A Number

Nancy: Comfortable in Her Own Skin

Met Nancy Bender and her husband Carl owners of the Whistle Stop Depot back in Tucson a nearly two months ago. They both made lasting impressions on me with their zest for living and their youthful attitudes. Although I prefer photographing landscapes vs people, I chose to make an exception. Quite frankly the setting ( a warehouse made from 100% recycled materials) and my super friendly new found friends inspired me to stage a photo shoot.

Nancy is real and its quite obvious she is content with the woman she is and where she is in her life. She worked as an educator nearly all of her life and now she is working with Carl to develop their business, an event room, well suited for wedding receptions and parties. Yes Nancy really is what you see. Baby Boomers please take note, we are not over the hill in our mid sixties. We have lots of adventures ahead of us. People like Nancy and Carl clearly point that out and remind us of our potential if we only allow ourselves the opportunity. We can be young at any age.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Onward

Great Grandfather Bobby & Tribe: Carter, Annie, and Brennan
Keller, TX

They say you can't get to the next chapter if you are still reading the last. So over the last few weeks since my return, I've taken care of old business both physical and mental preparing myself for the new and learning to live now. This is not only difficult for me but also necessary. The birth of triplets into our family adds to its importance. You must be happy and you must enjoy the life you have.

Today is Sunday and we are getting ready for  a two hour trip to see our grand babies who now are nearly 8 weeks old. In fact their due date was actually tomorrow. We are happy for the joy that these three have brought into our family. Three more reasons to celebrate life and to keep moving forward.

For three hard years, challenge after challenge surface and there appeared little hope that things would get better. They did and it was in many ways completely for different reasons than I would have imagined. What changed wasn't circumstances but rather my own outlook. The ordeal of fire changed me as a person even as my assets were being depleted I became spiritually stronger to meet tougher challenges. The real me had an opportunity to emerge.

We adapt to change even if we do not embrace it. The nine unanticipated months in Tucson forever changed me. I will never wait or idly wait for things to happen in life. If there's a peak I will climb it simply because I can.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Celebrate Life

Grandbabies: Carter, Annie, & Brennan Allred
Texas Pride and Texas Proud
Melissa Zihlman Photography

Like many other folks my age the lingering recession kept many smiles from my face. Three years have gone by and now it seems that light appears to be at the end of this tunnel. Last November, I found a job, however, it took me far away from both my family and friends. Since nothing materialized in Dallas, I took the only opportunity I could find and that lead me to Tucson, AZ.

That Christmas was very special. For the first time in several years, I was employed and grateful. At the same time we were given a very special gift in the form of an announcement; our daughter announced that she was pregnant with their first child. After many tribulations Justin and Travis would become parents. We were elated for the great news.

At that point, I knew that the prospects of an Arizona full relocation might be further off than I might want. Tucson definitely appealed to me.  It was photographic Mecca for me. Several weeks after the Christmas announcement, we received more news: three babies not one.

Whatever illusions I had of residing in Tucson now seemed further away. If I chose to stay it would have to be without my wife. With no other prospects on the horizon, I knew that we would have to be separated at least two years, at least I resigned myself to that. It would mean very infrequent visits between us since, my wife would be torn between the newborns and Tucson.

They say things happen for a reason. If you know me, you would know how much I've grown to hate that expression these past three years. For me there was no explicable reason for the suffering of my job loss and subsequent financial hardship. In hindsight, however, it was true.

Had I not lost my job my adventures would have ceased. During that time, developed more skills not less. Travelled more not less. Photographed more not less. The journey took me to Caddo Lake, Catskills, China, Death Valley, Puerto Rico, San Miguel de Allende, and Zion National Park. When the dust finally settled late last year, my journey took me to the high desert or Tucson and the grasslands of Southeast Arizona. During that time, I also accomplished what I had always wanted, to have my images in an art gallery; that became a reality in the spring of this year, too.

Just when I had given hope of finding a job in Dallas a week after the birth of triplet grand babies, a job was created for me in Dallas. My journey continues to surprise even me.

