Wanted: Inspiration

Inspiration Lost
Hunter, NY

"Don't aim at success.
The more you aim at it
and make it a target,
the more you are going to miss it."
Viktor Frankl

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Art in Making or Making Art

Lighthouse in Autumn
Saugerties, NY

Computers are useless-

all they can give you are answers.

Pablo Picasso

Nothing frustrates me more than the notion that photography should mirror reality. That notion is simply as absurd as the expectation that Monet's lilies should be precise or that Seurat's paintings should have brush strokes vs brush points. I suppose if either Monet or Seurat were not creating art and were furnishing their images as aid to local law enforcement that criticism would hold some water. They weren't; instead they were using their creativity to express themselves in their own voice. (Those who favored realism could simply view them from a distance.)

In addition to the time spent studying composition and techniques used to render art, unique life references and experiences come to play in my compositions. It's my choice to use intangible brush strokes judiciously applied which add feeling, something modern man avoids but seeks to soothe via countless drugs legitimate or otherwise. Let me stress this thought: my images convey my consciousness and my feelings.

Ultimately my sensations motivate me to shoot but my heart and mind collude to create, communicate, and render those sensations on a two dimensional piece of paper. Short of stamping words all over the photograph, I have to solve the communication puzzle with a repertoire of intangible experiences and memories while mixing them with photographic tools. The fished product is sum of life experiences (to that date) in my own voice.

The image you see above (Lighthouse in Autumn) could just as well have been entitled Lighthouse at Halloween. In fact you can feel and see the Halloween reference. If you also knew the history of this location and its proximity to Palenville, NY and author Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle you would understand. That's another photograph or two for sure for a later date.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Answered Question

Hikers On Abandoned Tracks
Hunter, NY

The answers you get

depend on the questions you ask

Thomas Kuhn

The past two and a half months have been taciturn for me. I sought refuge both in the high Sonoran Desert of Arizona and in the cloves of the Catskills. It was on purpose and on track to find myself. During this time I found more questions than answers only to find answers when I returned home.

My question, "will I survive?" Was answered by more subtly by the universe's response "you will not starve." The truth lies in the fact that for nearly four decades I've made money for those who employed me. If I could do that wouldn't the same happen if I chose to employ myself?

In many ways, my creativity and humor sustained me in the past. Now I am channeling it for my own benefit via my fine art photography and fledgeling commercial business. The shingle outside my door has been hung in fact it was hung before I went to Tucson to work in 2012. Today, however I will tell you candidly: all my work is available for sale.

This past week, I made some modifications to my website: www.photographybyalhernandez.com.  One ehnancement I added was an online store for my fine art photography. The store now features my Tucson Gallery images, my Lazy J2 ranch work, and work from New England as well as the Catskills. You can now purchase a variety of prints both on metal and canvas at various prices and sizes. Years of marketing has also taught that no customer should leave a store empty handed and thats why I am also offering affordable greeting cards of my images to my store patrons. These are perfect 5x7 miniatures of my prints. Of course if you need something larger, please go ahead and contact me. (This week one of my clients received their 72x40 original giclee print. Sometimes, size matters.)

Please continue to follow my Daily Journey here. Tell others about it by copying Daily Journey as a link. Simply copy and past the html link and invite your friends. Visit the website and buy your favorite prints or better yet have your friends buy you a gift. If you have other questions feel free to contact me via my website.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Desert Storm Chaser

View of Storm from the Santa Ritas
Highway 83
AZ 

Heard that Odile was going to visit southeast Arizona and it was the only omen I needed to push me into action. Here was the perfect chance to see the tail end of the desert monsoon.

Some might wonder what's so special about a storm in the desert after all rain is rain. The abundance of cumulus clouds mixed with sunshine made for some interesting photography especially from the perspective of the high desert.  I navigated through plenty of rain and even waited for flooded roads to dry all for the sole purpose of getting a unique perspective of the greening of the desert and the high grasslands; no sunny skies for me.

