Friday, September 29, 2006

Foggy morning #4

Foggy road On this road called life, what’s ahead is not always clear and the past is irretrievable. What remains is what W. Somerset Maugham called “the everlasting present.”

Putting together a string of good “present” moments is a good strategy for leaving a legacy trail in the past and provides good momentum for the future.

It all starts … now.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Foggy morning #3

Riverwalk, Dundee, Illinois, early fall

If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection.

- Mitchell Burgess

The time of reflection has begun here in northern Illinois. Shades of autumn were beginning to show through the misty morning fog last weekend, reflected both in the man-made riverwalk on the west side of the Fox River, and the natural bank to the east.

The warm days and activity of summer is past; the cold days of winter are yet to come. For now, we wait, and remember what was.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Foggy morning #2

Trees and Fog: It’s known more for its ability to make objects obscure, but I like the way that fog covers up so much of the clutter between objects in a scene. Distracting backgrounds disappear in the mist, giving the lens and the eye a chance to take in a single element at a time.

So the next time you wake up in or find yourself in a fog, be thankful. You may learn something new.

Fog can be obscuring. It can also be enlightening.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Foggy morning #1

Ghost barn: A fog-shrouded morning last weekend meant an opportunity to make some pictures in the area around my home. This barn sits just a couple of miles from my suburban Chicago home, bordered by homes and development to the south and east and about a mile of open space to the north and west.

The ghost-like image is an apt one. Near my home on the northwest edge of the suburbia, barns like this one are disappearing as the metropolitan area continues to creep outward from the city 30 miles to the east. Not far from here, a barn was recently taken down and the adjacent 40 acres of farmland cleared to make space for a 645,000 square foot hospital complex complete with a geothermal pond and modern emergency room facilities.

A rapidly growing population makes expanded trauma care for gunshot, stabbing and auto accident victims necessary and family-owned farms unnecessary.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

A rainbow over my neighborhood

Sometimes you have to go with things the way they are. This double rainbow showed up as my wife and I headed out for some shopping after a storm passed by last weekend. I grabbed my camera, but living in a suburban Chicago subdivision as we do, the view is limited to whatever space is open above the surrounding houses and trees. So, trying to artfully arrange my maple tree and the neighbor’s house while balancing the arc of the rainbow, I quickly snapped this photo.

By the time we could get to the open area west of town, the rainbow was gone. The lesson here? I’m not sure. A rainbow in the hand is worth two under more ideal but distant viewing conditions? Don’t count your rainbows until you get at least one crummy shot? Any other suggestions?

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Gold among green

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Bark, bark, bark

I found this trio of birch trees standing guard over the Fox River in West Dundee, Illinois last weekend and was taken by the texture of the bark on the trees. I learned in school that birch bark was used by native Americans for use in making canoes, shelters and for medicines.

My dad used to tell me, when I was young and impressionable, that birch bark was also used as toilet paper, leaving me to marvel at how "rough" life was for pioneers and native Americans. It took a long time for me to realize he was kidding (he WAS kidding, wasn't he?).

Naturally, I passed the story on to my four kids who have now also grown up confused about this use for birch bark. Aren't family traditions wonderful?

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Rocks and water

I’ve mentioned that I cross post many of the photos here at Points of Light on Flickr. You can post photos on your own photo page, but you can also post them to themed groups. One group is called Rocks and Water. The subject matter of the photos in this group should be obvious. A discussion group post associated with Rocks and Water wondered what is was that group members found fascinating about the subject and suggested that, after all, humans are made up of nothing more than rocks and water. Hmmm … gotta think about that one some more.

This photo is of High Falls at the Minnesota/Canada border. Flickr ranks photos through a complex algorithm that determines the relative popularity of an image based on views, comments and bookmarks each photo receives and the speed at which it receives them. The top 500 pictures each day are then featured on a set of pages called Explore. High Falls is currently among the top 50 photos uploaded on September 19. Not bad considering that Flickr gets a half million photo uploads a day.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Debris

The leftover pieces of having lived my life
Are strewn behind on the path I have taken;
And I will be remembered
By the contents of my debris.

Debris in the Fox River, Dundee, Illinois. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Time passages

Maybe it’s the inevitable shift from summer to autumn during the month of September. Maybe it’s the fact that I have a birthday in September. Maybe it’s the fact that today is my birthday and I get to mark the completion of one more trip around the sun.

September has always been a month of mellowness for me. I get introspective and ponder what I’ve accomplished so far in this life, take inventory of shortcomings and lay plans and dream dreams of things to come.

Here I am in yesterday’s future.

Photo: Taken along the Fox River in Elgin, Illinois. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Morning kayaker

A number of people took advantage of the break in the wet weather we’ve been having to take in some outdoor activity last Saturday morning. This gentleman paddled his way up the Fox River through Dundee, Illinois. I caught this picture as he passed beneath a pedestrian walkway spanning the river. The reflection of the low sun off the low bridge sent a shimmer of gold across the water – a hint, perhaps, of the autumn colors to come?

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Wetness protection

All of the rain we’ve had here the past week has caused me to take note of photos from the picture-makers in my blogroll that featured fluids this past week. Why not go with the flow and and check them out?

Puddle Jumping with Morning Glory at A Walk Through Durham Township
Open Water at Blue Hour
A Light Moment at Daily Walks
Along the Fence at Lenscape
Inverted World – Part Three at Swim Pig

Changing hues

We’ve turned the corner into September and the palette of colors has begun its change from the pure blues and greens of summer to include hints of brown, gold and rust.