My conclusions? Never give up hope. Hope sustains us. If there's a peak, climb it. Do not avoid adversity because you wont fully comprehend the adventure you might have. Things work out for a reason.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

One Last Dance...One Last Chance

Farewell Tucson
View from Catalina Foothills
Tucson, AZ

Been trying to say goodbye to my mountains. It's been difficult. So I waited to the very last dance and took one more chance last night to photograph the romance of this place. Tucson provided me an opportunity to grow as a person. The mountains provided me with both refuge and solace.

As the sun sets on this aspect of my journey, I look forward to the smiles of three newborn grandchildren and the embraces of my family and friends. I am coming home refreshed by my mountain top and desert experiences and ready for new adventures.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Chasing Clouds

Monsoon and Funnel Cloud
Sonoita, AZ

Just the other day, we were kids staring at and chasing clouds. Years have passed and I still find myself chasing clouds and the dreams they cary. Its not a bad thing.

You if you don't dream, have a vision, or a blueprint you can never attain those ideas. You have to formulate them so at some point down the road you can execute and accomplish your purpose. Time waits for no one. Get up and do something. Become a cloud chaser.

As I drove through the grasslands of Sonoita to watch the effects of the monsoon, I happen to glance to my right and to the skies. I noticed what appeared to be a finger dropping from the clouds as if it was being pursued by the sheets of rain behind it. There before my eyes was the formation of a funnel cloud want to touch the ground but harnessed by the lack of energy.

Keep your eyes open, chase those clouds, follow your dreams and make them come true. Live your life not someone else's. Time is short. Time is precious.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Closing Scenes

The San Rafael Valley
Near Patagonia, AZ

My journey to Tucson and southeast Arizona is about to draw to a close. Originally, I anticipated a job and a paycheck and the hardship of being away from my family and friends. Instead, I found a new artistic voice via the landscapes of the Catalina Mountains and it's foothills and to the south east of the city the splendid Santa Rita's, Huachuca's and Mustang mountains.

Frequently, I found myself going to the grasslands of Sonoita and nearby Patagonia and its San Rafael Valley. It was there that I found myself, my happy place, my own heaven. So every opportunity I had, I spent traveling with my camera allowing the mountains and grasslands to speak to me. And they did and they told me what I had been missing by simply working and not taking time to listen to the quiet found in nature.

Time was meant to measure enjoyment not simply work. How we divide the clock is our problem, the hours are the same for everyone. We must choose to live and to enjoy, not merely survive. Each of us is afforded this choice. Yes, I choose to work but I also choose to live.

Fate has been kind to me.  What appeared to be a travesty an injustice of fortune has turned out to be my most creative period of my life. In addition, I've made all kinds of new friends and have discovered a life that has nothing to do with acquisition or suburbs but the quiet enjoyment of nature.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Closing Chapter

Prickly Pears and Finger Rock
Tucson, AZ

Suppose you thought I vanished. In the last few weeks there've been a lot of life courses on my plate, among them the declining health of my father, the amazing birth of triplet grandchildren (Annie, Brennan, and Carter), several trips to Dallas and one to St. Louis to interview for a new position in Dallas. Now after, nearly nine months in Tucson, a place where I found my photographic voice, its time to close this chapter and move on to the next.

What truly amazes me is how the universe poured so many blessings on this unwitting sojourner. The pain of losing a job and a parent within two years and the financial struggles which accompanied both were overwhelming. So overwhelming that I could not see any good coming out of my situation.

Yet those who know me quickly saw how at each turn, I made something of the situation. It was my creativity which sustained me throughout this ordeal. When shrouds of darkness clouded my mind and the borders of my images, hope and light emanated  through them.

As I already prepared to live in Tucson without my family and friends for at least two years, at the very moment my grandchildren were being born, I was on my way to finding another job in Texas. This was no mere coincidence; in fact it was a result of a cold call on June 18th after reading a brief press release in an scrap industry journal. Incredibly things were turning around for me.

So we can't lose hope even when no light appears in sight. We forge ahead with our dreams intact. Thats what sustains us: hopes and dreams. The next time you see a peak in front of you, don't avoid it, climb it.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com