Archive for November, 2010

Newer Entries »

International Aperture Award 2010, bronze award in landscape

November 12, 2010

i was going to try and finish up the california trip today having caught up with posting expenses etc, cleaned my kitchen yesterday washed the window always a hard job because the window has an exhaust fan in it that gets the window screen greasy so ammonia has to be used. the one positive effect of cleaning with ammonia is i can breathe easier now. but that’s why i left the chemical darkroom the smell of the fixer.ugh

but reading my email this morning i had some pleasant news from the International Aperture Awards

Aperture Award announcement

pretty cool huh? i love this image maybe because i know the story of when and where. it was taken on RT 7 in Vermont during the time i was showing mary around where i grew up and where my family was from. We had an exhibit in Burlington and decided to drive up there to deliver the prints and stay for the opening.

this picture looks across farmland in front of Lake Champlain [not seen] toward the mountains of new york state in the background. mary stopped the car and pulled over and i took a couple of exposures. i loved the lone tree and the rays of lighting. it reminds me of how i’ve felt most of my life, me against the world.

this is the same trip where i asked mary if she would be my wife. life has changed for me now, i don’t feel as if i am alone in this world. even if i’d not asked and mary accepted my proposal did i feel the same old negative feelings of being alone. i had mary in my life but i wanted to make a statement, to whom i am not sure, the world? how i felt about her and what she really meant to me.

having her in ones corner is a real asset because once she makes up her mind, she’s there. so maybe this tree symbolizes mary and not me. i have to remember life isn’t all about me nor are the pictures. they actually present themselves to the world for all to see and if i am lucky enough to be there and capture the moment with my brownie i have a way of remembering and sharing that moment of beauty with others.

just like now, being married to mary, we both have the legal & moral right to share and enjoy our work together. my life has improved so much after meeting her, being open with her is something i highly recommend as  is having love in ones life. it does open new vistas and opportunities. but don’t get any funny ideas as she is taken and we don’t share well with strangers.

so any award i win we both win as she is a part of what and where i do life along with how open my eyes and ears are. having a life and sharing it is a wonderful thing, i highly recommend it.

so maybe you can think of ways you can share your life and the wonders that befall you, or just turn to the stranger next to you and say hello. it does make a difference.

Posted in art, Artist, chiaroscuro, galleries, living life to it's fullist, Photography, photography contests, photography exhibits, tenebrism, travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

onward to the land of golden sunsets

November 8, 2010

another day of travel packing and dragging suitcases to another train. thinking of where we’ll be next but first getting out of here.

downtown reno

reno bus station

and of course a cowboys pickup truck

new cowboys horse

pretty cool buses but i think some of them are diesel fuel, don’t remember if this is one of them. but soon our delayed train, yes another one and the same old excuse freight train in front of them. but the train station is comfortable and not too crowded.

here comes the train

baggage is still handled the old way which is pretty cool

baggage wagon

we are traveling coach because our ride is only a few hours over the sierra mountains again we get behind another freight train almost to a walking crawl. but by this time on our trip i am getting bored taking pictures out the train window but iam surprised to not find any snow in the mountains.

dead pine tree

so during our last lunch aboard amtrak while mary was chatting with another dinner across the way i drifted off watching this flower change color as the light changed.

table flower

but soon we are to arrive

rocks & trees

but none too soon for my taste we pull into our final train destination. martineze,ca.

martineze station

martineze station clock tower

how do we get to our motel. mary has the station manager call us a cab but along comes one named ‘the chosen one’ whom we hail. we feel lucky to have found him and  arrange to have him pick us up in the morning and return us to the station for our three hour thruway bus ride.

