Desert Epiphany

Peson de Pima
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tests

Hint of Winter
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

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.

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.

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.

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

No Looking Back

A Few Jagged Edges
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

Seems like yesterday that I was frequenting Pima Canyon either on the weekends or for a quick escape during the week. It really was the reward for taking on a job that failed expectations from the beginning. I tried not to show my elation but the location was excellent for what I needed 90% of the time.

Nature fills the voids that money can't fill. It furnishes the art that you can't buy nor the lodging you can afford. It envelops you in its own luxury and makes you wealthy beyond measure.

Yes my images are hyperboles of what I've seen. However they reflect and convey the harmonic tones enriched by my soul after numerous vibrations. In short its how I see it and how I've experienced it. Others, I am sure will see it and express it differently.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com
represented by Simon Gallery of Fine Art

Thanksgiving Thoughts

The Crossing
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MX

"Our greatest glory in life is not in never falling
but in rising every time we fall."
Confucius

A year ago marked the end of nearly three years of unemployment and the beginning of a new work adventure which led me to Tucson, AZ. While I was happy with the idea of having a job I was saddened by the thought of leaving my comfort zone, home, and family.

Within the first week, my new company was acquired and all the promises made broken. Yet I was required to move and commit to an apartment rental. To say the least, I was bitter, anxious, lonely, and angered by the emotional drama. My journey took a completely different twist and I was reluctant to embrace the change it brought.

Pima Canyon Sunset

The only and best way for me to handle the new job experience and change was to view it as a glorified part time job in a region of the country I longed to be in. After months of emotional struggles with the job, I found refuge within the nearby mountains and in the mornings of the high desert of Tucson and southeast Arizona. The adventure took a completely twist then and I was able to produce some of my best work. Some of it now resides at the Simon Gallery of Fine Art located in Steinway Piano Gallery in Tucson.

For that twist, I am truly grateful. Had it not been for extreme loneliness and the stimulus of mountains and desert, that work never would have happened. Just when I had given up hope that I would be back joining my family and soon to be born triplet grand babies, I discovered that I had landed a new job back home in Dallas/Fort Worth. This happened one week after the birth of beautiful triplets. This job would keep me home and take me back working in Mexico again.

For the second time in less than a year, I am starting over. This time I confess, I am happy about the opportunities, but I truly miss the desert which I grew fond of at the foothills of the Catalina Mountains and the open pastures of Patagonia. There will be different adventures to chronicle from the industrial border towns this time.

In the mean time, all of my work is for sale and I will be actively marketing it this coming year. My financial recovery is beginning but the huge deficits caused by the unemployment seem unsurmountable but I see some glimmer of hope. Now I need those interested in my work to buy or engage me and support my work. You can friend me on FB or reach me via my website or this blog.  My product offerings are all custom and range from 5x7 cards to 24x36 canvas prints. Truly there's more to my prints than meets the eye. There's a complete story. Go back and read my journey starting from March of 2010 to now…see the chronicled ups and downs. I've survived but still am struggling. Would appreciate you getting the word out about my work. Go ahead and share my blog with others.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

It Came to Me

Prickly Pear Cactus at Sunset
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

Many years ago, I met an artist in San Miguel de Allende, who spoke about her art in poetic almost metaphysical phrases. When I asked her about her process she would say, "it just came to me." Nearly each piece started and finished on some kind of external impulse, inspiration followed by a dissipation of the same. It could very well be the ebbs and flows of the creative process. I do not portend to know.

What I know is this for several long weeks, I've not had the inspiration to write or even process images. It's true, I've been tired and distracted by work but I've felt a very real piece of me gone hollow by my neglect and absence.  Writing and photographing is who I am. Whether or not I earn money doing it is irrelevant to my process and to my being.

We do find many distractions along the journey but we should stay true to our compass and course. The journey you are on is not about anyone else. You own it solely. It holds your destiny. Some were born to lead and some were born to follow. I choose to follow my own path and to find my way.

At the end of my life, I will conclude my journey. I want to make sure that all that has "come to me" is fulfilled by my creativity. To this extent the vast expanses of the unobstructed desert suite my needs well.

Finally

Peson de Pima
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

He who is not courageous enough to take risks

 will accomplish nothing in life.

Muhammad Ali

Since arriving in Tucson I've discovered a whole new dimension of myself and my art. It took me a great deal of intestinal fortitude to overcome the anxiety of transplanting myself away from my friends and family. Those of you my age understand exactly what I mean. If you know me, you also understand that I am risk averse.

Fear has held me back from many things including self discovery. However my passion for art has propelled me beyond my comfort zone. People who have seen my work have also encouraged me beyond my status quo.

With their encouragement and the knowledge and desire to share my experience and journey, I chose to step out and attempt to put my work in a gallery where others could openly see my work and even judge me and it.

The body of work features my experience here with the Catalinas and Pima Canyon and outlying areas. It's about not only a study of light and shapes but rather my intimate relationship and affair with a lifelong soulmate, nature. In my personal exile she has comforted me and reminded me of the world around me. The work is very personal and expresses my feelings. This work is not about exact reproduction but rather interpretation and inspiration.

