AN EPIPHANY 02-22-08

TRIP-2 ENTRIES   1 OF 2   – START  

Hi!

 

A couple of weeks ago I walked out the door at 4:44 and headed for Oregon. I recorded the mileage in my notebook and the phrase, “out the door at 4:44,” turned on the headlights and set off into the still-dark night. Every time I’ve stopped at the rest area off I-5 in Corning, CA, I’ve thought how great it would be to be there at sunrise. I was surprised that this was the time. It was just like I pictured it.

The warm and cool colors dramatically changed from one minute to the next. Each of the olive trees had its own story to tell. I like the way their character as individuals and as a group are also revealed in black and white.

Mt. Shasta, at 14,179 feet, has such a large presence that it stays with you for hours after it first comes into view until it finally disappears from sight in your rear view mirror. The much smaller peak that the arrow is pointing to is called Black Butte. I had never seen it covered in snow. This volcanic cap normally looks like its name. It’s easy to imagine this immense valley 300,000 years ago alive with multiple eruptions and lava flows.

It’s also easy to see why ancient Native Americans felt Shasta to be the center of the earth and the point of creation, and why over a hundred New Age sects and groups regard Shasta as a sacred place, one of the nine sacred mountains of the world. It is considered by some an entry point to the fifth dimension. It’s understandable to see why and how we make something special over another thing because it appears to be unique. All people around the world have their own “sacred mountain,” that is the center of the earth and the point of creation. In South Dakota the sacred mountain for the Lakota Sioux is Harney Peak. Atop this mountain a Lakota shaman named Black Elk had a vision. He saw the hoop of his nation as one of many hoops. He said, “I saw myself on the central mountain of the world, the highest place, and I had a vision because I was seeing in the sacred manner.” And then he said, “But the central mountain is everywhere.”

I reached Salem just as it was getting dark. I was there to celebrate my niece Kiera’s 15th birthday and see my nephew Patrick perform in an all-city middle school orchestra performance. Both events would take place over the coming weekend. While they were in school the next day, I took a trip to the coast 60 miles away. Just down the road I spotted a scarecrow in a spot of light. By the time I got out of the car and set up the tripod the spot of light disappeared behind the clouds. Since I was all set up I though I’d take a closer look at the playful figure. As I looked through the viewfinder a bird landed on the scarecrow’s head. The clouds stayed pretty constant as I passed through the temperate rainforest over the Coastal Range.

 Once I hit the coast I checked the map and saw that the coastal town of Newport was only 20 miles down the road. I turned south hoping to meet Goody Cable, who requested to be added to my mailing list after receiving an essay from my friend, Julie Golden, in Boulder. She is the co-owner of the Sylvia Beach Hotel which bills itself as “A hotel for book lovers.” Goody’s literary talent clearly showed in her lovely replies to these emails. Her generosity extended to introducing me to her friends, screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb, and neighbors, Jessie Pedigo and Mike Shivers. 

Mike was kind enough to show me some of his own photography. I loved his work and gave him every tip I could think of to get him on the clear path of his bliss. The most important piece of advice was, “Don’t wait. Act as if. The process of proceeding will tell you what to do next.” I was happy to receive the following pictures and this reply after I returned home: “The affirmation you gave me on my work was invaluable and it really got me motivated. I was approved for iStock last week and submitted my first batch of pictures over the weekend.  A new web site is coming along and biz cards are on the way.  Why is it that it’s so hard to admit that your own work is good?  Really Jerry, when you looked at my work and said that it was good, that conversation changed everything for me. My head is swimming with new ideas for shots!” This interaction inspired me and confirmed my belief that we discover what we have when we share it.

Down the road I shared a of loaf bread with a flock of seagulls. By the time I was back on the road I was using the wipers to rearrange the bountiful gifts that the hundreds of birds left on my car. I was so thankful. A torrential rain began ten minutes later to completely clean the car.

 

Driving in the pouring rain, I dismissed stopping to take a picture. That didn’t last long. The beauty of the rugged Oregon coast and pounding surf had me, my camera and my tripod under a rain poncho taking long exposures. The picture on the right was taken out the windshield on my way back over the Coastal Range, through a tunnel of trees for 30 seconds.

The next day I went to the Portland Art Museum and added a few new images to my “People as Art” series.

I always love the experience of how the world looks different to me after I walk out of a museum.

Every object has a history and each sign of life ask to be witnessed.