 

 

by the sea

 

it seems like paradise after being cooped up in the train for almost to the hour a week. there wasn’t one train where everything worked, no lounge car had working restrooms and our last train from reno didn’t have a door that closed between cars and i wondered what it was like going through the 4 mile tunnel from denver, the train crew warns people not to travel between cars then. but our tunnels weren’t than long but still how do they keep these cars in service?

but here we are at least for a week before ending our trip on virgin america going home. what we came to do, get married happens on the day mary had wanted. monday we did a location scout to find our place and i think we did alright. it was a sunny afternoon when we started getting dressed and ready then the fog rolled in and we thought shi…. but just as soon as we started the ceremony the sun came back out warming us up and making for some pretty cool pictures.

wedding ceremony spot

that’s mendocino in the background and the ocean crashing on the rocks below. so now we are man and wife. who would have thought that 6 years ago this is the way it would turn out? hey you never know

outside our window

is life art or is art life? does it really matter?

 

Tags:
Posted in art, Great american train adventure, living life to it's fullist, Photography, travel, Uncategorized, weddings | Leave a Comment »

reno, nv ; moving west but first another stop

November 7, 2010

we are finally moving west towards our final destination. reno is our last stopover seeing mary’s friends and catching up on years long past. we were told the reno train station was in the middle of town and blocked traffic but we found that to not be true now. but there is a sense of frontier town still here. reno isn’t too big a city although it like every other american city it’s got it’s share of sprawl .

reno amtrak station

tracks

the amtrak tracks have been renovated with a project called ‘retrac’ and a display put in the old station of artifacts dug up during construction which shows shards of pottery, nails, pictures of fire cisterns adding to the wild west feel of the town. i enjoy perusing the displays waiting for our ride.

reno train station display

but now it’s all about gambling and we know how well that’s going with all this disposable income everyone has thanks to the republican austerity years. thinking about the money spent on this election as a big waste, makes me sick. i guess if i owned a tv station i’d feel different  but i don’t.

train station window

i wonder where the balance to life has gone? we all seem to have fallen into fear, afraid our house, job, wife or even dog will turn on us and we will not be loved and cared for. i never thought i’d see these days here in this country, i blame the suits. they are the cause of all this turmoil and greed slowly strangling our society of the dreams we had in the 60’s & 70’s. i can only remember and not fully live them.

we are picked up at train station and whisked off to roses house where we drop our bags and head off to lake tahoe. nice to see the snow dusted mountains behind the city as we head up to the summit. mary and rose chat and i enjoy the scenery. crossing the summit we come to an overview of lake tahoe

lake tahoe

pretty cool but a bit chilly. then mary sees the size of the pine cones on the trees

pine tree

and thinks they’ll be cool to give to the ‘girls’ (grandchildren) so i go down the cliff and get one for mary. we then pick up two more for the ‘girls’ on the beach.

pine cones

there is a high class restaurant, meaning expensive  place right on the beach with a gas fire pit and chairs which comes in handy warding off the autumn chilly. mary catches up on years past and my mind wanders looking out at the lake. we missed seeing any aspens in color in colorado by months  but here are a couple, not really spectacular but nice anyways

aspen

aspens lake tahoe

and finally the dock.

dock at lake tahoe

now the expensive wine safe and sound deep in our bellies we head back to our lodgings at roses house.all in all a very nice two day visit with people i’ve never met before, which has not always been comfortable for me, meeting new people. but as i age i seem to be more comfortable around strangers. life has a way of adding small changes helping us along. so in a couple of days we will continue our journey out to the coast getting closer to our final destination. we drop our pines cones at the post office lighting our load to continue our last leg of this adventure. another short train trip then overnight in a motel before finally catching our thruway bus to willits ca.

Posted in art, nevada, Photography, travel, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Granby to Reno

November 5, 2010

Getting ready to move on to our next destination Reno, NV we wait at the Amtrak station for our two-hour delayed train. It seems there is always something happening to trains. The first delay we had was a two-hour delay from Chicago to Granby; we got stuck behind a freight train that had engine trouble. Seems freight has the right of way, that’s capitalism for you.

This happen again leaving Granby.

