Finding the Northwest Passage

[pardes]

Pardes, I know you've been told this many times but i'll repeat it..Your posts are soo cool! Thanks!

Were you a writer in your younger days or did you write for a living?

Yes to both though I can't say I ever made a prosperous living at it. Being a chemist supports my addictions to writing, photograpahy, and now biking.

[jesvetmed]

Great story -- and ditto on your your writing.
BEAUTIFUL pictures. THANKS FOR SHARING!

[lph]

Great story, again. That poor young man, brought tears to my eyes He doesn't even know how his compassion is spread to a huge audience now.

[Becky]

What an great story! Thanks for the trip back to Newark I remember that hairpin path up at Pencader Campus! Fortunately, I only lived up there for 1 week each summer during marching band camp, so I didn't have to traverse it too often. I'm glad to hear that it's been replaced.

DH and I routinely ride to the shopping center that you mention. PM me if I can be of assistance in plotting some alternate routes.

[wackyjacky1]

Amazing post. Please keep 'em coming.

[mimitabby]

I loved your post.
your second photo of a bike lock was NOT a stolen bike. Lots of folks leave their locks in place so they don't have to carry them every day.

How sad about the boy and the animal..
keep writing!

[Serendipity]

Pardes - you have such a gift; first of all for actually seeing the world around you (so many of us just pass throug without paying any attention to what is going on around us) and secondly for capturing it for the rest of us to see!
Thank you for sharing with us.

[danadear]

Yes to both though I can't say I ever made a prosperous living at it. Being a chemist supports my addictions to writing, photograpahy, and now biking.

I knew it!

I love reading your posts...I've never thought of trees that way before..as women. You are so right.

[Red Rock]

Pardes-thankyou for the story of your trip. I agree with danadear on the trees. I had never thought of them that way before either. Definatley thinking outside the box there. I will have to remember that.

You have made me more aware of my surroundings when I am hiking or biking around my little community. My problem is that nothing really interesting seems to be going on. However, the last weekend a I saw a whole bunch of marathoners running to prepare for the big day around here the first weekend in October.

I love your posts.

Red Rock

[pardes]

Red Rock--thanks for the prasie from you and others.

I know it often seems like nothing is going on around you to photograph; however it's probably a matter of timing and exercising your power of observation. It requires quieting the inner chatter in your head which is one of the primary benefits for me. It's a shifting from an insane pace of living to the navel contemplation mode.

Seeing things this way short circuits getting frustrated while waiting for something that seems to be taking FAR TOO LONG like waiting to be seated in a restaurant.

My local favorite chinese restaurant would never be considered photogenic but rather than snarl and froth at the wait, I took out my camera and started examinng things in a very small glass case.

I got so caught up in doing closeups that I told them I was busy and to seat the people behind me first!

There is nothing very spectacular in taking photos of people unless you think outside the box and make it a metaphor. This is a photo of an instructor I had a couple of years ago for an advanced photography class on the finer points of using strobes and umbrellas and infrared triggered multiple flashes. He was stiff and reserved as an instructor but it was easy to see that there were blossoms of art and energy just below the surface.

Or you can go the traditional route of portraits but you still have to look for and find the spark within.

Or this. A quick catch of a quiet moment between father and son. The stillness of the little boy imitating the stillness of his father speaks volumes about their relationship.

If you think in the terms of society, all of this takes time, time to watch, time to pick the right moment and most people are time-wasters because they have become time-misers. Throw out all illusions that time is real and just point the camera and see what happens.