Painting With Light

“Detail” © R.L. Herron

Recent world events have made a lot of people stop wondering what’s happening to the domestic auto companies as important events unfold, particularly in Iran, where a surprising interest in free, democratic elections has evidenced itself.

It seems the whole world is hesitating and wondering about the details of the things developing.

Interesting thing about detail. Once you capture someone’s attention, you can seldom have too much.

The shot above has nothing to do with world events, but it is an exercise in detail. The stamen of this flower (please don’t ask me what it is, I am hopeless when it comes to flower names) seem to writhe and gyrate, in this close focus. There is a striking amount of detail, but it’s not really enough.

The focus is ever so soft, the product of a hand-held exposure. I knew I should have mounted the camera on a tripod, but opted not to. I said it was for expediency but, honestly, it was laziness. I just didn’t make the short trip inside (the flower is in our backyard garden, and the tripod was upstairs).

So, what could have been a stunning image, is simply interesting.

They say “the devil is in the detail.” So is the perfection and, in some cases, freedom, we strive for.

Hopefully, lesson learned.

Hmmm…maybe I should write.

“Foggy Sunrise” © R.L. Herron

No News?
I find it ironic that the national media hasn’t focused so intensely on the domestic car manufacturers these past few days. The local media certainly is focusing on it, particularly around Detroit, which is the area hardest hit by what’s happening.

But why the hiatus in the national media? Not enough scandal? Too little in the way of surprises? Not enough gloom-and-doom to make the headlines sizzle and have all those advertisers pay dearly to be included for the ride?

Perhaps you think I’m a bit cynical. But those are the things media lives for, aren’t they?

I’m old enough to remember when being a journalist was a good thing. Not that people who do that for a living today aren’t good. It’s the position that has lost some of its luster.

No Reporters Any More
Many people these days, myself included, regard TV journalists as “talking heads.” Pretty faces, paid to read the teleprompter with whatever words the station owner wants them to read.

Not the nitty-gritty, go-out-and-find-the-news, dig-for-it and then report it style, focused on fact and truth, that made the American press the sacrosanct beacon of freedom we used to think it was.

Like the sun in the picture above, taken from the Renaissance Center in Detroit, looking out over the Detroit River toward Canada, the “news” used to be something we could count on to lift the fog on what was happening in our world.

No News Is Just the News
Now the news is info-tainment, competing with the dozens (or is that hundreds?) of similar programming ideas on all channels and scattered across the Internet.

All of them fighting for the same dollars of ad revenue. All looking for the scandal or disaster that will cause viewers to tune in, or click on to them for enough moments to drive up their ratings, thus assuring that they get top dollar for those ad placements.

In a frightening way, some of them are outright changing the news by the slanted way they report it.

I’d like to say I thought all this as I looked at this picture tonight. In reality, I was just looking for a good photograph in my collection to talk about. Something that I could get into about exposure time and f-stop, or maybe the type of camera I was using.

Sad what comes to mind too often these days. Makes me wish I could get this cynicism out of my system, and just think about writing and photography again for a while.

“Hidden Beauty” © R.L. Herron

Beauty is Everywhere
I know that’s a cliche, but it’s true. Just like this shot of red flowers (don’t ask me what they are, I haven’t got a clue). They were a solitary spot of vibrant color in a field of weeds.

I had to lie flat on the ground to get this perspective and soiled a very good shirt. I used a large aperture and fast shutter speed to throw the background out of focus, so the flowers dominate the picture. I didn’t want to see everything, just the pretty part.

I think that’s an attitude that would serve most of us well in these uncertain times.

As GM, and the other domestic automakers, struggle to reinvent themselves in the wake of the disaster created by Wall Street, and the rest of us try to make sense of the recession caused by those under-regulated, greedy fools, it makes sense to stop and look around us.

There is still a lot in the world to be happy about. Taking care of family and friends in need, because we care. Taking care of strangers, for the same reason. Looking for the good in the world, and focusing on it.

Like those red flowers, it’s always there. We just have to find it.