reddish egret
november 2005
estero bay, fl

"tell me why the road keeps turning
when everything you want is straight ahead."
        --sheryl crow, "i know why" from wildflower

at low tide, wading birds gather on mud flats to feed. it is one of the joys of a kayak - floating through "skinny" water to watch feeding rituals. on this day, winds make the low tide extreme and i sludge through ankle-high bay bottom mud, dragging the boat by the bow line to get up close.

it is a zig-zag journey, this approach is. one step left, five steps right to avoid razor-sharp oyster mounds. long pauses with a leg in mid-air until the birds settle down and accept my advance. the sky is intensely blue overhead - nearly high noon. it colors the very air with a luminous cyan glow.

this is a diverse gathering, with all the usual bay waters participants. there are egrets, the bullies of the group, flapping their wings and screeching at other birds to claim territory not theirs - simply because they can. there is one lone roseate spoonbill, the bright pink and magenta standout in the crowd. a pair of great blue herons feed along the edge of this group, aloof in their greatness.

alison brown plays wild banjo intertwined with magical fiddle ("the magnificant seven", stolen moments) in my ears. wings flap, long legs dance, beaks swing and poke the mud. it is so fascinating, this feeding symphony, i nearly forget to press the shutter.

nikon d100, nikon 80-400 vr @ 270mm, 1/500, f/8

the threat of storms
barefoot beach, fl

"i was just guessing at numbers and figures,
pulling the puzzles apart.
questions of science, science and progress,
do not speak as loud as my heart."
        --coldplay, the scientist, from a rush of blood to the head

late day slivers of light illuminate eastern storm clouds and a lonely beach pavilion tucked against the mangroves. it is a scene of aching familiarity to me - my parting beach views after late day walks.

just me, thinking about science and storms and light and f/stops and music notes and how the light and all the thoughts in my head fit together like puzzle pieces to emerge as one photograph.

nikon d100, nikon 12-24 dx @ 14mm, 1/100, f/18

a walk in my dreams
lake wallenpaupack, pa

the roads we take - purposefully and by wrong turns - often change the ripples of history.

such was the path of armand hippolyte fizeau, an 1840's french physicist. born to a french physician, he began a path to carry the medical legacy of his father. poor health forever altered that direction early in his studies and he turned to the physical sciences, eventually becoming known for many discoveries such as the velocity (speed) of light, the speed of light through water versus air and interestingly, was the first human to obtain a detailed photograph of the surface of the sun.

a contemporary of louis daguerre, fizeau was fascinated by the chemical process through which an image could be coaxed from the mind's eye onto copper plates. one of the disadvantages of the daguerreotype was that it was extremely delicate, consisting of small particles of soft silver-mercury amalgam on the plate, which could be ruined simply by touching the surface. one solution was to frame the picture behind glass.

fizeau experimented with alternate chemical processes. in august 1840 he published a method of toning the daguerreotype, which in addition to increasing the contrast, made the image stronger, both visually and physically. this consisted of treating the finished image in a solution of sodium hyposulphite and gold chloride.

darkroom techniques to increase contrast to enhance strength of an image - and in the case of ansel adams, to draw a viewer's eye *into* the image by "burning the edges - became hallmarks of many of photography's masters.

photography has matured significantly since daguerre and fizeau, yet many basic principles have remained the same. tonal quality remains both achievement and artistic expression.

i walked the road in the photo above one cold and misty morning in october, 2005, in the pocono mountains of northern pennsylvania. leaves made damp noises under my solitary feet. i stopped, as i so often do in places of distinctive beauty, and captured the image first in my mind - never to be lost - and then with my camera.

tones - both audible and visual - sometimes occur in spontaneously perfect harmony.

nikon 80-400 vr @ 80mm, 1/15, f/16

thanks giving
november 24, 2005
wiggins pass, florida

"forever on thanksgiving day
the heart will find the pathway home."
        --wilbur d. nesbit

the last reaches of early morning light drifted across the water as i slipped the kayak into the canal. winds, cold and gusty, blew across the bay from the west sending the spray of small chop into my face. deepening cyan skies followed me out with the tide. there is such wonder in these mangroves, these winds, these birds and the moments alone on the water. my arms lift my paddle in the smooth cadence of joy in this life.

thanksgiving day! in mere hours the smell of roasting birds will waft out windows and dance down streets. families and friends will gather and millions will watch the skin of swine get tossed and kicked about. memories will be made. laughter and hugs will be shared. and those not near will be deeply missed.

at day's end, some of us will fall asleep on the sweet wings of turkey tryptophan and feel blessed by each fork in the pathway to the heart's home.

"thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. they are consumed in twelve minutes. half-times take twelve minutes. this is not coincidence."
        --erma bombeck

nikon 80-400 vr @ 400mm, 1/250, f/8

bittersweet
november 11, 2005
barefoot beach, florida

"i could go crazy on a night like tonight
when summer's beginning to give up her fight.
when every thought's a possibility
and voices are heard but nothing is seen "
        --indigo girls, "mystery" from  swamp ophelia

it seems odd to think of four true seasons in southwest florida, but if you listen carefully to the direction of ocean breezes and the hues of day's end, they are clearly perceived.

tonight's beach walk reminded me of these subtle changes: the way the sun's last light clings to the sparse clouds on the horizon in soft, gentle pastels; the way the breeze off the gulf is dry and sweet with a promise of cooler nights; the fine layer of temperature inversion mist that floats along the surface of the water just beyond the reach of my lens.

the passing of summer is truly bittersweet - as all changes are. things lost, things gained. hopes for the season to come, dreams abandoned from a season past.

winter arrives on sunburned heels.

nikon 24-120 vr @ 120mm, 1/15, f/18

new day
november 7, 2005
bonita springs, florida

"not knowing when the dawn will come, i open every door."
        --emily dickinson

in a matter of hours, hurricane wilma brought both wounds and the first taste of autumn in southwest florida. turbulent tropical moisture colliding with dry, cold air pushes viscious winds along the backside of the storm that blew down trees and blew off roofs and blew in temperatures in the 60's. one minute the world was howling and ripping apart buildings and the next minute, the sun was out and it was fall.

it was a strange time, and as with all storms like this, the worst was yet to come on her heels: days without power stretched beyond a week; days of packing up before wilma bloomed into days of unpacking afterward; clearing debris and repairing damage was unending. i broke the same chainsaw twice as i sawed through day after day of trees and limbs. like so many others in her wake, i dragged enough foliage and debris to the street to make three 10x20 piles that grew over my head. the landscape - my lovingly groomed landscape - looks bare.

then, days later, on his 43rd birthday, a dear friend and neighbor left this world without goodbye. days disguised as night have lingered  much too long.

this one's for you, mike. facing east into the sunrise and your dock, this one's for you. may your new adventure in the next world be kind to you. we miss you.

a new day. a new season. the healing has begun.

nikon 12-24 @ 12mm, 1/8, f/16