3 in 1

Part one: New Year's Day

Part two: Sach's Covered Bridge

Part three: Gettysburg National Cemetery

Part four: Forever Here Now

I'm combining three different themes into this last post: self portraits, photographing the photographer, and misc/nature shots.

I realize in looking at these after the fact that my shadow resembles a fire hydrant more than anything else. Lovely.

I'm always curious to see how other photographers work, and then to see the images they get...

Hey, Adam! Surprise...

And, that's all, folks...

It was a wonderful morning; a great way to start the new year. I can't wait to see the images that Adam got...

Forever Here Now

Part one of this series: New Year's Day 

Part two: Sach's Covered Bridge

Part three: Gettysburg National Cemetery

Forever Here Now

there are so many

monuments to fallen men

markers of the dead

groups from near and far

they left their homes and families

to fight for ideals

they killed and were killed

on these rocks and in these fields

the tens of thousands

we erected stones

hunks of granite and marble

stood against the sky

they stand as markers

so many they make us numb

and lose all meaning

troops and generals

fallen from so many states

remembered in stone

sentries that don't see

the ghosts that gather around

forever here now

Often it's the simple things that have the greatest impact. This is a grave stone inside the National Cemetery. The elaborate monuments of generals and angels and the exquisite architecture of the bigger memorials didn't have the impact on me as this small, simple stone. Two words and a number. 

Gettysburg National Cemetery

This is the third post in a series from the trip I took to Gettysburg with my friend, Adam, on New Year's Day.  The prologue and my favorite picture of that first sunrise of a new year is here. Pictures of Sach's Covered Bridge and the water it spans are here.

This was my first time to the Gettysburg National Cemetery. It surprised me to realize how many times I had driven by the cemetery itself and not gone in. There is still more to the cemetery that I haven't explored; just one more reason for my next return trip...

Markers like this one dot the landscape. They are so common, that if you live here you seldom stop to read what they have to say. It's such a simple marker...

It really bothered me that a sign like this is necessary here. This has a lot to do with why I try to pick times when the area isn't overrun by tourists.

The Gettysburg Address. A brilliant example of less is more when it comes to writing and word count. It is extremely brief and yet delivers so much in meaning and emotion.

This was the first time I had been here close to the holidays. I hadn't realized that  these beautiful, simple wreaths would be here. The bright colors just accentuate the sadness and the beauty of this place for me.

This sign really struck me. In part, because it is right next to these little markers that just have numbers on them. When I asked Adam what he thought the numbers were for he said, "Unknown soldiers". Which I suppose I should have been able to guess.  So, I had to walk to the end of the numbers...

979. Unknown.

Amidst all the sadness of this place, nature reminds me that there is also always life.

A female Hairy Woodpecker tapping away in search of a snack.

Sach's Covered Bridge

You can read the prologue to my New Year's Day photo shoot here.

The first place we stopped was Sach's Covered Bridge.  

While I enjoy taking photos for their artistic merit, I also love documenting a place so that others can get a sense of the history as well; a sense of the place as a whole.

So basically, this is a beautiful place; just not a fun place.

I love that it was a conversation with Max that prompted me to make this trip to Gettysburg and that I saw this inside the bridge. Made me smile.

New Year's Day

I'm having a really hard time finding words for this...

I've written about my feelings for Gettysburg. 

I need to write more about choices. About being deliberate. About understanding myself. About making choices that support my artistic endeavors. About getting off my ass, fighting inertia, and doing things that are good for me.

What does all of this have to do with anything? 

Max drove me to work on Friday. Because he was driving, I was free to notice the little bit of fog. The fog reminded me of Gettysburg and I realized it had been a while since I had been there. I mentioned that maybe this weekend would be a good time to drive down since the younger boys would be with their dad. This thought/comment was then filed in the back of my brain.

I met a friend, Adam, for lunch on Saturday. We were talking about photography and art and creativity. As I started to mention Gettysburg that comment I had made to Max popped to the surface...

I started to dismiss it and Adam asked if I wanted to go to Gettysburg. I started to dismiss the idea again when I realized tomorrow would be New Year's Day.  Then it hit me. The new year. Sunrise. The beginning of a beginning. And somehow in that moment it became important for me in a symbolic way. I needed to chose to start this year off creatively. I needed to start this year in the kind of zen that comes from that place. From looking at things I've seen a dozen times yet always look new. From trying to share the dichotomy of deep sadness and joy I experience there.

So I went to sleep early on New Year's Eve. I missed the saying goodbye to the old. Not really. I had already said my goodbyes to one of the worst years I've ever lived through. I hardly slept. I was energized with anticipation. Looking forward to something is a wonderful way to feel. 

Adam showed me a beautiful covered bridge he had photographed with friends before, I showed him Little Round Top, and we both saw the National Cemetery for the first time. It was a wonderful way to start 2012.

I'll put the sunrise here; the images of the bridge and battlefield will follow in separate posts.

Gettysburg Battlefield in Autumn: Part 7-Misc

Part 1 "Fog" is here.

Part 2 "Nature" is here.

Part 3 "Roads & Paths and Self Portraits" is here.

Part 4 "Monuments and Graphic Design" is here.

Part 5 "The Power of the Monuments" is here.

Part 6 "Fences" is here.

Well, I think I've dragged this out as much as humanly possible. These are some miscellaneous images that really didn't fit into any of the previous themes as well as the best images from my trusty little Blackberry. I realize from doing these posts that I need to further work on my editing skills...