52 Week Photography Project
April Edition
No.-14 This Country
The land you live on comes up through your body and develops a bond within. It attaches to you, especially if you are young. In some ways, land can hold you in place. The vegetation captures your olfactory, the terrain affects your muscles and bones and balance. The fauna enters your audio and spirit. All together it captures your internal vision, and the wind of course is the messenger.
This photo (1927) was a print (photographer unknown) that I photographed, coloured, and edited in PS.
The two houses above and to the left of the pavilion were built by my grandfather and his brother in the early 20th century.
You may say, John, that was a long time ago, and that bond has surely faded.
It didn’t fade for my Great Grandfather, or my Grandfather, it didn’t fade for my Father, and now it flows through me.
My daughter and my grandkids have the same infliction.
I know I can be uprooted and I have been, but through it all, the sparkling waters of Lake Muskoka eventually call us home.
No.-15 Beheaded
We all lived in cities. We were all escaping to the wild beyond.
We were all married and childless. We found ourselves, and each other, in North Vancouver Island.
Bea and I had renovated a used Chevy Van making it into a camper. We stuffed our meagre belongings into every conceivable space and headed out from Ontario. BC or bust.
The bonds, that strangers establish, when confronted with thoughts of distant family and friends, quickly become strong. And then, when young couples begin to consider having children, the bonds grow stronger still.
These are the circumstances under which Rodrigo and his misses became pregnant. He arrived at our house with prideful smiles and stance, to share the glad tidings.
As with all good news, I reached for the camera (Canon AE 1). In those days the camera was always loaded — in this case with Kodak 5052 TMX film.
We did all our own developing and darkroom work.
In the old house Bea and I rented, there was an oversized bathroom. With ample counter space, only one small window, and a large bathtub. I had only to wire and mount some speakers, and the darkroom was complete.
In the image above, our dog, and my head, are afterthoughts to the celebrations.
Black and white film negatives, scanned and coloured in Photoshop.
Beheaded
No.-16 Pretty Isn’t Pretty
Can you imagine this old structure being newly built and standing in beautiful fields of grasses and wildflowers?
Can you see her free in all directions no walls attached?
Can you imagine cobblestone paths welcoming you to the generous front door?
Can you see the new fresh pink colouring, in lively purity, and at the same time, complimenting the sunsets?
Can you perhaps see a child in the very upper window, looking out momentarily from her attic explorations?
I walk by and every time these thoughts, and more, seem held within these broken walls.
Who was last to live here and decided this final state?
The pretty like all pretty slowly fades. In this case it is replaced with nostalgia.
No.- 17 Half a World Away
Monchique Portugal enters the annals of history when Roman settlers are drawn to the healing powers of the hot springs located in this area. They built spas and slowly over the years the town grew and by the 16th century King Sebastian (1564–1578) arrived and declared Monchique an official town the charter dated 1773.
We have spent our winters in Portugal for the last 14 years. As I say this I feel her pull. We have only just arrived home but we feel we have left something behind.
Actually we did, the guitar and the Mah Jong tiles, but that’s not it.
Although we always stayed close to the ever changing and volatile Atlantic Ocean; our first love, we always made visits to misty Monchique in the highlands of the Algarve.
Her age and beauty, (and remoteness, just enough), add to a sense of permanence. Hand built terraces of ancient stone adorn everywhere. Fairy tale stone houses with no trace of the so called modern, monstrosity mansions.
Garden plots, and a sprinkling of natural spring swimming pools, can be seen from above.
The downtown is a bright square (Praca da cidade) with a collection of cafes and restaurants all with outdoor seating of course.
I feel her still and she’s Half A World Away.
