~~Let Life Surprise You~~

Drove that little "roller skate" car to Eagle River this morning.... Even before I got on to Glen Highway, I saw so many vehicles upside down in the 5 foot deep snow.  It was horrifying to see the highway littered with upended cars.  I think of the terror that the drivers and passengers endured.

Drove 20 miles north of Anchorage to Eagle River Nature Center.  I made it there, but the snow was too deep for me to walk the three-mile loop.  At least the drive was nice.

I wanted to find Skyline Drive, as it is supposed to be a cool Aurora watching spot.  My roller skate got stuck in the deep snow...I had to back down the phucking mountain.

Holy Stuff...the sun then came out.  I thought I'd never see it again until I returned to the Valley of the Sun!!!  I wanted to see what Anchorage from the Cook Inlet looked like.... So, I went.

This spot is so appealing because each time you go, the light and time and elements are different.  New shot every time!

And then, as everyone knows, I am a foodie.  It was after 1p and I was hungry.  The hotel has breakfast, but it is a breakfast of "egg like food."  So...um...no.  I grabbed an apple and left.

Glacier Brewhouse looked interesting and got great ratings from Trip Advisor.  I walked the 1/2 mile there, and the frigid walk was worth it!!  The wine kept me warm on the walk back.

~~Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia~~

Peggy's Cove, founded in 1811, is a rural community on the eastern shore of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. It is famous for it lighthouse that was established in 1868.

Much of the property on the Cove is private.

William Edward Garthe (1907- 1983) was a Finnish painter and sculptor
that lived on Peggy's Cove.

Garthe was sculpting "life on the Cove" but died before it was completed.

~~Get that shot!~~

Sometimes nothing can stop a photographer from trying to get "that shot."

I've run across the house at full speed to grab one of the at least three Canons I have lying around. I've spilled my wine tripping over the dog. I've fallen out a window and down a lagoon to get "that shot."

Well, last night I was setting up my tripod in hopes of capturing the rare and illusive "Strawberry Moon." As I walked through the house, I glanced out the window to see what was surely one of the most spectacular events I may ever have the privilege to capture. RUN!! I grabbed the closest SLR and ran out the back and down the steps and into the wash...not looking where my feet were going. I was keeping my eye on the prize! RUN!!

After a punishing day of 117 degree temperatures, Arizona rewarded us with an almost unbelievable sunset show!

Enjoy and feel free to share this rarest of all sunsets!

I saw a man die today....

Mother's Day 2016 started off just fine. I was going on a road trip to the lovely...and cool...Mt. Lemmon. At 10,000 feet, it is a lot cooler than the valley...by about 30 degrees.

As I headed out of town I saw a man in an older pick up truck ACCELERATE into a concrete wall. Before he did, he crossed over ALL lanes of traffic, left to right from the HOV lane to an exit ramp. I thought he may have missed his exit and made the stupid move to cross all lines to get off the interstate.

Instead, once he crossed over all lanes, he made a 90-degree angle turn to his left (and back into the traffic), gunned his car and slammed nearly head-on into the concrete wall that separates the north and south bound lanes. Because his vehicle was older, it didn't have air bags. Pieces of the truck flew across the road, and one of his hub caps nearly hit my car.

Because I was immediately behind him, I wasn't able to stop.  However, I saw that others did stop, so I called 911, and was told that this was the first call about the crash.

I was so shaken by this event that I thought that I should just go back home. How can I have a decent road trip when this man's life is over?  "Awful" doesn't describe it.... I did go on to Mt. Lemmon, all the while replaying the earlier scene.

Unlike me, I took very few photos today...way fewer than normal.

As I look at the images, I am crazy disappointed. I see so many mistakes. Obviously, I was terribly distracted. But that is okay. I remind myself that photography is also therapy.

Photography helps me cope.

Friends

In those "early" years, I didn't make many friends. I isolated. Everyone is a judge. And truly, none of us has a duty or right to judge others. It is too easy to judge.  The Norwegian proverb stays locked in my mind:

"Sweep before your own door first

before you sweep the doorsteps of your neighbors." 

