Sunday, July 19, 2015

Oft in the Stilly Night

I would rewrite Thomas Moore’s line, “Oft in the stilly night ere slumber’s chain has bound me,” to “Oft in the stilly night when slumber’s chain eludes me…” With me it is not a ‘before’ situation. It can happen at any hour of darkness—or even well after sunrise if I have not escaped the confines of the sheets.

Last night my head spun with things I would like to write about. But I won’t. Yes, I again heard that collective sigh of relief. It has been a dry spell—usually what elicits head spinning. Alcy and I did attend a meetup with the Sugarland group at the Kemah Boardwalk which produced a few photographs of fireworks. As usual in my self-deprecating fashion I will tell you the truth--I did not intend to do the photographs out of focus. My eyesight leaves much to be desired and I was not aware that they were out of focus—or that I had not set the camera correctly until after the fact. However, I have for some time desired to do out of focus photographs. I had thought more of crowds of people rather than fireworks but I take what I am proportioned. I actually like the photographs because the lines are much stronger and after all that is what a photograph is—lines, form, shapes, color. It played well with the images in my estimation.

But something of significance happened yesterday, I was visited by an old friend that I have not seen the last few years, John Edinburg. John was briefly a member of NWHPC and although we didn’t hang together a great deal, John left a very strong and lasting impression. I have missed his company, his photography. And to have John and his wife drop by the studio very unexpectedly was a great pleasure. I very much get the impression when I am around John that we have very similar thoughts about photography. I discovered that they do not live as far away as I had imagined. Actually they are not far from where Alcy lives. So I very much hope to find time to once again photograph with John.

I frequently say that I have lived a very charmed life. I say charmed rather than blessed because I am not sure that I am in any way entitled to being as richly blessed as I have been and greatly afraid that if I mention it too frequently that someone will start checking records and I will be required to make amends for my over indulgence.

I am somewhat taken back by the timing. Clayton Gardinier just recently moved away and shortly afterwards the possibility of John joining Alcy and I on our photograph forays seems too well orchestrated to have been chance. Okay, maybe I place more emphasis on serendipity than I should but you do have to question such things.

Okay, the remaining four and one half hours of philosophical meanderings of the night I will leave to another time—which means in truth I will, like a dream, forget it all before the next sunset. Okay, your prayers of gratitude are duly recorded.















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