 

I stopped into the Lloyd Center to see Vicky Morton, who I met when I was selling my flower images in the shopping center during the annual Portland Rose Festival. I also got to meet Mark Hanson and the people of the Lloyd Center business office whome Vicky has been kind enough to add to my list. When I was there before, the giant ice rink was turned off and the space was filled with thousands of perfect exhibit class roses. That evening I had dinner with my friend Kate’s daughter, Rebecca and her boyfriend and his father,Dave and David. They both have been receiving my emails and wanted to meet me.

Towards the end of our great meal and conversations, David paid me the most gratifying compliment. He said, “You’re just like I thought you would be. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” I was struck by the words, “finally meet you in person.” I realized that this wonderful man, who I was meeting for the first time, already had a picture of who I was because he had been receiving these personal notes from my life for over a year.  

Thank you for joining me on this trip and for being such an intimate part of my world. What started out as a way to stay in touch with friends and have my work be seen has, as of this email, grown to 1,000 people across America and 22 different countries. The internet was made for the way I talk and take pictures. My photographs have always been more about the state of being I am in rather than which state or country. I’m not the kind of artist that works well in galleries. As I have often been told, “You have no identifiable style. You take pictures of everything in dozens of different ways. You need to specialize so you can be unique.” I understand their point from a commercial point of view. I love seeing work in galleries and even understand why they have to sell one of my prints for $800 and give me $400 if and when it sells. I wish them well. I, also, see that if I want my prints to be in the hands of more people, I’ll have to do it myself.

So, as a way to find what I have by sharing it, I am making all my prints available for $100. I’ve decided to follow my own advice to not wait and let the process of proceeding tell me what to do next. The current full details are at the bottom of the page. This is my personal way to celebrate reaching 1,000 people and to acknowledge the value I receive from each one of you.

Again, thank you for your wonderful and supportive replies and for sending these notes out into the world. I am grateful and complimented. If, for any reason you want to be removed from my mailings just send a reply with “No Thanks” in the subject line. If you received this from a friend and want to be added to the list send me an email. I will be delighted to include you. In the next email we go back on the road, celebrate Chinese New Year and go to an all-city middle school orchestra performance! I leave you with another seagull that I broke bread with on a previous trip to the Oregon coast. Continue to enjoy your personal vision and…

Keep Spreading Your Wings!

Love, Jerry

Jerry Downs Photography
P.O. Box 1082
Larkspur, CA 94977
415-686-2369
http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

“The center is the axis mundi, the central point, the pole around which all revolves. The central point of the world is where stillness and movement are together. Movement is time, but stillness is eternity. Realizing how this moment of your life is actually a moment of eternity, and experiencing the eternal aspect of what you’re doing in the temporal experience—this is the mythological experience.

“There is a definition of God which has been repeated by many philosophers. God is an intelligible sphere—a sphere known to the mind, but not the senses—whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. And the center, Bill, is right where you are sitting. And the center is right where I’m sitting. And each of us is a manifestation of that mystery.”

Joseph Campbell speaking to Bill Moyers in the book and TV series, THE POWER OF MYTH, about Black Elk’s hoop vision.

http://www.sylviabeachhotel.com/   More Mike Shivers pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/avi8r

My thanks to my good friend and writer, Merijane Block, for her support and eye for editing.

PRINTS

All of my images from my website (which has been updated with a new look and pictures) and emails

 are now available for $100, plus $30(US) per order (no matter how many prints) for shipping and handling anywhere in the world.

California residents please add $8.25 per print.

Each print is the same hand-signed gallery-quality print that previously sold for $400.

Every high-resolution image is printed with 8 archival inks on archival paper.

Rectangular images are printed on a 16″ x 20″ sheet with a 1-1/2″ border on all sides.

 

Square images are printed on a 16″ x 16″ sheet with a 1-1/2″ border on all sides.

Purchases on the website can be paid with credit card or through Pay-Pal account . (The shipping fee is in the drop down menu on each picture—enter once.)

 You can, of course, contact me directly. It’s always a joy to talk with you.

I look forward to hearing from you and to meeting some of you “in person” for a great conversation and a cup of coffee.

OXO

Jerry

415-686-2369

jd@jerrydownsphoto.com

http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

HOME AGAIN 01-19-08

 TRIP-3 ENTRIES   3 OF 3   – END 

Hi!

 On my back home to California I stopped in Colorado for a couple of weeks over the holidays. On Christmas Eve there was quite the snow storm. The next day I woke to blue skies and a very white Christmas.

 

I had come to Colorado to be with my sister Eileen and her husband and my good friend, Jake. She was recovering from surgery and he was in a cast with a broken leg. At their mountain home in Evergreen I helped with errands, shoveling snow and carrying in wood for the fire. I enjoyed every minute with these two characters with their great sense of humor and warm hearts.

