget and that we would choose some other adventure. Before I knew it, I was being harnessed and fitted for my zip line adventure over the jungle tree tops like a senior Tarzan. All this courtesy of my spouse who issues a Silver Alert if I am late from either the store or work.</span></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">My fate rested on two things and two things only: my harness and the team assisting us. Our leader Diego was a wiry small statured man with a broad smile, great sense of humor, and also the man who help built this zip line net work. He had Rasputin eyes and I am convinced that it made me trust him enough to take my first dangling leap held up only by a harness and a steel cable. I did it over and over one tree stand to the next hanging dearly to my handles while enjoying the view atop the rain forest.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The capstone was the very last stand. Again Diego looked at me with his intense eyes and smile. Now you are going to repel 100 feet to the waterfall below. You will place your hands here (left hand above you on the rope and right hand below you to control your descent you can choose your speed. There was only one way down. I could hang there forever or take the leap of faith and trust.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Obviously I made it. I had the experience of a lifetime and I got a tremendous boost of self confidence. Fear is not a bad thing. It simply means we are uncomfortable and are challenged to do something about the situation. I got to experience life from the tree tops as seen by the monkeys and macaws who inhabit them. Find your inner Diego.</span></div>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-6711829495462191322023-02-14T06:00:00.001-06:002023-02-14T06:00:00.226-06:00Tempus Fugit<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlyg-eaU_LKNj1C5P4EZi7gpyUooZ5GrmEUlcjzOtdoFDPSNni3ryqtNATFTDBkf_8hKpn1dAnX82YEj8uyys6F-UHDMM9btLht1Bs9ijFN2UBYfksWNK0sWiqp_a_vBT7K4xlyBLV9t8oxrecwsv1D3m3wWroj1XZn6xTH86A59lx8IB8n4Tew/s1200/IMG_2304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlyg-eaU_LKNj1C5P4EZi7gpyUooZ5GrmEUlcjzOtdoFDPSNni3ryqtNATFTDBkf_8hKpn1dAnX82YEj8uyys6F-UHDMM9btLht1Bs9ijFN2UBYfksWNK0sWiqp_a_vBT7K4xlyBLV9t8oxrecwsv1D3m3wWroj1XZn6xTH86A59lx8IB8n4Tew/s320/IMG_2304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lone Photographer<br />Zabriskie Point<br />Death Valley, CA</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p>As most of you know, I became a financial advisor eight years ago. As a financial advisor I realize that many people are more concerned about running out of money, than running out of time. In my opinion, we have our priorities confused. We do not live infinitely nor do we have nine lives. Each is allocated an undetermined amount of time to manage and enjoy. No amount of money will buy you more time if your health bank runs out.<p></p><p>Like the image above make sure you focus on the experience in front of you. Be present today and capture all that the gift of life offers you. Know what's important and treasure it. Time marches on.</p><p> </p>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-14418227460824212023-02-04T17:44:00.000-06:002023-02-04T17:44:15.714-06:00Balloon Fiesta<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCW2EGsapZskkxutWao84SlB9A5j-uJl2z4ItRWf3WqT1bTZuZujNbbrY6oz9KF3Rur0q1nh0OM78novUoB5FHRXc2oVOSwrMiPsF4tQ2LqmSeY52oCdIo1pS5orUkfhcgn3M-2-fSiPO3Q6b9_Y9SWJZNlJWNWcFCiH55r089Jjcx0RbRp0CF7w/s601/Picture-097c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="402" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCW2EGsapZskkxutWao84SlB9A5j-uJl2z4ItRWf3WqT1bTZuZujNbbrY6oz9KF3Rur0q1nh0OM78novUoB5FHRXc2oVOSwrMiPsF4tQ2LqmSeY52oCdIo1pS5orUkfhcgn3M-2-fSiPO3Q6b9_Y9SWJZNlJWNWcFCiH55r089Jjcx0RbRp0CF7w/s320/Picture-097c.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albuquerque Balloon Festival</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Letting go is not something I'm very good at. Being in the moment nor simply just floating are foreign concepts to me. Simply put it's not in my DNA. Folks in my family get things done. We take charge. Unfortunately, you can't always be in charge; life provides plenty of impediments.<p></p><div>This past week our long awaited vacation was put on hold as a winter ice storm embraced Dallas and air traffic was frozen. Flights were cancelled and to hell with vacation plans. There was nothing I could do other than try to shorten my vacation and jump through airline hoops and logistic nightmares to get four stranded travelers to Costa Rica. That didn't make sense. It wasn't in the card for this month. We lost not only deposits but also the total paid for our rental home. That was the written policy. We lost.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the genius who had planned this trip I felt responsible and ashamed but no amount of self flagellation was going to solve this problem. With lots of dickering we were able to book a subsequent trip to the same location at a discount but still more cash outlays. (We did salvage tickets.) It was a hard bitter lesson. Sometimes things do not work and we have to accept the situation we have not the one we want.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are times in life you have to simply let go, acknowledge you've done your best, and move on. Make the best of a less than ideal hand. You control how you react to everything. That much you do control.</div>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-63568106264583617382023-02-03T09:07:00.000-06:002023-02-03T09:07:04.068-06:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwwYvVq6RT88gxFO2t_k4tSCDddh-i4RysuSi1yRlHpYC8LES1zWjWeIo52Oz9Cgoc5qgcuH4EZ3Q5lbyuGMFhp2NrkHaALM2_YjuQgG_s_ng5yXxxOCXoH3X97ORCT6AuSenV7Wvb6z6sPHy8YYuTSpN9VGwin9JJg6L0-ZFVuBw6pwc91xLkg/s960/Kestrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwwYvVq6RT88gxFO2t_k4tSCDddh-i4RysuSi1yRlHpYC8LES1zWjWeIo52Oz9Cgoc5qgcuH4EZ3Q5lbyuGMFhp2NrkHaALM2_YjuQgG_s_ng5yXxxOCXoH3X97ORCT6AuSenV7Wvb6z6sPHy8YYuTSpN9VGwin9JJg6L0-ZFVuBw6pwc91xLkg/s320/Kestrel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lone Kestrel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Patagonia, AZ</div><br />It's difficult to start writing again. For so many years this was my form of self expression. It took care of my self imposed isolation stemming from job loss and bereavement. My morning companion was my computer and a blank screen for me to paint with thoughts and words.<p></p><p>In 2015, I started a new adventure at the age of 58. I became a financial advisor and quite frankly I forsake all others including my passions writing and photography. Although I needed to focus on building my business (and have) I truly felt something inside missing, my creative expression, my voice, and how I view the world.</p><p>So forgive me for not posting and indulge me once again as I share with you my views along my Daily Journey.</p><p>Your Pal,</p><p>Al</p>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-47192427288249352632020-03-16T06:43:00.000-05:002020-03-16T06:46:54.617-05:00Look Around You<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYGgBh3-1BiJqmuolw8_GjsGMQsEjebkubXihZd7TcXuMThfPW93-uiTs1pdlyxm5k8SvlowY5GZjUQjPwOjO3KqtjedNSsL6D_o3zJi55CSvEo_wSjcZWy9cpB9aHb49dFsYZcjHhw/s1600/IMG_4916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYGgBh3-1BiJqmuolw8_GjsGMQsEjebkubXihZd7TcXuMThfPW93-uiTs1pdlyxm5k8SvlowY5GZjUQjPwOjO3KqtjedNSsL6D_o3zJi55CSvEo_wSjcZWy9cpB9aHb49dFsYZcjHhw/s320/IMG_4916.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgin River<br />
