The smoke is still pretty thick ’round here, although the rains have come. We’re used to the Bay Area having fog cascade over the hills like some magical potion pouring out of a steaming mug, but this daily blanket of smoke has not been the same. Our eyes have watered; we’ve coughed; our voices have…
Tag: photography
Respite: November Days of Gratitude
I have to make this quick. We are pressed for time as we’re trying to leave early so as maybe to avoid traffic. Who am I kidding? We’re leaving Southern California and I don’t know if there is ever a good time to avoid traffic here. It’s getting that way in the Bay Area, too,…
Finding those tiny beams of light: November Days of Gratitude
I’ve always been fascinated that in the darkest of dark, our eyes can adjust to first see shadows and grays and then to eke out enough light to find our way. As I’ve dabbled in photography over the years, I’ve found myself trying to understand light most of all. It’s always the light, working with…
Six degrees and volcanic activity in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Seems like I’ve been gone from my blog for forever. Sometimes you need to step off, regroup. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but sometimes, you just have nothing to say. Better to remain silent. I went back to work full-time in January, adopting a 7th grade class whose teacher resigned over the…
Women’s March 2018: Oakland, CA
We marched a year ago across the country — and around the world. I had flown to DC as had hundreds of thousands. This year, I stuck closer to home, but in the intervening year, I have continued to protest and march against an administration that seems to only care for the very rich, the…
Just a Blog Away: Fishermen and Poets
There is so much creativity and wonder out there in the blogging world and I need to grab more of it in 2018. That’s one of my goals for the new year. I don’t make resolutions because resolutions are notoriously bad at holding up over time. Goals, though, are doable. Specific. They can be tracked…
On Boxing Day: Find Respite (and movie-makers) at Rock City
When you get together with one of your best friends on Boxing Day — and your idea of a good time is NOT heading to the mall — it’s best to head outdoors. For us, that meant Rock City on Mt. Diablo (in Danville, CA): a place where wind and sky meet rock and earth,…
November Days of Gratitude: The Camera in My Pocket
My Visual Evolution Images used to rattle around in my brain. I’d take great pains to collect them like seashells or pebbles from the beach, clenched fingers holding tight, spilling some here or there, trying to remember and savor all I’d seen. Back then, a bulky camera would weigh down my shoulders; few images would…
November Days of Gratitude: When one day rolls into the next
My days of gratitude, in and of themselves, have been something to give thanks for. They have centered me, grounded me to the blessings in my life. It has been a slowing down of the crazy pace we’ve accepted as “normal” and given me time to reflect. Mostly. Except yesterday — when I had to…
November Days of Gratitude: Pieces of Your Heart
They walk around the world In their torn jeans, wearing flip flops, ponytails and home-done manicures. Not children any longer, their days and dreams grow, take them farther from home. Still, though, a rapid-fire response, fierce protection of any slight, day or night — can trigger out from my spirit, like darts being thrown in…
Car wash meditation: an iPhone records and rescues the mundane
I’ve been fighting a bug over the last week — one that kept me in bed for a couple of days. When you teach, you sort of expect that as one of the costs of the job: the kids get sick, so you probably will, too. In the meantime, my car — parked under a…
A Photo a Day: When you don’t come back to the place you started from
Day #24 Toby and I took a walk last night. Felt like rain, but only because the wind had kicked up a bit. That’s not a good thing these days. A flammable California does not need wind. But it’s autumn and the evenings cool off — lately with brilliant sunsets, fiery and red. Our normal…
Barbara Ganias Comstock 