Better Late Than Never…..A Belated Birthday Gift for Ed: An Afternoon on the Pecos River, November 2012

Pecos Flow

In early November 2012, I traveled down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for 4 days of celebration and the birthday of one of my oldest friends, Ed Gale. Ed and I went to high school together at Fountain Valley School, outside Colorado Springs, in the late 60s. Along for the ride were a couple of more high school chums, Kurt Swingle and Ernie Steck. We all arrived on Thursday, enjoying a wonderful dinner in downtown at The Shed, which I highly recommend, if you are down that way! I also recommend Harry’s Roadhouse, where we had breakfast the following morning, after which we ventured eastward to Cowles, which is little more than a sign post on a road with a smattering of cabins, here and there. That said, however, it was definitely a home away from home for our overnight. Once we had unloaded the truck and settled our gear, we took off for a scan of the river for Ernie, who had brought his fishing tackle, and for me, camera in hand. They found a likely spot for Ernie to return to and I caught this candid shot, the faces of the innocent kept in confidence:

Perusing the River

We continued along our merry ways, whether it was Ernie donning his fly-fishing gear or myself continuing to shoot photos, as I am wont to do in a new environment. I traipsed about the shoreline as I studied the river and how various things got in its way to impede its course….that is, the rocks and boulders, felled branches and trees, detritus of one form or another, or whatever may be pushing it this way or that. While my concentration was the Pecos River itself, I was, occasionally, distracted by various  bits that caught my eye.

Pecos Spanish Moss

The best of that afternoon follows………………………….

Dahlia – 5 Ways to Expression

Dahlia - Emerging

A few days ago, I was talking to my friend, Lotte Janus, whose “home” is the world (she never stays in one place very long but considers her “base” Ojai, CA). She comes from a very artistic family, with one person or another having acted, worked in photography, and so on.
We were talking about a photographic exhibit she saw recently near Bridgewater, NY, and the various styles of work exhibited. Then we started talking about my work because there were artists in the show whose stuff is as unique as mine. One of the comments she made was in regard to the adaptations I make for a single photo and, I believe, that her sister would be interested, also being a photographer.

So, feeling a trace of  “challenge,” I decided to take a recent photo and play with it. The photo I chose was one I took for the Denver Botanic Gardens project for my friend, Ross Shrigley, who I have been shooting for this season. The original photo is above. One of the reasons I chose this photo is that it is just slightly out of focus, which would be masked by each of the processes.
First, I shifted it to my “Electric” process and produced this:

The Jelly-Starfish Nebula

Autumn, around the corner

Fallen Leaf and Japanese Maple

When my new friend, Ann, who I mentioned in a previous blog about Timnath, saw this photo, she sent me one of her favorite haiku, by Basho, considered one of the fathers of haiku:

It is deep autumn
My neighbor
How does he live, I wonder.

The fallen leaf is from a massive Honey Locust in Denver Botanic Gardens.

Thanks, Ann, for sharing.

Subscribe in a reader

Do you understand Haiku?

There are several ways that people understand haiku. I don’t presume to be an expert; in fact, I am far from it. The type of haiku I write can range from the classical 5-7-5 syllables to absolute free-form haiku More often than not, though, I try to stick with the syllable form.
If you care to read something that is a bit more definitive than what I am talking about as well as an excellent description of the historical background of haiku, see Wikipedia.

I have been writing haiku for many years….and have been corrected by purists for many years, as well. Purists think they “know it all” and simply won’t recognize that poetry, in its purist form (you’d think they’d get this), is art. Written art.

So, for me, haiku is a written art form.
I am sure the Japanese looked at it as an art form, as well. One of the most famous of Japan’s haiku poets was Matsuo Basho.

Here is an example of my Haiku style:

Bathing enjoyment
daring to shout gaiety
Brisk morning dawn rain.

After the Rain

Subscribe in a reader

Sam Bissell Photography

I love taking pictures! You could say that it is my passion. Over the course of time, my technique has changed from images that would seem “commonplace” to images that I want viewers to think about, just as they would have to think about the words in a piece of poetic haiku. Hence, Photographic Haiku.

Seeing imagery in the mind’s eye is one thing but finding the essence of the photograph in your mind’s eye in real life is quite a different story!
Do you see what I see? Or do you see something entirely different? Because we are looking at images from our own points of view, we may see things that each other doesn’t see at all! Equally important, do you see something I never knew was there?

I enjoy creating images with the intent of hearing the response of observers. Everyone can express a memory, an idea, a comment, an observation, an emotion, even an “Aha!” moment, from looking at a photograph. Paying attention to viewers’ comments not only gives me really valuable feedback, it also sparks ideas for future photographs and work. So, if you enjoy my images, please drop me a line and express yourself!

Observe images,
be still, allow them inside:
Photographic Haiku.

Sam Bissell Photography