Hurricane, UT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There's a lot of stress in the world today. We feel as if both 9/11 and the SARS virus of '03 have struck at the same time. It hasn't; we've been made to slow down, look around us, and take note that world is still spinning and traveling around the sun.<br />
<br />
It's time for lengthy morning walks and hikes. Time to get in touch with nature and our families. Time to both disconnect and reconnect with those who need us most, seniors. Take control of your life and manage those things which you truly have control over.<br />
<br />
As you know, I started my blog back in 2010 after I lost my job. At that time it was my end of the world and within a year's time I also lost my mother. Life did not end for me and since then I've rediscovered myself several times. Do not give up, keep moving, look beyond yourself, and find solace in nature and how things resolve over time. Stay healthy and wash your hands, be in control.Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-54947857257729392742020-03-15T06:19:00.004-05:002020-03-15T06:54:51.726-05:00Find Your Peace<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBlRvqM5s0DAGCaK0Sx3u4QljU8wNNAZgtY5VT8wVPlaDroEZci45c1IX6RixtYU8peIQ0Qo4F63o9Xo6Xi10bj0zMCMybgcK8hUOtxlOnIaqiyoy90YSb_J4_IwQNK5nR77yzlMzlQ/s1600/Sent_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBlRvqM5s0DAGCaK0Sx3u4QljU8wNNAZgtY5VT8wVPlaDroEZci45c1IX6RixtYU8peIQ0Qo4F63o9Xo6Xi10bj0zMCMybgcK8hUOtxlOnIaqiyoy90YSb_J4_IwQNK5nR77yzlMzlQ/s320/Sent_1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Zion National Park View<br />
Springdale, UT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My mother scarred my siblings and me when we were children. At breakfast or in fact any meal she would say "eat all of your food so you don't get tuberculosis". That was the root cause of our general anxiety disorder, tuberculosis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Years later as I was doing ancestry research, I discovered that yes indeed there was a tuberculosis (TB) asylum in Ponce, Puerto Rico. <a href="https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0096-0217(15)34029-2/fulltext" target="_blank">In 1933 there were 337 deaths reported in Puerto Rico stemming from tuberculosis. Puerto Rico had one of the highest fatality rate in the world.</a> By 1944 the mortality rate from TB dropped by nearly 80% as a result of public health efforts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">While I no longer worry about TB, I do take heed to public health warnings. I do so because it also allays my fears with facts about something I know nothing about. While I pray, I also pay attention to known science for my safety and well being.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's spring time now for us in TX. Usually it signals a time of rebirth for me and renewed optimism; I simply am not a winter person. Spring affords me days to discover my surroundings and to observe nature. Nature enables me to reconnect with whats beautiful and allows me to see beyond what's inside my head. It's as if I can see the possibilities of life and what has been placed in it for me to enjoy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So to reduce my childhood anxieties, I've relied on nature and later on in life photography to channel my anxiety into something positive. Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to sanitize myself and meet several of my clients in Las Vegas area. After my work was done, I headed to Zion National Park and acquainted myself with the peace of nature, reconnect, and find my inner solace. Find an activity to quite your anxiety these next few weeks and don't forget to eat all of your food just in case my mother was right.</span>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-15239989826026631652017-11-08T06:31:00.001-06:002017-11-08T06:31:48.715-06:00The Captured Moment<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRhByZcBZjh6oBx6-_11SbG1EJUJlRYsGNnuBPO7xGiELKM2Xs5z53_XJBJLKgsA4WdYYjSzv5_pzEUMoFqNFMuaRwe9K8BcmAIUxz1zedqqBlpo_sEuB7c-b0kw3ZllOsScKuTcCcg/s1600/cascade-print-flat-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRhByZcBZjh6oBx6-_11SbG1EJUJlRYsGNnuBPO7xGiELKM2Xs5z53_XJBJLKgsA4WdYYjSzv5_pzEUMoFqNFMuaRwe9K8BcmAIUxz1zedqqBlpo_sEuB7c-b0kw3ZllOsScKuTcCcg/s320/cascade-print-flat-web.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cascade<br />Platte Cove</i><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
There's a part of me that wants time stand still like a photograph captured as an elongated fraction of a second or two. I want to savor every aspect of it and have an opportunity to digest all of it and not simply have it slip through me.<br />
<br />
Imagine getting to enjoy happy times with your family and friends in perpetuity. Wouldn't it be wonderful to pull those images from your mind and into your heart as you beckon them? That's what I am mentally trying to do now as the the measured strokes of time tick away always moving making the present slip away.<br />
<br />
No sooner than I enunciate the present it too has vanished. I struggle to to fill it full of meaning: family, friends, and the fine art of the pursuit of happiness.<br />
<br />
As a photographer, a professional sojourner and voyeur, I cherish all time and simply wish to capture and keep it still long enough to enjoy it and recall it as I see fit.Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-54699141924348909192017-09-13T12:44:00.003-05:002017-09-13T12:51:03.162-05:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGhuY1io8b9fj_yh5Y-QJ44tuitcFK0VgpPcdoEWxPnz8_JtgfwIKQaUBv_J9r9ehCEb6HVOXwpwt8ij_llwUbJE3oyBJPbY7yfFhcu6gWZzCfGc9o_yoUaDXKZ0XA33BSriFEs8p3w/s1600/IMG_2304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGhuY1io8b9fj_yh5Y-QJ44tuitcFK0VgpPcdoEWxPnz8_JtgfwIKQaUBv_J9r9ehCEb6HVOXwpwt8ij_llwUbJE3oyBJPbY7yfFhcu6gWZzCfGc9o_yoUaDXKZ0XA33BSriFEs8p3w/s320/IMG_2304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Harry Sandler<br />Still Life</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="29b57-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="29b57-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="29b57-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No one lives in a vacuum to that extent our sources of inspiration come not only from what we see but also by the people whom we meet and get to know. Harry Sandler was that person for me.
