All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.
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The photos on today's post were taken last weekend at two museums, The Maine Maritime Museum in the town of Bath, and the Museum of Art at Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine. I have a rather long, for me, discourse on where my spiritual aproach to photography is taking me lately. I have put it at the end of this post so not to claim all the space here at the beginning.
So, on to the pictures ..........
A few trees looking at the cranes of the Bath Shipyards. Perhaps they are hoping that one of the cranes might pull Spring out of them. We have more snow on the way the next two days and many I am sure are fighting cabin fever here in Maine.
If you have lost direction, here is the solution - go this way.
The Gate to the World of Modern Art
"Abandon all ______ ye who enter here."
(Please add the words that are appropriate for you. For me that is to release 'closed mind thinking, grasping on to old platitudes, pre-conceived notions and judgements.' This does not mean that I abandon my likes and dislikes, just that I take a wait and see attitude. There are many times when I am surprised and moved by what presents itself. )
The Gatekeeper to the World of Modern Art
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Perhaps we all lose our heads now and again.
An ancient lesson.
A masthead figure at the Maritime Museum.
Replacing the half-naked woman traditionally on the bow seemed to be the prerogative of this ship owner. Enough to scare away the porpoises away.
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Tattered and torn but still standing.
(Feel free to add you own political comment if so moved.)
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Art in the restroom. I was told to take my camera everywhere.
There is beauty to be found in things most ordinary.
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God hides from our sight,
And from God all Light radiates;
My beacon is the Hidden One,
Whose works are visible to any
who choose to see.
The wonder of photography is that it can be a means to putting what I see into a form that approximates the scene that was presented to me while matching how it was illuminated by God's Light. This happens more than occasionally lately, and the proof of it that I accept is, that when I look at my screen while working on an image I say to the photo, "Enough. Save." At that moment I am close to having the experience of being present to the second I released the shutter, and I am now seeing what I saw at that moment translating itself to the photograph on the screen. A convoluted sentance but I don't know how to say it clearly other than, when I take a photo I see the end result as a print. When the print matches the vision of itself I had while shooting it becomes an affirming spiritual moment.
How? Well you may ask. It's the paradox of being both simple and complex at the same time. Stopping, seeing with both sets of eyes - head and heart - seems to be the simple part for me, then the complex part, technique, technique, techinque, along with seeing through memory the original experience of being there where the shutter was released, then more technique. Both are critical in this new world of digital photography where the requirement for creativity is the steep learning curve necessary for using the massive software that Photoshop has become. How to mannage the marriage of eye and computer is both the challenge and the reward.
The final image flows from heart to hand, from inner sight to utilizing the tools that offer a satisfying result. This is also the spiritual journey for me as well, the Spirit offers an insight and I utilize all the tools I gained over the years to "see" what is presented before I attempt to give it away.
What I am trying to say is that photography is becoming more and more a part of the spiritual classroom that life is about if I am to grow into what is God's intention for my life. The learning process is never over for me. I cannot be complacent about the exciting things that are in this marvelous world where God's beauty unfolds everywhere, and now it grows especially in this heart that wants more of the wondrous Gifts that are given by the One who loves us that much.
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Some humor:
Peace until next week,
Bill Lagerstrom
