Happy Trails To You ....

Folks,

I am writing this from Lansing, Michigan.

Yesterday's run from Kansas was uneventful.  Lots of billboards recommending pro-life second only by the amount of Adult Superstores - especially in Kansas and Missouri.

In fact at one exit, there was an adult superstore with a bill board just in front of it advertising that Jesus restores and saves and pornography destroys and on the other side of the exit was a Russell Stover candy manufacturing facility.  There is no doubt that with regard to child pornography and some hard core stuff, pornography certainly is destructive.

However I will bet you that our friends over there at Russell Stover have had a more negative impact regarding, obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and related health issues and costs than most pornography yet no billboard in front of it.

Also what the hell do you do with a warehouse full of dildos and vibrators anyway - out there in flat farming country where all you grow is grain, corn, grass and cattle?  And why are so many women getting pregnant and considering abortions that we need to dedicate so much billboard space to it?  And how are the two related?

Wait a minute - if they all simply used dildos and vibrators then no one would get .... OK .. OK ... I see it .....

This journey started in Michigan so it is only fitting that it end here.  It's been a great run and a great time - about 14000 km and about the same amount of pictures.

If I was forced to list my favorite moments of the trip - speaking strictly of what I was seeing that was new or what I was seeing that was different I would have to say,

a) Yosemite

d) Dead Horse Point

c) Moab the town

d) Moab the brewery

e) Las Vegas - speaking of dildos and vibrators - hey, it stays in Vegas ....

Vegas was a surprise - I really enjoyed the city and observing what it has to offer - and with free parking at every hotel, it has a lot to offer a non-gambler like myself.

Yosemite was a photographer's dream - I simply have to go back - and while there, investigate the high Sierras.

Another observation that I didn't blog about was the amount of machinery, all of it US made, rusting in the fields and backyards of America.  If that is not a metaphor for where this once great and proud nation finds itself right now ....  The challenges the US faces are many and daunting - in the past it was the very act of facing these challenges that made them great.  The current economic situation will test them to the fullest - the world is watching to see if this nation is still proud and is still great.  For the good of us all, we hope they will pass this test and in so doing re-invent and transition/re-position themselves for the 21st century - as usual time will tell and the times will be telling.

Well that's it - the last blog for this trip - sort of going out with a whimper but sometimes it is best to silently edge towards the door and exit without saying goodbye - the situation sometimes cries out for that ..... yes, it sometimes does .....

Remember that the road goes on forever but we don't - so grab a piece of road before it's too late.  It's the greatest release the 20th century brought us - Ford with his horseless carriage and Eisenhower with his freeway system -  use them while they, and we, exist.

To quote from verse 9 of the Krome Koan, 'Time is the best teacher - unfortunately it kills all its students.'

'Tramps like us, baby we were born to run .....'

Phil

Going ... Down

Folks,

I left Moab under a veil of low cloud and rain/snow this AM - finally thwarting the raven-crow beasts. The snow continued lightly off and on through Vail to Denver, then the sun appeared.  Driving from about 90 minutes west of Denver on I-70 is like driving the 401 - skiers are coming, skiers are going, skiers are skiing - man, it's busy.  Where's the recession/depression - oh yeah, I forgot - that's 'main street' America - it's Wall Street out here.

As soon you roll off the mountains into Denver you are on the high plains and the change is dramatic as it is sudden.  No more canyons, mesas and buttes - just flatland and grass as far as the eye can see.

Once you hit Kansas, the flavour immediately changes as well.  Now we have have billboard messages about abortion - 'thank Mom for choosing life' - 'abortion stops a beating heart', etc. Maybe it's me, but I would be attacking this one step up the line - meaning, before conception, with some good scientific  medical information about the body, how it works and what to do to prevent a pregnancy that might lead one to consider abortion.  I didn't see any signs or billboards like that.

I am in Salina, Kansas tonight - just rolled in when the hail started pounding down and the lightning picked up - no Toto we aren't in Moab any more - we are in tornado country - batten down the hatches dude - looks like a K2!!