</span></span></div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="d72l6-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d72l6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="d72l6-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Harry died last night after a short battle with pancreatic cancer and long life jammed pack with music memories, family, friends, and photography.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="d72l6-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="9jj5s-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9jj5s-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="9jj5s-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everyone he met he touched in one form or another. To that extent when we met in 2009, I became a groupie, a disciple willing to learn something new, how to let go of some of my fears and just do.<
</span></span></div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="1eppg-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1eppg-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="1eppg-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So I am grateful that he was able to share his life with me and his endless stories and phrases from lyrics and people that became a part of his persona.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="1eppg-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="1ul9e-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1ul9e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="1ul9e-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To those of you in the music business, you will remember him as the guy who made it happen seamlessly. The guy who unwittingly wound up driving a bus and ended up at Woodstock. We heard the jaw dropping list of musicians he knew or worked with "Bruce", Stevie Nicks, John Mellencamp, The Eagles, Bon Jovi. His grand finally was Katy Perry's Prism tour. I have to admit that Harry left us all in awe. Oh the logistics... What a life! His life.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="1ul9e-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="8bu8l" data-offset-key="b0mn8-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="b0mn8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="b0mn8-0-0"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Harry leaves his friends the legacy of his friendship, its secret healing power, and its power to inspire self renewal. We honor his memory by embracing life fully, living it, and by loving our friends and family without restraints. We should have the courage to reinvent ourselves and when we get to that "fork in the road" just take it you might wind up at Woodstock. Harry did. Not bad for no formal education.
</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-63383314411506855202016-10-31T18:17:00.000-05:002016-10-31T18:17:03.585-05:00Untamed<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5lUjPw-9uvaKuRXoxLZCP3CyCYMVixuHZ6MjLaolkE55h9SOMSGJpS3SK4LACpfzJliXviQrIcKxwQg3YvGjUCVpUP0QC5cdgdZJ_t7_5NQ30FjMyNqGA8pWxzkhUnSTJFXjiErxGw/s1600/as-colinas-horses-in-keller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5lUjPw-9uvaKuRXoxLZCP3CyCYMVixuHZ6MjLaolkE55h9SOMSGJpS3SK4LACpfzJliXviQrIcKxwQg3YvGjUCVpUP0QC5cdgdZJ_t7_5NQ30FjMyNqGA8pWxzkhUnSTJFXjiErxGw/s320/as-colinas-horses-in-keller.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wild Horses in Keller<br />Bear Creek Park<br />Keller, TX</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have always wondered what the fascination was with the west and wild horses. I think its our obsession and desire to be unfettered, to be able to roam at will, to graze anywhere we stand, to run freely, letting your hair down, throwing caution to the wind.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The nine months I spent in Tucson gave me the opportunity to explore the vast expanses of the Sonoran Desert and the panoramic views of endless space obstructed only by sensuous mountains at the end of almost infinite horizons. It was a personal oasis and a spiritual beverage. I was intoxicated by exploration and physical exhaustion. It easily made up for the amenities, I know longer had.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During my lone hikes, I enjoyed the music of solitude and the score nature provided me. I found myself enjoying a totally different beat. My success was measured not by accumulation but by the miles I traversed up canyons and mountains and high desert grasslands.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Behold the wild mustang, what an enviable creature in deed. If only I could latch on to him if only in my dreams at night freeing me from the cares of the mundane and the noise which accompanies it.</span></div>
<br /><br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-62237594057722195052016-10-30T07:47:00.000-05:002016-10-30T09:05:05.990-05:00What's Your Cookie?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib35BB38lfypDyEN38w5QgQ_hri-SjB4qqH6RKLBF8-QOQo9I01ou93U27bLsytcMOrIlRWO6EbwXFUAF1Tu5OWcCcPXPMpHZvJN6t5IiK6G28sOknp491lYQJzups2LAuUpFpFgk42w/s1600/SFA+Shapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib35BB38lfypDyEN38w5QgQ_hri-SjB4qqH6RKLBF8-QOQo9I01ou93U27bLsytcMOrIlRWO6EbwXFUAF1Tu5OWcCcPXPMpHZvJN6t5IiK6G28sOknp491lYQJzups2LAuUpFpFgk42w/s320/SFA+Shapes.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Iglesia Rancho de Taos<br />Taos</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">New Mexico</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When we moved from "The" Bronx to Winsted, CT, I was five years old. I spoke very little English but I new a few words to get buy; enough to make friends with neighbors, all it took was bag of Oreo cookies. "Do you want an Oreo cookie?", I would inquire. It didn't take me long to make friends.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My mom told me that my solicitation didn't just stop with the Oreo cookie offer either. In fact, she told me that she would place me in the grocery cart while at the store and I would start to sing: "I like people and people like me". The song was not original it was part of a Lifebuoy soap jingle I had heard. (Apparently, I loved that as much as my Oreo cookies too.) Both worked and I made friends.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been years since then, but I've managed to continue my cookie charity and singing my song to myself but not out loud If you are in any kind of sales you have to both have and be a cookie. You should genuinely like people. Be real, be you. It's important that you be willing to first give of yourself, before you ask someone for anything. Differentiate yourself from others by offering a cookie. Be interested in their wellbeing first.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So what's the cookie? Why it's you of course! Offer yourself. Be of value. Why should that person wish to speak with you again? What do you have of value to offer them that they should want to speak with you today?