Storm Heading East to Patagonia
Patagonia, AZ

There was more to my journey than even I knew. Had opportunities to renew and refresh my heart and soul by communing with my natural companion. She gave me an opportunity to enjoy her charms and rest in her arms after long interludes of play. I didn't tire although I had slept little and was always ready to engage again. Each time I knew it would be different but I never knew how or why.

Life got a hold of me again. Although my burdens didn't vanish, for a moment euphoria rushed through me and amazing releases of natural joy pulsed through me. I needed this. I needed to know that my purpose was not to simply work but rather to experience life, partake, and share my experiences with others. This knowledge restores me and provides joy.

Some of you will understand and some will simply think another mad artist. To me though the most insane thing is to not get anything out of your life and simply toil without taking time out to enjoy what is all around you. Find your balance and live.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

A Scene From Dances With Wolves?

View From the Lazy J2 Ranch
Patagonia, AZ

Many of us vividly recall those magnificent scenes from Dances With Wolves and the loneliness experienced by the movies' protagonist, John Dunbar. After a while Dunbar began to commune with the expansive wilderness and became a part of it and ultimately made a conscious choice to become a part of the native American experience driven by both the love of a woman and his romance with a harmonious natural lifestyle.

When I discovered the San Rafael Valley to the East of Patagonia, AZ, I too was made breathless by the unexpected panoramas. As I drove on the unpaved road and climbed towards a summit leading to it, I had no idea what awaited me on the other side. At the moment I reached the summit, it was as if someone had rolled back the movie curtains and began to play the most magnificent version of Dances With Wolves just for my personal viewing.

In my opinion, if there was a heaven on earth this was it. I experienced paradise and my heart was filled with joy and unexpected happiness know that I had a glimpse of something most people will ever witness in their lives.

For this reason, I've spent the last few blogs sharing these images with you. You see if something painful hadn't happen in my life such as my prior job loss and subsequent job finding, I never would have had the opportunity to have found my personal Nirvana.  This is the reason why I keep reflecting on it and continue to process my memories of those landscapes and my sensations.

Represented by the Simon Gallery of Fine Art, Tucson

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

I Can't Paint

Lone Red Tail Hawk
Lazy J2 Ranch
Patagonia, AZ

"I love nature and when I see her

my heart skips a beat or two."

Al Hernandez

Since I can't paint landscapes, I photograph them instead with how I would paint them in mind. A friend once told me that the painter has the upper hand because he/she starts with a blank canvas. Photographers however start with clutter and removes it simply to tell a story.

For the past four years, I've sought to find my creative voice both with portraits and my landscapes. I am trying to uniquely find my artistic DNA which will brand my images as mine. In the silence of the desert wilderness and its high plains I found it. It pleases me to me to be heard and listened to with the silent words of my photography.

Each image speaks volumes to me and I only use my digital tools to convey the messages I sense and experience so that vicariously you experience the same. Feel free to let me know how my images move you. Do they awaken you? Do they make you want to be there and experience a life you have not ventured?

Represented by the Simon Gallery of Fine Art, Tucson

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Not So Common

Common Sotol
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

For the great part of nearly two decades, I've been fascinated by the high desert ranging from San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MX to Tucson, AZ. The Sonoran desert has had its own special allure. The shapes of both mountains and sparse vegetation made me appreciate the order that dots it. The not so barren desert and sustains life and at the appropriate time, the desert blooms and serenades us with flowers for the eyes and nourishment for pollen seeking hummingbirds.

For months on my hikes, I walked by the "common sotol". It's symmetry  caught my attention along with the tall pipe like stalk which holds its bloom at some point after spring. The desert utilizes shapes from both planes and terrain as paint to a canvas. You can't help but notice the contrast against the sparse vegetation.

The image you see above is really not above its color but rather about the shape. I deliberately inverted the image to a negative like quality, and rendered it in black and white. The results yielded the real reason my eye was drawn to it. The light and the detail of the symmetric plant withstand my manipulation.

