August 6, 2016

August 6, 2016

All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see images full screen click on any photo.

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"If this quaking earth did not need mountains,

would God have not created them

in all their majesty?"

                                          Rumi

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       It has been a busy month, far too full to elaborate on. Just to say that many good things have happened, blessings all. 

   The first eleven images are of mountains taken on our trip to the Southwest in June of this year. We were so enraptured by the magnificent landscapes  that plans for another trip West into the grandeur of the region is in the works. Hopefully next year will return us to the wondrous creations of God's hands, put in place for our enjoyment. 

    The last image is an abstract taken at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville Maine.

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The road leading to Creation's works,

is twofold, one to use for physical access,

the other for the spiritual entryway of the heart. 

The heart sees differently than our outer eyes,

it is far more perceptive of the presence of the Spirit.

The road comes as if in a dream.

Its direction is always true,

a path to set our internal compass on.

Why do the mountains always point upward?

It is because they know both the path to heaven,

and paradoxically the road to our heart.

Follow one and you will find the other. 

"Like a city on a hill ...."

The mountains are most knowledgeable in this arena. 

Paying homage to Ansel Adams,

and his photographs of mountains.

(This is Zion National Park in Utah taken in May of this year.)

Life will grow anywhere it can find a foothold,

as does the messages of the Spirit that find a home in our heart.

(This image in not crooked.

The tree on the upper right grew that way.)

Nature sometimes decides to paint a different image

that we might expect to see - Her prerogative. 

In a half-dream I saw Spring appear

offering only a glimpse of what was to come

on the canvas Nature paints on. 

Like trees planted in places of God's choosing,

we too, grow whether the conditions are perfect or not.

Even if the seed that became you or me,

in set for its life in arid landscapes,

we will grow well according to our needs.

Many monks built their monasteries in the desert,

as they listened to the directions set forth

to direct their lives in places

 where spiritual growth would have the best chance to flourish.

When placed in front of the awesomeness of Creation,

there, is opportunity for growth. 

Did you know that in the dark of night

all trees and rocks dance in gratitude 

for the life they were given?

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All great art in inspired by a personal muse

who first reveals the image at hand,

along with a strong desire to create beauty.

We are talking here of the muse that lives within us,

urging our hands to pick up a brush, a camera,

any tool needed to bring what is longing there into existence.

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Some humor:

   Peace,

                   Bill Lagerstrom

July 5, 2016

July 5, 2016

All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see images full screen click on any photo.

    May 22, at Zion National Park in southern Utah. Images were taken on our first day there as we took the shuttle bus, which is the only way to access the Northern section that is closed to vehicular traffic. One can get off the busses at any point and explore from that point. The road takes in about 21 miles of the Park and can be extremely crowded if you arrive later in the day. We found the best times for visiting the parks we went to was early in the mornings and later in the afternoons when the dinner bell rang for a lot of people. Sunset for this time of year was around 8 PM. Even though we were early in the current travel season crowds appeared with regularity.

    Find a trail and go a few hundred feet and basically you are free of the crowds. Even at the lookouts, find a spot at the railings and ignore the people taking pictures of themselves and you are alone with the magnificence of the land, able to enter into its grandeur. Stay as long as you wish as views are available without interruption as no one is able to walk in front unless they want to die in a tremendous fall. 

    For the most part we saw enough to say a return trip is necessary to implant the scenes seen permanently in memory. Yet as I work on these images I am brought right back to the moments I experienced the all enveloping magnificence of the land. We stayed two to three days in a given location with one exception which also happened to be the one which was less than the "Wow! O my God!" spot in the month of traveling. This trip was planned in heaven - we could have not been that lucky without Divine help. 

     Here is the map of Zion National Park:

                     https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/maps.htm

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This stream is named "The Virgin River."

As the land rose over the millennia this river carved 

all the formations seen. 

The power of water and erosion ....

O our Mother Earth, blessed is your name.

Blessed are your streams and lakes and rivers ......

Blessed are your mountains and your deserts

where we wander in order to find our place in life.

We were in time for Spring in the high desert

as flowers and flowering cacti were everywhere

along with new yellow-green leaves on the trees by streams,

and wherever a seed could gain foothold on the steep slopes.

