A long and winding road...

Went on another trip down memory lane this morning. One of the contributors to the local paper had written an article titled "If it ends in a '2', it's bound to be a good year". So, I took a trip back to 2002. The first challenge was 'where are the photos'? I wasn't sure about online galleries (though I would find them there also), so I went to the physical album. Looking through the trips to Florida, New York, the mountains and waterfalls of the Carolinas and Tennessee brought back lots of memories - good memories. The nice thing about 'real' photo albums is that you can add non-photo momentos. I found a leaf in the 2002 book. I wish I had made a note of where I found it. It was next to a postcard of the Tybee Island lighthouse, so perhaps I found it there. 

And from December 2002, my money shot. "Wired Ice" was very successful.

I wish you a Happy New Year and may 2012 be a very good year for us all!

One thing leads to another...

This morning I went hunting a particular photo from... one year ago? Two? This happens often; I go looking for one thing and find something else. What I found today stopped me in my tracks. Words left as a comment on one of my galleries from someone who, before that year was out, would walk away from her home - never to be seen again. She had battled depression for a long time and finally one day, she could fight no more.

Donné, thank you for these words:

"I do not know you - but the beauty and sadness I saw in your words and photographs made my soul ache. Am I glad Kees Terberg (my internet friend, an outstanding talent with a golden heart) led me to your blog? I have to say yes. 

Why? To know that my heart can share your grief, your honesty, your courage proves that I too am like you. Be proud, unkown friend, for your ability to touch people with a click of a shutter and the ink of a pen. Actually....... I do know you."

Merry, Merry and Happy, Happy

"Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store." ~Dr. Seuss

Sit back while I rant...

I went to visit my local park today and I left disgusted. The park has been under renovation for over a year and while there is still a lot of road construction going on, it's basically open to the public again. But it's horrible. What used to be a natural area with lots of trees and grassy areas is now mostly green-roofed pavilions and parking areas.

I have spent countless hours at that park over the years... going to baseball games, taking photos of the lake and wildlife and sometimes just sitting and thinking. 

All of the shoreline in the photo above is gone. I am very sad at this 'development'.

Smile for the camera...

 

When photographing cats you must realize this: Cats don't pose, stay in one spot or follow any directions. The only thing I can do is place some props on a table and hope that the cat's natural curiosity will (if I just keep clicking away) get them into the same frame, facing in the general direction of the camera lens.

I've given up trying to get both cats in the same photo. If they do happen to both jump up onto the table at the same time, a hissing/slapping fit ensues and one (or both) will jump down. And then there's the lighting issue. Enough light (I use two Alien Bees) to properly light Beau's fur will blow out Sofia's white coat, leaving no furry detail whatsoever.

I think the last time I caught them in a photo together was in 2008 and it wasn't a studio shot. I had left a basket on my bed and came back to find this:

"Say 'Tuna Fish!'"

Remembering

As this day approached, I tried to decide how to get through it... everything from treating it like any other day to staying in bed, hiding under the covers.

I thought about going to lunch or dinner at a place that we used to enjoy. I have learned that revisiting places alone is not a good idea. I knew that hiding wasn't the answer either. It's been three years and yesterday was almost as difficult as I expected today to be. When you look back at the worst day of your life and then to the day before - before you knew what was coming, it's frightening. It brings home the fact that life can turn on a dime. The life you've chosen, the plans you have made can all be thrown out of the window in less than twenty four hours.

So, I am doing some cleaning today; something productive and something to keep the mind busy. And I have found things I thought were lost and things that I've kept for no apparent reason.

The photo above was taken the day before.