Quote for the Day

I have been captured with this photo since I took it and thought it "deserved" a quote. The person I've always admired and enjoyed his writings is Dag Hammarskjold. He was the Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953-1961 when he died in a mysterious plane crash on route to Africa when he learned of the fighting between non combatant UN forces and the Katangese forces of Moise Tshombe. There was significant turmoil and unrest during this time in the Congo. The only book that Hammarskjold wrote was a reflection of his inner thoughts and prayer: MARKINGS. Dag Hammarskjold was the only person to have received the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

The quote that I have chosen for this particular photo is from that book. "For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes."
JFK referred to him as the greatest statesman of the century.

Cathedral Basilica

We are quite fortunate in St. Louis to have such a beautiful cathedral. Knowing this, I have often taken it for granted and don't frequent it (either by attending mass there or just stopping by or a visit) as often as I would like. It is visually and photographically quite stunning and truly a magnificent structure. I have posted some of my favorite photos on this section. I sometimes felt like Michaelangelo lying on the floor taking some of these images. I hope he would be pleased with some of the shots. When you have some time, check out the Basilica Cathedral's website. In the meantime enjoy these photos.

http://cathedralstl.org/site/

"Runnin On"

As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I would be occasionally adding some video. This particular video was done for my Digital Photography class. I'm actually quite proud of the way I laid out the images. I believe it all flows together with the particular song I used. It's one that always gets me pumpin'. It's one of those "road songs" I used to take along with me when I would tour on my motorcycle; kind of like Bruce Hornsby's "Every Little Kiss".
Thanks Tony for your guidance, inspiration, and knowledge of putting it all together. Oh, by the way, a special thanks to Jackson for recording it.

Quote for Today

"He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress"
Anwar Sadat

Ever since I read this quote, I've been thoroughly enthralled by it's content and meaning. It says so much about why people becomes so linear in their thinking and thus reach a stalemate in their development not just ideological, but spiritual, emotional, and passionately.

The Black and Whites

I have always been enamored with black and white photography. When one looks at the majestic prints of Ansel Adams with impeccable tonal and contrast qualities, or the provocative messages of Diane Arbus, Julia Margaret Cameron and Margaret Bourke-White, and certainly the masters of Bresson, Strand, Steiglitz, Cunningham to name a few I'm often struck with the question-How did they do that? For it's not just the compositional element of their photographs that one looks at but the sharpness and clarity of the print.

The images that I have presented here were all shot in color and converted on the computer. While I "grew up" in the darkroom, I don't have the time nor the equipment to produce a true black and white print. I was able to do some black/white shooting with my Pentax 6x7 last year but again am limited by time to getting to the lab at my college to develop. Some of the images you may be thinking; reek for color, however, I assure you that if you look at the tones and contrast you'll actually "see" the color in them.

I often wonder if these noted photographers would be "turning over in their graves" to know this is being done now or would they embrace the technology and use it to their expertise. One can only speculate on this.