Steve Fossett started and ended his successful global circumnavigation from here.  It's an ironic tragedy that he crashed into the Sierras in a small plane after all he had done.

I am 4000 feet lower at this point than in Denver so there has been a continual decline of the plains as I motored eastward - in point of fact I have not been at this low an elevation for almost 5 1/2 weeks - with all this extra oxygen I am positively light-headed - but then, I've always been light-headed.  The high point today was Vail Pass at 10,600 feet - and yes, it was snowing.

Tomorrow I'll take a run over to Kansas City (ribs at Arthur Bryants - drool, slurp, smack) then up to Des Moines and over to Chicago - not sure if I'll make Midland, MI - that would be a 15 hour run - we'll see.

Time changes tonight so I lose an hour there and then I lose another hour going to Eastern Time - yikes, the clock is running away from me.

No pictures tonight - this was strictly a pound the pavement day - very snowy, rainy and dull - we'll see what tomorrow brings re: picture taking weather.

Gotta grab a bite to eat.

To quote verse 64 of the Krome Koan, 'If we weren't meant to eat animals, why are they made of meat?'

Phil

That Mother Is A Goose...

Folks,

(to be continued)

Of course it was Canadian Geese or the Canada Goose that I was referring to ... mais oui ...

It turns out though that they are all currently under contract to Al Qaeda to disrupt US domestic air flights - so there was no help to be had there.

Unfortunately there is only one solution and that is to leave and that is what I will be doing tomorrow AM - they win - for the time being!!  I'll be heading to Michigan before ending the trip back home.

It's been a great experience out here and I hope to return to Yosemite and the Sierras and Moab in the fall - also try to squeeze in America's first National Park - Yellowstone.

Also Moab is definitely a dirt bike/mountain bike kind of spot so I think we'll be biking it in the fall.  A unique spot - a little bit of California attitude in Utah - who knew.  Now I know why the Mormon fundamentalists turn their nose up at this place - people here are just enjoying life rather than being afraid that someone, somewhere might be enjoying it!!

Speaking of fun and feel good places - Moab is certainly one but so is The Moab Brewery - just a great watering hole and gathering place for locals and itinerants alike.  It is big on my list of great establishments and I hope they continue to do well.  I am going to have to grab a T shirt and beer glass.

Actually I just returned from the Brewery and I could not find a color I liked in my size - oh well, in the fall.  There were three guys in there - they work construction and they obviously had been in there for a while because they were loud.  Every word they used started with 'F' - one of them started talking about a new secretary and said, 'for  woman, she's pretty smart' ... I think you get the idea - first time I have run across that out here on the trip - they were out of their element without realizing it.

I have included a photo of the condo I have been staying in and a sign I have been observing since I arrived in town.  Time to move - watch for just a bit more madness from the road.

To quote from verse 5 of the Krome Koan, 'I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.'

Phil

PS - Saint Patrick's Day is coming ... 

Hark ... Raven Bad ...

Folks,

It became obvious yesterday that the Raven-Crow beasts were not happy that Yvonne was here with me and therefore for her safety, she has moved on to Salt lake City and will leave for home tomorrow.

I have consulted the locals in the Moab Brewery and I have been advised to adopt a shaman alter ego to confuse the gathering Raven-Crow horde.  I was also advised to consult the Great Spirit - naturally that has to be Canadian Rye Whisky of which I just happened to have an adequate supply.  In addition I had to 'bathe in smoke' - an old Indian method for warding off demons.  Luckily the local bikers were able to help in that regard - something to do with Jamaica and Lebanon and blondes ... I don't remember ...

It is also clear that the Raven-Crow beasts have no intention of letting me leave Utah, so drastic action will have to be taken before Monday AM.  Unbeknownst to them, I have a secret weapon - one that makes it's home on every golf course and man made green space in North America. These creatures migrate south as the Northern climate cools and reverse that course as the Northern climes warm again.  They leave refuse everywhere they stop and strip the landscape of it's flora and fauna.  They pollute the local watering holes and their vocalizations pierce the quiet solitude of the golden pond and the serene grassy meadows - no I am not talking about Quebecers .....