The photos posted here the next few days are the product of a morning spent along the Fox River observing the approach of autumn.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Keep out

I wonder when it was exactly that people came up with the concept that they could own a part of the earth, then shut off access to all others and that it would be recognized by the community at large to be OK. And that the community would even go so far as to appoint bodies of mostly unknown folks that could go and do likewise in the name of the people.

That’s the way it is, and like everyone else, it doesn’t bother me too much.

As long as those pesky neighbor kids stay off my lawn.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Hello, stranger

It's been a while since we've seen this guy around these parts. Allow me to introduce you.

Chicago, sun. Sun, Chicago.

A week of cloudy, wet weather ends today.

This photo was taken last spring in south central Tennessee. Technical notes for those of you who dig that sort of thing: Taken with a 2-stop graduated neutral density filter, 1/30 second at f22, 100 ISO film (Fujicolor Reala). Coral filter effect added in Photoshop (my own secret recipe, but anyone familiar with PS could probably figure it out).

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Where in the world are the "Lost Girls?"
Ever feel like chucking it all - the job, the stress, the clutter in your life - to explore the world just to see what's out there? Three young women have done exactly that and are blogging about the experience. These three twenty-somethings left their media jobs behind in Manhattan to take a year-long trip around the globe. You can read their story here, then check out their current progress on their blog, The Lost Girls.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Succession planning

A trio of gerbera daisies wait their turn to replace the head guy in the flower bed. Nature is all about succession planning and continuation of the species. Nature also seems to do a better job than most businesses.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Above the bean field

This is a black and white reprocess of a photo from a previous series about the end of the day. All is quiet as the sun slips below the horizon and the shadow of night descends on the earth.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Where were you on 9/11/01?

I’ve lived long enough to have a number of “Where were you when?” moments in my life. On November 22, 1963 I was sent home along with the rest of my classmates from afternoon Kindergarten, not understanding the reason why. All that weekend, the adults in my life talked in hushed tones. I remember our black-and-white TV turned on most of the time, following the events following John F. Kennedy’s assassination. No one bothered to explain to me what was going on.

On the evening of July 20, 1969 I laid on my stomach in front of our now-color TV watching grainy pictures of the first humans walking on the surface of the moon.

On January 28, 1986 I was at work at my first graphic design job when the company jokester rushed into the art studio and exclaimed that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded. Of course, no one believed him – not until he dragged out a television set and tuned it in to the news.

Five years ago today, I was managing a graphic design staff, when an employee arrived at work at 9:00 and announced that a plane had flown into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I immediately wondered how a small plane could have made such an error. It was inconceivable to me that anything larger would have done so, let alone deliberately.

News accounts throughout the day and repeated viewings of the impacts and the towers crumbling confirmed that nothing was inconceivable anymore.

The photos I’ve selected from my archive today are of two American icons, the bald eagle, photographed last weekend at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, and a sculpture of an American flag that stands on an island in the middle of the Fox River in my hometown of Elgin, Illinois. It’s my tribute to those who died that day and for those who continue the fight against terror today.

Click on pictures to enlarge. Photographs © 2006 James Jordan.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Through the window

The barn is an American icon, much like the town hall and the skyscraper. Here on the edge of the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, the metroplex continues its slow but steady surge into outlying farmlands and consuming fields that provided sustenance for a region and the livelihood for a family.

This barn has been restored and is today the centerpiece of a park and recreation center. The warm glow of the light in the window is testimony to the care of those who leaned toward preservation.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Storm watch 2

Storm clouds gathered in strength and intensity while I was out photographing last weekend. This is a restored schoolhouse vintage 1880. The approaching twilght and storm lent an eerie light to the scene, almost like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

This was shot just a couple of minutes after this photo, but for some reason, has an entirely different feel to it. Must have been the guy with the big knife coming at me.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Canopies

I snapped this photo from my back door as storm clouds approached. I was taken by the similarities between the top of the tree and the top of the clouds. Each represents a limit, but each of the limits can be exceeded.

Have you gone beyond something that once held you back? Got an example of something you found difficult a year ago, but is becoming second nature now?

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Morning glories

This is a variation of yesterday's morning glory photo. What started out as a handful of seeds now is a series of 15-foot long vines that cover one side of my backyard deck.

A circular polarizing filter was used to intensify the colors and darken the sky for dramatic effect.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Inner light

My wife planted some morning glory seeds earlier this spring in some indoor containers. We transplanted the young plants to our deck where they are currently doing just fine and where I took a few shots of some of the blooms in the early morning sun.

I experimented with a few shots situating the sun within the blooms. I think the resulting images speak to the energy of life that is within all living things, and that that energy is not of the living things themselves, but of a singular source above all living things.

God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17-27-28

And by the way, the big blue spot in front of my right eye has finally gone away.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Storm watch

Hoping to get some sunset pictures last evening, I set out in search of open fields and farmland. Approaching storm clouds on the horizon quickly blotted out any chance of a sunset photo. So I switched to capturing the atmosphere of an approaching storm.

Standing at the corner of a barn, I glanced up and saw a structure standing resolute as the darkness approached.

35mm lens with 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. 1/15 at f3.5, 100 ISO film. Levels adjustment and slight color stauration in PhotoShop. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Morning dew

The damp night air unloaded its moisture in the predawn stillness, covering everything in droplets of dew and hanging heavily in a shroud of fog. Each drop of water becomes its own lens to reflect its surroundings, millions of eyes capture and redirect the light.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Looking glum

The sunflowers in my backyard seem to be looking glum today. Maybe because it is now September and the summer is drawing to a close. My wife says it will be an early autumn here in Illinois. She's usually right about such things. Already it seems the pace and energy of the summer is giving way to the drowsiness of the approaching autumn.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.