pause a while..
i've been feeling a bit contemplative lately.. craving peace and solitude. i took these at the grand canyon in june with my diana camera. long, patient exposures. the first one seems more like an impressionistic painting than a photograph and i wish i could dive right in.
"This benefit of seeing...can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives, and look thoughtfully at a quiet image...the viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate." - Dorothea Lange
hang on big sur..
we first went to big sur last may and i declared it my favorite place..ever. we had another trip planned for last fall, but the campground cancelled at the last minute for mysterious reasons. i was crushed. we finally made it back a couple of weeks ago and i never wanted to leave.
i love this place.
i believe the fires started exactly one week later from a lightning strike and are still blazing. i am hoping that there are no other homes and buildings lost or trees burned.
ironically, the sun didn't come out much when we were there recently and my photographs reflect a different mood than the pictures from my first visit.
i love these photographs, however, as they say something about what i am feeling at this time. something i can't exactly put into words right now. it's as if big sur (this living place) was showing its calm, contemplative beauty before the fire.
it is my hope that these photographs bring a feeling of peace and inspiration to you, as well..
a surreal sight (without a picture to keep)
Sometimes you get a pick-me-up just when you need one…
But, unfortunately, sometimes when you really need a camera, it’s at home.
I decided this morning, things would change. Life has become so busy recently that I’ve let go of some things that bring me so much peace and calm, like yoga and hiking (and writing). So, today I woke up and without allowing a single excuse to take over my mind, I left for Runyon Canyon.
I am so happy I did.
I rolled the windows down, turned on some Green Day, and started to feel like myself again. But as I drove closer to Hollywood, I noticed the sky was awfully eerie over the hill, and I knew something wasn’t quite right. (I later learned there was a fire at Universal Studios, which is very unfortunate, but luckily no one was seriously hurt.)
And so I hiked and, despite the eeriness, I began to feel wonderful. And I grew wonderfully tired. As I approached the last few steps before reaching the top, I stared down at the ground to take my mind off the climb.
When I looked up I was instantly struck speechless by the gaze of two majestic and pristine white horses. It was a moment that makes you gasp, the least expected of all things to see… at the top of this hill I’ve climbed so many times before. In that moment, everything just left me. I had no worries, no stress, but pure wonder at these amazing creatures (that have never struck me as being so amazing).
Like a dream they stood there.. grounded in their glowing white in absolute contrast against the brown, smoke-filled sky on the edge of this plateau overlooking the overlapping hills and this crowded city that will forever blow my mind.
The eeriness turned to sheer beauty and my tired, overwhelmed mind turned clear...
the last week of something wonderful.
it's never a good time to say goodbye to a place you love, to a family, to an era. after 35 years of business, santa monica gymnastics center will close its doors. i have spent two thirds of my life dedicated to gymnastics (whether as a gymnast or an instructor) and i wouldn't have it any other way. even though i have only been a part of the SMGC family for a year and a half, this place is responsible for making los angeles a home to me and i will be forever grateful.
perhaps i should have spent hours and hours in the gym photographing everything that i love, but i didn't. there is something about leaving my camera at home and fully experiencing life in the gym. however, i did shoot a little with my digital as well as my diana film camera over the last week, just so i had some keepsakes..
SMGC's 35th anniversary/reunion/farewell party (open house) is saturday february 23rd 3-8pm for anyone who has ever been a part of SMGC and would like to celebrate with us. there will be dozens of cupcakes and lots of hugs, i'm sure.
also blogging:
a special thanks to al and linda luber for providing such a warm, positive place for children to learn gymnastics and have fun for all these years!