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Archive for the ‘Storytelling’ Category

Comes the Dawn

June 18, 2009

“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.

Posted in Non-Fiction Writing, Storytelling | 2 Comments »

Find the Hidden Beauty

June 15, 2009

“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.

Posted in Non-Fiction Writing, Storytelling | 4 Comments »

All in the Point of View

June 13, 2009

“Grand River After Dark” © R.L. Herron

I haven’t written much lately and I’ve been remiss in taking pictures, too. I guess I have a lot of other things on my mind. Being retired … early. GM going bankrupt (how will that affect my pension?). The economy.

However, all things considered, I’ve decided to quit worrying about it and get on with my business.

I’ve decided, like the shot above taken near the mouth of the Grand River in Grand Haven, Michigan, life is completely dependent on your point of view.

As I started setting up for the shot it was well after sundown. It seemed considerably darker out than the image you see now.

Most people looked at me as if I had grown an extra appendage when I took out my camera in that dark, set up my tripod on the boardwalk looking out at the lighthouse, and started taking pictures toward the mouth of the river where it empties into Lake Michigan at Grand Haven.

A couple walking by wanted to know if they would interfere with the shot. I told them no, and you can see their ghostly images on the boardwalk.

There were boats coming up the river, too. I imagine they were looking for familiar, safe moorings at which to spend the night. You can’t see them in this time exposure (about 10 seconds), but you can see their running lights.

Just like a lot of things in life, I wasn’t sure how this shot would turn out. Still, I went to a lot of trouble to set up for it and took it anyway, because I wanted to know what would happen.

The image is now one of my favorites. Which makes me realize, all over again, that life is for taking chances, learning from our mistakes and exalting over our triumphs.

Life, the cliche tells us, goes on.

And it’s true. My pension will be whatever it is going to be. GM will become whatever it’s destined to become. I will do whatever I need to do to survive.

In the end, things that matter won’t change very much. I can still count on the love of my family. The world will turn. I will write more stories, take still more pictures and continue to experiment with them both.

In fact, I think I will take the tripod out tomorrow night and set it up, just to see what I might see.