Society For Photo Education National Conference – Dallas

Painting is a state of being…painting is self discovery.  Every good artist paints what he is. Jackson Pollock

I believe this goes for photography and writing as well.  Here are some photographs taken during my first day in Dallas.  It is so incredibly refreshing to be able to forget about the demands of my jobs and just look at art and make some pictures.  It’s not so much about how good the images are as it is immersing myself into the act (creative process) of taking them even if they are captured with a point and shoot digital camera.  We spend the entire day in Museums and Galleries in addition to just photographing around the city. More to come later.  I just love this photo I took of the Nuns looking at the painting of the Nun.  Talk about luck!

Two Nuns Looking at a Painting of a Nun – Dallas Museum of Art

People Walking Up a Pole – Dallas Sculpture Garden

Dallas Sculpture Museum – Video Installation

Cathy Crowell Photographing King Tut Statue

Bed with Newspaper - Hotel Room

This is a shot I took on the bus leaving the Museum in Ft. Worth.  I find photography really FUN in addition to it being a great way to express one self and explore the world around us.  Ok…got to get to the first workshop. More later! cheers!

Headless Statues with Church in Background

Heading to Dallas and Planning for Ireland…..

Wheew! This semester has been insanely busy with all my traditional photography courses and freelance online art courses in addition to trying to stay on top of my various Distance Learning initiatives.  I’m excited about getting a little “much needed” break this week.  Leaving for the Society for Photographic Education conference in Dallas (SPE) in about an hour.  It’s going to be great to see some old colleagues, great photography and attend some workshops and presentations.

I’m also planning a 10 Day excursion through Ireland with my daughter Andei. I can’t truly articulate how excited i am to be going back to Ireland and bringing my daughter with me.  We plan of doing a great deal of photographing in addition to just soaking up the Irish culture and hospitality.

I’m  realizing I’ve taken on too many jobs (commitments) this semester and plan to take a serious break this summer. I have not been able to do much serious writing or photography due to the constant demands of the online classes in addition to retooling two online teacher training courses for the Virtual Learning Center.  It’s time  to step back and start enjoying life a little more instead of working so darn much. I’m well aware how blessed I am to have work in these difficult economic times.

I’m tempted to go into a tirade here about what is going on in Washington BUT…I’ll save that for another post. Right now I have to finish packing for my Dallas trip and get to the airport.

cheers! Off to Dallas and SPE!

Letter From Adam in El Salvador

The following is a letter with a couple of photos I just received from my son Adam who is serving in the Peace Corp in El Salvador.  Sounds like he is experiencing a very different life and culture than here in the states. What a fantastic opportunity for a young person – to be able to live, work and make a difference helping others in another part of the world.

“Things have been going good here, the other day I climbed a volcano ( 6500 ft of goat trails, kicked my ass), and today I finally got back at the rooster for constantly waking my up by killing his girlfriend and making soup out of her. This is what the Peace Corps is all about.No just kidding. I’ve also done some teaching at one of the local schools (taught English, and the kids thought it was pretty funny when I didn’t know what a preposition was). I’ve also been working with the local health promoter to get infants in the outside villages vaccinated against common illnesses, and doing talks with pregnant women to make sure they are aware of their dietary needs during pregnancy ( I saw a pregnant women walk up a goat trail from the river, that made me sweat,  with a tub full of dishes and and laundry on her head. pretty impressive to say the least). I’m really excited to finish up training and get out to my site and start working on my own projects. I’ve got a free weekend coming up and I’m headed to the beach to try to get some right point breaks. I’ll send some pics of that later, but for now enjoy these pics of a dead bird (if u zoom in on the bird hanging by its feet u can see blood dripping from were I slit its neck, pretty nar).

Adam

The poor chicken

Rest, Rejuvenation and Food for thought…

It’s spring break at my college so I have a few “very much needed” days off.  I still have the demands of my online classes, but at least I can teach those from anywhere thanks to wireless and my trusty MacBook Pro.

My step-son Cody and I are relaxing here at Myrtal Beach in a time share condo his Dad let us use. I’m only staying until tomorrow – must get back to Mojo (Andei’s Dog) – Cody is staying until Sunday and hopefully his Uncle Greg will visit from Wilmington and take him home Sunday, since he doesn’t have a car.

I was walking on the beach in a very contemplative mood this morning and saw this old guy feeding the seagulls. Luckily I had my camera with me.  The scene that unfolded as I walked by him was very symbolic and gave me pause to stop and think.

He was incredibly gentle with those birds as he fed them.  It was a very zen like moment. They swarmed around him trying to get a piece of bread and literally landed on his shoulders and hands.  It struck me as metaphorical for so many things going in life  He could have been a symbolic Christ (in my minds eye) feeding the poor and hungry or representative of our newly elected socialistic (leaning) leaders in these troubled economic times wanting to take care of all our needs. At least that’s  what they tell us in their talking points constantly reinforced by the media.. Sure.. in theory this could be a good thing, however socialism can also cause  American’s (and people in general) to lose the desire and will to be self sufficient just like those birds trying to get a crumb of the old guys bread.  It’s absolutely antithetic to everything this country has stood for since the American Revolution.

So I’m just going to relax these next few days and try not to let the troubles of the world OR my own personal anxieties get to me.  Sometimes you just have to let all the worries go and rejuvenate your mind, heart and spirit.

I have to constantly  remind myself that I’m not in control as much as I would like to be.  God is and that in itself is comforting to me.

Still ALIVE and Kicking!

This crazy “old” Irishman ran his second 1/2 Marathon (Crystal Coast 1/2 marathon) here in Morehead City yesterday in the pouring rain. It rained during last years race as well, but at least the wind was not as bad. I was not nearly as prepared for this race as I was last year, however I sucked it up and somehow slogged  to the finish line just 3 minutes over my last years time of 2 hours 3 minutes for 13 + miles. I must admit I’m still hurting and moving slow.

It might sound crazy, but finishing the race with a respectable time makes me feel ALIVE. Here are some photos from the race. I ran with my friends Susan and Laurie, however I couldn’t keep up with their pace. I was real proud of them both for finishing in under 2 hours.

Still wearing a smile after 12 miles

Laurie (green) Susan (Blue Jacket) pushing towards finish line

Laurie and Susan Going over the Bridge

Made it! (10 Minute Miles!)

After the Race - Wet, Tired and Cold (Myself, Laurie, Tim and Susan)