RIP Bob Arihood

I am saddened tonight to find that an old Blogging friend has passed away. I never met Bob Arihood in person. He merely stumbled across my blog several years ago, and decided to leave a comment for me to tell me he enjoyed my photos, and my writing. When I viewed his posts, I was awed by his talent, and eye for capturing human emotion. It was a great compliment to me that someone with such talent would enjoy my artwork and photography. We had exchanged email addresses, and began corresponding. Our conversations were enjoyable and thought provoking. Bob was one of the most kind hearted people I have ever met, even though it was only over the internet. His goals were to bring light to the problems facing the homeless who reside in Tomkins Square Park in New York City. His posts brought those residents to life for me, a continent away. He made me care about the people, their antics, and their lives, and he brought the plight of the homeless everywhere, into sharp focus. There was a time, I thought it would be great to just travel to New York to meet Bob in person, and meet the people he cared so much about. He did not see filth, he saw human beings trying their best to live their lives with as much dignity as they could muster.

But as life moved on, we regrettably lost touch. I dropped my artwork, and photography, and instead, focused on my career. For several years I lost track of time, and recently I woke up one morning and thought, "I don't do that anymore". "Why don't I do that anymore?". "What became so important in life, that I sacrificed myself to it?".

I began drawing again. It's a start right? I painted a few things. Started regaining that confidence. Tonight I decided I was going to begin writing again. I decided I was going to begin sharing my photographs and artwork with the world again. I logged back on to my old posting site, amazed that it still existed. After my first post in five years, I decided to see what my old blogging buddy was up to, and possibly get back in touch. I missed those thoughtful conversations we had.

But I'm too late. He is gone. His page is now a memorial. Bob taught me one final lesson. Don't wait until it's too late. You may not get another chance. Rest in Peace Bob. I hope you found the peace you were searching for all those years.

Little Miss Emily Mary Mallett

This is my first post in a couple of years actually, I've not been actively publishing anything in quite some time. I guess life has gotten away from me, but I am going to try to start up again if I can keep my focus. For now though, I guess my first topic in this new era will be my new niece, simply because babies are always a great subject.

This is the cutest little girl in the world right now. Her name is Miss Emily Mary Mallett, and she was born on July 26, 2012. Seven minutes past midnight on July 26th to be precise, and she is just about the most adorable thing in my life right now. I just love her to pieces.

In this photo she is one month old. We were getting ready to go to her baby shower, on the morning of August 26th. Isn't she just so cute? And she looks so worried, like she is going to get in trouble for something..

Experimenting With Watercolor

I have mentioned before that I've been painting alot lately. Oil and watercolor. This rose was originally a pencil and pencil crayon sketch I made years ago. It eventually made it's way onto my grandmother's gravemarker. When my mother asked me if I would etch my grandmother's gravemarker as a personal, permanent touch to her final resting place, I was honored. She loved roses, and I thought this rose would look lovely etched in stone, and it did. As a gift to my mother, I also painted this watercolor version. Watercolor is still a fairly new medium to me, but I enjoy working with it's versatility.

Flower Garden Gazebo In Banff

If there was one spot on the globe that I could think of to represent beauty and tranquility in our world, it would have to be the Cascade Gardens in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

There is an amazing array of color splashing at you from every angle. You cannot count every different flower, and any flower you could possibly imagine is growing there. This is one small snapshot of the beauty of these amazing rock gardens. The stone paths wind you through a maze of raw wooden benches, and Gazebo's of varying shapes and sizes. On this particular day, myself, my son, and my brother's family strolled through taking photographs of everything we possibly could. Every photograph was amazing, but none could capture the full beauty of it.

The waterfalls in the Cascade Gardens are equally stunning. The architects and landscapers who designed these beautiful oasis took the natural raw beauty of the parkland and streams, and enhanced them with rock sculpture, colorful floral arangements, and stone paths.

Nothing looks out of place... not the wooden benches... not the rock shelves the waterfalls empty themselves over, and not the flowers or the greenery surrounding everything.

Even though we know some elements of the Cascade Gardens are man made, and cultivated to look just so, everything still looks as it should. Like it was meant to be there. This is one of those rare places where mother nature and mankind came together in perfect harmony to create this beautiful, serene atmosphere.

My apologies

It has been a long time since I published anything... not sure how many folks have been paying attention, but I did get one request from a certain someone, to get with the program... that I'm being neglectful and that I need to post something new!... :)

I have spent some time recently going back to my childhood in a way... I've enjoyed painting very much... something I hadn't done since I was a child... I've also enjoyed sketching and doodling... also things I haven't much touched since I was young... I will try to share some of what I've come up with... and the different mediums I've used... as well as some recent photos I've taken... :)

Life is beginning to settle into something somewhat normal, so I am making a sincere effort to get back to my photography, and my attempts to share with anyone who would like to see...:)

So I am back, and I will bring something I think is spectacular, as promised...:)

Swan in the Canal

I haven't posted in almost two months... more than two months maybe... I apologize for that... I have been moving myself and my son to a new apartment, and then helping my brother and his family move to another house too. As of now, he is moved, I am moved, and we're all bone tired, sore and cranky. But we're getting settled in our new places, and it's all downhill from here.


I thought I'd share this photo because I love this one. This was taken during my trip to England last spring. This swan was floating lazily in the canal, making for a fabulous photo op.

