Pond Opening

One of the truest signs of spring in Bloomingdale is the day when the crew comes out to open the pond, bathe the koi, mulch the yard, and make everything look and smell great. That date came last week, and the fish and the yard smile daily. As a matter of fact, I only took one day off from blogging for Easter; the other two were for the yard. It might be that the posts will not be as regular now that I can be out and working -- or relaxing and reading -- in the garden.

Anyone interested in pond work should probably contact Gem Ponds in Roselle, look at their web site and consider the upgrade they would provide to any sort of backyard getaway. They put ours in nine years ago, they do fall and spring maintenance and they help in case of any problems that might occur. Here is a link: http://gemponds.com/ to the site.

Thanks for the help, George!

First Magazine Cover

A couple of days ago I mentioned a magazine cover I shot long ago. I thought I would dig into my archives and run the cover, from the Illinois Parks & Recreation Association. It was thirty years ago, and I was a serious amateur with a Miranda SLR, two prime lenses and a light meter to govern my exposure as the camera was completely manual. No automatic shutter, aperture, focus, or anything. A great way to learn about photography, by the way.

The previous summer a young staff member had been working with a youth program developing what he called a Ropes Course. Strung high in tall oak trees, with the kids well-strapped in against falling, the course was a challenge and a ton of fun for the day campers. Asked to grab some photos, I answered as I always do: I grabbed Miranda and headed out to the course. Several shots were relatively successful, but this was my favorite. Apparently the favorite of the editors of IPRA Magazine as well. Early on I had noticed that leading lines will draw any eye into the image and make the viewer feel a part of the action.

For a short period of time, I had misplaced my copy of the cover and wanted to have it in my portfolio. With the bright idea of looking on the IPRA web site, I found an archive of issues with most of the 70s and 80s included. Unfortunately, this was at that time one of the few issues that was not pictured. Fortunately, I found my original and now have it digitized.

Have a Happy Easter. I will take a couple of days off and select a new topic.

Arizona Spring Adventure Ends

Night fell, the last game I saw ended early due to terrifically high desert winds, I made my way back to the hotel. It was time to head for Illinois and real life, regular season.

Long ago the concept of the vacation -- leaving a place to go to another place -- was designed to give us all that rest and recharging we need to come back to our normal schedule with vigor and interest. I love to travel, look forward daily to leaving, and I love to come home. Just as much.

I just cannot bring myself to tell the story of the full moon seen here. Just can't. Call it the magic of Arizona and leave it at that.

One final Arizona poem:

LEAVING TEMPE

One sees someone who walks at four in the morning in Tempe ,
Noticing she needs a flashlight to help guide her on the sidewalk and
Her hooded sweatshirt covering her head against the desert chill.
One sees someone, then heads for the airport toward a Chicago snowstorm.

Flowers in the Sunshine

As promised, a look at the bright colors that grow under the bright sun of Arizona. While I did see some reds, the colors favor the yellows, the violets, and the whites. And there are plenty to see among the xeriscaped areas all around Phoenix.

Flowers, Desert, Dark

Whenever I travel, my eye notices all flowers but especially flowers I might well not see at home. Since my entire life I have been a Chicago-city-or-suburbs person, travel to Phoenix meant desert flowers. I had not anticipated the beauty of the flowers on the desert, even though I knew that the power of the sun would yield generous blooms.

These two caught my eye in the dark on my first day. Next post will show a couple of the flowers of the day.

Desert Flyover

During the Cub-Rockie game I had that happy moment when I was just prepared for the unexpected and was able to get a tracking eye in time to take the photograph. Does not always happen but it always feels great.

I had seen biplanes in flight -- after all, Chicago has a wonderful Air and Water Show every August -- but never a tight squadron, never quite so colorful, and never crossing that wonderful high sky of Arizona. That fraction of a second to make the exposure and I was the proud owner of this image. Never noticed if they dipped their wings or anything to say hello to us, but I was happy to say hello then and I say it again now. Thanks for the flyover.

Remember Color Slides?

For a period of many years, all my photography was in the form of color slides. When I shot my first magazine cover for Illinois Park and Recreation Association in the 1970s, that was the industry standard for color publications and I always appreciated the rich, highly-saturated color.

Of course, if you remember color slides, you remember needing a projector (featuring bright expensive bulbs that had a tendency to go out at the wrong time) and a screen or a plain white wall. Lots of effort to set up and see. In many homes, people went several years without a working projector or any way to look at those slides. My house included. For the past two years, I have been digitizing my old slides, a few hundred at a time, adding the images to my digital archives. When I digitize, I dispose of the old cardboard-mounted slide.

But as a memento to that time, I often make up a digital photo in the form of a color slide. They make nice title slides when viewing the images as a slide show, and for me they are a nod to the past that I really enjoy. Here are the title slides for three days in Arizona: a vanity license plate noted shortly after arrival, a major league pitcher firing a fastball, and the Ernie Banks memento on the walkway outside HoHoKam Park in Mesa. Enjoy the slide show!