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My blogs and photography have been my cookies for years. Sometimes both photography used and words spoken have been related but separately each was its own cookie for you.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As you knock on a door or get ready to call someone think about the cookie. By the way, my name is Al Hernandez and I am a financial advisor. I like people and people like me because I make the complicated seem simpl</span>e. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I happen to have an Oreo cookie would you like one?</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-86302121653317393832016-05-27T06:00:00.000-05:002016-05-27T06:00:08.015-05:00Catching UP<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzQXRe_Ba86UmxOLH7J3v_w7DpCiv2cCL0spORvMIMg5NDF9Q6ebKhvUjM93r9EVlDnznUTAEOYWKP1x9HhVTTwmIQIbiIcaHpYi8BZTHPg6mDs__SO-5PdNrS183FeU-iIyHrxDGsw/s1600/Transgendered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzQXRe_Ba86UmxOLH7J3v_w7DpCiv2cCL0spORvMIMg5NDF9Q6ebKhvUjM93r9EVlDnznUTAEOYWKP1x9HhVTTwmIQIbiIcaHpYi8BZTHPg6mDs__SO-5PdNrS183FeU-iIyHrxDGsw/s320/Transgendered.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trans:<br />Woman Trapped in Cactus Body<br />Sabino Canyon<br />Tucson, AZ</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Life has gotten in the way. Have had to earn my keep and have had little time for me and the outlets that provide balance for me. Those outlets include self expression both with the written word and my visual perceptions of the world seasoned by my version of the truth. (Let's face it, we all have a version of the truth filtered and distorted by our own reality perception. No one is innocent.)</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Took liberties with an image I captured several years ago in Arizona. My claim then was that I had spent too much time in the solitude of desert and with lack of companionship. Today I look back at the same image and see a politically incorrect woman trapped in a cactus body. It's hard for me to see it any other way.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lighten up and laugh. It's an election year and there's plenty to laugh about. We should all be disgusted enough to throw all of these pandering politicians out. I stand by my woman trapped in a cactus body. That's reality. I can almost hear: "What's a nice cactus like you doing in a place like this?"</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-55901937100064213262015-12-10T06:08:00.000-06:002015-12-10T06:08:14.363-06:00That time of year.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZA61UnAPv9giJsGpv5Ms2KdsNHKLPzgklmNvwySx9dKxSVsPc30Z4U3tX1XmxMG_pNnV0vkYDluGq69VHveWTS1kVAyokbisL6yfnMdgGbhA1XE9kcbEQvRDz7yzfEng5AcC0nQL34Q/s1600/Keller-Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZA61UnAPv9giJsGpv5Ms2KdsNHKLPzgklmNvwySx9dKxSVsPc30Z4U3tX1XmxMG_pNnV0vkYDluGq69VHveWTS1kVAyokbisL6yfnMdgGbhA1XE9kcbEQvRDz7yzfEng5AcC0nQL34Q/s400/Keller-Tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Keller Christmas<br />Keller, TX</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Happened to look down at my calendar which happens to be my iPhone only to notice that its now the second week of December. What happened to this year? All I see on my way home now are tree lights and homes silhouetted by lights. When did the year escape me?</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All I recall was preparing for the three exams earlier this year: Series 7, 66, and my Texas Insurance License. The next thing I knew I was in Tempe preparing to start my financial advisory business and knocking on doors like a hybrid Jehovah's Witness with Mormon parents.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Had to set aside my photography to earn money in earnest. However, I miss my doing my landscapes but I don't miss trying to earn commercial assignments. There are simply too many people giving it away and with negligible skills calling themselves photographers. A camera doesn't make you one nor does a license really make you a financial advisor.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It boils down to more: talent, skill, a calling. Two things I've always been my entire life: creative and financially oriented. If you stop by my office, in addition to my financial advice and guidance, if you are lucky you might also get a 5x7 card from me, a sample of my passion and creativity.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">www.photographybyalhernandez.com</a></i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-70269782125195842152015-11-29T11:21:00.000-06:002015-11-29T11:21:08.683-06:00Playing in My Creative Attic<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqooc6Kc61KNRMU4EVOByaoISjuzQgHxCaHLp-TwBdRb4dJwrOeorlv_7pFt6GTeKmK_mnTIhLU64UNudxPUr55-hViKCYO1u_T-QZFyipUBbp4C4T7JnMD9LMZINE9BmmeR3QvaT0w/s1600/Aspens-Ablaze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqooc6Kc61KNRMU4EVOByaoISjuzQgHxCaHLp-TwBdRb4dJwrOeorlv_7pFt6GTeKmK_mnTIhLU64UNudxPUr55-hViKCYO1u_T-QZFyipUBbp4C4T7JnMD9LMZINE9BmmeR3QvaT0w/s400/Aspens-Ablaze.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aspens Ablaze<br />Near Kebler Pass<br />Crested Butte, Colorado</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i>The last of human freedoms -</i></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i>the ability to choose one's attitude</i></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i>in a given set of circumstances.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i><b>Viktor Frankl </b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I was a child I remember the countless hours spent at my neighbors house on rainy days playing in a makeshift playroom in a very dusty attic on 75 Prospect St, in Winsted, CT. The dreary rain did not bother us. It provided us with an opportunity to play and to entertain ourselves. It was always worthwhile.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For those of you tracking the weather here in North Texas we have been afflicted with large amounts of rain since Thanksgiving eve and into the long weekend. Its not been pretty and the wind chill has turned 39 into 20. I've no attic to play in so I've chosen to search my photographic archives and find images that I could breathe life into. Images that I've not had time to interpret to my liking. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today's image was shot while on an excursion with a friend on our way to Kebler Pass. The friend was someone we had met ironically in Colorado one year prior. We met as strangers on a journey with a common interest. Thank you Adam for inviting me to come out and play.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></span></a></div>
</span>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-21206230392731104082015-11-28T09:43:00.003-06:002015-11-29T10:54:27.886-06:00Wanted: Inspiration<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDA1fm1taFt62DwpU7a-bPIepLOxtR3XZLLUZ9nPhE1OjGRF0ep4ma-IoexrKLF3i9nDioZKGt8_kRlQu-mNILtzQBam9YuZqlaqKs-Oi-7NyEQzg9o-yhiLVm3g_D0Y-xPTbRc8FbTg/s1600/Inspiration-Lost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDA1fm1taFt62DwpU7a-bPIepLOxtR3XZLLUZ9nPhE1OjGRF0ep4ma-IoexrKLF3i9nDioZKGt8_kRlQu-mNILtzQBam9YuZqlaqKs-Oi-7NyEQzg9o-yhiLVm3g_D0Y-xPTbRc8FbTg/s400/Inspiration-Lost.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Inspiration Lost</i><br />
