That Time Again

                  Richmond, Indiana

Give Thanks

                                       Richmond, Indiana

Grain Elevator

                    Russia, Ohio

Monday Morning Coffee: Tuesday is the New Monday

 

OK - so a bit tardy, have reasons. 

 

Been a weird week here at the World Headquarters of Today's Image.

 

First of all, the laptop that is used for web stuff suddenly decided that Photoshop was something strange and refused to play with it. 

 

Secondly, moving to the major photography computer, it refused to sign me in.  For some unknown - to me - reason, the computer informed me that the password was not the

correct one.  No idea how to overcome this problem and get this machine up and working. 

 

As of today neither of these problems have been solved.  In the next few days will delete the Photoshop program and re-install it.  Hopefully that will clear up the problem.  If not, then have no clue as to what to do next.

 

In other news, Winter has arrived in Indiana.  Low temperature's in the teens and gray skies. Managed to get the wood fireplace up and running - something to be said for "Old School".

 

Will leave with a another image from Union City, IN/OH.   

 

Returning, keep finding photographic opportunities.  Along with Kenton, Ohio, Union City continues to intrigue.

207

                  Union City, Indiana / Ohio.

Row Houses

                       Union City, Indiana / Ohio

Monday Morning Coffee: The Return to Black and White

 

                   Union City, Indiana/Ohio.

For me, a black and white photograph is successful when light, form and function come together.

The return to black and white has taken longer then expected.  The black and white technique came back quickly. However, the seeing has been slow to return, as the last 10 years have been spent with color. 

Has taken time to suppress color values and consider corresponding grayscale tones.  Not fully there yet, but getting better at visualising a monochrome image.

As always, the secret to success is practice, practice and more practice.
 

Fort Black Masonic Lodge

                                     New Madison, Ohio.

New Madison is a village in Dark County with a population of less than 900.

IORM

                 West Lebanon, Indiana.

The Improved Order of Red Men (IORM) traces it's orgin from the Sons Of Liberty patriots who were active before the American Revolutionary War and are known for their participation in the "Boston Tea Party."

Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those used by Native Americans.  The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to less than 38,000.

Monday Morning Coffee: Self Acceptance

 

 

Self acceptance is an agreement with yourself to appreciate, validate, accept, and support who you are at this moment.

 

 

For some this is difficult to do.  Attempting to be something they aren't often leads to less success and even complete failure. 

 

Tactics used include seeking new a direction, changing materials / tools and attempting to satisfy a specific audience.  

 

 

Acknowledging the need to learn and grow, a new path can prove to be rocky and uphill as a new mindset and different skills will often be required.  Examples such as moving from landscape to street photography, woodworking to metalwork and fiction to non-fiction writing, will take time and may or not be successful. 

 

Changing materials and/or tools can be a steep learning curve. Again success is not guaranteed, as these take time to develop the necessary understanding and skills. For some a new camera or lens will provide new opportunities, entering the digital world from an analog background, moving from a small handheld camera to a large view camera, changing a baseball bat, using a different tennis racquet are a few examples   Some are able to "figure it out", while for others it becomes confusion and an unsolved mystery.

 

 To chase a particular audience be it what is new and different or in fashion, can be a downward slide. Trends come and go quickly and to commit to what is new and fashionable today is tomorrow's old news.

 

Self Acceptance - Don't expect amazing photographs, just documentary moments from here and there in the Midwest.

 

 

                West Lebanon, Indiana

Available

                 Richmond, Indiana

A supermarket building that has been empty and unused for over 10 years.

TGIF: Old School Revisited

 

 

You are either Old School or an American history buff if you recognise the name Wendell Willkie.  For the folks in Rushville and the state of Indiana he was a very important person.  If you don't know, will leave it for you to figure it out.

On a personal note, a brief health update.  Checked in with the doctor this past week.  He had just returned from lunch and met with me immediately.  As usual I was carrying a book - never know how long the wait might be.  Talked about the book and the author and that led to suggestions from him.  Have I read _____?  Do I know the writing of _______?  At some point he was explaining a plot that he recently had read, but couldn't  recall the title and/or the author.  At that moment, he pulled out his phone and I thought here comes a web search. Nope.  What happened is that numbers were punched, a call was made, a question asked - who wrote and what is the title of that book we just read? Smiling, he told me the answers.  He called his wife - Old School.

Asked if he has considered obtaining a smartphone.  Answer - no way.  Those things and computers are the domain of his wife.  No e-books neither.  Real books with covers and paper.

The "book/reading" conversation lasted some 20-25 minutes.  In the next 10 minutes, checked my problem - while not normal or completely recovered, suggested that's the best it will be, wrote the names of a couple of books that I should read and told me to call if the problem becomes worse.

Old School.