Represented by the Simon Gallery of Fine Art, Tucson

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

La Volada

Sabino Canyon Oasis
Tucson, AZ

"I had to live in the desert
before I could understand
the full value of grass in a green ditch.
Ella Maillart

Today is a day that I've been long on advice. For my own benefit, I've decided to jot down some of my euphoric experiences that I witnessed during my desert exile. At first it was extremely arduous and lonely. I complained about my drama: the ordeal of broken job promises on my very first day. The idea of having to take a position far away from friends and family was not what I had envisioned. In my mind the job was supposed to be in Dallas. It wasn't.

Saguaro With Ample Breasts
Sabino Canyon

It took me a while but after many lonely nights and lonely days of solitude, I discovered why I was there. It gave me an opportunity to find myself in the canyons and mountains of Tucson and its outlying areas. So I began to hike each day. On weekends, when I had more time to kill, I hiked endlessly for nearly five hours on a Saturday or on a Sunday.

Some asked me if I minded being alone. The truth was that I found companionship in the inanimate bosom of canyons and the shapeliness of saguaro cactus dotting the mountains during my hikes. It was as if I had found my own non human companion.

My relationship was only consummated by my eyes and the explosive images that they beheld during long sessions of impassioned lustful hiking always wanting to reach my summit. There were times when it seemed that every object which appeared to me exposed itself sensuously seducing me with siren like melodies arousing all of my senses. I keenly became aware of my place in the universe and I  enjoyed my new found organic and earthy sensuality. My desire to acquaint myself with my passion became emotionally insatiable. At times, I found I could not stop even when I was exhausted by my sustained emotionally driven hikes.

By the time I reached my summit(s),  I was exhausted from my interludes and foreplay and the visual stimulation prior to reaching my summit(s). While the treks up were arduous coming down them

Peson de Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

were equally treacherous as exhaustion and weakened limbs made my body uncooperative and unsteady. My body was relaxed and tired. On the way down, I would consider my good fortune of finding such an accommodating mistress that would accept me and still leave me with more desire than what I had originally started out with. I found my purpose and to some extent my happiness in the shapes and forms of nothing, nothing but desert.

Perhaps it takes losing everything to find the basics of life and to restore passion and purpose into your life. What if what we thought we wanted fails to provide for us emotionally or transcendentally? What if what is required of us is to be willing to change or to accept change? What if instead of changing everything else, its really you who has to change inside? Just what if?

Represented by the Simon Gallery of Fine Art, Tucson

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Yellow Columbine
Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

Enjoyed a lazy afternoon at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens several weeks ago. It was nice to watch all the young families who were out enjoying the flowering gardens. People of various nationalities and shades all enjoying the same. Admirers of nature do not discriminate. Nature's offering is also indiscriminate. Its gift is for all.

The gardens were full of young ladies posing for their quinceñeras, moms taking photos of brides on a budget, and all kinds of families squeezing together to take selfies. It was a wonderful day in north Texas not too hot and pleasant enough to enjoy most of the day outdoors. A perfect day to picnic on the lawns of the gardens and underneath the shades of stately live oak trees.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

represented by: Simon Gallery of Fine Art

Find Your Rose

Red Rose Bloom
Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
 or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

Abraham Lincoln

There's not a person alive that has never experienced some kind of disappointment or melancholia in their life. Some folks appear to be more predisposed or susceptible to it than others. There are a few folks in life who enjoy the chemistry of the glass is always full, while the rest wade through the murky waters of blind despair.

Growing up, I distinctly remember that poor was certainly not us. My parents would always hold out some other family or person who was undeniably worse off than we were. We were the fortunate ones or so they believed.

Although, I've tried the same technique since then it hasn't quite worked for me. Instead I've found that photography jars my mind on to a different plane and moves me out of the negative thinking and often melancholic rut. The image in front of me becomes the focus of my attention and it transforms me. To that extent, I am encouraged and reminded by the roses that frequent me via photography. We all should be so lucky to find our personal rose.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

represented by: Simon Gallery of Fine Art, Tucson

Unexpected Treasures

Head Lamp & Green Fire Truck
Patagonia, AZ

Been thinking about where the treasures are and how to find them. Many times the treasures require searching and lie somewhere beyond the beaten path. Some times they are behind barriers like this chain link fence. Nevertheless there are life treasures to be found.

