International Aperture Award 2010, bronze award in landscape

i was going to try and finish up the california trip today having caught up with posting expenses etc, cleaned my kitchen yesterday washed the window always a hard job because the window has an exhaust fan in it that gets the window screen greasy so ammonia has to be used. the one positive effect of cleaning with ammonia is i can breathe easier now. but that’s why i left the chemical darkroom the smell of the fixer.ugh

but reading my email this morning i had some pleasant news from the International Aperture Awards

Aperture Award announcement

pretty cool huh? i love this image maybe because i know the story of when and where. it was taken on RT 7 in Vermont during the time i was showing mary around where i grew up and where my family was from. We had an exhibit in Burlington and decided to drive up there to deliver the prints and stay for the opening.

this picture looks across farmland in front of Lake Champlain [not seen] toward the mountains of new york state in the background. mary stopped the car and pulled over and i took a couple of exposures. i loved the lone tree and the rays of lighting. it reminds me of how i’ve felt most of my life, me against the world.

this is the same trip where i asked mary if she would be my wife. life has changed for me now, i don’t feel as if i am alone in this world. even if i’d not asked and mary accepted my proposal did i feel the same old negative feelings of being alone. i had mary in my life but i wanted to make a statement, to whom i am not sure, the world? how i felt about her and what she really meant to me.

having her in ones corner is a real asset because once she makes up her mind, she’s there. so maybe this tree symbolizes mary and not me. i have to remember life isn’t all about me nor are the pictures. they actually present themselves to the world for all to see and if i am lucky enough to be there and capture the moment with my brownie i have a way of remembering and sharing that moment of beauty with others.

just like now, being married to mary, we both have the legal & moral right to share and enjoy our work together. my life has improved so much after meeting her, being open with her is something i highly recommend as  is having love in ones life. it does open new vistas and opportunities. but don’t get any funny ideas as she is taken and we don’t share well with strangers.

so any award i win we both win as she is a part of what and where i do life along with how open my eyes and ears are. having a life and sharing it is a wonderful thing, i highly recommend it.

so maybe you can think of ways you can share your life and the wonders that befall you, or just turn to the stranger next to you and say hello. it does make a difference.

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