<i>Hunter, NY<br /><br />"Don't aim at success.<br />The more you aim at it<br />and make it a target,<br />the more you are going to miss it."<br /><b>Viktor Frankl</b><br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Success has always driven me. It has driven my crazy. It's been fleeting and illusive. It has taken me to dark places in the absence of its financial definition. Viktor Frankl implied that success was the "unintended side effect to a cause greater than oneself or as the by product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself." You have to not care about it and let it happen.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If this sounds odd to you, you are in good company. It's totally foreign to me. However, when I am in my creative space not only am I happy but I find that I am also successful because I let go of all the conventions and simply work at something until I am satisfied with my creation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This morning, on the tail end of a deluge of rain from a weather pattern I refer to as "el gringo" (unlike its cousin el Niño, it takes over the country and lingers), I had trouble getting inspired. I chose to find an image which would force me to communicate my mood on this dreary day. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In doing this, I was able to feel both happiness and success on this dreary damp day. Find your inspiration even on the darkest days. That is truly a successful way to live. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
<h1 class="quoteText" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
</h1>
<br />
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-84672114270220040152015-08-01T06:00:00.000-05:002015-08-01T06:27:39.471-05:00Midlife Crisis or Self Discovery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng3JsZkel534NjmMIzDL_oi4BPYmSCZ7viv2_rO5NBliDBHOT-gHP1ucCAciOGTGAbO3vYo4vBxdSC-7vnH5aNSwLR-lsyIkg-TnISYvCWVzn_yt8RDuyyb5jysMXPHcYYbw5gnlPQw/s1600/Harry-at-Workb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng3JsZkel534NjmMIzDL_oi4BPYmSCZ7viv2_rO5NBliDBHOT-gHP1ucCAciOGTGAbO3vYo4vBxdSC-7vnH5aNSwLR-lsyIkg-TnISYvCWVzn_yt8RDuyyb5jysMXPHcYYbw5gnlPQw/s400/Harry-at-Workb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Photographer at Work<br />Zabriskie Point<br />Death Valley, CA</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, </i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>And what I assume you shall assume, </i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>--Walt Whitman</i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been a while since I started my journey in earnest. The catalyst was a combination of job loss and midlife crisis seasoned by financial and human loss. The crisis in time became a realization of self-discovery, a long journey. Its now that I can look back and say that it lead to an incredible metamorphosis. Irony for someone who abhorred change.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My bitterness and pain was assuaged by my priceless experiences and by the people I met; sojourners, slobs on the bus, traveling through life just like me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There's so much more wisdom now to share with you. Things ultimately do get better. After the excruciating pain of birth there's is a complete life to enjoy. Suffering is not needless but an avenue paved by the realization of good times and the uncomplicated. Life and the breaths you have are worth celebrating.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today, again, I renew my vows with myself and to the life I have, not to the one I dream of. I celebrate myself with all my foibles and what goodness might be within me. I am grateful to be alive and even more grateful to have you as my audience. Learn from my hardship and celebrate with me my metamorphosis.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-7546483231318943642015-07-16T07:18:00.000-05:002015-07-16T07:42:31.691-05:00Desert Epiphany<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5ld8_PX_7-1VsNMtMWQ6kjFaFGHIa8FQtBtSGRQJ5jBLCpPWgvINcqnE8f6yAehxpBeKg7zb2RrBhcMrRPypntP5-_TuNxWuZrBjCK_JcKlLNoL_NZLXb6G7PTW01FqmRqGrZoToEg/s1600/Peson+de+Pima+Fixed+Curve+Adj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5ld8_PX_7-1VsNMtMWQ6kjFaFGHIa8FQtBtSGRQJ5jBLCpPWgvINcqnE8f6yAehxpBeKg7zb2RrBhcMrRPypntP5-_TuNxWuZrBjCK_JcKlLNoL_NZLXb6G7PTW01FqmRqGrZoToEg/s320/Peson+de+Pima+Fixed+Curve+Adj.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peson de Pima<br />Pima Canyon<br />Tucson, AZ</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My best creative work came to me whilst in the midst of a very dark period of personal turmoil. A few of you know about my personal job travails and self doubt. I very much felt lost and rudderless. The isolation of the desert and my seclusion from friends and family forced me to open my eyes. I witnessed my own my own metamorphosis and in that space the barren took on its own meaning.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My discovery was simply this that I was surrounded by life and meaning and that to enjoy it all I had to do was simply pay the admission of being awake. It was the unforeseen and unanticipated that forced me to enjoy my journey. Yes hardship forced me to have adventure at a time that I thought my life was dead and over. I felt forsaken by the source of my identity: work.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the absence of verdant vegetation, shapes and solitude, and my imagination created new pixels of images that I otherwise would not have seen or witnessed. No longer did I simply watch a movie, but I became its director, cinematographer, and audience of one. I experienced life. I experienced the euphoria of the mountain top.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don't let others tell you that its a midlife crisis. Don't listen to that noise. It's not a crisis at all, it's self-discovery.</span><br />
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-72970724585772966502015-05-07T06:24:00.000-05:002015-05-07T06:24:50.010-05:00A Thought on Global Warming<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mN-n_-xVt8_jWEB_LosIIx67f0CEPwj49a2dP2W6ktDqOIE5pgVw8F-rsvRl1wL41ktYXpVxqzIF9idyrChCpHkIrM117Wh0P87Uz9YrkeX4emTjZpOf9Z4oHD20BV5-LbpkBI7ntQ/s1600/sound-of-music-b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mN-n_-xVt8_jWEB_LosIIx67f0CEPwj49a2dP2W6ktDqOIE5pgVw8F-rsvRl1wL41ktYXpVxqzIF9idyrChCpHkIrM117Wh0P87Uz9YrkeX4emTjZpOf9Z4oHD20BV5-LbpkBI7ntQ/s320/sound-of-music-b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Summer View<br />Estes Park, CO</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Most folks blue and red alike share a love for clean air and water. At least, I presume so. A friend of mine and I are having a debate over over global warming. He pointed out that an article written in 1922 shared the same concern and that my argument was nothing new. That's ok, but since then the world has become vastly industrialized with China, India, and Brazil emerging onto the scene.</div>