Some of the best treasures, I've found, are the unexpected random pleasures of meeting new people and establishing new friendships with strangers. Fellow sojourners on life's journey. To my surprise, I love people and care deeply for them. They enrich my life; its why I freely share both my art and words with them.

There are many who have more than me financially, but few have been blessed more. My treasure chest brims full with the friends and rich memories which I've accumulated. My manifest is full of treasures and my life is far from over. By the way I keep score, I should die a very wealthy man indeed.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Day of Reflection

Ocotillos at Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

A desert is a place without expectation
Nadine Gordimer

After a hectic week, today I chose to enjoy a sabbath at my favorite canyon: Pima. As odd as it may seem even the Tucson's high desert climate enjoys spring time. There's both greening of limbs and the blossoming of copious wildflowers throughout the country side. The rocky desert becomes littered with blooms. In nearby streams even the cottonwoods take on the spring season as female cottonwoods produce snow like plumes that gently float to the ground if not set adrift by a nearby breeze.

As I started my trek up the canyon, I noticed the bright orange red blooms of the Ocotillo. The canyon heralded the spring with their blooms. Brown colors now replaced by dotted limbs with red bright tips. The canyon was prepared to share her mystery and beauty again, bloom by bloom. This is spring time in Pima Canyon.

A desert need not be barren. It does require diligent study. In time we learn the treasures buried deep within the boulders and among the cactus.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

You Never Know

Headwaters of the San Pedro River
Whetstone, AZ

My job often takes me to remote locations off the beaten path. Have to admit there are times I wonder what I am doing and why. Then I encounter something out of the ordinary. Something which catches my eye and heightens my curiosity. There's always time to pull off to the side of the road and compose an image.

Junk Yard
Whetstone, AZ

Several weeks ago my assignment was to visit a landfill and also  find an abandoned junk yard. Truthfully this was beyond a the beaten path and remote enough that it could not be found on a GPS. It was well worth the trip down several unpaved gravel roads. At a dip in the road, in the midst of the high desert, I found this refreshing stream surrounded by stately cottonwoods. The light peaked through clouds and branches and softly lit the grass along the stream. Everything was picture perfect. I took a few shots from my car window and then moved on.

Down the road was my find, the abandoned junk yard, amongst cottonwoods and unkept trailer homes. Old rust cars were strewn everywhere in all directions what appeared to endlessly. Still another photo opportunity of a different kind. This time I used my iPhone and thought about the story I would tell. You never know what you will find. Somehow for me, I find the time to make it all pretty and right. My heart wants it that way and my spirit won't give in until I make it so.

Grasslands

Hereford in Meadow
Lazy J2 Ranch
Patagonia, AZ

Rancher Sidney Spencer had a dream as a child that she would one day own her grandmothers ranch where she spent a great deal of her childhood playing the expansive grasslands of the San Rafael Valley south of Patagonia, AZ. Her dreams came true but not as most would think. She did not inherit the 7,000 acre ranch as some would think. It already had been sold by 1953.

Sidney Spencer purchase the ranch section by section a labor of love which started in 1995. After suffering a head injury, the wall street savvy and marketing/advertising executive, had to take a different turn. She refocused on her dream and working and executing a different plan, the purchase of the Lazy J2 ranch. It took years of toil but by 2001 she made her dream come true.

While she started ranching with 20 head of cattle, she now ranches 200 head of strictly grass fed cattle. These hoofed guests consume on their own acres and drink about 35 gallons per day of the sweet water per day. They feast and dine on the over one hundred grasses found on the range and grow to weigh in between 1,200 to 1,600 lbs. before they are humanely killed and make their way to local farmer's markets and homes that want organic beef.

Just Another Day

Saguaro at Sunset
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

It was another day filled with mundane selling chores; knock on a door, hope to be let in, and if lucky find a live deal or two. The focus of course is to try to validate your existence by getting a live deal. We went out in two's like Mormon Missionaries without the bikes, white shirt, and obligatory ties. We were carefree and seasoned like Jehovah's Witnesses on a Saturday morning; rejection was not a problem

The past two days have been laborious. The weather has been cold and my spirits have missed my long hikes at dusk. This late afternoon was different. Our weather reversed back to normal and I once again had the desire to venture on my customary hike.

