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Black and White

November 28, 2009

“Egret After Sunset” by R.L. Herron

There doesn’t seem to be any good news on the horizon, despite the slight growth in the economy. Perhaps it has something to do with my location. Things in this area seem more depressed than elsewhere in the country.

So much of our local economy, for such a long time, has been dependent on the auto industry. When that industry suffers, and it surely has, everyone around here suffers along with it.

Short-Sighted Leaders
I’ll never understand the arguments of those who said it was best to let the American auto companies die, rather than have the government (you and me, folks) help them through the tough financial times.

Can they possibly be so short-sighted not to see the ramifications of something like that? Failing to aid our largest manufacturing base would have created a depression so deep I shudder to think about it.

Have the naysayers missed the massive housing decline, and the steep fall in retail sales? Do they really think those empty malls and shuttered plants have nothing at all to do with the mess our financial institutions caused with their greed?

Or am I being too cynical?

After all, the pundits like to say (particularly when they’re bashing my own misguided opinions) the world isn’t just black and white. Even though our esteemed media, and most of our politicians, seem determined to separate everything that way.

It seems that way with the shot of the egret above, too (I know, that was a really terrible segue).

I took the shot late in the day … after sunset, actually … using a high ISO setting on the camera. Since it was handheld, I was extremely thankful for the anti-shake mechanics of the lens.

Even so, there’s a lot of softness and grain and the result, trust me, looks much better in black and white. But I miss the color. The soft, warm glow that seemed to dissolve into the inky blue of the night sky.

I miss the nuances and color of regular life, too. They seem to get lost in the endless stream of conservative-liberal ‘the world is either black or white’ rhetoric we hear every day.

Isn’t anyone else tired of it? I miss the color.

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Why Autumn Rules

October 22, 2009

“Autumn Rules” © R.L. Herron

My wife and I just spent two days touring the thumb area of Michigan’s lower peninsula. We were honestly disappointed for most of the trip. The fall color we were anticipating wasn’t as ready as we were!

However, there was enough to make it a nice two days.

The photograph above, taken late in the afternoon, was one of the marvelous images we found. Looking at a shot like this reminds me why I love living here. In a matter of moments, a dull grey day can become a riot of color!

I couldn’t help thinking about something I mentioned in my last post, that I can hardly wait to see what’s on the road tomorrow.

For me, it’s true. Every day is an adventure and every day can contain something spectacular for each of us, if we are only wise enough to be looking for it.

It occurred to me this philosophy translates nicely to the work environment. Too bad I left the nine-to-five, because I’ve been learning more about using social networking, like this blog, as a marketing tool.

It’s an area marketers, if they haven’t done so already, are going to quickly discover. I’d like to think I can help them devise metrics to measure the success of such new tools and see what’s on their road tomorrow.

Of course, there are also plenty of times I just want to sit back and enjoy the sights.

Posted in Market Your Book, Non-Fiction Writing, Storytelling | 1 Comment »

Rochester Writers Conference

October 3, 2009

Unlike previous entries, this post is only partially about myself. I cannot even take credit for the photograph, since it was taken by my lovely wife.

I attended the Rochester Writers Conference today. An all-day affair, held at Rochester College in, you guessed it, Rochester, Michigan, it featured several speakers making presentations on the various aspects of the craft and business of writing.

This was the second year for the event and my second time in attendance, so I’m batting a thousand.

I chose to visit four specific presentations: (1) Promote Your Writing by Building an Online Presence, by Lori A. May; (2) Re-Work, Re-Sell and Re-Print: Secrets to Recycling Your Writing in the Marketplace, by Cindy LaFerle; (3) Magazine Editors Panel, featuring Rebecca Stevens, and Becky Repp; and (4) Songwriting 101: Lyrics to Market by Bill Edwards.

All the sessions were extremely informative, and provided a marvelous opportunity to network with other writers in the area.

However, as terrific as the presentations were, the best part of the day, for me anyway, had to be the Keynote Address following lunch by author Chip St. Clair.

An excellent speaker, he gave a riveting account of his new memoir The Butterfly Garden. It is a powerful story, not only of his life, but of hope in the face of unspeakable abuse and violence.

If you get a chance, read it. His message was well worth the day.