Watch for a new gallery. I'm headed to Alaska in early July, flying to Seattle, WA, and then taking a cruise north to a number of cities in the southern part of the state, as well as Victoria, BC Canada.
I'm excited about this adventure. Visiting Alaska will allow me to check off the final of the 50 US states. It's a special part of this country, and I am so looking forward to seeing a part of this great land. Images coming soon!
]]>How our lives changed! Masks (or not). Public gatherings (or not). Experts on every news program expounding a truth as seen with their expertise (or not..) Jobs have changed. Same old job. Or not. No job. Work from home? Zoom?
We have moved. After 30 plus years in greater Portland, Maine, we decided to chase two of our kids north to Bangor and set up a homestead there. We have survived the shutdown and are beginning to explore Central Maine. It's fun, and full of things for us to discover.
I continue to offer a limited amount of portrait services here for individuals and families. I also offer a variety of classes in many aspects of photography for both individuals and small groups. But mostly I am hoping to celebrate more of the great outdoors in our lovely state. I think every photographer starts out capturing the beauty of their surroundings, then progresses to specialties to keep their business running. I want to circle back to that original type of work. I'm also learning and experimenting in the edges of digital photographic composition. I'm a geek, so It's really fun, and I hope to offer you my view of both these new (to me) frontiers for you to enjoy.
Most of the work you see here is available for sale as wall art for your home or office. Additionally, images ore available (as stock) for use in marketing campaigns. I've put a up shop where you can easily order popular items and sizes. If you have need for other product options, let me know, and I will try to source products which meet your needs.
Let me know what you think. What would you like to see here? Send me a note or give a call.
Thanks! Hope to hear from you. Turn to our Contact page to reach out. Meanwhile, here we go!!!
I had a wonderful morning today, watching sunrise over Casco Bay from the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. I arrived at 5:30, shortly before the blue hour ended. Slow rollers, the remnants of Hurricane Dorion which had passed us the day before, came and splashed on the rocks.
Quickly the sky grew brighter and shifted in the spectrum from blue to a light gold. It skimmed across the tops of the waves as they tan into the rocks on the shore. Brighter, crisp.
And then, in Kipling's words, "the dawn came up like thunder across the bay" completely changing the vision in front of me.
A beacon to the east. The first lobster boat slowly chugged across the trail of the sun, today its engine heard close to a mile away. It would not have been out yesterday as the storm passed.
How the cliffs glowed!
These images were captured over a 30 minute period of time.
A trip like this is priceless. I will be back.
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Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery.
My father-in-law was a veteran of the Army Air Corps during WWII. These honor guard members represented the Air Force on this day.
The Honor Guard rendered a 21 - gun salute.
Salute
Taps is chilling.
TapsThis is unbelievably moving
The flag ceremony was intense, as all eyes faced the detail.
Preparing Colors
Honor
These men did it right!
Intensity
Presentation of the colors, in honor of Jack, to our family. Our son John received the flag to the words "On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Air Force, and a grateful nation, thank you."
Presentation of Colors
A final eulogy and friendly words from the pastor.
Eulogy
Peace
As we grow older, things happen and perspectives change. On May 30, 1968, I arrived in Vietnam on a tour of duty for the US Navy. It was my 21st birthday, and my understanding of the reasons for the day and the parades deepened. (That's the short version...) I've since tried to attend the parades each year, wherever I was, or at least honor the spirit of the day.
When I go to a parade, there is the music, the marching units, fire trucks, and shiny cars. But I tune into those watching the event and watch their reactions.
Each parade feels more and more like a welcome home.
Thanks to all those who serve(d), and to those who support them.
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But think of its journey from the clouds, scrambling down a mountainside, rushing across slippery rocks in a hurry, slowing to languish in a tidal estuary that's home to birds and bug, and finally escaping into the edge of the mother ocean as the cycle is complete.
It happens in the watersheds of the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Amazon, Rhine, Nile, Ganges, and Yellow. Water nourishes us, feeds our food, washes us, supports our common lands. It's pretty neat.
We moved to Maine in the early 1990's, and built a home on the edge of a large tidal marsh. One of my greatest, and most pleasant surprises was learning that the tides tell time, keep time, moderate our environment on a predictable (usually) basis. The water level changes about eleven feet up or down every six or so hours, synchronous with the universe.
