Practicing Photography

Markup – Altered Perception

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Markup – Altered Perception

The current viral unpleasantness has left many of us of a certain age isolated. I’m limiting social contact on the general advice those in the know. No more photo trips for the time being.

To be honest my motivation to do creative projects dried up in a serious block. It seemed rather pointless to make artistic work so I stopped. In fact being a senior with health issues is nothing compared to the burden of young families trying to make ends meet.

New Tools and Projects

A few weeks ago I built a tabletop studio and began doing some close-up photography. Suddenly my creative block disappeared. Taking pictures of small subjects is interesting but limiting at the same time. Then an opportunity to buy Corel Painter came from a charitable organization called Humble Bundle Inc. For thirty dollars I got a rather large bundle of Corel software licenses including Painter.

After playing around with Painter for a few days it became clear that photography is my strong suit. On a whim I started drawing graphical marks on photos like street art or graffiti. The effect opened my eyes. Suddenly I was redefining images. Not art perhaps but certainly creative at some level.

So a new project called Markup – Altered Perception is born. The intent is not to make painterly images but to add context to the original photos. So far the results are uneven, distinctly amateurish and just what I had in mind.

I’ve created a new board on Pinterest for the work and some will also be posted here.

Old School

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The Big Bend region of Texas is one of the grand American landscapes. There are only a few ways into the Bend and one runs through the town of Marathon. It has about four hundred residents, some essential services and a rather unique hotel. For travelers it’s a good place to stop for gas and coffee. In fact it is the last place to stop for anything for more than a hundred miles when heading into Big Bend National Park.

Old School

Marathon is where I met Billy Faier, sitting on the patio of my usual coffee shop playing the banjo. He was a veteran folk singer, friend of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, traveling companion of Woodie Guthrie, contemporary of Pete Seeger and practitioner of progressive politics. He was old school in ways that are hard to imagine in the twenty-first century. Now at eighty five years old, transplanted to this faraway spot.

It was clear he was someone special from the moment I heard his music. You don’t find many musicians in those parts playing folk tunes from the forties and fifties. Given where he was in remote West Texas it was like he had beamed in from another place and time.

We talked and I listened for about half an hour as he played and told stories. He fiddled with the banjo constantly as he spoke of his experiences. He had the wry sense of humor of a literate man well met. I bought a couple of CDs and told him I’d see him next time I was out that way. Sadly he died before I got back to Marathon. It was a privilege to meet Billy Faier.

More About Billy Faier

Billy archived some of his writing and music on the website http://billyfaier.com in his later years. It is an interesting view into a nearly forgotten world of itinerant musicians and progressive politics.

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Duck and Cover

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Flash Dance – Duck and Cover

When I was a kid the U.S and the Soviet Union engaged the people of the world in a game of nuclear brinkmanship. As Americans we were proud of our side. Ours were Nukes for peace.

Unfortunately I lived downwind from those above ground weapons tests; ‘Shots’ they were proudly called. No matter, the government said we were safe. How could we be so naive as to believe that? It was the times I suppose.

In school we were taught everything we needed to know when the attack came. We learned the dance of life called Duck and Cover. Always remember if you see a flash in the sky Duck and Cover. Hug the curb or hide under your desk until it’s safe to find shelter. Find shelter? It was so simple. Any grade school child knew what to do.

In the mid-century our goals and enemies were clear. We were masters of the world. The red star, whether it was planted in the East or off our Caribbean shores was what we had to fear. It was a simple binary choice, us or them.

All we had to do as citizens was remember which door to enter.