Granby waiting room

We were pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from Amtrak in our inn informing us of a problem. Amtrak has a good web site and phone system keeping travelers up to date on schedules, their 1 800 USA Rail or status on the web. Very cool.

Good by Granby hello Reno.

train arriving

hopping a ride to reno

But soon enough our train came along and we were on our way to meeting mary’s friends in Reno. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, as they were part of mary’s camping and work group where people who worked together camped out on weekends at some country park.

We’ve been told the next leg through Utah would be one of the best scenic parts of the trip and it was pretty cool.

byers cynByers cyn

Byers cyn

It was nice for me to come along and meet all these different people in mary’s life, after all I was an important part of mary’s life now. This great American adventure had a purpose as we were on our way to be married in Mendocino, ca by mary’s best friend from collage.

My friends are scattered all across America and none along this route. We had originally planed to drive across America in our newly restored 1970 Mercury XR 7 convertible but that had been delayed by numerous events and delays. The car will be on the road soon but the time and weather just didn’t permit doing the trek at this time.

and this way we get to see a part of this great country without being exausted all the time. so we traveled through utah in a different mind set.

Ducks in Colorado river

canyon wall

Utah

Colorado river Utah

Mary had decided we’d get married on our anniversary; one so I might have a better time remembering when it was and two; it would be more romantic that way. I had no objections to what ever she wanted. That is a big part of our life being able to allow the other person to get what they want. Mary’s good at that and I am learning how to allow that to happen. This relationship is not all about me and that’s a good thing.

She has brought so much joy into my life and the idea of letting go, laying back and allowing her to have her way has brought me such joy, that had I been I charge I might have muddled with things and screwed things up. Allowing is a pretty good way of being. As I said it’s not all about me.
as night falls on our window it starts to rain

sunset in utah

rain drops on window

Reno is a strange town. We were told the train station was in the middle of town and the train actually blocked traffic but that wasn’t the case as they have renovated the train tracks and put up an exhibit in the station showing artifacts from wild west Reno, old bottles, shards of pottery and lots of pictures.

We were there during the election and one of the biggest fears is that Sharon Engels might be elected as a senator and it was really too close an election. Her message seemed to be electing someone ignorant of government role in our society and made it smaller, a popular position in this election, some have won office on that same platform. I wonder what has happen to  ‘an informed elect’ that is the basis of our democracy. Oh well.

The only thing to see in Reno for me is Lake Tahoe. Rose took us for a drive up there and a glass of wine lakeside. A lovely sunny afternoon and I can see why people say it’s a jewel of the west.  The rest of Reno evolves around the casinos and gambling. But mary’s friends are nice and we enjoy our couple of days of visiting, meeting the grown young women who were children when last seen. Life moves on. As we do, continuing along the tracks to Martinez, Ca our last train station, now switching to a bus up California way to Willits, ca gateway to the redwoods.  Then being picked up and driven to Mendocino our final destination for our marriage.

That is the point of this whole trip. To be married by mary’s best friend who couldn’t come to what is now referred to as our ‘intent’ ceremony where we spoke our vows to love and cherish each other, done at the house in New Jersey in front of friends and family.

but more on reno lake tahoe later………….

Posted in Photography, travel, Uncategorized, Utah, weddings | Leave a Comment »

sunrise and frost

November 4, 2010

i wasn’t prepared to find fog rolling in over the lake and the car covered in frost as we woke up for the sunrise. the question is always do i just sit here and enjoy the moment or do i grab my camera and start snapping away. but i thought this moment i wanted to share so i woke mary and began a very long day. she started taking pics out our rooms window while  i had to run down and start the car and turn on the heater then run back upstairs gather my camera . defrosting the windshield took awhile, but we got out of town in time to capture a couple of images before everything changed.