I've been thinking alot of England lately. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back, but I do hope it's soon. I loved being there, and I can't wait to return. While I was there, it rained for fourteen out of sixteen days I think, but no matter. I love rain as much as I love sun.

Salt in a Different Light

I travel around as much as I can. Seeing the things I want to see. Looking for things that I didn't know existed. But sometimes those things are right under our noses, no travel required.

I've started a new series of photographs recently, so over the next while, I thought I would share what I came up with. I took this photo through a digital microscope. Microscopic photography can be a very interesting experience. I've learned that it's nothing like conventional photography. There's no setting the aperture, or shutter speed to aid in finding the perfect photograph. No filters unless you come up with some fantastic way to attach them to your lens without obscuring the ability to magnify.

Your only variable is the light. Will you take the photograph with light from below? Or from above? Will you use a bright light? Or will you dim it down for maximum detail? Should you use natural light, or artificial?

Your depth of field is a tricky issue as well. You have no options, because the concept of depth just doesnt exist at that magnification. You have a singular plane of focus, and basically you choose the best part to focus on, and very carefully do so.

These particular photographs are (you guessed it) salt. At 60x magnification, it resembles uncut diamonds. I found my main problem was trying to get enough detail without too many hotspots. If I gave it too much light, The refractions burned out parts of the photograph, and obscured alot of the natural planes of the crystals. If I took away too much light, it was difficult to maintain the focus.

In the end I thought this first photograph was the best way to show the crystal beauty of it. I diffused the top light, and eliminated the bottom light completely, then brought it into the best focus I could, considering it's a three dimensional subject. I thought it turned out rather well. The crystals that are out of focus give it an ethereal quality that I like, while those that are in focus give the detail I was after.

In this second photograph I went for the opposite approach. Lit from the bottom, and maximized the light, then brought it into focus. I got a totally different result. the second looks more like an Xray.

As you can see, the crystals haven't moved, or been touched. If you were to put one on top of the other, they will match perfectly. The difference is amazing though, and no I did not use Photoshop to achieve this. They are two different photographs, and I just played with the light.

Beauty of a Different Sort

There are things that are painted by man and mother nature that are truly beautiful. All paintings by man, have one purpose though. To capture the beauty of something else.

Emilia-Romagna a.k.a Enzo Ferrari created something truly beautiful in it's own right. And he didn't have to use a paintbrush to do it.

This machine would be beautiful even without the paint.


We had a mini family vacation this weekend, and this beast, the Enzo Ferrari , along with the F355 Berlinetta behind it, were parked outside of the hotel we stayed at. It's a very cool thing to say, my car was valet'd next to these. Of course we don't really know which cars our vehicles were parked next to, but hey, we can pretend.

This photograph was taken by my brother. He is in love with this car. Can you blame him? He was drooling so much, I almost thought we would need to ask the valet's for a towel.

He hasn't officially given me permission to post this photo, so if he gets mad at me, I'll have to take it down, but for now, enjoy.

:o)

Butterfly

There are times that I just want to escape. Day to day hassles like work, finances, angry co-workers, haters, rude, anonymous critics who feel the need to troll around telling everyone else what is what, etc, etc.

You know where I'm coming from.

I sketched this butterfly, and then airbrushed it on the computer, while trying to rid my mind of the poisons of recent stress. I love butterflies. They flit from place to place until they get bored, and decide to be somewhere else. They find only the things necessary to get by in life. They are a symbol of freedom and beauty and everything good about our planet. I wish I was a butterfly some days.

After a hard nights work, I come home and find a rude comment on this site in my email box. This site where I showcase things I enjoy in life. Where I show the world what is important and beautiful to me. Where I show the world how I escape those dramas at work.

The commenter, Anonymous of course, decided it was necessary to tell me that my background and fonts were making it difficult for them to read. Not only that, but that I apparently don't have my priorities right, because the content is more important that the "window dressing" as they called it. I rejected the comment to be posted, because frankly, this is my site, and I will choose what content is on it.

But I will address it, so here's my take on things...

This "window dressing" as you call it? Is my sweat and labor, as much as the posts are. I created what was aesthetically pleasing to my eye. I spent hours trying to pick a background that I enjoyed, and a font to go with it, that I thought would compliment it, as well as be functional. I pored over color codes and tried out gazillions, to find that one, that looked nice, and could be read over my choice of background. I spent hours deciphering what all those codes meant, and how to apply them to my site so I could author my own design, instead of using the typical cookie cutter templates.

If someone enjoys something I have created, enjoys my artwork, or my photos, then I am happy. I'm happy to have brightened their day even in the slightest. I'm happy to have touched them in some way, and I would love to hear it. If someone is willing to share their creations with me, I am very pleased that they have taken the time to show me, and felt I was worthy to share with. I love seeing other's work, and creativity, and seeing what others are proud of.

Now if you, Mr or Mrs Anonymous, would have had the guts to show me your work, your site, your sweat and labor, we could have talked. But I have no time for your version of "constructive" criticism.

My artwork, photography, thoughts, and designs, are not here for you to criticize. As valuable as you seem to think your opinion is, it is worthless to me. I don't want it, didn't ask for it, and don't need it. I do what I do for me. Not you.

So please, be my guest, and place your cursor up in the top right hand corner of this page, and hit next. It will do both of us a world of good.

Ce n'est pas si?