 

 

 

Eileen is the oldest of the eleven kids in our family. I’m number five. When I said she was a character with a great sense of humor it may have been an understatement. The day after Christmas I took her to Denver for one of her radiation treatments. Years before, my sister Maggie (#8), when she was visiting my brother Shawn (#7) in New Zealand sent Eileen a set of “Possum Pasties” as a joke. Eileen very much appreciated the care of her nurses, Michael (her father wanted a boy) and Carole and thought they could use a good laugh. So…..Eileen positioned herself on the machine and covered her chest just as she had done every day for the last two weeks. Eileen positioned me so I could get a picture of their reaction. It went something like this: “So, Eileen how was Christmas? Did it wear you out? How are you feeling today?” Michael asked. “Christmas was great and I’m feeling just fine,” Eileen answered. “I do have a question about these two growths that may have been caused by the radiation.” Michael lifted the sheet and saw the two furry pasties. After the shock and laughter subsided Michael called Carole on the phone asking her to come in for a consultation. The entire treatment was repeated. We were all in stitches laughing. Surely the best therapy of all.

 

 

Jake, Eileen and I had spent Christmas Day with their good friends and neighbors, Mike and Mary. Mary (on the far right) was born in Italy and the food was as delicious and plentiful as it was for her own childhood Christmas. Mike’s family was there from all across the country. I, of course, took pictures. Mike and Mary’s daughter, Nicole, said, “This is the first time all of the cousins have been together. Could you take a picture?” After getting them all in one place I took the picture. Eileen, very aware of family relationships and ever alert to make each moment special, put it together that all of “the cousins” also meant all of the grandchildren. We put Marilyn right in the center and made the picture that was a gift that will keep on giving for generations.

 

I, also, had the opportunity to visit my friends Steve and Cheryl. Steve’s son, Emmett and his wife Laura were part of the group portrait along with the other members of the family, Chena and Baxter. The late afternoon light pouring through the windows also made for some very beautiful and dramatic individual portraits.

My friend Elizabeth invited me to a dinner party with her family and a few of their friends. It was great to see her again and to enjoy “the kids.”

Ever year, on New Year’s Day, my friends George and Melanie host an informal kite flying event with friends. My brother, Dermod (#10), picked me up in Evergreen so he could bring me to the airport the next day. On the way to his home in Denver we stopped to surprise some of my friends. The kite flying was just ending as we arrived. It was a joy to see some familiar faces and to see a few face forms in the frozen snow. That is Melanie flying one of her giant kite creations the last time I was at the event in 2003.

It was good to be in the place that I grew up and will always call home and, after having been gone for three weeks, it was good to come home San Francisco. I looked forward to a weather forecast that didn’t include “accumulated inches of snowfall” and “wind-chill factors.”  Two days after I got home to Sunny California a rain storm hit that knocked out power to a million homes. During the eight hours that my lights were out I took pictures and treated it like a “snow day.” There are no special effects on these two pictures other than the same 30 second exposure. The effect on the left was simply created by taking a picture through the window that was being pelted with rain and the mighty oak thrashing around during the exposure. The trunk of the tree on the right stayed fairly stable as its leaves and limbs whipped from side to side in the 50 miles per hour gust of wind.

After four days of rain the sun came out and it was time to get out of the house. I went my friend and fellow photographer, Joe Burull, to Stinson Beach for some breakfast and to catch a few rays with our cameras. As soon as I got out of the car I saw a group of individuals against the ocean. Relying on my automatic settings I raised the camera and clicked the shutter. I immediately discovered that I had my auto-focus turned off from the last time I had taken a picture out the window at the wind and rain. When I looked at the picture when I got home I discovered how much I liked this mis-taken image. The seashore is normally populated with a screech of gulls and a crackling of crows, but this day a volley of vultures filled the trees. When we reached the shore we found out why. The storm had covered the beach with debris. The violent surf had also sealed the fate of a California seal and provided the vultures with quite a feast.

Though the beach was littered with piles of plastic, the sea foam you see is not a form of pollution from detergent. It is created from the agitation of the surf and consist of inorganic and organic particles of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. The proteins provide surface tension to allow the bubbles to form. An occasional single strand of kelp danced in the tide reminding me of the enormous kelp forest rooted just off shore in a very alive world of water.

Thanks for joining me on this trip to so many different worlds. And thank you for all of the replies from Russia with love, from Poland with praise, from Texas with thanks and from Dayton declaring it made your day. I am enormously complimented when these notes strike a cord with your own music and magic. If, for any reason, you would like to be removed from the list just send a reply with “No Thanks” in the subject line. If you received this from a friend and want to be included just send me an email: jd@jerrydownsphoto.com As my mother always said, “There’s always room for one more.” I’ll leave you with this “Portrait of an Artist” that I took in my own neighborhood just before I left on this last trip.