foggy grand lake, co

then looking south towards shadow lake

shadow lake,co

 

and then it’s all gone and coffee & hunger sets in, where to get a good cup of coffee and  plan our day. we decide to go back into the park for another encounter with wildlife after a cup of coffee and a microwaved sausage and biscuit off we go to the park. this early morning we found the ground covered with frost as our car had been but no wildlife. we drove up a dirt hunters road where we had seen elk the day before and stoped to explore the area. oh well maybe we got a couple of christmas cards out of the effort.

frosty field

frost covered pine cones

then back to town and on to adams falls which feeds the grand lake. whoo hoo i though a powerful ice covered falls. it was easy enough to find and park at and the trail was too deep in snow but had been traveled well before us. what we didn’t know wa we were headed up to the top of adams falls and not the bottom. it really isn’t much to see, just another snow & ice covered rocky mountain stream but after the effort of walking up the mountain why not take some pictures. after all i had carried my tripod and telephoto lens along so what the heck.

 

adams falls, co

snow covered rocks

 

we both got some nice pictures of snow capped rocks and ice. shooting snow & ice isn’t easy as exposures can be tricky. but moving along the ridge line as other couples came alone we found ourselves moving back towards our car. hey what happened to the falls, we were hoping to see the bottom of the falls and not the parking lot. so we drove along the lake front until we ran into private property signs stopping us.

when on thinks of seeing a waterfall, at least i do, i think of seeing where the water falls i.e. the bottom like pictures of nigara falls. but sine there doesn’t seem to any dramatic pics of falls and lake what else to do? we there are hot sulphur springs close by so why not try there? off we go. when we get there what we find are a resort of sorts actually hot tubs of sulphur water  and not very appealing to us. one long family in a exposed tub just didn’t feel like something we’d like to join. mary asked about something more natural but got a very vague answer about being up the road etc. oh well

we spent the rest of the day looking for gifts to bring back for the girls  who are much easier than my son. they love everything at least for awhile. then diner at our hotel grand lake inn which we  find is being sold by the owner to a nice couple from lubbock texas whom we have a talk about how we find accommodations on our travels. what is important to us i and how we search for things.

traveling is exhausting especially one such as this hauling bags on and off trains moving into different hotels trains and cars is a lot of work and it’s not over yet. so crawling into bed and snuggling comes early for us. being up for the sunrise isn’t usually my time of day since i’ve always worked nights. but another sunrise another day.

sunrise, grand lake, co

sunrise , grand lake , co

sunrise, grand lake, co

sunrise looking at shadow lake, co

well now we move on to reno, nv to visit marys friends, i’ve never been there so we’ll see what it’s like.

 

 

Posted in Grand Lake, Great american train adventure, Photography, rocky mountain national park, travel, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

across the great plains beyond denver

November 2, 2010

not much to see as we zoom across the sea of farmland as the sun sets. sometime at night we change engineers & conductors at Creston IA and get behind a slow moving freight train, who develops engine trouble setting us back 2 hours in the night. we back into denver across the flat river passed mile high stadium into the non descript station. we can see the snow covered rockies in the distant and feel like we are finally making some progress.

the rockies

our train conductor is great giving us a running description of what we are passing. the parks dept supplies a person during the summer who does this but it ends at labor day. i told one conductor that maybe they should have a recording to describe what we are passing through, who knows.

mountain stream

one of the first things we see is gross dam 3 different views the last one from the back but lovely. built by a man named gross from germany.

gross dam

we travel through tunnels and exit to another grand view, you have to wonder about the people who built this railroad what they must have gone through . here is the yellow school house that was built for the children of the workers but never used because it too cold there.

yellow school house

it’s difficult to photograph from the train because of reflection in the windows as we twist and turn around the mountains. but granby co was our destination for the day, an unmaned station and i wondered what we would find. i had to call the rental car people from frazer

fraizer, co

the stop before ours. here we are

granby train station

it's halloween every where

we load our bags and  hop in our little rental car  heading to Grand lake and rocky mountain national park, another leg of our exploration.

