A Year On The Mekong

Wooden River Freighter On the Mekong

I’ve been working on compiling and editing an ebook of photographs taken years ago, forty four years ago to be exact… cracked and emulsified negatives stored in an old cardboard box, threads of history that visually record a year of life spent in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. Dog-eared, creased, worn photos of people encountered, and places visited during a crazy and often harrowing year – a sometimes enchanting memory of amazing sights and amazing experiences. This is one of the photographs taken during that year of traveling highway and river – a wood paneled river freighter at anchor in the morning – a common sight in the Delta, a beautiful moment in time captured on the Mekong …

From the West China Sea to the eastern border of Cambodia, from the constant pandemonium of Bien Hoa Airbase outside of Saigon down to the southern tip of the Ca Mau Peninsula and the Gulf of Thailand, we crisscrossed back and forth over countless tributaries of the Mekong, visiting a haze of villages and hamlets that year. As I continue editing and restoring these old and faded photographs, I keep running into friends and memories that have hitched a ride on this trip, bringing back another time and place, and giving me a new sense of gratitude.

New Zion National Park Poster At Sage Galleries

New Limited Edition Giclee

 Sage Galleries

Don Lee Brown

Clear Creek Narrows

ZION NATIONAL PARK

Limited Edition Signed and Numbered Giclee

Are We Better Off?

President Ronald Reagan

I took a trip to The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library yesterday and grabbed a few pictures inside the library…, since there is no flash allowed, and the lighting was subdued, I only took a few shots. The library staff were all friendly and helpful, and I focused on enjoying the exhibits, and on walking through Air Force One. it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, it’s an in-depth tour of American History. And if you love ‘The Gipper’ (no secret here!), then it’s an amazing story of a great president who had the ‘right stuff’. Here’s a short video montage of the shots I captured and posted on Vimeo .

       Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Video    –      http://vimeo.com/35847633

And here’s a poll with the question, “Are we better off now than four years ago?“

I’m thinking that question applies today much the same as it did on October 2nd, 1980 when President Reagan asked it….  What do you think? I know that everyone has their own opinion – and I’d like to know yours. Here’s the Poll…..

 

Wedding Celebration!

Last weekend I was reviewing photographs for the blog, and as I looked through Josh and Heather’s wedding photos I ran across this candid and crazy shot of Josh the Groom, and Manuel, one of his Groomsmen. The photo was taken on the dance floor by up and coming Seattle wedding photographer, Kristin Honeycutt. Kristin excels in wedding photography and captured the pure fun of Josh and Heather’s September wedding in this photograph – and I’m sharing the joy as a proud father.  Does this look like a happy man who just got married? Friendship, and wedding festivities – a record of human emotion and celebration – captured and frozen in the photographic moment. Kristin’s “nextbestphoto“!

Diamond In The Rough

Recently I was driving up through a desert pass outside of our area, exploring as I always do, taking dirt roads here and there….  and whammo, I see a bunch of bright colors popping up from a mass of large boulders. A house! Out in the middle of nowhere. An architectural ‘Diamond In The Rough’. I thought you might enjoy taking a look.

Incredible

‘Timing Can Be Everything’

As I always say, ‘timing can be everything‘…. After hiking out towards a distant outcrop in the Park to scout for a photograph, I came up on this area and knew that if I could just wait a few minutes the sun would paint the boulders and desert brush in a golden wash just as it was setting. “Magic Time“. Well, minutes turned into more like an hour but the ‘glow’ that finally came was well worth the wait. ‘Timing’, sometimes you have to work for it…. but in photography it’s always worth the wait, just like most things in life.

Cap Rock Prairie At Joshua Tree

Catching late afternoon sun highlighting the prairie at Cap Rock earlier this week at Joshua Tree National Park .

King Of The Hill

King Of The Hill

Intersection Rock – Joshua Tree National Park

To answer your question, no, that’s not me waaaay up on the top of Intersection Rock…. It takes a lot better climber than yours truly… But it sure looked like fun being ‘King of the Hill’, and while exploring Joshua Tree one morning I couldn’t resist taking this photograph of a solitary climber enjoying the view from the top.

Timing Is Everything….

As with most things in life, timing is important, and timing can sometimes be everything with a photograph…. We were driving the back roads in Joshua Tree yesterday when we came around the corner and ‘wow’, a beautiful shot, the sunlight highlighting a ridge of granite just ‘perfect’ as the sun was going down. It was “magic time”. I stopped our car and jumped out with my camera, running across the dirt road and into the brush, jumping over sagebrush and miscellaneous cacti, scrambling like some wild man in the wilderness to get set up for ‘the perfect picture’ before the sun disappeared. Alas! The sun had faded and was down within seconds,  almost taking today’s ‘the next best photo’ away forever. But I managed to grab one shot before the moment had vanished. Within seconds the sun was away and gone….Yep, timing is everything.