I'm becoming increasingly mindful of the need to temper feelings of impatience and anger in my life. Disruption and disappointment are all part of the human experience. Not much we can do about it. I'm sorry, But developing coping skills is definitely within our means. I find myself continually sucking up news feeds like a vacuum cleaner. It's yet another compulsion (like watching YouTube videos) that has been enabled by technology. and is fueled by the accessibility of the tablet. The irony is the more I read (or watch), the shorter my attention span gets. The "what's next?" mentality guides my every click. Quite often this leads to frustration, particularly when I get consumed by rampant political discourse that is based on the relentless pursuit of power at the expense of any meaningful benefit to the general population. Nothing wrong with keeping informed. But I'm finding it extremely therapeutic to modulate the amount of coverage to which I expose myself. The collective anger and frustration of the nation will lead you down a rathole if you let it.
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The day after the solar eclipse I found myself with model Jill at the site of a controlled burn of ornamental grass. It's burned off each spring to make way for new growth. A wonderful metaphor for regeneration through destruction. And a strong echo of the eclipse which represented themes of beginnings and endings. Beyond all of that, it's an opportunity for dramatic portraits. But the scenes that result exist only for the duration of the flames which is mere seconds. As is often the case, the entire session boiled down to just a single frame.

Tags:   rage uncertainty disruption status quo energy destabilization fury fire inferno change norms conventions possibilities eclipse beginnings endings vision metaphor purpose meaning boundary emotion explosive presence guidance universe opportunity moment dark glamour seasons cycles memories drive determination life death generations love time anger impatience strength

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A late season cold snap has really put the brakes on the unusually mild weather of February and March. One of the upsides however are killer skies that seem to erupt out of nowhere. This morning I witnessed heavy snow falling amid bright sun and backdrop of menacing clouds, all at the same time. Later I found my way to this desolate 19th century cemetery. I love coming here when the weather is turbulent. It's one of those things that I don't question because it just feels instinctively right. Every time I visit I'm struck by the sheer age of the place. It's been several decades since the most recent burial, and the early ones date back to the Civil War. The place is an anachronism in the context of the modern world that surrounds it. It seems to run on centrifugal force, preserved more out of a sense for honoring the past rather than respecting the dead. Doubt there are any living relatives of the people interred here. It's the raw oldness of the place that appeals to me. Nothing has really changed within the fence line over the years. Many stones are shattered, crumbling, or soon to be. Weathered black, and tilting to and fro adds a heater-skelter effect. But what was here then is here now. The atmosphere and sadness harbored here remain. A real conundrum that I experience such high energy in a place depleted of its life force.

Tags:   atmosphere bleak boundary cycles dark desolate drab dreary energy fleeting forlorn life light memories metaphor ohio rural searching shadow spirit witness generations passage death descent feeling ominous East Lawn stark vigil empty ancestral eternity

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Photography for me is much more than a means to an end. Every step I take in pursuit of images such as this helps form the mosaic that is my life. It's quite often thrilling to discover places and situations that result in memorable photos. But the underlying memories are equally vital. I often equate the scenes I encounter to creations on a Hollywood movie set. Yet they are very real, and I am standing in them, immersed in the atmosphere of wherever I finds myself.

All of that said, lately I'm having reluctance accepting artificial intelligence (AI) imagery into the same genre as actual photos of actual places. More than once I've clicked on a flickr thumbnail of an incredible scene wondering how on earth someone managed to capture it. I invariably feel disappointment when I discover it was purely a computerized creation. It's one thing to enhance a picture in Photoshop, but quite another to invent it out of while cloth. Feels like cheating at some level, particularly if the photo is passed off as organic. I'm okay seeing AI images, I just prefer to know when I am and am not. Unfortunately the line will become ever more blurry as the tools to generate it become increasingly available.

AI definitely has its place, and like it or not, it's here to stay. In fact it's permeating our society at all levels on a daily basis. It's being used for both healing and good, and dark and evil. And everything in between. I recently got involved with AI-generated images for a book project. Looking into copyright issues, I was surprised to discover that AI images are not eligible for copyright protection because they lack a human creator. Apparently intellectual property still requires an actual intellect. Who knew. When I inquired about how these particular images were acquired (because several depicted real-life celebrities, I was informed that the AI program renders original art based on internet searches of copyrighted photos. So sooner or later, my photos (and yours) will become source material for AI creations.

Tags:   atmosphere bleak boundary cycles witness spirit shadow rural searching metaphor memories ohio forlorn fleeting history life light desolate drab dreary energy dark meaning rant AI artificial intelligence defeat death internment creative ideas noir rural noir co-opted

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Abandoned houses are one of life's ultimate paradoxes. They are outwardly repulsive. Yet they tend to drawn in the curious for a closer look. It's an unseen yet very real force, a sort of gravitational pull toward dreary uncertainty. For me it's fueled in part by a sense of wonder over what went wrong. I'm always interested in finding signs of the former inhabitants. Quite often traces of their lives can be found scattered about the side yards, years after the last ounce of cheer departed.

Approaching this place I got the sense of a once-charming century home that had suffered miserably over decades of misguided renovations. Definitely a compounding effect of poor decision making. I often shoot places like this from the dead-on, full frontal view. But here that didn't adequately portray the atmosphere. As I wandered about, I began to feel most uneasy standing right here. The inside corner of the el-shaped edition was hidden from view of the road. It induced an odd claustrophobic effect despite the fact that it was outdoors. The house seemed to loom overhead. The fallen leaves, broken tree, and ominous skies further darkened the mood. For this photo I purposely jammed up the composition to increase the sense of anxiety and menace. It makes me as uncomfortable now as it did then.

Tags:   atmosphere bleak boundary charged cycles dark desolate drab dreary energy fleeting forlorn history life light memories metaphor ohio rural searching shadow spirit witness mood death grim reality darkness noir rural noir ominous border angle looming separation lonely forgotten barren

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My little village lies in the path of totality of the impending solar eclipse. The concept as been largely theoretical for the past few years. But with the eclipse now just one week away, the reality is setting in. The immediate concern is for the weather and the hopes for clear skies. Can only imagine the collective disappointment of potentially millions of people if such a spectacular heavenly moment is blotted out by overcast skies. But whether or not the sun is actually visible on earth, the eclipse will still occur. And in the oath of totality, day will turn to night for approximately three minutes.

I've read up on all of the science behind the eclipse. But honestly what enthralls me even more is the astrological significance. Total eclipses in particular tend to delineate major inflection points in life. There is the time before the eclipse, and the time after. The eclipse itself forms the bridge between the two realms. But it's a bridge that burns up as you cross it. You make it safely across, but can never return. Not sure how that will play out on the world stage; sometimes the impact is not realized except in retrospect. Good or bad, it's the sense of finality that causes me some apprehension. And being in the path of totality only heightens the effect.

Nothing metaphorical about the recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. The timing of this is especially jarring.

Tags:   atmosphere bleak boundary charged cycles dark desolate drab dreary energy fleeting forlorn history life light memories metaphor ohio rural searching shadow spirit witness grim apprehension primordial division concern change transition monumental spiritual uncertainty eclipse solar eclipse noir shadowy Troy

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