Community Service Day

I have never had taken the opportunity to perform any kind of community service until today.  I am both humbled by and thankful for the experience.  We took a group of students from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a local farm at the Dartmouth YMCA that is sponsored by local businesses, run by volunteers and donates its produce to local food pantries, food banks and soup kitchens.

Those of you who know me know that I am not the outdoors type and that gardening is on the bottom of my list right below a root canal but today you would have been proud of me for getting in there and doing some weeding, harvesting, washing etc for a good cause.  It felt great - until my knees started to ache this afternoon from all of the squatting - it did and does feel good though that we were able to help out.  The YMCA volunteer coordinator said that the weeding that we did in one hour would have taken her at least a week to do by herself.  The fact that all of the food goes to worthy causes made our efforts that much more worthwhile and though I will be consuming some Advil tonight and headed to bed early, I am down to do it again next year with a few stipulations:

1. We get a great day like we had today - highs in the upper 70s with low humidity
2. We do not have to return to the office afterward - my God was I a mess
3. It is on a Friday so that I can sleep in on the following morning

Subtlety

The ancients did not seek to rule people with knowledge,
But to help them become natural.

It is difficult for knowledgeable people to become natural;
So to use law to control a nation weakens the nation,
But to use nature to control a nation strengthens the nation.

Understanding these two paths is understanding subtlety;
Subtlety runs deep, ranges wide,
Resolves confusion and preserves peace.

-LaoTze-

sAfEtY

Oh, my creative juices are a bit dry! We have hit the really busy period at work, coupled with many changes in roles, expectations and leadership - the effect has been high stress and little motivation to do anything creative. That will come to an end today.

I shot this series a few days back but didn't feel the vibe to work on them until just now - the theme is safety. To me the theme is demonstrated by the care and protection afforded a child by a loving parent. For most of us this typically would be our mother. I can remember how safe and comforting my mother's arms would be whenever I felt threatened, sick or afraid. Those arms still offer me comfort today. When my parents visited this summer I remember how great it felt to get a big hug from my mum. For a moment everything was fine - even for a grown man that feeling of safety still exists.

This post and the accompanying pictures are dedicated to my mother and to all mothers out there for offering safety to troubled sons and daughters! Love ya bad!!

Of course I had to be an a$$ and throw in the dinosaur for good measure!

Soft Bones

Who is filled with harmony is like a newborn.
Wasps and snakes will not bite him;
Hawks and tigers will not claw him.

His bones are soft yet his grasp is sure,
For his flesh is supple;
His mind is innocent yet his body is virile,
For his vigor is plentiful;
His song is long-lasting yet his voice is sweet,
For his grace is perfect.

But knowing harmony creates abstraction,
And following abstraction creates ritual.
Exceeding nature creates calamity,
And controlling nature creates violence.

-LaoTze-

Beauty in B&W

In photography, color can be of key importance in image presentation but B&W is king! I find B&W images, when done well, to be the most interesting mode of image presentation. I believe that only in B&W can you truly test the message of an image to the fullest. Now don't get me wrong, some images would never covey the right message in B&W but images that look better in B&W have power - power that is restricted by color. To me color holds a good B&W photo back. Those who can present great images in B&W are the photographers I want to emulate! Am I just blowing smoke - perhaps not! I find it hard to shoot in B&W because some images lack depth in this mode - to me this indicates that the color is just a distraction that obscures the truth about the image. B&W tells the truth, no distractions, no fluff, WYSIWYG with B&W!

I shot these photos of my beautiful wife Vernell as she relaxed in her favorite chair surfing the internet.

Calm

Gravity is the source of lightness,
Calm, the master of haste.

A lone traveler will journey all day, watching over his belongings;
Yet once safe in his bed he will lose them in sleep.

The captain of a great vessel will not act lightly or hastily.
Acting lightly, he loses sight of the world,
Acting hastily, he loses control of himself.

A captain can not treat his great ship as a small boat;
Rather than glitter like jade
He must stand like stone.

-LaoTze-

Estes Building - Plymouth Avenue, Fall River, MA

This building's interesting architectural elements have appealed to me since I first saw it and I finally got out and shot it today. It reminds me a bit of the famous Morgan Stanley building in Times Square, New York that is located on 1572 -1598 Broadway. The Estes Building has a bit more character to me because of its location - Plymouth Avenue, Fall River, MA. The only information I was able to find regarding this building's history suggests that it was built in 1905 (granted I didn't look too hard).



View Full Screen!

"Trans P"

After a very hot and miserable day in the office today (the A/c is broken and the summer temps have finally arrived) I got into my car and turned the thermostat to a comfortable 74 degrees F. The engine and A/c compressor obliged and in no time I was riding in style and comfort. In honor of my car's quick and reliable response to my need for cool air and not to mention its unwavering responsiveness to my spontaneity, I dedicate this post to my Trans P - my ride - my Subaru Legacy GT! Turbo charged, AWD, safe and reliable! Sweetness!!!

Dem Bones!

After feeling like crap for the most part last week I was finally able to venture out of the house yesterday. Vernell and I went to do some shopping and ended up at Michael's Arts and Crafts. We were looking for t-shirt transfers and a few other items, but when I saw these guys I knew I had to have them. They were quite easy to assemble - I only broke one puzzle piece, which for an impatient person like me is a miracle. I used wood glue to hold the loose pieces in place and sprayed the finished pieces with matte finish. This morning they became props for a playful photo shoot. Here are the results:







In the midst of working on this post I have learned something new. How to embed a flash slide show of images. Heaven's be praised no more laborious uploading of individual images on every site. Hallelujah for technology!


Violence

Powerful men are well advised not to use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes,
And lean years follow a great war.

A general is well advised
To achieve nothing more than his orders:
Not to take advantage of his victory.
Nor to glory, boast or pride himself;
To do what is dictated by necessity,
But not by choice.

For even the strongest force will weaken with time,
And then its violence will return, and kill it.

-LaoTze-

Flight of the Honey Bee!

Today was yard work day at my house and what a beautiful day it was. The intense sun light completely wiped me out as I cut the lawn and trimmed the hedges around the house. While I was working I noticed these honey bees busily doing there part to keep my yard beautiful. Nuff respect little dudes! I know that there has been much debate regarding the effect of modern civilization on the proliferation of the honey bee. Specifically, there has been discussion about the effect of cellular communication on the honey bee with a noted decline in numbers of bees with the increase in use of cellular technology. Do your part to keep the honey bee busy - plant a flowering plant in your yard and encourage the honey bee to come around. That way we can hopefully keep them around and keep beautiful flowers in our environment.

Decay and Renewal

Empty the self completely;
Embrace perfect peace.
The world will rise and move;
Watch it return to rest.
All the flourishing things
Will return to their source.

This return is peaceful;
It is the flow of nature,
An eternal decay and renewal.
Accepting this brings enlightenment,
Ignoring this brings misery.

Who accepts nature's flow becomes all-cherishing;
Being all-cherishing he becomes impartial;
Being impartial he becomes magnanimous;
Being magnanimous he becomes natural;
Being natural he becomes one with the Way;
Being one with the Way he becomes immortal:
Though his body will decay, the Way will not.

-LaoTze-