Forgiveness

Hydrangea II

“The hydrangea does not refuse the rain; it deepens in color.
Perhaps forgiveness is not the erasing of a wound,
but the quiet changing that happens while carrying it."

—Anonymous

A Sense of Connection

The Old Oak at Pleasant Grove

Our best research suggests that plants and trees may be conscious on some level. I’ve been returning to this same spot to photograph this old oak for over ten years now, and I can’t help wondering if it recognizes me in some way—not as I recognize it, but in its own quieter language. It’s a comforting thought. To me, there’s certainly a sense of connection here, like greeting an old friend.

Among the Trees

Coastal Live Oak on Dry Creek

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

—Mary Oliver, When I am Among the Trees

A New Beginning

Cloudburst Over Saugstad Park

It’s been nearly 10 years years since I’ve posted to this website. For various reasons (family, work, other interests) I went away from serious photography and mostly only captured images with my phone camera for many years. Now that I’m retired and I have more free time on my hands, I’m planning on dedicating more time to creative pursuits, including photography, among others. This image is a first tentative step in that direction.

New Print Available

The above piece, "Angkula Seo Suspender Bridge", will soon be going to The Alexander Gallery in Nevada City. The print area is 16"x16" and the frame is 26"x26". The frame is natural maple wood and archival materials were used throughout. The archival pigment print was printed with UltraChrome HD pigment inks on Canson Baryta Photographique paper. This combination results in prints rated at over 200 years longevity. The framed piece will be available for purchase at the gallery within the next couple of weeks. Contact Franceska at 530.265.4682 or info@alexandergallery.net if you're interested.

About the Bridge

From Seattle Bridge Builders:

"The Sierra Fund has spent years driving construction of a memorial trail along Deer Creek in Nevada City, California. The Immigrant Tribute Trail is an homage to the native Nisenan people of the region and the waves of immigrants who have made the area home since the 1800s; Seattle Bridge was pleased to be approached about installing a bridge to close a loop across Deer Creek.

"The Angkula Seo Suspender Bridge project presented a perfect marriage of people, site, and bridge design. The Sierra Fund’s Izzy Martin and her team were dogged in her pursuit of this ‘missing link’, and excellent collaborators. Keith Monohan, a longtime bridge builder and former principal with Sahale LLC, spearheaded the project locally, helping Martin Walz and Austin Thompson to locate and survey the bridge site. Together, this project team found a location spanning a spectacular section of Deer Creek, and, as it happened, the distance was ideal for a novel bridge design that had been exciting Senior Engineer Albert Highberger for years. Mr. Highberger had been honing plans and refining analyses for a novel bridge design, a tensioned “suspender” bridge reliant on an array of tensioned mainline cables, since at least 2009. It was a bridge design searching for a location; at the Angkula Seo site, we found our location." More...

Equivalent #4: Duality

Equivalent #4: Duality

“In this universe, and this existence, where we live with this duality of whether we exist or not and who are we, the stories we tell ourselves are the stories that define the potentialities of our existence. We are the stories we tell ourselves.”

— Shekhar Kapur