I, like everyone, don't want to be judged. So I isolated...and when I did creep out once in a while...it was all good all the time. No one knew about my personal hell.

I tend to isolate when things aren't going so well. I am, by nature, an introvert. Most people laugh when I say that because I am very outgoing. To me, strangers are just friends I have not met yet.

Introverts get their energy from being alone and being quiet.  Extroverts, on the other hand, get their energy from being with others.  I get most of my peace and energy by being alone.  I love my alone time...probably way too much.  Thank God for internet friends!  (Giggling, but it is true.)

Getting out is critical to good mental health, so I decided to go to a class at a local camera shop. And to my surprise and delight, the photographers in the class were friendly, nice and helpful!  They were not like my instructor...not a all.  They shared, were helpful. And when they saw my work seemed genuinely excited by my "eye."  In fact, they invited me on "photo walks."  I didn't know what a photo walk was, but now I crave them and invite others regularly.

This one experience changed me dramatically...just like the "lesson" changed me. But this was one of the most positive experiences of my life.  I really saw the light...and I was transformed, encouraged and thrilled about my new life of photography.

I had lived in the business world for all of my adult life...too bad...so sad.  I never considered myself to be creative or gifted in anything...but writing, speaking and communicating.  This new, physical form of expression started feeding my soul like nothing ever in my life.

Photographers can be snooty and rude, but I searched...and found...so many lovely friends in photography that helped me...and now...after a few years, I get to help others.  I would never laugh at someone learning...ever.

I have even had the pleasure of coaching new photographers....and experienced ones, too!  How fun is that.

Photography feeds my soul.  Friends feed my soul.  And then there are photographer friends......

Mike Brown
mikefish001@yahoo.ca

Joe Newman
Bastrop, TX
Joe.in.Bastrop@gmail.com

Cindy Hamilton Wentzloff
Grand Rapids, MI
www.cynthiagailphotography.com

Matthew Tracy
Portland, Oregon
mtfenderplayer@yahoo.com

Sean Smith
Dallas, TX
txbol.yahoo.com

John Mariani
Wyoming
johnmariani.skybeam.com

Marilyn Kidwell
Cedar City, UT
maklv.me.com

Mike and Marie Adkins
Dallas, TX
www.michaeladkinsphotography.com

Rick DiGiammarino
Boston, MA
rickdigi2000@comcast.net

Tim Wohlever
Scottsdale, AZ
tim.wohlever@gmail.com

Peeking Out

When I was first going through the mess I got myself into, I needed to find a way to regain my mental (and probably physical) health.  I was deep into the darkness of the situation that was completely out of my control.

I starting peeking out into the world.  "Out there" was a much better place than "in here." As a friend once told me, "Never stay long in your own head. It is too scary in there."

I got my first "real" camera in 2010, but really didn't use it much. Photography seemed much too complicated, and I didn't have much energy or capacity at that time to delve into something so complex.  I played with the camera a bit.... These are the very first pictures I took with my Canon Rebel T2i--cringe worthy, for certain...ugh.

I wanted to get better, so I bought a "Groupon" for a lesson with a local photographer.  I was nervous and intimidated, but I made it to the appointment. The professional photographer examined my camera and and told me it was "okay for a starter camera."  I thought, "Hmmmm....that is a shot...and not very nice."

During the lesson, she talked about F-Stops and ISO and Depth of Field.  She quizzed me on the mathematics of the formulas.  And when I got the aperture issue incorrect, she laughed and seemed to take pleasure in making me wrong.  (By the way, not all of photography is "intuitive.")

The final straw that made me put my camera away for nearly a year was when she asked me if I shoot in RAW.  I simply stared blankly and asked, "What is RAW?"  Again, she laughed and said "Never mind."

Are all photographers so snooty and rude?  If so, I didn't want to be one.

(This shot is just for my instructor....nature's answer to mean people.)  

Even though I had a tough experience, I still itched to shoot.  I knew that if I stayed "in here" too long the darkness would continue to take over and I'd never get to see the light again.

Interesting that one of the most important aspects of photography is...the light.

Peeking out into the light motivated me to keep picking up my "starter camera."