shadow mountain lake

shadow mountain lake

we decide to head to rocky mountain national park instead of grand lake because we are 2 hours late and the hotel will be there and we are loosing daylight.

snow capped mountain

the road is closed driving through the park, it closes in september because fo the exposed winds and snow at higher elevations, this i didn’t know and was disappointed. we could only go for 10 miles limiting out enjoyment but we made the most of our time. i was the wild game spotter and driver, we came upon a meadow with some grazing elk. i took out my 70-200 with a 1.5 extension and showed mary what she couldn’t see with the naked eye.

grazing elk

we really couldn’t get close to the herd but we tried exploring. i saw a cute red fox that mary took pictures of but because it was on her side of the car. we did pull into parking spots the tried to explore the trails

mary on the trail

being silly writing hearts in the snow

snow writing

but we did come upon a lone grazing cow

young cow

elk cow

who drew a crowd along the road as people stopped to take pictures. she seemed a bit curious about us but not enough to stop eating

elk cow

but after she left to join the herd there wasn’t much we say other than snow covered fields. soon the sun crossed the mountains and we headed to grand lake.

welcome grand lake

so we leave you here as we unpack our bags and darkness settles around us and we lay on the bed in exhaustion.

Posted in Co, travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

great american train adventure continues to chicago

November 1, 2010

The lake shore limited dropped us at lovely Union station Chicago.

 

art deco sign

 

 

 

union station chicago

For a major city train station, union station is clean and quiet. The main waiting room is detached from the train waiting rooms, which are in a newer annex across and under the street under a newer building along the Chicago river.

I was struck how calm the station was even though there were many people wandering around. Union stations main waiting room was practically empty except for the tourist photographers,

Union station waiting room

not like crowded penn station in new york which probably has 8 police at any given time hanging around the waiting room. We didn’t see one police person in the entire station and yet it wasn’t a homeless hangout. Did we miss something?

Using our limited time in the city we wandered around a few blocks also fitting in lunch along with picture taking. Chicago is a mix of the old and new on maybe a more human level than new york. What we saw beyond the new buildings were the unique items at least to us. Yes it was cool and windy but the day before they had hurricane winds which was the talk of the lunch crowd around us.

boats chicago river

 

Sightseeing boats cruising and tied along the Chicago river. counterweight bridges on major streets that still work, how cool is that?

bridge tower

just in case

 

 

We did see an interesting building approaching Chicago with a statue on top. The Chicago Board of Trade

chicago board of trade

who the statue was on top of building we’ve no idea nor any pictures. But following our quest to the building we found the Chicago loop-elevated subway.

loop tracks

chicago loop elevated train

the old with the new, see somethings can co-exist quite nicely. things don’t have to be torn down to make way for the new.

But it was time to catch the zephyr a super liner train. Cool right?

Zephyr

Well the super part of the train means they can get more people on because it has a double deck of compartments. Which meant to us that the top bunk has less headroom, so low that mary couldn’t sit up in bed and had to roll into it, which was different than the lake shore.

The zephyr has a lounge car with strange seats. I remember as a kid seeing ads for lounge chairs that swivel along with glass windows but these are plastic/metal and designed for little people.

Zephyr lounge car

Train travel in America is so different than other parts of the world. We’ve traveled by train in italy and japan. In italy we did a sleeper while japan was the bullet train. Somewhere a decision was made to let train travel fall by the wayside to the more glamorous air travel. What we find is that the older population enjoys train travel, who really likes airports? The new bus terminals of travel.

Train travel lets one relax and enjoy the scenery, which is impressive. I’ve driven across the country 3 or 4 times and moving at 60 mph I’ve never had the chance to just enjoy the beauty of the country. Sometimes I found myself not taking pictures out the train windows, just enjoying seeing what passed before me. Very relaxing.

Farm

Next stop Amtrak station Granby Colorado, to the town of grand lake, gateway to rocky mountain national park.

 

Posted in Chicago, Great american train adventure, photography contests, travel, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Newer Entries »