Transforming Transitions

This is a photo that I titled "Last Rites" because my initial look at this scene called those words to mind.  Simply stated, last rites is a ceremony performed at life's ending.  The purpose of last rites is to allow for reconciliation/forgiveness, provide comfort and reassurance to the dying and loved ones, and to affirm the promise of life after death. The scene originally caught my eye because this old factory had been standing unused and forgotten for years, but was unexpectedly taken down within a matter of days immediately before Christmas.

My first glance at the site was on a foggy Friday morning as I was driving to meet friends for coffee.  The fog gave a mysterious mood to the scene and the telephone poles immediately suggested crosses. I returned the following morning to photograph the demolition site and was happy that fog was present once again.  I took photos from several perspectives, including through a chain-link fence surrounding the site.  I took this photo holding the camera above my head using the articulated viewing screen to compose the photo. 

Intially, my mind saw this as a black and white photo, but as I continued to work with it I decided that a muted warm color would better fit the mood, message and accentuate the telephone poles. To enhance the moody effect of the image, I applied a screen door texture and used two separate vignettes to draw the viewer's eyes to the lighter parts of the photo containing the imagery of the crosses. Obviously, my manipulation  of this scene was to emphasize the concept of transition/ re-newal as opposed to a documentation the site's current state.  To me, photos are viewed first with the eye but they are edited with the heart and mind.  

My research about this demolition did not reveal any detailed plans for future use of this site. Like a person edging  closer to death, what remains of this former 1950s factory are its component parts lying about in functional disarray, but to me, the telephone poles/crosses suggest a state of transition connecting the former with the future.

The Sounds of Christmas

Christmas is the celebration that I most associate with sounds.  July 4th is a visual show spilling the neon colors of fireworks across the night sky. Thanksgiving provides a full day filled with the smell of turkey roasting, oven roast buns warming to a golden brown color, and pumpkin and pecan pies seeping their sweet aroma thoughout the house.  However, what I think about at Christmas is its sounds ranging from the silence after a freshly fallen snow to the sounds of children singing, or a Christmas concert performed by a symphony or chorale.  You can't escape the sound of Christmas music on the car radio, in the stores, clinics, and throughout our favorite Christmas movies.

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a range of sounds of this season from my attendance at children's school performances,  to the Peter Mayer Christmas concert at a local high school, and culminating with the Rockford Symphony and chorale performance staged within a large, historic, downtown theater.  

My photo this week was taken with my cell phone during the Peter Mayer concert at a local high school.  What I liked about the photo was that it was an unintentional display of the music occurring at that moment.  If I had my camera, I would have been able set a shutter speed fast enough to capture the drum sticks tapping the cymbals.  The photos washed colors added mystery to these ghost like shapes that were being projected on the the adjacent walls away from the main performance occurring at center stage. 

The power of holiday music and sounds remains a mystery to me. I long to hold on to them for just a bit longer, just like those ghost like shapes dancing across the wall.

Merry Christmas All!

 

Winter's Dramatic Entrance

Our winter season began this past weekend with a snowstorm bringing ten inches of snow and elevating the stores' Christmas sales projections and bringing excitement for snowmobile fans and kids who see enormous delight in a blanket of fresh new snow. I enjoy a beautiful new snow as a photographer and as a Midwestern guy. However, I am also a realist, and I know snow will make me long for the return of spring color and seed catalogs inb about ten days. 

I created this photograph a day after the snowstorm when the temperatures plunged to -5. This charcoal like sketch scene depicts the reality of upper Midwestern winter with its void of color and starkness in the landscape. I like the way that the gray overcast winter days make the sky and horizon become one. The telephone poles in the photo remind me of how important connections are for enduring the winter season. My distance from the scene serves to set the tone for the solitude that winter brings. 

The three buildings in the photo captured my attention because the Quonset hut seems nearly besieged by the snow, as the gusting winds blew snow over its sides, nearly covering the top in some places. The farmhouse seems to stand as a fortress resisting the snow and chilling winter winds. My favorite is the barn in the background. It adds some color to a scene where whites and metallic surfaces predominate. I confess to adding just a touch of red to the barn. My motivation was to recognize its role on the farm, suggesting a return to thoughts of plowing, planting, and harvest returning again. For that reason, I added just a touch of red to it, as if this small act of resistance would speed the return of spring.

"Those who sing through the summer must learn to dance in the winter."

Italian Proverb