dispatch from up north

Since I have a lot of catching up to do, I decided to break with form and put all my daily photos from our week at the lake into a single post (mainly to spare my email subscribers a total barrage of Terra).

We had a great time, as always. Memories were made, wildlife witnessed, great food consumed. Cold beer, boat rides, fishing, a grand parade. It was pretty much everything you could want from a week at the cabin (except, maybe, another week).

180/365: rocco, nearly 10 months (happy dog)

181/365: goofballs (sawyer & zola on the boat)

182/365: bubbles, side lake 4th of july parade

183/365: wild daisies @ the sand pit

184/365: luna, international wolf center, ely, mn

185/365: bobber, pickerel lake

186/365: birch bark

09.27.13 the angling

I’m not an angler. Truth be told, my sympathy usually lies with the fish. But there is an appeal to it. At its best, fishing is solitude and simplicity – bamboo pole, worm, and net – and, then, the act of dipping into nature, embroiled in a primitive battle of wills.

It’s all that Hemingway, I suppose.

269/365: vintage fishing net

05.02.13 open water

The only picture I managed to get yesterday was this one – a shot of my finished wood block-mounted print – ‘Wave’ – for the 7th Annual ‘Open Water’ Exhibition. I’m pleased to be part of this show for the 2nd year. All the details – plus, the two other pieces I’ll have in the show this year – are included below.

122/365: ‘wave’ on wood

‘self portrait on the dock’ – Open Water, 2013

‘eclectic angler triptych’

gone fishin’

This little grouping of images has been in my mind for some time. I keep thinking it would make a great gift for the eccentric angler on your Christmas list. But there is something here for everyone. I imagine sitting by the fire contemplating either the next big catch or the meaning of life.

There is something poetic about these photographs. The natural elements of Fin & Feather express the transience of life. The tangled web of Fishing Line left on the beach may evoke feelings of confusion but the graceful organic composition of the line itself is a meditation on tranquility.  And, those glowing fish striving to make their way Upstream speak to me of the force of life, the biological imperative that drives every living being to exist, to survive, and to continue.

Fishing Triptych (Fin & Feather, Fishing Line, Upstream)