Dream Tomorrow, Live Today, Cherish Yesterday

2012 - A Sign

Leica M9, 50mm F/2, f/8, 1/3000, iso 160

New Years day 2012. 2011 was a blockbuster year for me, and I have shared many high moments here and on Facebook. Our move to Washington State, our kids doing well in college, some great photo trips, old friends and new ones too, acquisition of a dream camera system. Life is good. Great in fact.

However, something really despicable happened within my extended family. Without going into details, it seems this issue is having a bigger effect than is healthy for me. So my goal for 2012 is to move past this.

So I chose this image for today very specifically. Today I will print this image and put it on my wall in my office where I spend the daytime hours.  It represents a sign that all is well and I'm capable of resuming my normally happy existence.

Photographically, my resolution this year is (once again) to slow down while shooting, and focus on getting the highest possible quality images I am capable of. As my friend Dan Sniffin told me (and I'm still trying to learn): "Don't get every shot Bob, get the shot."

My best to all of you in the coming New Year!

 

Precious

Canon 5D Mark II, 70-300mm, f/7.1, 1/800, iso 200

I love scenes like this. They always take me back to when my kids were this age. Doesn't it seem like life always gets more complicated? As an adult it would be hard to experience the singular joy this girl feels at this moment. I am making an effort to "live in the moment" these days, depending upon what I'm doing. But it is work for me, and I wish just once in a while I had the luxury of a child like experience. Thanks, precious little one, for reminding us of a simple pleasure.

New Month, New Life

Panasonic GH2, 14-140mm, f/5.8, 1/250, iso 160

I'll bet that title has you intrigued?

Today starts the next phase of our lives, for my wife and me. We are officially empty nesters. Some years ago when we thought forward to this day, we dreamed of being able to move to a home somewhere on the water.  We had several places we liked quite a bit. We began visiting them more often.

I also began working toward a goal of being able to continue doing my day job, but remotely. Due to my fantastic co-workers, this looked like a real possibility.

When we began seriously considering buying another home, we realized we would have to sell our current home in order to pull that off. So we sold our home in September 2010, and were fortunate to be able to rent it back.

If you are a frequent reader of the blog, you know I have done numerous posts about the California Central Coast (San Luis Obispo area). That was our first choice. But we just never found anything that really worked. In January we decided to explore destination #2, Bainbridge Island, WA (a suburb of Seattle). We made several trips there and eventually found and bought what we think is the perfect home.

We left California on Tuesday, and will arrive at our new house this afternoon. The picture above is the view from our deck (taken on our last trip). We have our home on the water. The image in this post is from our own beach!

We are very excited about a new and fresh start. No doubt there are going to be a lot more pictures from the PNW (Pacific Northwest) on my blog from now on. It's a photgraphically rich area and that's a good thing for me. The blog has been pre-loaded with posts so that a new one will still appear every day even though we are in the moving process.

I'll be posting live again during the second week of June. From my new life!

Honoring Memorial Day

Canon 1D Mark III, 70-200mm F/4, f/4, 1/200, iso 320

Count me as one very lucky American who has counted on those that serve in the military to protect our freedom. These are a special breed of people that will lay down their own life if necessary for the promise of America. You have my admiration and thanks.

I took this shot back in 2009 in Norfolk, VA. Was with my great friend Cliff on board his boat Oasis, and we did quite a bit of exploring of the shipyards. Have always thought this was quite a nice image.

Congrats to 2011 Graduates

There is my son Nick, graduating high school. He sure got mom's good looks, right?

This was a great ceremony, with nearly all the speakers doing a fantastic job. My favorite was Mrs Daniels, a teacher voted by the students to be the representative staff speaker. Several years ago she developed an "inoperable brain mass" and was told she had a few months to live. Well, things didn't quite work out that way, fortunately.

She gave an impassioned and relevant speech about living life. Last week I watched the last Oprah show. I thought it was quite good, and that she really did sum up what she has learned about people over the 25 years. But Mrs. Daniels was even better. Just her, her experiences and thoughts. She was talking to the students, but I felt every parent ought to be listening as well. We have less time left.  I'm hoping her speech ends up on youtube. If it does I'll post a link here.

Afterward we got to see Nick with some of the kids he played soccer with back when he was 6 years old. It was like completing a circle, and it really felt good. Now it is time for him to move on. And so it is with me and my wife, which you'll hear more about shortly.

I saw and talked to a lot of wonderful young adults yesterday, from this community. 90% of the 500 or so grads are going to college.

I offer my congrats to everyone graduating this year. Junior High, High School, College. Cheers to your hard work. And good luck with what is next for you - make a difference.   (And to you parents that put your kids there as well!)

Fun Friday - I'm On Her Wall!

