I think I know where this is going. . . a photo contest

“As engines of economic growth, markets extend the frontiers of human well-being; as sites of innovation, they expand the boundaries of human imagination; as a non-coercive means of coordinating behavior, they diminish the threat of tyranny. However, markets can also concentrate economic power in a way that limits individual opportunity, stifles innovation, and distorts public discourse. The need to respond to market incentives can distort relationships, dissolve communities, and harm the natural environment. The extension of markets into education, health care, and criminal justice threatens to undermine the distinct aims that those institutions were designed to promote. How do markets promote or hinder human well-being? What is the relationship between economic freedom and other freedoms? What are the proper limits of markets? What, if anything, should not be for sale?”

Pretty sure capitalism will be bashed in this photo contest promoted by Center for Ethics and Human Values at Ohio State University.  The solutions will be, of course, more government control. . . because markets

• concentrate economic power
• limit individual opportunity
• stifle innovation
• distort public discourse
• distort relationships
• dissolve communities
• harm the natural environment
• undermine distinct aims of institutions
• hinder human well-being
• proper limits

The day the elephants came to town

Plus some other wonderful photographs from Joe's portfolio.

And not a fast food restaurant in sight

The scene "Sunday on the banks of the River Marne (1938) may be idyllic, but they are all overweight. How can that be with all that healthy French food and no evil processed food? Apparently Americans didn't invent this problem.

Shawnee State Park along the Ohio River

Joe Wagenhals has been out clicking the Nikon. He went a little south of here and found some fabulous red bud trees in bloom. http://jwagenhals.zenfolio.com/p899244680/slideshow . Just relax and enjoy. Also, you can visit his website. Watch for an upcoming photography show at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, Mill Run campus, Oct. 31, 2010 through Jan. 4, 2011.

It's new notebook time

I've loved my Barnes and Noble lined 6 x 9 journal, with a sewn binding and a cover photo by Mark Barrett. He must be one of the most fabulous equine photographers in the world. I began this notebook on November 1, All Saints Day, and today turned over the last sheet.

Stock Horse Photography Library

One of the worst education stories I've read

A blogger from Detroit who has a fascination with photographing abandoned buildings came upon a middle school building abandoned in 2007. I was browsing his photos of the library (it would rip out the heart of any librarian) and then found this horror story. He could find no one who cared, so he's destroying the stash himself.

"After my first visit to the shattered middle school, I am haunted by what I found in one office: hundreds of file folders containing student psychological examinations complete with social security numbers, addresses, and parent information. I sat and thumbed through them. Many contained detailed histories of physical and sexual abuse, stories of home lives so horrifying I still can't get them out of my head: sibling rape, torture, neglect that defies belief. The detailed reports explained emotional impairments, learning disabilities. There was another box full of IEPs. The dates revealed that many of these students are still in the school system somewhere. I found several of their faces in the 2007 yearbook.

I spend the next few months trying to track down someone who cares. I send e-mails to the school's former principal, offering to go back and collect these records for her or destroy them. She never responds. I call my mom, a retired special education teacher and erstwhile administrator to determine the extent of malfeasance. Then I call the school district's legal department and leave voice mails warning them of the liability of this gross violation of student privacy. I never receive a response. I track down the school psychologist to some address in Troy. Nothing. It turns out a daily newspaper reported abandoned records like these within many of the 33 schools closed in 2007 and the district did nothing. No one is responsible. Someone else was supposed to destroy them. The company that had been paid to secure the school never did its job."

It's enough to make you homeschool, isn't it? And to cry for those poor, pitiful children that no school, no matter how good, will ever be able to save. But what excuses do the adults--the administrators of Detroit's school system have? They took the tax money to teach, test, classify and pigeon hole the children, and then abused them yet one more time. I'm ill. I'm sorry I read this.

World's cutest studio

Sandy blogs at Thistle Cove Farm. A serious artist with the world's most adorable studio.

The photo album

Last night I e-mailed a photographer from Wisconsin asking permission to use his photo as a reference for a painting, and he graciously responded OK (very interesting photos from all over the world). Then I decided I needed a special folder for this, because I ask and then forget where I saved them. When I changed computers about a year ago, my e-mail didn't transfer. Sooo....one thing led to another and I started moving other files--it began to take on a life of its own--like when I clean my real office. Then I came across this story, written in November 2004 for NaNoWrMo. When I write fiction, I have no middle or ending in mind, only the first sentence, so I wrote what came to mind, saved it, and didn't reopen it for five years. At this point, the inspiration is gone, but here it is.

Paula Bearfoot. I knew her the minute I saw the old photos glued to the page of the crumbling scrapbook laid out on the table at the reunion. I’d seen her photo a few times back in 1959, and the scrapbook was from the 50s--the kind with the ugly black paper. Something like a shoestring provided the flimsy binding.

How prissy the girls all looked then in black and white glossies, caught and preserved by a little Brownie Kodak. Neat, straight, pencil thin wool skirts, a short sleeve sweater with stitching on the sleeves, a white collar “dickey,” and white anklets in saddle shoes. What pride they took in their appearance. Oh, the wasted hours in front of the mirror. Leafing through the album, I realized somewhat belatedly that teen-agers weren’t fat then, they didn’t wear jeans when trying to impress guys, and they wore way too much lipstick. I looked around the room. Times had certainly changed. Fat mamas, all. Pale lips. At least no jeans.

