Out of Focus

Week 26

Out of Focus

June 26, 2011

If you look at it for more than a glance, your eyes want to continually scan the image trying to bring it into focus. No matter how much you stare at this.. I promise it won't be sharp. It's not supposed to be. :)

Our minds seem to be built to want to make sense of things. To put things into categories that fit the perspectives we hold, knowledge we have and context we live in. I believe that sometimes things just don't make sense, and maybe they're not supposed to. Or perhaps they do make some sort of cosmic sense that we're not privy too. That sounds more likely to me....

See, while I believe we are built to discern and seek out the answers to things, I also believe we are built to not understand some things. Not that we should cease to try, but rather that just as much as clarity and truth should always be a part of our lives, so should mystery. It's harder to accept sometimes but I think it's an important and very real part of our existence. If we embrace this just as we do understanding... if we allow for the unknown, I believe it leads to more peace in our hearts, and a more forgiving and gracious existence among those that are outside of the perspectives and context we use to categorize our lives.

Under the Stars

Week 25

Under the Stars

June 22

My family has a cabin in the mountains of Virginia. As a kid, I grew up spending time each year at this cabin, and I have some great memories that come from it. One of my favorite memories, or collection of memories as it were, was of climbing the "steep way" out of our little hollow and up into a meadow that occasionally held my grandfather's cornfield. We would hike up there after the sun had set and lay in the grass looking up at the stars. Stars, mind you that many people that don't grow up in the country don't get the privilege of seeing. So many stars you found it hard to believe you were looking at the same sky that existed over our suburban Virginia home and the light pollution that comes along with living amongst all those homes, buildings, and streetlights.

I don't get back to the cabin nearly as often as I'd like, but I do like to get out and under the stars when I can. The image above is from a recent backpacking trip into Henry Coe State Park, one of the largest in CA, and a great place to retreat. You are looking at my tent, nestled in amongst a rock outcropping, happily watching the stars move across the night sky. It's places like this, away from the lights of the city that I get to glimpse again the magnificent fields of stars that I used to love as a kid... and turns out, still do.


Image taken with Canon 60D, 18-135 lens, 237 sec, @f8, ISO 100

 

Shade of a Tree

Week 24

Shade of a Tree

June 18, 2011

Some people seem to go through life at one speed: GO. Not that I begrudge anyone their productivity, mind you. I think productivity is fantastic. I do think that once in a while, it's good to find a shady tree and just sit under it. You know, take a time out. Not to see how many of the day's tasks you can walk through in your head, not to fret over that tricky family issue you have going on, and not to plan revenge on that coworker that did you wrong. Not to do any of the multi-tasking,work-load-sustaining, performance-enhancing, better-do-so-I-have-an-edge-over-the-competition stuff that you can do once you leave that shady tree. Rather, just sit. Sit and think about how nice it is to be right where you are. Sit and be thankful for a moment at the chance to remove yourself from all those worries, even if it is only a moment.

  It can be an actual shady tree like the one above, but it doesn't have to be (and I don't recommend this particular tree as it is in the path of many-a-wayward approach shot). Whatever similar, secluded and relaxing place that you can escape to will do just fine. It doesn't have to be a long stay either, a few minutes usually does the trick, and will leave you a little bit refreshed, a little bit better prepared to take on life, and most likely, a lot nicer to be around :). 

Image taken with Canon 5DMII, 50mm 1.8 lens, 1/8000 sec @f2.8,  ISO 400

History

Week 23

History

June 7, 2011

I was recently on assignment for Content Magazine covering an article being written about the San Jose Fire Museum. As the Content's writer performed her interview of the current president of the museum following a tour of the museum, I was given carte-blanche to wonder through the museum and photograph the equipment, trucks & engines as I pleased. The image above is from my time in and amongst these pieces of history.

As I wandered through the municipal warehouse that currently serves as the museum's facility, I was struck by the sheer volume of history represented by well over 100 year's worth of fire-squelching equipment. From engines to pumps to trucks and buggies, the history of firefighting is fascinating, and I'd venture to say under-appreciated as well. Before getting this assignment, frankly I had no idea there was a fire-museum. Tucked away on city-property behind rows of warehouses, and inaccessible by car, it's no wonder, and I can understand why they want to move, and hope they get the chance to.

I suppose a lot of history that way. Under-appreciated, that is. Most non-history buffs out there, when they think of the word "history", conjure images of thick, dusty, sleep-inducing textbooks and immediately want to engage in something else, anything else but history. Admittedly, growing up I was certainly guilty of that to a certain extent myself. The reality, though, is that history is a collection of incredible human stories. Stories of adventure, discovery and passion, ingenuity and triumph, as well as of cautionary tales we are best served by remembering. Just like our world today, facts and figures can be interesting, and are no doubt important, but are peripheral. The real meat of life is in the human spirit and our part in a much greater story. I believe we can learn to appreciate that more when we engage in the stories from our past. Maybe that's the history of our nation or people, but it can also be the history of our own families and communities, as well as those peoples and communities least like our own. 

Go check out a museum. Grab a book, or even better, talk to somebody that's been around the block a time or two and ask some questions. I'd venture to guess you'll be surprised at how intriguing it can be.

Image taken with Canon 5DMII, 24-70 2.8L lens, 1/160 sec at f2.8, ISO 1250