To be continued .....

To quote from verse 79 of the Krome Koan, 'Mon ostie de saint-sacrament de câlice de crisse!

Phillippe

Take a Hike ....

Folks,

We took the Fiery Furnace hiking tour in Arches National Park yesterday.

I have to admit that as exciting as rock art is to me, arches just don't do it for me.  So the tour was an interesting side look at the desert ecosystem and the processes at work in arch formation.  It was warm here yesterday - 72F and sunny - a great day.

The mission statement posted at the Visitors Center at the entrance to the park promises, 'extraordinary arches and awe-inspiring landscapes' - oddly enough the same mission statement as the Moab Brewery where indeed many extraordinary arches and awe-inspiring landscapes have been sighted.

I was shooting hand held on the hike so I managed to capture some of the typical desert topography here against the backdrop of the LaSal Mountains and Entrada Sandstone.  

I managed to capture some of the wildlife - it wasn't easy - yet, as I approached up wind the animals seemed to freeze, become almost statuesque, frozen if you will.

The raven-crow beasts were out in force, so the quickening has started so I can only assume that something is eminent - they are gathering for the kill - they know I leave soon - they must act quickly - stay posted.

Today is Moab Town day - we are going to 'do the town' - I'll be covering from a photo point of view so it promises to be interesting .... a strange mix of  pioneer stock, cowboy real, hippie throwback, extreme sporter skateboarder/mountain biker recent arrivals and alternative lifestylers.  Something will give and I think the raven-crow beasts know this - it could be today ...

To quote verse 161 of the Krome Koan, 'Finish your beer. There are sober people in China.'

Phil

What's The Point Beating A Dead Horse, Deer?

Folks,

We were back at Dead Horse Point yesterday - next to Yosemite one of the better photographic locations I have ever visited.  The Point gives you a different look every 5 minutes as the angle of light changes.  Couple that with deer on the high plain of the Point and you have a unique combination of photo ops.

I ran into an older gentlemen photographing old weathered wood because the light just wasn't right for landscape photography.  Which just reinforces that when you have a camera in hand nothing is off limits for image capture.

We were watching a local program last night about the efforts to preserve the local petroglyphs - mostly from vandalism - people either adding their own personal statements - usually of the Dick loves Jane variety or the ravages of Mother Nature.  They are using infrared photography to recover what the original underlying image looked like and then digitizing that to have a permanent record.

The fascinating part of all this is that they are finding that the petroglyph artists themselves in a lot of cases have 'written' over previous petroglyph art.  In other words, later petroglyph artists vandalized previous petroglyph artist's work.

It's ironic that today we are trying to preserve history (which has been vandalized) by both preventing vandalization and restricting access.

Aren't today's vandals, tomorrow's petroglyph artists - won't that art be just as important 1000 years from now?  Or to twist this slightly did the Freemont and Anasazi cultures have historical societies that tried to preserve more ancient petroglyphs that were being overwritten with 'then' modern graffiti by rebellious youth - the very same graffiti we now record as important history - hmmm.

... plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose ....

To quote from verse 119 of the Krome Koan, 'What if there were no hypothetical questions?'

Phil

Art That Really Rocks .. Really ...

Folks,

I have a unique fascination with petroglyphs - images created on and in rock by abrading or removing part of the rock surface.  Petroglyphs have been found everywhere on earth with the exception of Antarctica - where we'll probably find them once the southern ice cap melts.  Yikes.

The oldest petroglyphs are estimated to be 12000 years old - the ones in this region, about 1000 - 2000 years old - left by the Fremont/Anasazi Indians.

