"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves." (Henry David Thoreau)
Today I returned home from a reunion; four of five old heads who once spent time together, in school, on a Philadelphia street corner and, fishing the nearby lakes and streams ... even in the bays and the ocean in South Jersey, or "Down the Shore" (as Philly folk refer to places like Atlantic City, Wildwood, etc.), spent time once again ... fifty years later! This morning, the four of us scattered once more. Hopefully there's another reunion or two left.
Some things are bittersweet. During our four-day gathering, I often remembered a line from Hemingway's Old Man in the Sea; "Why do old men wake so early ... is it because they want one longer day ... ?"
I also got some time alone ... walking off into the Pocono (PA.) Mountain woods that are still abundant and relatively wild. The sight of my friends caused me to wonder how, they were teenagers just "yesterday," and, old men today; and then, of course, I remembered ... I'm one of them.
For the record, I'll be sixty-eight this month ... lucky to have kept healthy, well-exercised, successful in life, and, having family and friends (including those on NT) around me. Some of the people we knew are gone ... gone to other places or ... gone altogether. Caring for people has a price ... that being the pain of losing them, and/or, the anguish of worrying about them when the forces of destiny are not kind. In either case, it is not difficult to become "lost." And, in that time when we are "away," when we become lost ... we hope for better times and, if we are fortunate, " ... we begin to understand ourselves."
Now that I am out-of-the-woods (literally speaking) and back home, I'll probably spend the more normal number of hours on my iPhone and MacBook (what other kind of book is there if not a Mac -book). The slideshow consists of older images ... I took zero pictures all week and barely posted any comments on-line.
Consider the subject matter as symbolic ... about "understanding," about "seeing the light" maybe.
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Consider the subject matter as symbolic ... about "understanding," about "seeing the light" maybe.
Hauntingly beautiful word for such beautiful andwinsomepicture. It brings to mind this song.
Well Happy Birthday A.M.!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time, those kinda things are more important the older we get. Made me think of this song as I have a few off-line buddies going through life changes. Weird how time goes.
Now,
Great pictures!
How do you get the reflections without the entire picture getting too bright? When I do that it gets way to bright.
Great song!
If you don't know which way you're facing and you don't know what time it is , how do you know if you're looking at a sunrise or a sunset ?
First, thank you, Larry.
Several ways to get a good exposure in contrasty scenes:
1) Shoot on a tripod, take the same shot at least three times ... once matrix metered, once center-weighted metered and once spot metered. This will result in different shutter speeds (shoot in aperture priority) one of which, hopefully, will be to your satisfaction.
2) Find a part of the scene that is neither excessively light or dark and use that to establish the aperture/shutter speed combination. Then, compose the shot and implement the strategy above.
Rich,
I assume you mean when looking at a photo of a sunrise or sunset. All things being equal and assuming a photo has not been edited in Photoshop, sunrises sometimes are biased towards the green end of the visible light spectrum.
Otherwise ... I can't give a better answer.
I guess you're saying that there is less red in a sunrise . But that might have to do with the clouds that happen at sunset ... maybe ....
Ok cool and thanks; I'm gonna try it this weekend...supposed to be sunny!
:~)
Ahhh....yeah
Good stuff
I have often found it completely bizarre that even if we are so lucky as to avoid accidents and other events that could cause physical harm and death,
we still die. It is so bizarre that we don't even know why we age, or die. We are beginning to understand how it occurs, but not why. Why do cells just stop replicating, replacing?
And on and on. Totally strange.
But, being ten years younger than you I really ain't considering 68 too old! Two of the guys I play golf with each weekend are 68, and they both KILL the ball.
It's not the number that generates reflection, it's all that went down in life on the way to the number and, how quickly in retrospect it seems to have happened without our noticing ...
The one day, we see an old friend who looks fifty years older since the last time we saw him.
And realize ... we do too.
And, we ARE too.
I know, but most consider the number indicative. And it is, buddy, it is. No matter how young we "think," we ain't. It is, physically, that simple.
Add to that brushes with shuffling off this mortal coil, and that crap really gets driven home!
How quickly the candle of life can be snuffed.
All the more reason to fish (or play golf).
Or BOTH!
Many times, my buddies (or one or two) will bring some poles,, and a couple of pistols with them when we go a certain course to play. After the round, we will shoot for an hour, then fish for about three!
I mean, what a day!
Good thing you and Mike couldn't get to this reunion ... you'd have enjoyed the company but not the weather. Next time hopefully.
Is there anything better than catching any damned fish on a light weight fly rod!
DAMN, that's fun. And hell, I've fished in every weather there is, and played golf in it as well. That's what they make Gore Tex for.
And I wish we had a Cabelas near us, just Bass Pro.
Is that a popper?
It's a "Mr. Twister."
After trying a number of nymphs, caddis and humpies ... I went to the twister and a longer leader. I let it sink for a few seconds then lifted the rod tip and let it sink again. The lake is clear enough to see when a fish circles a brightly-colored artificial (down to about 3-4'). I saw the Crappie (Calico Bass) do just that, repeated the lift/drop and ... the photo (taken on a cell phone) shows the result.
Right after the photo, I put the fish back in the lake ...
Crappie will bite surface as well, won't they? The (we call them bream down here, pronounced "brim") crappie down sure as hell will.
Though not many of them grow that big. And they taste GREAT, though a bit bony!
My younger, dead beat brother makes custom fly rods when he can bother enough to stir his lazy ass!
Don't tell him I said that, okay?
"Brim" or "Shellcrackers" are bluegills ... Crappies or Calico Bass are, in the south, pronounced CROPPIES. They're all Centrarchidae ... sunfish family as are large and smallmouth bass.
Crappies will hit surface lures. On summer evenings at the lake (I hope you will one day fish with me and one or two of the boys), I like to use bass poppers; on a good evening, I'll cast the popper, drag it three quick pulls, then let it sit until the ripples dissipate. At times, the smallmouth with hit it while it's still! BANG, then airborne!
We're off the record.
Thank God!
That's pretty much the way I fish them as well, hit the water, a quick pull or two, quiet, glass, then a drag or three, quiet, repeat.