<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Go to China and stay for a week or Bombay, India and you will understand the severity <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">and enormity of the problem. It's a global issue and taking away the tax incentives for polluters to transfer jobs and pollute elsewhere is a great beginning towards remedying the situation. It's not sufficient to say that a few hydrocarbons won't hurt anyone. We felt that way towards lead based paint, asbestos, and thalidomide. In time all were deemed harmful to our well being. There is a balance to be found and we must either find it or evolve further and wean ourselves from both clean air and water.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
I love my grandkids and my children. I wish them healthy lives.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">www.photographybyalhernandez.com</a></div>
</div>
<br />Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-33167149435001049582015-03-09T08:28:00.000-05:002015-03-09T08:28:02.917-05:00A Little Bird<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgVBZC73aHWsxipp97SZpma4jqOFNLBIX9bMXVAS7P-f6Tu6tld6dC7xhGxNLLfY2w9iOvt38nrnRik0WrHnOqiUuzurSdr0JALBgiDrzFVR0IyZ52iwRK1fmlLLMQuOUTxxNwaI2WA/s1600/Kestrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgVBZC73aHWsxipp97SZpma4jqOFNLBIX9bMXVAS7P-f6Tu6tld6dC7xhGxNLLfY2w9iOvt38nrnRik0WrHnOqiUuzurSdr0JALBgiDrzFVR0IyZ52iwRK1fmlLLMQuOUTxxNwaI2WA/s1600/Kestrel.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Kestrel on Sign<br />San Rafael Valley<br />Patagonia, AZ</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There wasn't much according to my mother that she didn't know she claimed. You see she had a very wise bird an omniscient omnipresent bird who told her everything. For years as a child I dared not take my chances against such a formidable foe. Why challenge him? In fact I had no intention of taking such risks.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As time passed I got more gutsy and ultimately through down my gauntlet. My mother had predicted that my first born would be a son. The early morning birth came shortly after midnight. The doctor announced that my "son" was a girl and I responded in disbelief. "Are you sure?" My mother's bird had never been wrong according to my stats.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Apparently the doctor must have had a similar mother and encouraged me to look for myself and corroborate his fact. From that day forward, my poor mother lost her staunchest believer and from that day forward on most things I became a sceptic.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-11384003166805703902015-03-08T14:33:00.000-05:002015-03-08T14:33:46.952-05:00You Must Not Quit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6zacUA6ZAmb0bYh5-3tY9N7kP_IVUSsDvZ0NzNXMjA3FUwW0SKD0BHZjA10RAYMObbQzxrTm-r_E0fgkSt6NW2K9DAHLcGOHoX-hW0u76b-RwXIqkSwi6HWoBsgdNIwNi3nSxrlyYQ/s1600/San-Rafael-Range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6zacUA6ZAmb0bYh5-3tY9N7kP_IVUSsDvZ0NzNXMjA3FUwW0SKD0BHZjA10RAYMObbQzxrTm-r_E0fgkSt6NW2K9DAHLcGOHoX-hW0u76b-RwXIqkSwi6HWoBsgdNIwNi3nSxrlyYQ/s1600/San-Rafael-Range.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>San Rafael View<br />Patagonia, AZ</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most difficult part of post processing in photography is quitting to soon; quitting before the actual reasons or motivations for capturing the image develop before your eyes. If you quit you will never realize the potential. You work the image until each pixel speaks to you, its modern day digital pointillism. Seurat would be quite proud.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0irsafYn1R4apjuCizfxg8lQvxAbhjIDsH59UUUHSi-Sqsk8_Sfu81H8mLaAhrFp523Z5kJE5YXxM0uAL0fg7exCyv1K4udKBrbyBga6jandmakLpxEY0eza3woakm3lcLR1sUorlXg/s1600/IMG_8150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0irsafYn1R4apjuCizfxg8lQvxAbhjIDsH59UUUHSi-Sqsk8_Sfu81H8mLaAhrFp523Z5kJE5YXxM0uAL0fg7exCyv1K4udKBrbyBga6jandmakLpxEY0eza3woakm3lcLR1sUorlXg/s1600/IMG_8150.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zona Hereford<br />Patagonia, AZ</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each time that I've ventured out into the San Rafael Valley, I am awakened and my spirit renews. It seems that each time I find something new, another piece of the puzzle. It always a fresh discovery but its not until I spend time with my digital tools that I get to paint with my imagination as I try to recall what I felt and witnessed. It's at that point that creativity and reality fuse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No you must not quit. Don't stop before the end of the line. If you do you will truly miss out and so will your viewers.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">w<i>ww.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-19056875826142267902015-02-22T19:16:00.000-06:002015-02-22T19:16:04.693-06:00My Shoes<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguYpsS0EE21jR0pGMYCEquUYxvMLGYAnzFWy7bfdhDkeQVdxjoBsCLeOdDQVmcl5qOGgDvUkFaXpVdPWU53440SXVfQQXOksKMdbSPRwiUrNOXrfge7bg0k-57l7n2GTwBaq8sRPk1Q/s1600/Lone-Cow-and-Rancho-de-Vacas-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguYpsS0EE21jR0pGMYCEquUYxvMLGYAnzFWy7bfdhDkeQVdxjoBsCLeOdDQVmcl5qOGgDvUkFaXpVdPWU53440SXVfQQXOksKMdbSPRwiUrNOXrfge7bg0k-57l7n2GTwBaq8sRPk1Q/s1600/Lone-Cow-and-Rancho-de-Vacas-II.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rancho De Vacas<br />San Rafael Valley<br />Patagonia, AZ</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few years ago my father noticed a pair of Allen Edmond shoes that I was wearing. He went on to not only comment about them and how nice they were but he also guessed spot on how much the pair cost. Knowing well that my father probably had never owned a pair as expensive, I inquired how he knew their value. He looked at me and smiled and said: "I know good shoes."</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We take many things for granted not the least each others' experiences. We assume a lot but actually know very little about the shoes others may have walked in. Today I wonder about all the assumptions made and judgements rendered and I wonder how much do I really know and how much perhaps I've missed. Put yourself in my shoes.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">www.photographybyalhernandez.com</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-32713383580463389392015-02-16T12:12:00.001-06:002015-02-16T12:12:47.379-06:00Perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3jbvotSiLOvqfI_PXGentR5hmA_QddAz2N8Snm4OeJhQ3OLnkOwnOGTgSECm1ZMHu6j15vIcz4fOaFWDqEUoD2uhKiX-HypovJAClEjUILHtat_A_wFrpMA2S4tOxS2ewugjdk0iBA/s640/blogger-image--1751382292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3jbvotSiLOvqfI_PXGentR5hmA_QddAz2N8Snm4OeJhQ3OLnkOwnOGTgSECm1ZMHu6j15vIcz4fOaFWDqEUoD2uhKiX-HypovJAClEjUILHtat_A_wFrpMA2S4tOxS2ewugjdk0iBA/s640/blogger-image--1751382292.