There have been many theories on whether the petroglyphs are a form of communication or primitive artistic expression, graffiti, etc.  There are some individuals here in North America that are convinced that the petroglyphs in the four corners area hold the key to Montezuma's legendary lost treasure - see here,

http://www.so-utah.com/feature/montzuma/homepage.html

There are many modern day scientists who theorize that it was the drive to communicate and the need for artistic expression that resulted in the rapid increase in brain size and capacity of hominids resulting in present day homo sapiens.  And I think there is some resonance there and that is why we are fascinated by petroglyphs.  In some very primal part of our brain stems there is a collective gene memory (meme) of these images and what they may mean.

One of the most famous petroglyph panels is Newspaper Rock - just on the entrance to the Needles area of Canyonlands.  We were there yesterday to view that and photograph it.

One of the aspects of specifically traveling to photograph something is being alert to the serendipity around you that may result in an unexpected photo op.  Some of the best and classic photographs have been taken simply because the photographer and camera were presented with an opportunity, while lasting only a moment, was captured as just a whim while waiting for the main subject to be ready - or traveling to or from a shoot.

The photos included herein - with the exception of the petroglyph one, are ones that just presented themselves while photographing the petroglyphs or traveling to/from the petroglyph sites.  They are not classic - just an example of the kinds of things that can happen if you are simply 'out there' with a camera in hand.

To quote verse 87 of the Krome Koan, 'If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?'

Phil

PS - strangely enough, other examples of this type of rock art can be found in the Moab Brewery ... yes, very strange ...

Stay Away From The Lite

Folks,

At the Nikon School of Photography one of the points that the instructors made is that photographer is really about the capture of light - and therefore using the light, or manipulating the light, to give the subject interest.  In fact they suggested that once you have decided what the photographic subject is, you simply focus on the light and find a way to make the light and and the lack of light in the subject area, make a great photo.

In other words you have to train yourself to see in black and white - looking for luminance information only.  There are filters that allow you do this - they exclude the colour information from the scene and allow to view light and shadows - I have one - it`s essentially a monocle but I have not yet been able to use it effectively.

The light here is Utah is interesting and it is not surprising to see a gathering of Nikon and Canon cameras at sunset here in the parks.  There is no doubt that the light in the golden hours of one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset is tremendous - flat, creating great shadows and creating those yellows and reds that really make a photograph sing.

However, at this time of year, there is still about 8 hours of light left and Ansel Adams took all his great photos at mid day because he needed the most light he could get to put him in a `sweet aperture`zone with regard to his full format camera.

The other thing that is going on is that the photo magazines have all hammered away at the fact that landscape photos should have a foreground interest - a boulder, plant, water, etc.  Also, most of these locations have been photographed to death, so the photo itself has become iconic - i.e., everybody wants to reproduce that particular photo.

So what we have is a bunch of folks trying to take the same picture and indeed producing the same picture - I call it Photo Lite.

If you know me at all, while that crowd is doing that, I am trying to come up with a different way of looking at the same thing or  indeed, the same thing shot differently - different time, different emphasis, different angle, different presentation, etc.  I am searching for the heavy light - I know it`s out there.

We were in Canyonlands yesterday - basically standing on a high plateau looking out over the Green River and Colorado River sandstone maze - maze meaning, the canyon cut-outs made by time, erosion and geology.  The challenge there, is that you are basically shooting into the sun - but sometimes in so doing you find some heavy light and the muse takes notice.

I am not saying that happened yesterday but I sense I was close - the Raven-Crow beasts were out in force like Tolkien`s Dark Riders or Nazgul - I knew I was on to something - obviously, so did they.  We were forced into the Moab Brewery afterwards to exorcise the demons.

To quote from the Krome Koan, verse 41, `I may be out of my mind but at least I get out once in a while.`

Phil

Chick 'n' Wing(s)nut

Folks,

A little less intense photo day today - I did take some photos.  I explored black within the spectrum of colour - the photos will hopefully illustrate what I mean - still a lot to learn in this area - all photos are a study in darkness - never underestimate the power of the dark side of the force.

