photographs about secrets

“If I had to pick a single word to describe what my pictures are all about, I would say ‘secrets.’ As a child I always had a secret world and my favorite book was A Secret Garden.” — Joyce Tenneson

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Each time the shutter clicks I’ve always had that feeling; as if my little black box may have just captured something like a secret. Something no one else has seen. When I opened the above image I felt as if I’d stepped back in time, to those wonderful fall days, as a boy lost in fantasies of adventure, at the edge of land.


The great lake Michigan and sculptural gates

“Adopt the pace of Nature; her secret is patience.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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A week or so ago I had the opportunity to return to a subject I’d photographed last spring. This gate, created by Dan Nauman, fits so well into its environment that photographing it becomes very difficult during daylight. The natural surroundings seem to absorb the organic forms of the metal. We created these night photographs in an effort to separate the organic metal forms from their natural environment (for an upcoming magazine article). If you open and drive through this driveway gate you will arrive at the residence, above the great lake Michigan seen in the black and white photographs above.

Out and about with Bert and camera

“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” — Peter Adams

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yesterday afternoon, lunch with Bert Stitt

then a walk about
the “east side” looking

and a drive to see Sophia

chasing butterflies and blue skies

as a child i chased
butterflies with a net
now i chase images

Once caught, I never knew quite what to do with the butterflies. I looked at them under a microscope. I marveled at their color and delicate lightness. I ended up feeling uneasy that, as I studied them, they became less beautiful; battered and wounded. In the end I gave up catching butterflies in nets. Now, catching fleeting moments on a light sensitive surface, I find the opposite. The images become more beautiful as I study them; push the edges around; pull information from them; adjust the colors, tonality and contrast. Yet, I still don’t know what to do with my catches.

Yesterday, arriving at a favorite bluff, overlooking the great lake Michigan, I found and caught the following:

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Followed the rivers to Ellie’s wedding; then, a damp day along the mighty Mississippi

Last Friday Ann and I packed a few things in the car and drove west by northwest on Hwy 60. We stopped in North Leeds for a bite to eat. The restaurant had what seemed like a romantic little room for two; it also had very little and very red light and quickly began to feel claustrophobic with too much funky decor.

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At Sauk City the highway does it’s best to follow the Wisconsin River. I love to drive the blue highways that follow the rivers; the paths of the animals and birds. At Gotham we headed north by northwest on Hwy 14 towards Viroqua to visit Ann’s niece, Jessica, and her husband Matt. They provided us with wonderful hospitality; including a bed for the night. Saturday morning’s coffee and conversation on their new deck — built by Matt — simply delightful.

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Back on the road at 9:30 am — Hwy 14/61 to St. Paul, MN — now following the mighty, muddy Mississippi. Spectacular views with no time to stop; except for fuel, juice and muffins.

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Arriving just a tad late due to one wrong turn.

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Seeing as a guest and not “the wedding photographer” freed me to photograph “whatever” and take note of things I’d have done differently than the fellow and his crew. Slide show of additional wedding observations here. And a few from the “film” camera here.

Sunday morning, at the Best Western, provided pool time for Sophia and social time for family and friends of the iHusband and iWife (Sean is slowly Macifying Ellie):

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Strolling, shopping, photographing with a late Mexican lunch in St. Paul before heading south along the mighty Miss.

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A chocolate malt while driving through the night. Then south on Hwy 35 (hugging the river on the Wisconsin side); crossing back over to McGregor, IA at Prairie Du Chien.  The Holiday Shores Motel provided us with a terrace seat and cooling summer breeze which made it difficult to “go to sleep.” We watched a huge row of barges navigate the water-way in the dark. Monday morning provided a gorgeous view of Wisconsin’s river shore.

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Monday passed too quickly — simply enjoying the river, the light, the barge traffic and McGregor (at one time allegedly larger than Chicago because of it’s ferry crossing). Slide show of additional river and McGregor photographs.

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Storms, floods, visits, drives

“Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand.” — Margaret Bourke-White

Last evening the storms roared through (again).

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The rain poured down most of the night – leaving our little town’s main street underwater (and the upstream water has yet to crest). Click here for slide show of Thiensville Flood.

A visit with Sophia and Tanya this morning.

On the way home.

Home town floods

“I didn’t want to tell the tree or weed what it was. I wanted it to tell me something and through me express its meaning in nature.” — Wynn Bullock

Last weekend severe storms swept through our area. Many families lost things, including some losing their homes. Our own Main Street was several feet under water. Today I stopped by Firemen’s Park in Thiensville. The Milwaukee River remains dangerously high. And new storms currently rain down upon us. The damn is totally under rushing water.

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Spring arrives along with 6″-8″ of snow

“When gifts are given to me through my camera, I accept them graciously.” – Minor White

Second day of spring arrives in Mequon with a prediction of 6 – 10 inches of snow. At 11:00 am I point the camera out my office door to document the arrival of spring.

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Snow walk = intimate relationship with the wild divine

“The contemplation of things as they are, without substitution or imposture, without error and confusion, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention” – Sir Francis Bacon

Link to gallery of additional photographs from today’s snow walk

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The horoscope dude said, “Wean yourself from ego-driven desires and pour your libido into a longing for beauty, truth, goodness, justice, integrity, creativity, love, and an intimate relationship with the Wild Divine.”
Sounds, looks, smells, feels like a wonderful path.

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