Over this past weekend I got to work with the West Chester Film Festival staff taking candid photographs of their ninth annual “Small Town Big Film” event. Over the course of the weekend there were many gatherings, including meet and greets, workshops, and screenings for the movies that were submitted to the festival. There were more than sixty films submitted, which were screened at two locations in West Chester: the Armory and the Knights of Columbus. The awards banquet was Sunday evening. It was a thrill for me and a wonderful event. Be sure to put it on your calendar for next year so you can help celebrate 10 years of the West Chester Film Festival. You can also visit their Facebook page
Why Travel?
I get asked this question more than you would think. Some friends of mine don’t travel farther than the Jersey Shore for a week or two every summer. Some have never left our home state of Pennsylvania. Some expound excuses: too expensive, too far, too much hassle and my favorite “I don’t want to go anywhere else, I have everything I need right here.” My response to this last excuse is usually something like “Being content and being fulfilled are very different things.” But this usually falls on deaf ears. So let me make my case here.
Travel because the world is full of mystery, because the Earth has glorious secrets shrouded from the multitudes. Travel for the people you would never meet at home. Soak in their ideas, culture, and values. People from other cultures have passions about things we take for granted. I have learned the value of many things I thought were insubstantial in this world while I was traveling. Travel for the feeling of independence. It’s a great feeling when you’ve accomplished a great task, be that climbing in the Rockies or living for a week in a country where you don’t speak the language. Travel for the food. Taste the complexity of French wine, or the sweet nectar of Canadian maple syrup, or savor a three hour meal where each course is more delectable than the last. Travel for the sights. There is only one Grand Canyon, only one Niagara Falls, only one Tower Bridge, Statue of Liberty (well actually there are three, but not like the one in New York), Coliseum, Eiffel Tower, San Francisco Bridge, Blarney Stone, the list goes on and on. Travel for an event like the running of the bulls, or a rocket launch, the World Series, a formula one race, a Broadway play, or a breakfast with the Disney Princesses.
I agree some travel is very expensive, but sometimes it can be very economical. Plan something in advance, even if it’s that trip to the beach. Try a different beach that is supposed to be amazing. Try a beach in a different state, or even a different continent. Start small, and start local. I can say that because for me travel is more about the experience than the length of the plane ride. A half hour car ride to a festival can be very inspiring if you plan the journey, which is a lot of fun in itself.
Why travel? My best answer, because we’re only here once. Live life and soak up a world full of experiences, here, there and everywhere. Carpe Diem - Seize the day
Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 65mm f/7.1 ISO 100 1/500 sec
The Waning Barren Landscape
I thought I had better get a few of the last “late Winter / pre-Spring” pictures posted. Here’s one I took a few weeks ago at the end of March. Today, when I search for interesting moments to photograph the trees each have a subtle hue of light green. Not long ago they were just dead lifeless sticks, waiting for Mother Nature’s resurrecting kiss. Pictures of dead trees are not high on people’s favorites lists, but the angle of the horizon plus the drama in the sky made me think the scene had potential. It gave me the feeling of weather pushing into the picture by a hidden force. The sky seems so alive, while beneath appears so dead.
Nikon D800, Nikkor 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 @ 85mm f/18 ISO 100 5 image HDR
Evening moments
There’s a finite amount of time in the evenings when sunlight bounces along the Earth. Peaks are aglow with sunshine while valleys are bathed in shade. Distant hills paint their elongated shadows across the land as if laying down to sleep, while light, refracted through the atmosphere, dapples colors on clouds floating in the sky. Sometimes these moments last for a few brief seconds and sometimes for a few minutes. Each of them is beautiful and unique. To capture one either on film or in our memories is precious. Evening Moments.
Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 34mm f/14 ISO 100 1/20 sec
#TravelTuesday Louvre
Ages ago, just outside of what was then the city of Paris, a fortress was built to protect Europe’s largest dominion. This fortress was known as the Louvre. It stood just west of the infant city on the banks of the Seine river. The year was 1190. Over the centuries the original design changed drastically and the intended purpose evolved into what many consider to be the world’s greatest museum. Opening day as a museum came on August 10th 1793 not too long before the French Revolution. During Napoleon’s reign in France many of his conquests brought priceless works of art to the Louvre. Many were returned after his defeat, but some remain. The most famous pieces housed in this grand setting are the “Venus de Milo,” the “Goddess of Victory (Nike)” and the “Mona Lisa” by da Vinci. There are thousands upon tens of thousands of precious antiquities in the Louvre and only about thirty percent are on display. This is not uncommon for most behemoth collections in the world. The permanent collection occupies approximately 650,000 square feet of space, so be prepared to spend quite a bit a time if you want to see everything on display (and bring good walking shoes).
The pictures below:
The first is taken from the upper floor of the museum looking out across the entrance which is underground beneath the glass pyramid. The second is at night when the Louvre is lit up to show its exterior beauty to Paris.
Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 32mm f/13 ISO 100 1/60sec
Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300m f/3.5-5.6 @ 28mm f/13 ISO 100 9 image HDR