The Raven-Crow beasts insisted that I take in the Moab Brewery one more time and did I have a choice - of course not.

So I am sitting there having a Scorpion Ale ( speaking of which, check this out), 

http://scorpionbowl.blogspot.com/2009/02/you-got-to-move.html

- when in walks this woman and sits down beside me at the bar.  She orders a Belgian Wheat and hot chicken wings.  My camera - with the long lens, don't you know - is sitting on the bar.  She asks me if I got any good pictures today - I say no - but the day ain't over yet.  She asks me to take her picture - I said no problem, I just have have to back-up a bit as I have a long lens - she says all men should have that problem.  I take the picture.

I ask her if I can e-mail her the picture - she says no, it's for me, not her.

I ask her what she is doing in Moab - she says, she just flew in to Salt Lake City and drove over to meet her husband who has been away for 4 weeks - I say that's odd, that's the same amount of time I've been away from home.

I ask her what her husband does - she says, usually, whatever he pleases.

I say - that must be hard to deal with- she says no, he needs his space, I need mine and this works fine.

She says - for Christ's sake Phil come off it and pay the bill and stop this foolish role playing - I say, it's not role playing, it's really who I am - David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke; Neil Young, rocker, folkie, grunger - one person, many personas - she says OK, let's the 8 of us go home - the Raven-Crow beasts insisted that I stay, but she locked on to their frequency and said, 'Nevermore .....' - and they were silenced ..... but for how long .....

To quote from verse 91 of the Krome Koan, 'I chose the road less traveled, now where the hell am I??'

Phil

I Am Not A Mused ... Yet

Folks,

In hard rock country like Utah there is always something unique to see and a unique way to see it - take an arch formation for example.  You can appreciate it's lines artistically/aesthetically - how they change as sun hits it at different angles during the day, it's curve and form, it's sturdiness or delicateness, it's size and mass; you can appreciate it scientifically/geologically - the process of it's formation, the physical make-up of the rock itself, why it is the colour it is, it's height and weight, what used to be there but now isn't such that what was left was the arch.

As a photographer, one who aspires to be better, you have to be of two minds - one technical to make the camera do what you want it to do - the other artistic - to capture an image not only of the subject but to be able to make the subject say something to a viewer and say that something no matter the nationality of the viewer looking at the photo.

For some this process comes more naturally than others.  I think if you are artistically inclined you already have an advantage with a camera in your hand.  You are used to pre-visualization and you are used to taking 'reality' and reducing to it's barest essentials, focusing in in on what your artistic mind wants the viewer to see.  

Another aspect of picture taking is colour vs. black and white.  Sometimes a very bland photo in colour takes on a whole new aspect and meaning when rendered in black and white.  Gone is the colour information which can take a way from the subject detail and what is left is a stark presentation of a subject that before may have been lost to viewer's senses.

I think some of the most memorable photos are black and white - yet the most memorable paintings are indeed very colourful - can you even think of a famous monotone painting? 

I think the reason for this is that the painter has already stripped reality bare through the process of painting itself, i.e., a lot of colour information has already been removed from the scene.  The painter is using a palette of ten to twenty tones, where a 'real' scene has something in the order of hundreds of thousands.  If the painter were render the scene as charcoal or shades of brown/black the painting would lose emotional impact and be reduced to simply an image.  That said, there is talent to communicating sparsely - read any Cormac McCarthy novel.

So a photographer/ painter has several choices to make in rendering a scene - 'real or imaginary and those choices will affect the emotional response (or lack thereof) of the viewer.

So you simply don't take a picture and print - you learn to work the scene over a day, return to the scene again and again and work it some more, process the shot in different ways, maybe crop in, maybe burn in, dodge, maybe filter, maybe sharpen, maybe reduce clarity, maybe print using a different type of paper, use a creative border, add grain, sepia tone, etc.

There are many creative choices to make in capture, processing and printing and and none of these can be 'cookbooked' - it isn't the same process every time - it is what the image requires and even demands that true photographer must heed.  It must be similar to the song writing muse and that for writers, etc.  Something grabs your creative side and won't let it go until you have eked out what the muse wants.