Have a good laugh! 

Love, Jerry

Jerry Downs Photography
P.O. Box 1082
Larkspur, CA 94977
415-686-2369
http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

WHERE IS TAO?Tung Kuo Tzu asked Chuang Tzu, saying, “What you call Tao-where is it?” “There is nowhere,” replied Chuang Tzu, “where it is not.” “Tell me one place at any rate where it is,” said Tung Kuo Tzu.

“It is in the ant,” replied Chuang Tzu. 

Why get so low down?” asked Tung Kuo Tzu.

“It is in the weed,” said Chuang Tzu.

“Still lower,” objected Tung Kuo Tzu.

“It is in potsherds,” said Chuang Tzu.

“Worse still!” cried Tung Kuo Tzu.

“It is in manure,” said Chaung Tzu.

And Tung Kuo Tzu made no reply.

A WAVE OF JOY 12-20-06

Hi!

Last Friday I had the opportunity to work with one of my favorite clients, Catholic Charities CYO. One of my great pleasures is to meet the staffs from their dozens of different agencies. Their caring is only matched by their marvelous sense of humor. Our first stop was at an adult day care center.

 

There are a lot of tricks to getting people to open up for a portrait. But, tricks are just that. The only thing that really works is to be present and give the person my full attention. Once we recognize each other we both smile and I take the picture.

After lunch my next assignment was to B1 with Bingo.

Our next stop was a children’s day care center. We were a little early for the festivities, so I just stayed outside and played on the playground.

One little girl, who, at first glance,  appeared to be the smallest and shyest of the group, asked me to take a picture  of her and a friend….and then another friend….and another…and another, and of course, one of the whole group and one of her friends holding her up. She was a great help directing everyone to get just the kind of pictures I needed.  The only payment the talent needed was to look at every picture in the back of the camera as soon as it was taken. I love digital as much as I love my living.

I admire anyone who comes to school every day and finds a way to discover order in such chaos. It takes a kind of courage to recognize and negotiate all the different demands of such diverse individuals. I feel teachers also face the same challenge.

After everyone gathered up into groups, we went inside to string garland out of Cheerios, decorate cookies,make Christmas cards for parents and, of course, see Santa. I appreciate being a part of recording these visual records that celebrate the present and are a gift to some present in the future.

On Sunday I took my friend Mauricio out for a photography lesson. He is the “Techie” who helped me get the crashed computer and my new computer up and running so that I can be here now writing this email. He is a real natural at taking pictures and a very interesting guy. As we drove through the redwoods on our way to the beach we talked about  Heisenberg, Einstein, parallel realities, string theory, chaos, quarks, googles and God. We talked about ourselves.

I never really think about what I am doing while taking a picture any more. It was interesting to look at all the things I’ve learned and try to put it into words.

This is the same bird in both pictures. Both the light and the dark can reveal beauty and personality. Light and dark also  help define one another, like the tail of the bird on the left or the tip of the bill on the right set off by the white foam.

When I go out with my camera I don’t look for what would make a good picture. I just look and the pictures just rise to the surface. Just the act of being present and paying attention creates a state where everything is interesting and the pictures are everywhere. Because this appoach is personal, the pictures end up being a truer reflection of your own unique vision.

On one hand, you could say that I don’t specialize in any style or subject matter. On days like this, as I move through the world, with the next picture being my only destination, it all seems so connected….so special.

I love the dog delighting in taking a drink in the fresh water stream that has made its way back to the ocean as much as I love the parents delighting in watching their child’s wonder of a new world.

 

Mauricio and I walked up the trickle of a stream and took pictures of the ripples in the shallow water. In this detail I saw series of birds with wings in full flight. Mauricio and I walked up the trickle of a stream and took pictures of the ripples in the shallow water. In this detail I saw series of birds with wings in full flight.

We continued our discussion about physics and metaphyics, We talked about the implications of thoughts creating reality.

When we arrived at Bolinas beach it was low tide. The now dry sand benieth our feet was a direction reflection of where the waves were the six hours ago. The wind moved across one of the few remaining puddles. In reality it looked nothing like the picture. The motion of the small waves made the light dance across the surface. The details came and went so quickly, so rythmicly, that it was impossible to see their underlying nature. When I looked at this image on the computer later that night it reminded me of the thoughts we shared about DNA, energy, creation and String Theory. 