I take great solace that there is something out there, a system, that is changeable, beautiful, predictable, and oh so necessary.
]]>We explored most of the length of US Route #1 from Portland, ME, downeast to Eastport and Lubec. Lubec purports itself as the "most easterly point in the U.S." and location for the first sight of sunrise in the country. Eastport bills itself as the "smallest city" in the U.S. About a mile or so apart, the drive time between the two was close to an hour over 41 miles of Maine country road.
We discovered amazing people who live in a very tough part of the state. They somehow make do with little, but share smiles freely with people from away. There's a lot of detrius, remnants of dreams, accomplishments, hopes.
Take a look at the new gallery, also called "Road Trip", in Portfolios. You will find some new places, and old things in those places. Enjoy
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At his event, Senator George Mitchell spoke to the assembled students, along with their parents and educators from around the state. He talked about the need for education, and for providing the opportunity for it to everyone. Following the talk, the students had an opportunity for a moment with the senator, and a photo of the two of them.
I've had the pleasure of making this collection of images happen, and I could not be more honored. Why? Not so much for the photos, but for briefly getting to meet this collective student body. They are turning into the future leaders of this state, and make me smile with hope.
For more information on the program, please visit the Mitchell Institute website.
I'm adding them in this section for a couple of reasons. First of all, this was one of the most challenging, and rewarding courses I took in college. The research paper I produced for the class is the only paper I kept after graduation. The paper centered on construction of walls and fortifications of cities in pre-Christian era Israel. I documented my research with photos, 4 seen here.
When I looked at the seven images as a group, it struck me that they represented times and places of five different cultures and religions. At the same time, I think (hope) they convey the continuing significance and importance of these places a couple of thousand years later. These is something consoling in that thought.
Locations depicted:
Temple Mount, (Al Aqsa Mosque), Jerusalem, with 3 girls. Wonder where they are now? (color photo). I've made thousands of images over many years. I love the story here, and count this as one of my favorite images ever.
Temple Mount, (Al Aqsa Mosque), Jerusalem. The exterior of this building is covered and decorated with an extremely colorful mosaic surface.
Temple at Megiddo, Megiddo, Israel. I believe the main axis ran north-south, here, right to left. Haifa is in the far background. When I looked at more current satellite images of the site, far more has been excavated. When we visited the site, I was struck by what I felt to be spirits guarding the place.
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem.
Acropolis, Athens, Greece. One word: presence.
The Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Ruins of Pompeii, Italy. Vesuvius stands tall over the wrecked walls.
I hope the bit of history and commentary isn't too "geeky". The random collection represented here tells an interesting story.
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I started working on this project several years ago whe my wife suggested that I ought to go shoot at the market one morning. That cool spring day started what is now a multi-year project with thousands of images. I'm amazed at what Maine's farmers can grow in their fields, how good it is, and just how amazing it looks through a camera. I'm fascinated by shape and color, light, and how it all fits together.
One of the benefits of an extended project like this is that the photographer really learns the ins and outs of the equipment, and how to shoot in this environment. I shoot at first light, and stay until 8 or 830 when the market gets busy and I'd interfere with the customers. Funny too, is that at about this time the light filtering through the trees begins to get quite bright and contrasty, something I'm usually trying to minimize. There are only 4 or 5 images in this initial group which were made after 8 am, and you can tell by the looks of the image. I have shot this project with Nikon D300 and D750 digital cameras, using (mostly) a 105 mm/f 2.8 or 40 mm/f2.8 macro lens to get close. Most of the images in this collection appear relatively "close" to what initially went through the lens. There's minimal cropping, and only a little exposure and color tweaking.
Enjoy these! They have been fun to work on; more will be coming. And if you would like, they are available for sale.
Thanks!
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As with many things, it helps to be a Gemini. Half of me wants a linear process in building this site. The other half really wants to show off some of the work which I do, which I'm proud of, and which I hope you enjoy. We're getting there. I'm happy with the progress, and I'm not as terrified about sharing with you as I was some time ago when this adventure began.
So bear with me. Enjoy; send feedback so I can make this better for you. Reach me through the Contact page.
Thanks!
Tim
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