P-B they called her. With a name like Bearfoot, she probably got a lot of questions. I mean, I would’ve asked--if I’d known her. What do you suppose she answered? Did she make up something clever or tell the truth? Did anyone ever hear the truth from PB? She was my husband's steady. Even at the reunion, he heard of yet another guy who had dated “his” girl. Even after 40 years, I felt just a little sorry for him.

No one had seen her since college. No one knew where her family had moved. Did she even finish college? Occasionally, letters were read at these every decade affairs. No one seemed to remember exactly what they said when I inquired, discreetly of course. She was a social worker. She was a lawyer. She was a secretary. She’d never married. She married three times. Her step-daughter was in the Clinton administration. Her sister had drowned in Hawaii. She lived in Maine. She lived in Arizona. The stories were told in such an off-hand, quasi-authoritative way, I just gave up.

The guy who owned the photo album looked carefully at her pictures. “I think I dated her,” he said, “or maybe her sister. June? Julie?” (371 words)

And that's all I wrote. NaNoWrMo should have been a natural for me, but it means writing on command (it's sort of a contest to write a novel in one month), and nothing will kill my inspiration like someone telling what, when, where or how to write.

Fotographia

Sometimes you just get lucky when you click on "next blog." Get a load of these photographs! http://ilustranatur.blogspot.com/. João Nunes da Silva, Portugal, Fotógrafo de Natureza. Not much in the archives, but what a feast for the eyes.

The fire in Grandview Heights

Yesterday a terrible fire raged through the business district of Grandview Heights, Ohio, for several hours as firefighters from several cities battled the freezing temperatures and aging buildings with nooks, crannies and shared attic and hallways where the flames could hide. One of the artists we've featured several times in our Visual Arts Ministry at UALC is local photographer Joe Wagenhals. Take a look at his slides of the fire.

Story in the Columbus Dispatch.

Who needs art classes?

I saw this fun add-on at Cathy's site.

You submit a photo to any one of many possibilities at PhotoFunia--billboards, t-shirts, appliances, and there you are!

This week at Lakeside there are two art classes (one for portraits) and two writing classes being offered that I might consider. My husband is also teaching, but his classes are too hard! I don't write well on assignment, and my last portrait effort certainly wasn't as good as this little computer trickster.

Bonita's wonderful craft

I've been reading Bonita's blog for several years and have admired her artistic photographs and informative posts. She says she has an old camera and an old computer, but she certainly has an eye for beauty and composition and a knack for story telling, whether about her Baha'i faith, her family, or her wonderful mountain and lake sojourns in Washington. I especially enjoy her food entries--always artistic, photographed during preparation, explained and displayed for the final reveal with a lovely background, plate, napkin or plants. Hawaiian lasagna, dilly bread, Salmon slaw--oh, yummy. Do go for a visit--after dinner. Even her campfire recipes are incredible.

Wild turkeys

couldn't keep me away from browsing "deepwoods" photos over at Weather Underground photo blogs.



She writes (but I can't find a place to comment and tell her how much I've enjoyed her photographs): "I am a lady who is now a stay at home homemaker. I live in the woods on the rocky coast of Maine. There are many opportunities to snap some great nature and wildlife scenes, as well as whatever else catches my eye as being interesting or a little different. I also love to bake, and do bake all our bread. Reading is one of my favorite pasttimes, non-fiction only. I am working on a book about my dog, Ridge, who also appears in many of my photos, as he is my constant companion...my hiking buddy, and my best friend. My firm belief and hope is that everyone will one day make a visit to the great state of Maine....it's not called "Vacationland" for nothing!" Sounds like a great life, doesn't it? I spent a summer session at a college in Maine, and we went there to see some fall color in the late 1970s. It is truly a gorgeous state. And winter doesn't look too shabby either!

The weather outside is. . .

Snowing in central Ohio. Grab a camera. I've just been browsing Weather Underground and the superb photos posted there. I think you join, and post weather related photos. The horse photo was posted after the December 13 ice storm, and the barn in Missouri earlier by idzrvit (I have no idea who that is, but I just liked the photos). In the search window enter, "ice storm." With some 300,000 people without power don't talk to these folks about global warming.

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New exhibit at Mill Run

On Saturday, five of us spent six hours hanging a wildlife photography exhibit at the Church at Mill Run, 3500 Mill Run Drive, Hilliard, OH 43026, the newest campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church. We drafted our daughter and son-in-law to help us since so many on our committee were busy with other projects. It's really spectacular (219 pieces), and the photographers, Drs. Charles and Sharron Capen, will be discussing their travels and hobby, this Sunday October 28, 2-4 p.m. at MR. I've just finished preparing the show booklet to send to the printer, so here's a sneak preview.

