256 Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey

Caddo Lake

Uncertain, TX

"You've got a fast car
I wanna a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me, myself, I've got nothing to prove"

Tracy Chapman

Sometimes I simply aspire to get away to just remove myself from the mundane and simply live in the present tense. I want to be awakened by pleasant dreams and not nightmares. 


When I look at my images, its as if I can get in that "Fast Car" and get away instantly.

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.

Experience

Caddo Tree and Marsh
Uncertain, TX

You can spend your life on the shore or you can get on a boat.  The view is totally different.  We live in a world where experience and longevity are discounted.  Personally, I like gathering stories from those who have gotten on the boat that perhaps, I've missed.

Nutria On Mud Flat

Caddo Lake is the type of place you have to get on a boat to witness all that it has to offer.  There are nooks and crannies that offer so much to see depending on the time of day and season.

Most of my life, I've spent thinking and planing about the future and what I would see and do.  Now I find myself switching gears and trying to cram in as much as I can each day.  Trying to live it fully with an open heart and an open mind.  Allowing my senses to absorb all of the light life offers and paints in our minds.

Our Guide Angie

Experience is nothing to be discounted.  If you can't witness it, the next best thing is to align yourself with someone who has it.  Let them mentor you and guide you.  I am glad that I opened my heart to the experience of our Caddo Lake guide, Angie.

Thoughts On Caddo Lake

Overcast Sunrise Morn Over Caddo Lake
Uncertain, TX

Caddo Lake offers more than just photo opportunities.  The quietness of the lake provides an occasion to reflect on possibilities.  Not all days provide spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  There are also days filled with mist, clouds, and rain.

Impending Rain Shower On Caddo Lake
Uncertain, TX

Each day mornings and weather interject their nuances.  If you are alert and above all patient, you will capture them frame by frame.  It's up to you the photographer to discern and interpret each.  It's up to you to withstand the elements that time and weather provide.  You must be ready.  If you are not there, you certainly will miss out.

Life is about opportunities taken and strung together my memories.  I archive memories, print, and showcase them.  It's my gift to you and I am compelled by something outside of myself to do so.  I am a self proclaimed photographic cantor called to lead his congregation in worship and praise.  

An abundant life has room for both.  We are surrounded by nature's songs and registry.  It up to us to read the music and sing its hymns.  You must turn the pages and enjoy the music.

Caddo Lake: Refelections

"I would hate to come to end of life

 to find out that I've not lived."  .....Henry David Thoreau.

Over the years, I've discovered that my moods change.  I don't know why but sometimes a little bit of melancholia slips in.  It's painful but it's part of my process.  While it doesn't define me, it reminds me that I am not in balance within myself.  So, I force my mind to go down a different path.  A place less traveled by but I have to jar it into leaving the familiar rut.  I choose to reflect and create.

Through the viewfinder, I am forced to notice the important details.  I can frame each little bit of life and see how precious the elements that comprise the whole truly are.  The viewfinder enables me to see.  It detracts me from my melancholia.  I can see and feel the vibrancy of life.  I renew and reconnect with the universe around me.

All the components are there right in front of me.  Life moves on and I am suddenly part of its current.  I flow with it and let it take me to a new destinations, unfamiliar places.  The drudgery of the workplace is gone.  The unwarranted criticisms and judgement fade along the upstream banks.

This is how I see it.  This is what I feel.  I choose to share this with my fellow sojourners.  Find the solace in your life and enjoy it. Renew yourself.