 

Even the stick and its shadow could be used to illustrate how two parallel worlds could exist in the same space. The different worlds only being visible from a certain perspective or wave length. From another perspective you could say that was a snake, a primitive symbol of the season we are about to experience as days become longer and the transformational creature sheds its skin and begins anew.

From still another, it could illustrate the staff of Moses that turned into a snake before the Pharaoh. It’s all relative, it’s all okey and its all what we make it.

“Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth,

 to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves

 from insane passion for the truth.”
Umberto Eco — The Name of the Rose

On the way back to the car Santa flew by on a dirt bike.

We waved.

 

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Wonderful Winter Solstice!

Thanks for joining me on the journey, for all the great feedback and kind replies and paying me the  great compliment of forwarding these tales out into the world. If, for any reason, you want to be removed from my mailings just send a reply with “No Thanks” in the subject line. If you are one of those who recieved

 this from a friend and want to be added to the list send me an email.  

Enjoy your present,

 

Jerry

Jerry Downs Photography
P.O. Box 1082
Larkspur, CA 94977
415-686-2369
jd@jerrydownsphoto.com
http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

RIPPLE 05-31-06

Today I took a walk to the beach. On the way down the trail I saw a couple of Red Wing blackbirds.

It was only about an hour after sunrise. Steam was still rising off a small fresh water pond just short of the beach.

  The steam was only visible in the shade of the valley wall.

A small stream flowed from the pond, across the beach, to the waiting Pacific Ocean. It was only a couple of inches deep.

 As I followed the stream I was intrigued by how the ripples on the surface created patterns in the sand.   I love how small details in nature mimic nature on a much larger scale. It looked like an aerial image or a shot from space.

Looking closer, I noticed that the ripples were casting, not a shadow, but a ribbon of light.

This brought me to my knees. I was on my knees with my elbows stuck in the sand to steady the camera and witness the wonder.

Enjoy this day and the wonder of your own light.

Jerry

Jerry Downs Photography

P.O. Box 1082

Larkspur, CA 94977

415-686-2369

http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

……..

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

……..

La dee da da da, La da da da da, Da da da, Da da, Da da da da da
La da da da, La da da, Da da, La da da da, La da, Da da.

Ripple

The Grateful Dead

A NICE WALK 12-21-05

This last week my friend and fellow photographer, Joe Burull, and I took a walk out to Tennesse Valley near Sausalito, CA. It is a beautiful two mile walk out to the ocean. Joe took my portrait but hasn’t downloaded that card yet. He got too excited about the other images…..you’ll see why. When he took my picture I let him use my tripod. It was fun for me to just be out walking without too much concern about getting the perfect image. Joe left his camera on the tripod and after about 20 feet we saw….

This is the first bobcat that I have seen in the wild. It was bigger than I had imagined. It was so beautiful and strong. What a great totum animal to show up in our lives.

I left Joe and walked ahead. I saw santa fast asleep at a picnic bench. I guess he is resting up for the big night.

 

By the time I made it to the ocean the sun was just about to set. I played with the waves. They would go away and I would follow, then they’d come back and I would move away. And everytime I thought I had figured them out, the wave would break it’s routine and come after me full speed. I would have to run with all my might to get from being caught. They are very clever. 

Everytime I see the moon reflected on water I marvel at the miracle. I watch the reflection move as I move. I get such a thrill knowing that it is there only because I am looking. To the lake, the moon shines across the entire surface. To another person walking down the trail it shines for them. It moves me every time.

While walking back in the near dark we heard and then saw a number of owls. Joe took this shot. He did, add my suggestion, to put Venus behind the owl’s head. There was just enough glow from the thinly overcast sky to make the magic. It’s wise to support each other’s success. 

As you can see, the Owl was shot on the same tree that I shot these crows last Spring.

On the drive out of the valley I told Joe to look for a farm house that looked like the perfect Xmas card. I had noticed it last year, but didn’t take the picture because the moon was too high in the sky. I told myself to come back when it was right. I thought it was going to be the next night. I guess my intention was strong enough….it was just right.

Merry Cristmast. If you ever have a comment about these photo essays please drop me a line. If you have a picture you’d like to share, please send it along. I love hearing from you and seeing how other people picture the world. Of course, for any reason, if you want to be removed  from my mailings just send a reply with “No Thanks” in the subject line. If you are one of those who received  this from a friend and want to be added to the list send me an email. I will be delighted to include you.  jd@jerrydownsphoto.com

 

Jerry Downs Photography
P.O. Box 1082
Larkspur, CA 94977
415-686-2369
http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

Joe’s website:

http://www.joeburull.com/