September 2020
**Advice Needed**
Dear Lawyer Friends,
I need one of you that understands the concept of a class action lawsuit to consult me. Please call me on my cell, or email me, and I will call and make an appointment.
**Digital Photography and Printing**
I was slow to warm up to the digital age, but I really love it. The papers are amazing. I finally got rid of the POS Epson printer, and purchased a Canon. Ten times a better machine, and Canon has great customer service. I get a call for an image I shot on film, scan it, then work on it for printing. In the darkroom days, dodging and burning, the process of adding and holding back light to the light sensitive paper was done with your hands and homemade tools. It's a little clumsier, and broader. Digitally, you can control a pixel, and the manipulation is not taking place during the exposure. It’s more like working on a painting. Also, say there is a distracting telephone pole coming out of a head. You can remove it. I am not heavy handed with these options, and my goal is to make the images all look like they were shot on film. I believe Ansel Adams would have loved this.
**The Pandemic From Here**
The park has partially re-opened though the backcountry roads, and Ross Maxwell scenic drive are still closed. The road to Rio Grande Village, I believe, has re-opened, including Dugout Wells. Though I write this, you might check with the park for the most current information. There’s no camping and day use only. There is no such thing as a bad day in Big Bend, but it kinda feels like going to see a good friend, but his face, arms, and a leg is missing. The weather has been hot and dry. That being said, I still look forward to going soon. Being somewhat confined to Marathon, I’ve been enjoying my rituals. The first one, coffee. I swear, I think my Mom put it in my baby bottle. I don’t ever remember not drinking it. These days, I grind just what I’m going to use, heat the water, then cool it so it’s not boiling, and use a single pour Meliita cone and filter. Pouring it just so, careful not to wash the grounds off the walls of the filter. Next, is my bike ride, the long one on the road bike one day, and to the post on the mountain bike the next day. This requires all the proper clothing, helmet, water bottles, camera, etc. Did you ever notice the difference between males and females regarding something like riding a bike. Men need every accoutrement, women, a helmet and shoes. After the ride, it’s fruit smoothie time. I mix it all up just about the same every day. After that I am ready to begin my working day. That can change according to what needs to be done. I only mention this because I have become so self-aware and thankful that my life is sweet comparatively to others I do not personally know suffering through this pandemic. This is the strangest time I’ve ever lived through in my life, and that there is no light at the end of the tunnel makes it all the more difficult. I miss hugging my friends. I miss touch, and a handshake.
I hope that all of you are doing well, and the best you can in this trying time.
** A New Book**
I am still working on a retrospective book. This concept was David Hamrick’s. Big Bend Pictures, my first book, sold out and was reprinted two times. Before David left UT Press, he suggested that I update BBP, and make it a new retrospective book. This is a brilliant idea. In the beginning of my life here my plan was to shoot a lot while I was young and had a lot of energy. Then, as I got slower and less energetic, I would print the whole body of work. I didn't expect that would be so soon. For instance, I would go to the park and shoot ten rolls of film. I would process that film, and say there were four good images to print, I might only print one or two of them and put the others in the file. I did this for years, so there are a few hundred images I’ve never printed. That is what I am editing right now. When the digital age came along it was no longer a roll of 12, but a card with hundreds of images. I didn’t name the images as I shot them, and so I am paying for it now. I was also anxious about re-using SD cards. The idea of deleting an image is frightening. So, I just kept buying cards, using them only once, as well as, saving copies on multiple external hard drives. Then, someone talked me in to just saving the images on the external hard drives and using the cards over. I did this for a short stint, but then got too nervous again. So can you see how I have created an editing nightmare for myself. I have thousands of images and possibly stored in three or more places. Happily, I am about half-way through, and it is exciting to find images I'd forgotten about and organize and title them.
** You Are In My Thoughts**
This monthly email gets to a lot of the people that have purchased my images and are following my career. I cannot thank you enough. Because of you, I’ve never had to get a real job. I've never had to teach workshops. I've never had to do anything other than take and make photographs. The luxury of deciding what to do with every minute of my self disciplined life is the greatest gift bestowed on me by you. I am aware of it, and I try not to waste it. Thank you.
Happy Full Moon. Get Outside.