Within a minutes into my hike, my head cleared, the noise subsided, and I was taking in all of the beauty put on display for me to enjoy. That's right for me, it was placed there for me, an audience of one but nevertheless an attentive full house.

The saguaros greeted me with their limbs extended like open arms. They embraced and welcomed me on my hike. This could very well be why I enjoy taking portraits of these inanimate objects. They have human like welcoming tendencies. When I walk amongst them, I don't feel alone with either my thoughts or by the fact that I miss a place called home.

The sun begins to set and I take my seat as a spectator of nature's live theater. The curtain rises and a lone lit saguaro occupies  the center stage, spot lit. This seat was worth waiting for. My day is complete and suddenly worthwhile, no rejection; the saguaros welcome and beckon me in.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Cactus at Dusk

Pima Canyon and Cactus at Dusk
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

The universe has put in a desert for a reason. There's not been a day when I've not been inspired and drawn to the many colors the sun provides. Each day I find a challenge to replicate. It's all real while the events transpire in fractions of seconds, my images can be viewed for hours on end.

The desert has renewed my senses and heightened my sensitivity. It amazes me how much beauty lingers and dances amongst the mountains and crevices. The light bounces from canyon to cactus in a matter of minutes. My senses become overloaded absorbing the spectacular color metamorphosis. Clouds and cactus become lit by the light reflecting the red canyons. Remington had to have witnessed all of this first hand.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Headed Out

End of the Road
Mobitee, TX

The woods, are far lovely and deep,

but I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

In a few hours my journey starts anew, will have an imposing nine hour drive from the outskirts of Fort Worth to El Paso, TX. Have a completely open road ahead of me before I make it to Phoenix sometime tomorrow evening. More than pavement lies ahead of me, awaiting me is uncertainty, adventure, and the promise of a new job. In a way, I feel like a corporate mail order bride.

For twenty four years, I lived here and with my wife of twenty five years raised our family. Through six different job changes, I've always managed to resist change and kept my family from being uprooted. Throughout it all, I've managed to shelter my family from the winds of change stable and strong like the post oaks that have always surrounded and the hickory trees whose shade I've enjoyed.

Tobacco Shed
Windsor, CT

This road is not that foreign to me nor is it as unfamiliar as I portend. It seems that I was on this highway when I left to check out a university some thousand miles away from New England and on the shores of Lake Michigan. Eight years later, I hopped on the highway again and made a similar journey through the plains of this country and south to Texas. I've been an American pilgrim not any different than those who left the dust bowl during the great depression to find a better opportunities in places the likes of California.

Don't know what awaits me but I will have my camera companion with me and a computer to register a few notes and ideas from time to time. With a very heavy heart, I leave my soulmate today and my friends; those who have stood by me especially these past three years.

The phone rings and I pick up to hear my a friend of nearly a quarter of a century who wants to have coffee with me before I leave. I say yes with a lump in my throat and several tears in my eyes. Got some things to do still before I go so I better start this journey. Hate to do this but I've got to go. You see I too have "promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Family,Thanksgiving, and Photography

Kickerz
Coffee Shop
Near Flint, TX

The love of family and the admiration of friends 

is much more important than wealth and privilege.

Charles Kuralt

We had an opportunity to spend our Thanksgiving at our daughter's home in East Texas. It's was a moment that truly meant that a torch had been passed. Our children are actually adults and can hosts their own banquets. The real significance also lies in the fact that we have grown to that age where we are now our parents. We are also getting older.

It truly was fun to spend time with she and her husband and pets and his family. It had been six years since the last time we all spent it together on their wedding day. I must admit I was definitely more confident about my daughter's choice. In fact, I am very pleased about her choice and the life they lead together. They have both love and friendship in their lives. As a father, it simply provides me with joy.

