Motel Zero

O

2017-08-16T19:56:00.001-06:00

Silence, Punctuated

2017-07-10T14:22:00.002-06:00

my grammar teacher

says punctuation matters
let's eat grandmother

Adagio

2017-04-06T06:15:00.000-06:00

a small rotation
the tilt of an afternoon
rhythm of the blues

Translator Station

2017-02-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

music of the spheres
or triangular lyrics

which do you write first?

Time Being

2017-01-18T00:59:00.001-07:00

they stood at the gate
as we lifted many stones
exit from eden

Bird | Brain

2017-01-13T23:09:00.001-07:00

a bird in one world
will recognize another
sermon on the mount

In Over

2017-01-09T23:03:00.001-07:00

one small step for man

one long tunnel for corgis
storm of the decade

Glyphism

2016-12-30T11:36:00.001-07:00

the question is not
as obvious as it seems
this one's in the bag

Hot Toddy

2016-12-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

when cold and hungry
fill your glass with gasoline
and glow like gaga

Veiled

2016-12-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

snap of fallen twig
punctuates our silences
a walk in the wood

Slicers

2016-12-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

at the kitchen sink
a flash of inspiration
cheese and apple snacks

Body Language

2016-12-04T01:23:00.000-07:00

it isn't often

the inside eyelid opens

handel's messiah

So If... Never Mind

2016-12-02T13:09:00.001-07:00

the experiment
caused a sudden explosion
exedrin headache

Title Page

2016-11-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

how stories emerge:

they stand there and wait for you

to put on glasses

Pass the Cranberries

2016-11-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

we share our stories

like pilgrims and indians

oops wrong holiday

Seventh Seal

2016-11-22T23:04:00.001-07:00

the morning after
we woke up in underland
the blast of trumpence

Dream Date

2016-11-20T00:33:00.001-07:00

i couldn’t wake up
so i messed up your order
coffee, triple shot

There’s a story behind this one.

It had been an extremely long day – up well before sunup for a morning photowalk, shot a wedding in the afternoon, and another photowalk at night. Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walks are always fun so I figured I could do two and still shoot a wedding.

Of course, after the wedding, the last thing I wanted to do was go out again. But I forced myself to do it anyway, just to hang out with other shooters. I didn’t really care if I shot anything. I was dead on my feet and running on maybe three cylinders, but was happy I went for the good times.

I got home about 1 AM and was so exhausted I could barely move or see, but couldn’t sleep either.

So I offloaded the photos to Lightroom just to take a look. I pulled this one up into Photoshop and just started fooling around, hoping the wave would hit me soon so I could go to bed. I bent lines, pushed colors out of their assigned zones, and just had fun. I finally hit the wall, saved the file, and hit the sack.

A few days later I looked at what I’d done and laughed out loud. I picked another image to submit to the Photowalk competition. But before I did, my wife intervened and insisted I submit this one. It took her a long time to convince me. She saw something I couldn’t. Finally, I said ok and off it went.

Anyway - long story short - somehow it managed to be selected as one of the Worldwide Photo Walk Top Ten winners. When I was notified I about fell off my chair. There was no possible way, Kelby made a mistake, mixed up an email or something. But still…

It’s real. And it’s a huge lesson to me - that letting down my guard, turning off my internal perfectionist, and just playing for the sheer joy of it really can pay off. It’s liberating! Photography has always been fun for me, but this is a whole new level. So I’m spreading the joy around – here, have some.

To see all of the top ten winners, as well as the Grand Prize winner – here’s the link. I feel so fortunate to be in such company.

Don, November 2016

Broadcast

2016-11-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

i’m coming for you
one at a one at a time
photo assignment

The Queen In Her Court

2016-11-14T14:21:00.001-07:00

The night of the supermoon was cloudy, so the heralded Moonrise Event was a washout, much to the consternation of local prognosticators. Such a garish entrance would have been bad form for Queen Luna anyway, so she waited until the crowds had dissipated and gone home to sulk. Only then did she part the veil to reveal her glory to the few who lingered.

Let's Do the Foucault

2016-11-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

The most stunning revelation from yesterday's election wasn't the result. The clues were littered all over the map for anyone who could read the legend. It's not a shock, not a tragedy, not the end of the republic. It's not even unfamiliar territory. We've been here several times before and should be used to our uniquely American mood swings by now.

The mighty pendulum that is our political nature has swung high and wide in fairly predictable cycles since the beginning. Why should it stop now? We are a dynamic people, explorers, demanding; we want change all the time. And as a people we are getting what we want this time around, just as we did when Obama first swore his oath of office. And in 4 or 8 years? Well, don't expect this wave to last.

However... it's not the pendulum that matters. It will always swing, as it's designed to do, drawn by agenda, ambition, money, ideals, patriotism, middle finger - whatever the force. But it only functions because of gravity. Gravity always pulls back.

In spite of our differences, our common gravity, our American soul, is powerful and magnetic. It's in our music, literature, and art. It's not as invisible as we're led to believe - if we understand the legend. It's our uniting force, yet we sometimes forget it exists. In times of crisis, we discover its flag is still there. Who are your friends? Chances are they're all over the political spectrum. Do you really care when you're hanging out with them, absorbed by a common interest?

We are now in a brief period of equilibrium position where gravity wins out. The election is over; that expensive and wild energy is spent. The pendulum has not yet raced up into potentially volatile policies and practices of a new administration. So today, right here, right now, we are blessed with a brief respite from the next period of amplitude. These next few weeks before January 20, 2017 are rare and precious, a period of calm to be appreciated and savored. It's a good time for all Americans to mingle. And we have two major holidays coming to practice just that.

Full disclosure - I did not vote for either Clinton or Trump. I just could not ride either's pendulum. I choose gravity, the power of us, not some political savior. Gravity hasn't failed me yet.

Gravity is love. Love is gravity. Let's get our gravity groove on. Let's do the Foucault.

BLUE EGGS

2015-07-23T06:15:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning, I held a dying robin in my palm. It had struck the front window and knocked itself unconscious. It struggled for several minutes, heart beating a mile a minute, then slowly faded away. At the last moment it tried to sit up, eyes wide open and staring directly at me, then fell over dead.

Its heart was still, body warm. I didn't know what to do so I held it for awhile.

Later we went bike riding around the lake, a 20 mile journey. Part of the road was dusty and rough, washboarded. It shook my cheeks and I made funny sounds with my mouth. We had lunch at a lodge on the lakeshore then rode the rest of the way home.

That night I experienced visual disturbances, flashing lights along the outer rim of my vision. I swatted at a big black fly that kept flying in front of my face. After a time I realized it wasn't a fly, but a floater in my own eyeball.

The aberrations worsened so today we called the opthamologist and managed an appointment. I feared the worst, a detached retina. He said I had done the right thing in coming in. My retina was fine but I had experienced a large vitreous detachment and a potential small retinal tear, causing the symptoms. I am to watch it for a couple weeks. It may either resolve or not. I'll know if the black flies multiply and swarm.

Tonight I retrieved a phone message from a woman requesting me for a photo shoot. Her name was Robin. I called back and accepted the assignment. Her voice was strong and warm.

Reflection

2015-05-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

soundlessly standing
at eternal attention
faces wet with rain

Wax On (Wax Off)

2015-05-22T06:15:00.000-06:00

my familiar moon
keeps asking the same question
parlez vous sensei?

Smack

2015-05-14T10:43:00.001-06:00

can you help me please
I’m searching for a princess
timeless fairy tale

photo by crane johnson

Flirt

2015-05-08T06:15:00.000-06:00

she bats her lashes
and all the boys come running
the birds and the bees