Life grows in the least expected places,

in cracks on mountain sides ....

any place where life can hold on. 

The Temple of Sinawava

Zion National Park.

Lee at the Temple of Sinawava.

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     Last Saturday we visited the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Rockland Maine. Worth a visit as the exhibits are whimsical and full of life. Rockland has turned into something of a center for art as the Farnsworth Museum and lots of galleries offer a fine day trip. If you go perhaps start at the Colby College Museum of art in Waterville, which besides having a fine collection and wonderful exhibits, is only an hour away from Rockland. The Colby museum is now the largest in the State with over 400 objects on display at any time. Or make these destinations over two days, or two weekends/weekdays as time permits. 

    The following images are something of my interpretation of the Borofsky show at the Rockland museum, without comment.

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  Some Humor for these days of political reporting by the media:

   Peace until next post,

                         Bill Lagerstrom

June 22, 2016

June 22, 2016


All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see images full screen click on any photo.

    Lee and I spent the last month in the Southwest, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona traveling to the National Parks there along with State Parks that were as remarkable as the big names but not as crowded. It was a remarkable four weeks where the average temperature was 90-95, and we rarely got below 7,000 feet in elevation. This is the "High Desert" which is the Colorado Plateau covering not one state but four which is something the original boundary markers did not know. 

    Since so many photos were taken I will be careful not to bore everyone and to offer a diversity of images along with a sprinkling of a few more creative offerings as it is my inner motion to make not only crisp photographs but some that are somewhat artistic in nature. 

   We started in Las Vegas where Lee had some family things to take care of. We left Vegas and headed to Zion National Park as our first stop, along with a ton of early visitors. We learned that just because the signs said "Parking Lots Full" there was always someone leaving so spaces were not a problem here of anywhere we went afterwards. 

   Words are not a good expression of the experience of looking up at massive rock formations or down into the many canyons along the way. Mostly communication came down to, "Wow!" - "Mother of God!" - "Holy Cow!" - etc, etc,. Small talk to be sure. 

    Before we left Vegas we went to a Mass at a church Lee's uncle facilitated  at during his many years in residence there. The Psalm response as I remembered it was, "Lord, let us see your face upon the earth." Every place we went for the next four weeks echoed these words. 

   So, here are a few images of Vegas, and several on the way to Zion:

As shot. Signs and billboards are everywhere,

some have evident meaning, some not.

The fountain in front of the Bellagio Hotel.

Art is everywhere as seen by all who look carefully.

A remarkable glass installation hanging from the ceiling

in the lobby of the Bellagio.

The sun sets where it will

caring not if it is seen on the ocean, land, or in a city. 

Beauty can be found almost anywhere.

(Taken from our room on the 27th. floor of our hotel.)

The entrance canopy to a hotel on the Vegas Strip.

Architecture has its own artistic values.

Seven A.M. over coffee, the lonely machines

were waiting for people to come and sit,

to offer their tribute to the gods of slots.

Lights, and the sounds of hope for a win drive the lure

of fortunes to be made - bright carrots on sticks just out of reach,

but the seats are comfortable.

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Red Rock Canyon, 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas.

The desert journey begins with an image of Vegas in the foreground,

and the reason for traveling offering a glowing welcome. 

This is Spring in the High Desert,

Bright green new life frames the many layers of mesas and buttes,

and the cactus came into bloom everywhere.

                                      

The landscape is huge and hard to take in as it dominates everything.

The lower left shows a car on the road to give an idea of scale.

We live in a world so full of countless wonders.

The only way to know them is to get out and experience,

mesas, mountains, flowers, and even a blade of grass;

all will reveal to us the awesome creative nature of God.

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Here is a scene repeated everywhere we went.

Taking a picture of a woman taking her own picture.

Selfie sticks were also everywhere.

When traveling, first give the landscape a chance to be seen

and known not only in memory, but to be imprinted in our heart.

The photo taken here only says someone stopped for a few moments,

it is not proof that one was truly there and present. 

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Some Humor:

Peace until next post,

             Bill Lagerstrom