For me, one of the most gratifying feelings in my photography is knowing that a print of mine is hanging on someone's wall. On the right side of my blog you see the "Yes, any image can be yours!" phrase, but sadly not too many people have taken me up on this offer.

But Gloria did! She and her husband are from the Sacramento area, saw this post and wanted their own Bob Towery hanging on the wall. And just look at that framing work? Isn't it amazing? I just love it.

Thanks Gloria. And to the rest of you, remember I'm not that famous yet, so prints are pretty reasonable...

Walking

I walk the beach alone

Knowing each time it could be my last

I feel the warmth and power of life

Reaching into my being from the sand beneath me

Should today be my last

I am loved

I am complete

I am free

Wordless Wednesday - a few words for The Cheerleader

Well I am sorta without words. It's unusual for me to be wide awake at 4 am, working on my computer. But I am, and just got a text that The Cheerleader has passed on to the other side. I don't get into the personal stuff too much here on the blog, but if you visit here a lot you know he was pretty much the most important male figure in my life.

Thank you again, Uncle, for all you have done for me and our entire family. I hope some of you readers could have a person in your life this important.

This is him with his most favorite airplane, a Marchetti. It was his favorite because he could fly it upside down. Of course!

 

Fun Friday - Signs of these Times

A good friend of mine sent me this yesterday, as a joke, saying "someone sent this to me, but obviously it's for you..."  And he didn't realize that today is my birthday.  So it was that much more cruel, or funny, depending upon how you look at it. It's FUN FRIDAY, I'm taking it in a fun way.

But what is weird is that it's so true. I'll explain.  I have always been a pretty sharp person. I read a lot, I retain a lot of facts. In my work, I meet an extraordinarily large number of people and have been able to remember them all. I have a huge amount of software functionality committed to memory.  Can still speak some of another language in which I was once fluent.

So it's a real shock when the ol brain begins letting you down. Like the other day. My wife was off with some friends for the day. I noticed her outdoor water fountain needed to be filled. I thought I'd be nice and do that. Head into the back yard, stick the hose in. But I can't just stand there for eight minutes or whatever.  "What else can I do out here. Ah! Brush the pool."  So I proceeded to brush the swimming pool, and I did a righteous job of it.  Satisfied with myself, I went back into the house and resumed other chores (or playing in the internet, I dunno).

Later that evening she said "Bob, did you fill my fountain for me?"  "Why yes, dear," I responded, expecting that "good husband pat on the head." "And, ummm, did you turn the water off?"

Yikes!

Now past fifty, sadly today another full year past, I'm resigned to leaving myself more notes as time goes on! If I can find them.

Happy birthday to some actresses I like that I share the day with: Jodie Foster (one of my faves), Meg Ryan (who doesn't love her?), and Terry Farrell (not as well known but a major Star Trek hottie).  I have just learned that I also share a birthday with Louise Dahl-Wolfe, born in 1895, an early American photographer. Her work is maintained at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona.  Road trip anyone?

At least my blog is only one year old! Second birthday coming up in late January.

Thanks for your visit today, make today a good one for me, will you?  Feel free to share your own "memory moment" if you can!

Of Photographic Workshops & Tours

Palouse Sunset - from Steptoe Butte - my THIRD frame of the tour!

Before I begin a series on my Palouse shots, I thought I'd spend one day's post describing what it was like to join a Photo Tour led by a couple of pro's. 

This was the fourth workshop I have signed up for. Two were one day affairs, and two others multi-day, like this one (four full days, plus an evening and morning).  Two of my previous ones were complete busts, a waste of time and money.  So I was a bit jaded.  But having developed an on-line friendship with fellow blogger John Barclay, I had high hopes for this one.

And as you will find out below, and in upcoming posts, my expectations were exceeded by quite a wide margin. 

We had a designated hotel in Colfax, WA, the center of the Palouse area (Wheatland Inn, which I highly recommend, here's a link to it on Trip Advisor.)  The first thing we did was gather in their comfy conference room for introductions, a preview of the week, the do's and don'ts, and a couple of slide shows (yes, John brings a nice digital projector). One show were pictures he and his Tour partner Dan Sniffin had taken in the Palouse, to get is revved up.

The other show was 10 images that each participant had brought, so we could see the kind of work we all had been doing. I was really blown away, there was not a bad image in the bunch. This is a very talented group of people. And it emerged that I was the only newbie. Everyone else had participated with these tour leaders before.  When I introduced myself several people commented that they were readers of this blog, which was encouraging.

After this promising meeting, we were off to our evening shoot. Which was quite productive, including the above image which no joke is the third frame I took. Upon arriving John admonished those of us shooting telephotos to use mirror lockup and cable releases. I had to admit I had never used mirror lockup.  Well, I will in the future as I believe you really can see the difference.  First thing I learned on this tour!

So click on the continue link for a bunch more images and a "tour of the tour!"