By incorporating the darkness and melancholy of my spirit and blending it with the luminosity found at sunset, I was able to discover the obvious. Darkness and light exist together. Ultimately we all have the hope that a light shines through the darkness. The promise of light drives us. We must not lose the anticipation of the positive.

My work is now on display at the Steinway Piano Gallery here in Tucson. Please come view it and experience it. Hopefully, it will also inspire you too. 

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

Had to Rest

Snow Dust
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

Must admit some of my shots are taken as an excuse to offset my exhaustion. The air is thin still for this city slicker from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex so I find my self making frequent breathing stops. These become photo opportunities.

Imagine how many opportunities you might miss on any given day, if you don't take the time to catch your breath, take a coffee break, or simply stop to chat with a friend at work. It's a steep climb any way you look at it. The rewards are plentiful along the way, if you pause just long enough to catch your breath.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Take a Break

Snow Dust
Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

Been enjoying my many walks and hikes. They help me put things in perspective. The bright sunlight also manages to cheer my spirits. There's nothing better than to stop along a mountain trail and discover the sounds of silence. I afford myself the luxury of silence in an era of iPhones and iPods. It seems we are always plugged in and tuned out with ourselves.

Nature enables me to reconnect with my spirit and to see what is important. I seek a peaceful spirit. There's very little I wish to combat at the moment. At this stage of my life, I choose to absorb the life energy which abounds and surrounds me. It's great to be alive and to have another day to see and experience life.

We should pause, take a break, and observe. We might be amazed at what we actually accomplish by doing simply nothing. To some it makes no sense, to me it makes no sense not to. It feels good to be content with the universe. All I have is today. I must remember to enjoy each breath, each moment, as I take natures pulse and relax my own.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Find Beauty

Pima Canyon View of Tucson
Tucson, AZ

"Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some folks have asked me why I enjoy the desert so much. At times, I've skirted around this issue abstractly, but let me be forthwright. The desert challenges my eye and my soul to find beauty. It's not readily apparent. Obvious, it's not.

Within a short time of any treck to mountains, the landscapes awaken my senses and I become a student of nature. I study light and the presense and absences of colors which I see in vast open spaces. The me becomes we as I become one with the Saguaro giants. I am part of this thing called life and a planet called earth. I am both a passenger, citizen, and visitor of a solar system.

My observations are simple. The desert and its light teaches me to enjoy what I see and to be patient. In time, at the appropriate time, nature reveals her prize. All I need do is wait. If I wait long enough, I find beauty in just about anything that surrounds in the open spances of the desert. Here I see what life I've been missing. That, my friends, is the beauty of the desert. My eyes, soul, and senses welcome it's instruction. Each day brings a new tutorial. I welcome it as much as desert mountain stream. It refreshes and renews me. It waters my parched soul.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

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

Pima Canyon: Snow and Sunset
Tucson, AZ

Several weeks ago, I had the good fortune of hiking up Pima Canyon. The canyon had just received a confectioner's sugar dusting. Thought it would make sense for me to look for new things to photograph. Nature and I collaborated on creating our own art.

Later on, as I processed my images, I realized that now as an adult I was creating my own ViewMaster images. Images like the ones I used to spend hours viewing. 

It should not come to any of us as a surprise how we've been shaped by our own experiences influences our reality perception. Reality is a cerebral term consequently very few things in a photographer's realm are in fact "real". We shoot based on perception. Perception lends its itself to both experience and influence and a tad of physical realness. The finished product of Pima Canyon was made cerebrally under the "influence". It's my reality and I am sticking to it.

Finding Your Voice

Sunset At Pima Canyon
Tucson, AZ

I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God I am as good as the best.

-Walt Whitman

It's been a long time coming but gradually I'm finding my artistic voice. The light and the desert-scapes surrounding Tucson have inspired me. If anything else, I understand why the universe has placed me here at this place at this time. Although I've bellyached the whole time because of things out of my control, this part, my creative part has benefitted tremendously.

Peson de Pima
Tucson, AZ

Like Walt Whitman I celebrate who I am and "sing the song of myself". God gave me an overabundance of sensitivity in lieu of brains. I sense things before I know them. My world is sensual and metaphysical. It's of the intangible. Yet it's as real as the fact that you and I exist. This is what I have to do. If I stop, my life and its enjoyment ends.

So I am here in the wilderness to work, explore, create, witness, and testify. My work is far from perfect and my heart is far from pure. My life is raw and awakened by my senses. They dictate that I note the details so that others might see a whole beautiful life to live if you we bother to look. Life is for us to fulfill we take what it offers us and live everything in between birth and death. We control neither extreme but influence all in between. What we do between the extremes is called living.

In the movie "The King's Speech", King George VI was determined if not haunted by his desire to find his voice. In his frustration, attributed to his stammering disorder, he shouts, "I have a voice." That quote still resonates within me. To some extent, I believe I've found it. Of all of my longings and all my dreams and fantasies this has been foremost on my mind. It's taken me a long time to discover the person I am. What I believed was my curse may very well be my salvation. Welcome creativity back into my life. I have a voice and I've found you.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com