Boston Strong is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

I’m on the other side. I’m an ally. I believe that gay rights are the social justice movement of my generation. I’m a member of the GLBTA networking group at work. I don’t believe it’s right that people can be fired for who they love, or that they’re not allowed to marry who they love, if they happen to be gay.

As such, I updated my cover photo on Facebook to this image. If you like it, please feel free to use it.

Ally is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

We had some pretty decent late snow storms this winter, and on one of the days, I tried my hand at catching the birds as they flew too and from the bird feeder. I was not as successful as I would have liked! Here are two that weren’t all together bad.

Birds in Flight is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

A little on the abstract side, this net of colorful shapes was found over a street in down-town Boston.

Street View is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

Testing. One, two. One, two. Check. Check.

It’s working? Yes? Can you hear me in the back?

I’ve been away for a while. How are things? How have you been? Did you miss the photos?

I think everyone who runs a blog comes to a point where they reevaluate what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and whether they want to continue doing it. I think to have that conversation, you have to look back to where it all began. For me, this blog started because I knew I needed to learn how to be a decent blogger. It was part of my responsibilities at work, and I felt like I needed the practice. I bought a domain name, uploaded WordPress, and started typing.

I quickly figured out that I was blogging too much. Too much writing about work things during the day, then not really having a passion for the types of things I was trying to write about at home. That’s a sure sign of a blog headed for failure… start by doing it because you need practice, then follow up by not being 100% engaged in the topics you’re writing about. It was boring. I was bored. If you were around way back then, you were bored, too.

After a while, I started posting photos. Then I bought a better camera so I could take better photos. I started surfing the Web, looking for people who could teach me how to take better photos. I took a lot of pictures… bought some more lenses, a flash, some books, and kept shooting. Over and over. Critical of my own work. Inviting other people to be critical of my work. Sharing here. Sharing on Flickr. I started getting better. Then, one day, a gym was looking for a photo to use in some promotional material, saw this photo, and offered me money if they could use it. A hobby that makes money? I’m hooked now!

Towards the end of last year, with a lot of very complicated distractions vying for my attention, the camera was pushed to the background. First one week passed, then another. A month. Two months. More… and today I find myself wondering what’s in store for this Web site. I’ve learned that I will be hard pressed to turn my photography hobby into a profitable enterprise. The time demands that would be required to do so are simply more than I can give. I have a career already, and this isn’t it.

So I’m contemplating the future. Do I keep this site up, or do I shut it down? I have a Flickr account. I can share pictures on Facebook. It’s not like I need to put in this effort, too. I don’t know the answers yet, but I thought I’d post this so when you come by, you’ll see that for now, at least, I’m still here.

James

Tap-tap… is this thing on? is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

Very long exposure image of a dandelion head with just one seed left.

One is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

I’m part of an increasingly rare bread. I’m a political moderate. I believe in planks from both political parties. That means that no matter who wins today’s presidential election, I will only have half of my values represented by the winner. Still, I’ve made my choices and I’m casting my ballot.

I’m okay if you don’t vote. It means my vote counts more.

Vote 2012 is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

The Boy Scouts of America have lost their way.

I was once a boy scout. On an unrelated note, I used to think homosexuality was weird. It’s hard to remember exactly the way I felt about homosexuality when I was younger. I remember as a teen thinking that it was gross. I don’t remember fearing gay people. I know I didn’t hate them.

The first time I remember knowing a peer was gay was when I was a sophomore in high school. David choreographed the dance moves for my high school swing choir that year. David never came out to me. Heck, I never heard him talk about being gay. He was just the senior student who happened to have moves, and he taught me how to dance. After David graduated, wouldn’t you know it, our next choreographer was gay, too (but I didn’t know that until twenty years later when we connected on Facebook – small world!).

I’m straight. I was allowed to get married. I’m allowed to be there, in the hospital room, should anything happen to my beloved. I can speak on her behalf. The government recognizes that we’ve made a choice to become a joint legal entity. In most parts of the world, that’s not true if you’re a homosexual. I believe this is wrong. Gay, straight, it shouldn’t matter. I don’t believe governments should legislate away the right of any adult to enter into a loving relationship with another adult. Live and let live. Love and let love. And no, a civil union is not the same thing.

The Boy Scouts of America have a long-standing anti-homosexual policy. They do not allow gay adults to serve. If you’re a scout who identifies himself as gay, agnostic, or atheist, the BSA will no longer allow you to participate. As a private organization, they can do that. It’s their constitutional right to reinforce intolerance. Kind of like how the Klu Klux Klan doesn’t allow anyone but white people to join. Private organizations can do what they want. The scouts do this, in theory, to support their values and protect the boys that are part of scouting.

Unfortunately, it’s all a farce. Over 14,000 pages worth of documents recently went public, with records stretching back nearly a century detailing abuse of scouts at the hands of members of the BSA’s leadership. The BSA says they want to avoid further disclosure, saying that it would only harm the boys they are trying to protect. The BSA says that releasing information about the sexual predators in their ranks would discourage future victims from coming forward.

Even though the policy is decades old and out-of-date, the BSA recently affirmed their stance against gays or lesbians participating in scouting. This sounds an awful lot like what we’ve heard from the Catholic Church. When an organization steeps itself in homophobia, I believe they expose the children of their organizations to greater risks. The powers for change, for goodness, and growth that understand that homosexuality is not a choice leave their ranks. These organizations have pushed good people out the door, and shoved the conversation into the closet. They leave the predators undetected, and unhindered, to prey on the unsuspecting youth they are supposed to protect.

It is time for the BSA, the Catholic Church, and other organizations like them to learn that we are all entitled to happiness, freedom, and love. Stop the bigotry. Embrace each other as humans.

I’m proud of the Eagle Scouts who have since renounced their awards. I was also proud to sign the change.org petition asking the Boy Scouts to allow Ryan Andresen to receive his Eagle Scout award. I’m writing today asking you to do the same thing.

I’m also asking you to no longer support the Boy Scouts of America. Until the BSA updates their policies to allow all young men the same opportunities, they will not receive my support. Check out Ryan’s story on Ellen. Sign the petition. Help this once proud organization regain their footing.

Thank you,

James

Pride / Shame is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

This is not a post about the world’s most valuable company. Don’t get me wrong, as an early adopter of the iPhone 5, I could go on a rant or two. Maps, battery life, destroyed podcast functionality, lightning port, cost of lightning port adapters, unavailability of lightning port adapters, design of lightning port adapters (take your case off to use it), and Siri’s dependence not just on an Internet connection, but on LTE to work at all.

No, this post is just a photo of a huge Cortland apple. Delicious!

Apple is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal

Here’s another shot from the toad I shared last week. The toad was pretty docile, and put up with me holding it upside for a moment before I let it go.

Toad Paws is brought to you by j.ronald.lee - photography / journal