SOUNDINGS
My Relationship with Light
On a warm, late October afternoon along the coast of northern Spain, I pulled out my camera and tripod, walked out of my hotel room and down to the beach. It had been quite a while since I dedicated time to take images, and as I walked into the warm, waning light, my senses came alive. The smell of the salt water seemed heavier, the crunch of my footsteps just a little louder, and the light was even more beautiful. It was then that I realized that I have developed a relationship with light in my many years now as a photographer. It felt like I was seeing an old friend again. In my busy time of running a photography and videography business, and in marketing my book, I had spent little time recently shooting in the golden hour.
Snapping my tripod into place, I set up for the first shot, and then the second and third. I spent a couple hours walking slowly, shifting perspectives, shooting and reshooting images, all the time instinctively absorbing the changing light. It was spiritual. It was magnificent. I have always loved late afternoon, perhaps because I was born about an hour before sunset on a cold winter’s day. This is my preferred time of day to shoot. I don’t particularly like the golden hour of the morning, and it is for a variety of reasons. But chief among those reasons is the feeling that as the time goes by, I am losing light rather than gaining it. Late in the day, the light just seems to get better and better, and even after sunset, wonderful pinks and oranges and blue colors paint the sky. And then there is blue night, or nautical twilight, that magic 40 minutes or so before black envelopes the sky.
So, as the light dimmed, I covered my camera, folded my tripod and paused to breathe the cool evening air. And I promised myself that I would come back soon to visit my old friend again.
A Moment of Reflection
There are times when you doubt tomorrows will ever be as good as the yesterdays. I suppose that is when you learn to hold onto "today." This has been a period of loss for us: we have lost so many of those we love deeply. And even todays feel empty.
Quotes from Johnny Clegg
The anthropologist and musical genius Johnny Clegg who mixed maskandi and western instruments with Zulu and English lyrics and traditional Zulu dance wrote a wonderful autobiography "Scatterling of Africa" which was published after his death in 2019. There are many passages I could quote, but here are a couple that stood out to me:
"All languages have their own unique way of describing the world, with its multiple flavours and nuances, darkness and light. Learning a new language can be a kind of rebirth, adding to what we know in our home language. I believe the more languages we speak the more layered and enriched our identities become."
"The only insight you find on top of a mountain is the insight your brought up with you. It was always there, silent and waiting for you to look inward. The climb is rough and it tears away each layer of the self until only raw, unmediated willpower is left. And when you reach the summit, the self eroded in the physical exertion, you look out across the world and suddenly an insight bursts into your mind.... Mountains don't carry wisdom. They only help you see your own truth by unraveling your defences."
Memorial Day Quote
May 30, 1868 marked the first Memorial Day. A quote from President James Garfield at Arlington National Cemetery on that date:
“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”
Frederick the Great
From the recently-published book, "The Recruiter" by career CIA case manager Douglas London:
“And Frederick the Great’s caution, to defend everything means to defend nothing…. Of course [he] didn’t have to worry about social media and constant opinion polls. This worry accounts perhaps for why, when it comes to fighting terrorism, our leaders choose to defend everything, albeit at significant costs, both materially and to our American way of life.”