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Just have been thinking about the many times I've walked this same path; each time finding something different. Usually it's because I open my senses and allow myself to enjoy curious momentos. It may be a new sound I hear perhaps heralding spring or its a greying sky prognosticating the onset of inclement weather or it might be sunbathing turtles or blue herons fishing or a lone middle aged lady sitting on a park bench morning the loss of a pet dog and reminiscing of walks together around a pond or sounds of children laughing and squealing while being swung by young mothers. I choose to experience it all. I'm open to it all regardless of its source: information, comfort, and guidance. I'm awake. </div>Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-79231206659313681612015-02-07T09:16:00.000-06:002015-02-07T09:16:24.619-06:00Play<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLCqDzIFTL9A9q6ODq6duxiH159jdu_bz_JEGT91qD4ALmQWzlqcOedT1DK4Iiavm8BKpqF1E8yeodnHC4t1058N1uKEgCE6rXbRj_-9Mynb1oBe-Bsmp_pjw_Z3qFsHryFNmUJhguw/s1600/IMG_7770-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLCqDzIFTL9A9q6ODq6duxiH159jdu_bz_JEGT91qD4ALmQWzlqcOedT1DK4Iiavm8BKpqF1E8yeodnHC4t1058N1uKEgCE6rXbRj_-9Mynb1oBe-Bsmp_pjw_Z3qFsHryFNmUJhguw/s1600/IMG_7770-1.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Pensive Heron<br />Keller, TX</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">
“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
they grow old because they quit playing.” </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr</b></div>
</span></i></span><div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
It's seems that life and work have taken me over for now. For the past eight weeks, I've done pretty much nothing more than study and prepare for both my series 7 and now my series 66 exam. Right after I finish, I head to Tempe, AZ for a week long training session. Then it will be on to pass my state insurance exam.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9hGQFLJzpMXp-hiTpOqdNk2XDgaISvlHA_wUi0YyN5lc0p92u3yjV3SHKJTeOGvJ7WwEyerNWkuRHx73eDLisNyAXFmqT0Xa31dyeUuMx7SfeRwLdNHDiBF9_6P_ETI44Tu81Zzt0Q/s1600/B&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9hGQFLJzpMXp-hiTpOqdNk2XDgaISvlHA_wUi0YyN5lc0p92u3yjV3SHKJTeOGvJ7WwEyerNWkuRHx73eDLisNyAXFmqT0Xa31dyeUuMx7SfeRwLdNHDiBF9_6P_ETI44Tu81Zzt0Q/s1600/B&A.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photographer and Apprentice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If you get the picture, I have very little time for doing what I love best which is photography and writing about life experiences and its lessons. However tragic as this might sound, I do have to pay the piper. For slightly over half of the past five years, I've been plagued with episodes of unemployment and under employment. During that time my lifelines were photography and writing. So I truly am grateful for my new opportunity. It's just that I want to be headed confidently towards my goal of photographing and archiving experiences from my point of view. The clock is ticking away.<br />
<br />
It didn't help any that I watched Gordon Parks: "<a href="http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/9507/gordon-parks-half-past-autumn/" target="_blank">Half Past Autumn</a>" on my iPhone last night. Balancing wants and needs is a lifelong dilemma for creative types. Responsibilities and obligations get in the way I suppose.<br />
<br />
So I have to figure out how and I will find the time for play and balance so that I can achieve what my creative side requires and satiate its needs too. In a way, I'm apologizing for having to deviate and defer but survival is an important thing to me as well. Wish I had more time today to write, but I don't. Have to study and prepare.<br />
<br />
For those of you who know me, I will be a fully licensed financial advisor with Edward Jones. If you know me really well, you can attest that I've made my funds last during an extremely difficult time. Hope to help others to in tough times and in good. All this so I can eventually play more. It seems that play is what I have to look forward to.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-72638994161229023902015-01-18T09:00:00.000-06:002015-01-18T09:00:03.738-06:00Choice and Change<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmK2eIL44athca1auZKp5qZUkTXZgpXAuhpPs3rDZ_o86hfhEGnTpWu1J74sPb-g3-o72dX5vzhLS7tC_8LKaTikhTeUREHIrnOO7T8bclCkKVrzU9G5_8lnSmU87Fl6RByXBm4Pvvxg/s1600/Photo+Jul+01,+2+28+27+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmK2eIL44athca1auZKp5qZUkTXZgpXAuhpPs3rDZ_o86hfhEGnTpWu1J74sPb-g3-o72dX5vzhLS7tC_8LKaTikhTeUREHIrnOO7T8bclCkKVrzU9G5_8lnSmU87Fl6RByXBm4Pvvxg/s1600/Photo+Jul+01,+2+28+27+PM.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blue Heron Waiting</i><br />
<i>Keller, TX</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When are no longer able to change a situation</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-we are challenged to change ourselves.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Viktor E. Frankl</div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already my new is year is bursting with change: a new job, hundreds of hours of study, growing grandchildren, aging parents, and a new camera system. At the same time other constants prevail sunrises and sunsets while seasons change. Not all change is bad and most stimulates and requires response. Response requires choice and choice involves your will. Ultimately change requires action.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Change is a catalyst that draws energy from our basic needs to survive and motivates (stimulates) us to respond. The outcome is a function of the exercise of free will. Choose to do nothing and change will overwhelm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the next few weeks, I have to ignore my fears, embrace change, and overcome challenges that I've not had to face since graduate school. It's a climb and a reach each day I take a step and pull myself up. In the mean time I leave you with Tracy Chapman's: "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8nsOsBVvEk" target="_blank">Change</a>".</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">www.photographybyalhernandez.com</a></i></div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-30307058771897768232015-01-04T10:26:00.002-06:002015-01-04T10:26:53.690-06:00Tests<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGobrdK4nISmWyPdeF8P6N1jLpXVfdQmu91E0jtV9wxw6-V9FRD8Yb8Qmi-SmDiSfanaK7R2HwDuTxBnVGhSBHz6-CauomE3aWhRhrFgzdkAzuOuxzQMwpqX3sJaxqf9vRyhZA2Iv_A/s640/blogger-image-1608288358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGobrdK4nISmWyPdeF8P6N1jLpXVfdQmu91E0jtV9wxw6-V9FRD8Yb8Qmi-SmDiSfanaK7R2HwDuTxBnVGhSBHz6-CauomE3aWhRhrFgzdkAzuOuxzQMwpqX3sJaxqf9vRyhZA2Iv_A/s640/blogger-image-1608288358.