III. Denali National Park, Alaska

Denali Reflections in Wonder Lake
Grey Wolf Hunting
Hoary Marmots on Alert
Arctic Ground Squirrel
Moose Feeding in Pond
Male Caribou in Arctic Tundra
Mountain Goat Kid
Autumn Foliage: Willows and Mushrooms
Autumn Foliage: Bear Berries
Alpenglow

Charles and Sharron Capen are both veterinarians and are members of the faculty at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. I worked with both of them when I was the librarian for the college. Charles is a Distinguished University Professor and former Chairperson (1981-2002) of the Departments of Veterinary Pathobiology/Veterinary Biosciences. Sharron is Professor Emeritus of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Their shared hobby is travel and nature/wildlife photography. They have traveled to all seven continents, nearly fifty countries, and all fifty states.

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Do you think we have enough photos?

Would you believe we've actually winnowed these down to our favorites? We viewed the disk several times, discussing each one. My husband is returning the album he bought because there weren't enough slots. Now I've just gone through mine and ordered about 45 on-line. That's the problem with digital cameras!

I think the cat has been playing with the layout

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Ohio Birds and Biodiversity

is the title of an interesting blog with some great photographs by Jim McCormac. Great photo of the paparazzi who just found a dragonfly. Britney and Paris look out!


Really terrific photos of unusual flora and fauna with explanations. I didn't know frogs attacked and ate birds, but he's got a photograph of one doing it.

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Glamorous professions

Photography always sounded sort of glamorous to me until I read the breakdown of hours, requirements, salary and benefits in today's WSJ. Remember, the average school teacher earns more than $34/hour.

Who, on average, is better paid--public school teachers or architects? How about teachers or economists? You might be surprised to learn that public school teachers are better paid than these and many other professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.

According to this article, event photographers earn between $10-25 an hour as stringers. Now that's next to awful, don't you think? And the requirements sound a bit demanding to me, although what do I know--I was just a librarian who sat around all day and read books. An event photographer might spend as much time in editing, correcting and production as shooting the event; might have to invest $10,000 in equipment; probably misses all the important holidays with his/her family; and has a physically demanding routine dragging around all that equipment and doing set-ups.

Now, the pluses are you get to attend some interesting events and might see celebrities. You can't pay the rent or utilities by sighting Michael Jackson or Paris Hilton once a year.

Might be smarter to become a teacher, retire early, and take up photography on the side.

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Cleaning up the environment

Our local community paper showed the photos by a senior from Upper Arlington High School of her senior thesis of abandoned buildings in Columbus, titled "What about my generation." Her idea is that, "We should fix it up or turn it into parks." We shouldn't be building new shopping and housing areas in green farmland until we've restored these blighted areas, she proposes.

Do they teach civics, history or economics at UAHS? Does she realize she is making decisions about private property, or that some codes and regulations actually keep the less-than-UA-wealthy from improving their property? Or that if you improve your property your real estate taxes go up? Should she, or others on a board or committee of environmentalists, be making the decision on how and to whom a retired farmer east or south of Columbus should be selling his acreage if he can get market value from a developer? Does she know that huge parts of Upper Arlington used to be orchards and farm land?

Here's what I'd like to see for a senior thesis on the environment.

Get permission from the parents of 6 of your friends to go into their teen's bedroom and photograph the mess. I'm sure a lot of parents would be willing to cooperate and teach them a lesson that "environment" starts at home, in your own house.

Then move out into the community where you actually live. Photograph the trash and debris left after a community festival or art show.

Photograph the plastic bags and cups the teens leave just a block or two from the high school around Donato's or Wendy's or Giant Eagle.

Photograph the beer bottles left in the parking lots and streets for other people to drive over,

or the yards they "turf" when they are out having fun.

Ask the kids to ride the city bus to school for a semester instead of each driving one of the family's two or three cars--help with that carbon footprint stuff--photograph them in the snow and rain, waiting.

Photograph any of the hundreds of middle aged and older people working to landscape and beautify their yards and then contrast that with the young people helping them or chipping in on the cost.

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Old photos of lighthouses are sought

On Friday I uploaded a photo of a small, historic moment in 1916--rural folks gathered for a ride in an airplane. Here's your opportunity to look through grandpa's photographs. In the latest Keeper's Korner of Lighthouse Digest written by Timothy Harrison, there is this note about the removal of the Vermilion Lighthouse.

What Happened To Moving Photos
We know it is difficult to locate photographs of lighthouses and keepers in the era when the camera was just becoming available to the average person. But, by 1929 the camera had been around for quite some time and many Americans owned and knew how to use a camera. However, photographs of the removal of Ohio’s Vermilion Lighthouse seem to be non-existent. In 1929 the lighthouse was removed from Vermilion and shipped to Buffalo, New York. In 1935 it was barged to its new location to become the East Charity Shoal Lighthouse six miles south of the St. Lawrence River on Lake Ontario. Someone must have photographed some parts of this historic move. Yet photographs seem to have disappeared. There are many mysteries like this. For example, what happed to the photographs of the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina? It is amazing how much of our nation’s lighthouse history has been lost. Will it be rediscovered someday? We can only hope.

Someone somewhere (probably a young boy) had a camera that day.

If you vacation or own property near or just love old lighthouses, you'll enjoy Lighthouse Digest.