I am not even hearing the muses yet, let alone understanding what they are saying - but nothing beats time behind the camera and you just operate knowing that, if there is enough time, and if  you work at it consistently, the muse will start to notice you and somehow, engage with you.

Let's see what today brings for a 'musement'.

To quote from verse 91 of the Krome Koan, 'I work for myself and my boss is STILL an asshole.'

Phil

You Can Lead a Phil To Horse But You Can't Make Him Think

Folks,

This trip has been about photography and improving it - from the Nikon School course, from working with Photoshop guru Sean Duggan and then constantly being out there 6-8 hours a day shooting.  Then go through the photos, get some feedback, adjust and then go out and try again.

When I am 'out there', I get asked a lot, 'what do you really do' - I will either respond that, 'I am retired' or 'whatever I want to' - depending on the mood.  The next question is just about always the same, 'aren't you bored?' - meaning didn't work define provide routine and structure for your life and now aren't you simply lost, directionless? Uh ...... NO!

I am really taken aback by the concept that a large number of people need 'work' - an agenda provided by something else - to give them a context for their daily lives.  We all need money but do we need work to 'fill up our day as well?'  I have always had many interests and I now simply pursue those in depth.  For a while it was audio, right now it is photography, pretty soon it may be writing but it could easily be the Mastery of Photoshop - we shall see.  Does that in turn mean that the folks who ask me these questions don't have any interests outside work, and if they don't, what kind of life is that?  I don't ask them these questions - I know better.

I'd like you all to watch a 6 minute video that I have linked right here,

http://www.zarias.com/?p=284

To view it you will need QuickTime on your computer and then just simply press the play button in the middle of the image you will see.

It's supposed to be a clip on how to do things in Photoshop but as you watch it, it morphs into a commentary on the artistic development process and then makes some observations that, I believe, will move you.  Nobody on their death bed ever said, 'Gee, I wish I spent more time at the office.'

Also in the month's Esquire Magazine, March 2009, there is a great editorial by David Granger entitled, 'The Best of Times'.  I will quote,

'If you have the courage to buck the prevailing mood (and are among the 93% of us who still have a job) - these are actually damn good times.

Gas is under two bucks. There’s never been a better time to buy a new car (half off! 0 percent!) or a new house (depressed prices + 5 percent over thirty years = unprecedented opportunity). Tables are available in the vast majority of excellent restaurants, to eat reduced-price menus. TV has never been better (30 Rock, Fringe, Friday Night Lights, plus everything on the winter season of cable). The new TiVo box offers miraculous access to, essentially, the entire history of filmed entertainment on the best generation of flat-screens ever, which retailers are giving away. Airports are way less crowded, there are empty seats on flights, and those flights land on time more often. [. . .] All in all, it’s easier to live a more enjoyable life right now than at any time in recent memory . . . if we can just convince ourselves to go ahead and do so.'

The good times aren't really gone for good - THEY'RE BACK!!  Just another example of life needing to be viewed from a slightly different perspective.

I was at Dead Horse Point yesterday, standing 2000 feet above the Colorado River, about 3 feet from free flight.  Yes, the Raven-Crow beasts were talking - I had my vertigo thing under control until winds started gusting enough to push me uncomfortably towards the edge.  The best part of the day was accidentally coming upon 3 deer and then staying with them for 2 hours.  The sunset was unbelievable - and yes the Raven-Crow beasts made me go into the Moab Brewery again.

Yesterday I think I captured some of the best photos I have ever taken - I don't have the time or the software to view them properly or to 'develop' them properly - I just feel I am getting there - another milestone reached.  There is much, much more to learn and learning is the sheer joy of doing it.

Watch the video I linked (QuickTime is easy and free to download) - you will be changed,

To quote from verse 9 of the Krome Koan, 'A day without sunshine is, like, night.'

Phil