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hint of Winter<br />Pima Canyon<br />Tucson, AZ</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have lots going on right now after a seven month job hiatus. For the fourth time in my life, I am making a career change. Have chosen a path that will allow me to guide households with their finances and plan for their future needs. I am excited but have been super pressed for time while cramming for the series 7 and 66 licensing exam scheduled for the end of this month and the middle of next. As they say, I've made myself scarce.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although a career change looms, by no means will I be putting down my camera or pushing my artistic interests aside. Photography enables me to express who I am, how I think, and how I feel and see the world. It has the power of conveying emotions and is a tool of creative self-expression.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When even this gregarious man finds that words fail, photography fills a tremendous gap. Through this medium, intangible sensitivity can flourish while curiosity and imagination thrive. I do this under the guise, that I just see things differently and choose to communicate it nonverbally. My images transcends religious and political beliefs by stating what's obvious to me and thereby restating reality as I view it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/">www.photographybyalhernandez.com</a></i></span></div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887864881003570383.post-4163888822061821752014-12-18T07:53:00.000-06:002014-12-18T07:53:33.462-06:00Santa Pause<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbYY1a_KgspqYp3zJPTSywu0Wt8nLP03UdgLkciQF96GMnj4qRMx1JUMDCi9JQsyYKaZwY8M1yqnivJZw9RS3aXrT7OxBYv2Ffn0hworzyANaiZpwa_REFk6I0hPeOj30xcu8lF3DYA/s1600/Santa-Bokeh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbYY1a_KgspqYp3zJPTSywu0Wt8nLP03UdgLkciQF96GMnj4qRMx1JUMDCi9JQsyYKaZwY8M1yqnivJZw9RS3aXrT7OxBYv2Ffn0hworzyANaiZpwa_REFk6I0hPeOj30xcu8lF3DYA/s1600/Santa-Bokeh.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Vintage Santa Beating His Own Drum</i><br />
<i>Keller, TX</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>One must know not just how to accept a gift,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>but with what grace to share it.</i></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Maya Angelou</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a crazy world and by virtue of the season and time of year, I will add "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ne13Zft9Q" target="_blank">It's A Wonderful Life</a>". Even global politicians the likes of US President Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro seek the spirit of charity and fill the air with promises that perhaps a new major league baseball team might emerge: the Habana Castros. Even George Bailey would be impressed.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcvbnn41IHP9TSxlW7niw0ErYaBb8TLfZx-4RSy39204J-aIW2tm9uUxyPgaS9PEw58UuOu6aImuRK2fnfCj1UxCPnbo_QHFDDgAZ1vA-TARTj2DUGDb6WppEmJHODBJfPf4rULFkKw/s1600/for-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcvbnn41IHP9TSxlW7niw0ErYaBb8TLfZx-4RSy39204J-aIW2tm9uUxyPgaS9PEw58UuOu6aImuRK2fnfCj1UxCPnbo_QHFDDgAZ1vA-TARTj2DUGDb6WppEmJHODBJfPf4rULFkKw/s1600/for-web.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photographer</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Al Hernández</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For nearly six decades like John Mayer I've been "Waiting on the World to Change" and it has. Hershey bars are no longer five cents and Cokes are not a dime and children are driven to school and no longer safe from lurking child predators, drug dealers and terrorists with extreme grudges. Our once cold war and communist enemies are now are our trading partners. The middle class keeps eroding as the same middle votes for the policies endorsed by top elite who exclude them and shrinks the size of the middle class and hides under the conservative banner while waging war both physical and economic that the same middle must bear. No one retires with a gold watch any more because a handful of CEO's have their own gold standard although few of them were the entrepreneurs risking everything to form these great companies they plunder.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite my cynicism, I remain hopeful because during the same period, I've seen enemies learn to not only come to the peace table but also eat together at it. The dawn of the age of transistors and television now touts high speed internet and compact mirror less cameras and Dick Tracy like FaceTime. We not only landed on the moon but were also able to land on a moving comet millions of miles away. It all makes me give pause and hope. What if the world is ready to change again once more?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this is my Christmas list for this year in hopes that my grandchildren and their children get to see. Top on my list is more compassion. I want to see more people who are willing to physically help others than to simply send them prayerful thoughts. A hungry man wanting to feed his children needs more than your prayers. He may need money during the interim while he finds a job. A sick person needs more than your prayers they may require medical attention and can't afford to pay. Your neighbor without a job and depressed needs more than your prayers.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prayer and meditation are wonderful things but human compassion is tangible. How often do people yearn to have a touch, a kind word of encouragement, and a meal? When was the last time you extended a hand out to someone perhaps a discouraged neighbor? A handout is not really against our nature in fact its our human/communal nature that requires it. It's something even cousin chimps do.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This season I am grateful for the humbling lessons of the past five years. Although part of me resents those who looked the other way and at times made me drift and become bitter; I choose not to change with respect to charity and continue to help others regardless. I will talk to the discouraged and help others. Perhaps its no coincidence that I have an opportunity to become a financial advisor to reduce the stress that others may face and to help them meet their goals. At some point, you will realize like I did we are in this together and we must share our faith and exercise compassion. This is the season to exercise charity (love). "So send I you."</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Prints and cards available for sale at</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.photographybyalhernandez.com/"><i>www.photographybyalhernandez.com</i></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Al Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893354636189180884noreply@blogger.com1