This morning, I had a few moments to myself before everyone else was fully awake. On my way to their house, I had spotted a unique looking coffee shop that I promised myself I would photograph. With nothing more than my iPhone, I set out to find the joint "Kickerz" a coffee shop that looked like more hat than store. It truly belonged in Texas. I took the liberty of some me time.

Knowing that I have a long trip ahead of me, I thought about what else I might find on this next adventure on my journey. The answer is that I don't know and I possibly can't imagine all I will encounter. Regardless, I should be eager and willing to see all that comes my way. Then the sick feeling came over me knowing that I would be further away from the ones I love, my family.

It felt good to spend the time with my daughter, my wife, and my father-in-law. As I got back to her home from my side trip, I thought about all that had happened that week. My father spent a few days in the hospital and for a moment, I wasn't sure if I would be making a detour to Florida instead of East Texas. At some point, it will be time to say goodbye to Dad but it wont be soon, I hope.

My thoughts are all over the place right now. Family, Thanksgiving, and Photography these elements are all part of me. How do I sort them all out? It's actually easier than I might think...family always first.

Moving Forward

Dancer with Blue Veil
Saritza Velilla-Jenkins

Trying to write this morning is a challenge. Still haven't packed anything for my pending trip to Tucson where new adventures await me. Have many mixed emotions leaving my wife behind is weighing heavily on me. In addition knowing that my father is in the hospital also tugs at my heart.

My responsibilities are clear. Take care of yourself first, if not, you can't take care of anyone else. Enjoy your life as best as you can and do try to take it one day at a time and one step at a time. This is something that I must learn to do. I've so much to be grateful for and I need to accept the good things in my life. Photography is one of those good things. It's my safety valve, sanity, and reality check.

For several weeks now, I've veered from my normal landscapes and have chosen to showcase three dancers. Like me they find joy in their creative outlet. It could very well be that I enjoy showing the kinetics of artists enjoying what they do. I wouldn't know what that experience is like because I've never really been photographed doing my passion, photography.

Don't have that much to say today but I suppose I will soon. Thank you all for being supportive of both my family, my art, and of me. In a world that is fraught with despair and bad news, its good to receive and hear the loving voices of those that care. It's all about loving and caring for each other. As I've mentioned before, we are on similar journeys. Plan on adding more smiles to miles we have left to travel. There truly is very little we control other than pieces of our own happiness. Hope and the promise for a better tomorrow is all we have. It sustains us all.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Dancer With Wings: Photo Shoot Part Two

Dancer With Wings
Saritza Velilla-Jenkins
McKinney, TX

For several months, I've been contemplating photographing belly dancers. Like any other commercial photographer, I realized that were several aspects of this shoot which included the clients wants and needs and my own artistic vision.

Saritza Velilla-Jenkins

Like the dancers, I also envisioned my own choreography and story board. The location would add to my canvas as would the dancers and their colorful costumes. My objective was to shoot two types of images: one for them and one for my own project, two very different voices and styles.

Fortunately for me, Lidia Dalida, Saritza Velilla-Jenkins, and Vickylin Malak were all willing to assist me with my project as was my friend and photographic assistant, Del Maclaren. All three dancers were equally interested in my artistic pursuit. Like me they were passionate at what they do. Like them, desire to express oneself outweighed fear of reproach. That voice was louder than the many voices of insecurity.

Originally, the objective was to demonstrate the difference between a point and shoot photographer and one that creates art. However, in the process of studying and doing my research, the art of belly dance, the costumes, music and movement awakened more of my creativity and curiosity. At times, the feelings of an artist made me comprehend my own dormant desires to find my artistic voice.

As the shoot progressed with each dancer, not only was I able to comprehend them but also their desire for self expression. Belly dance is about feeling pulsating rhythms that lift the spirit to dance, celebrate life, and transcend beyond. The dancer literally takes on wings as she entertains both the audience and herself. It's her stage to do as she pleases and the music dictates. Music, life itself, choreographs the dance and she dances in essence to the melody of life. Learning to dance life's melodies is learning to live and to enjoy life. It was certainly not what I expected to learn.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com