“once upon a time," he said out loud to the darkness. he said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.”
― kate dicamillo, "the tale of despereaux"
once upon a time, there lived a young man and a young woman. they were far, far away from their homes, living in the land of college. over time, this young man and this young woman fell in love. and at just the right time, they got married.
two years after the young man and the young woman bound themselves to each other, the king of all the lands, seen and unseen, that they pledged to follow blessed them with a baby girl. the young man and the young woman loved her - very much.
a few years later, the king blessed them again, this time with a baby boy. the young man and the young woman loved him - very much.
the years came and went. whether the season of life was easy or hard, the king always provided for the young man, young woman, girl and boy. whether the season of life was a stroll or a gallop, the young man and the young woman always made sure that the girl and the boy knew they were loved and made time for them.
five years later, the young man and the young woman received an unexpected surprise from the king. they were blessed with a second baby boy. and just like the girl and the first boy, the young man and the young woman loved this baby boy - very much.
one day, the second boy became sick, very sick. he had such a high fever that he was packed in ice. eventually, the boy slipped into a coma. the young man and the young woman asked the king to spare the boy. they asked other followers of the king, near and far, to ask the king to spare the boy. it pleased the king to hear all of the requests and the king granted the request. the boy woke up from his coma and, with the exception of his hearing, fully recovered. everyone gave thanks to the king for his most gracious hand of mercy!
years passed and the boy grew. as is normal in life, he went through his share of difficulties. such as the difficulty of being bullied; the difficulty of hearing and understanding; these and more made his life a challenge.
but the boy also went through his share of blessings. the blessing of a family that loved him; the blessing of a tenacious spirit to persevere through challenges; these and more made his life a blessing. one of the greatest blessings was when, as a young man, he found his fairest maiden in all the land. they fell in love and, at the right time, they got married.
like all boys in kingdoms all over the world, this boy had passions he indulged in throughout his years. one was baseball. in the land of chicago, he cheered the team of cubs. later, in the land of the twin cities, he collected baseball memorabilia and cheered the team of twins. he still cheered the team of cubs as well. they were near and dear to his heart. but, that is a story for another once upon a time.
another passion the boy indulged in was collecting "the incredible hulk" comic books. even to this day, it is not known what exactly captured the boy's attention about this unpredictable green giant. maybe the show of strength helped give the boy strength to overcome his challenges. but that, too, is a story for another once upon a time.
one passion has persevered above all else. and that, dear readers, is the crux of this once upon a time's story. as a boy, he fell in love with a magic box through which he could see the land and its people. that magic box brought him much joy! after the magic box was full, the boy would send off the contents of the magic box (a mysterious yellow and black hard cylinder) and wait, anxiously, for its return. what came back were papers that had pictures of what the boy had seen with his eyes through the magic box! this is the first picture the boy loved so much that he had it made into an even bigger picture.
this magic box, given the fanciful name "camera", has grown all the more in favor as the boy transitioned into a young man. now, as a man full of years, the camera has emerged as a constant companion in his quest to slay the dragon of triteness and champion the beauty of creativity. when the dragon of triteness invades his soul, this quest has brought peace and a steel resolve to persevere. when the dragon is slayed and talons released from his soul, this quest has brought joy and freedom in exploring creativity!
in the distant past...in another once upon a time, a wonderful transition happened! words spoken could now be words written! centuries of stories of yore shared orally could now be shared in written form as well! stone, metal, clay, papyrus, leather, parchment, wood pulp - these and others were favored materials to write on.
as time went on, the man decided he wanted to start sharing his journeys with those interested in following his quest. along with penning his musings to a digital scroll of parchment on a fanstastical invention called a computer (quite unlike anything kings, queens and their people have ever known), he includes pictures taken with his trusty companion. there are many pictures that have never left the private vault of his memories. some are on paper called prints. some are on small shiny strips encapsulated in a white square border called slides. some are small shiny strips not encapsulated called negatives. some are simply this fascinating wonderful feat of magic called binary numbers. they are better know as digital files. such a strange and mysterious assortment of saved memories!
here are some to share here; they are but a quick revealing of the evolution of what is his ongoing quest...to champion the beauty of what is creativity in his mind. once shown here, they will once again be concealed under lock and key, tucked away in a tall tower of his castle, that can only be undone by the man himself.
tahoe national forest, ca
iphone 5s image of snowstorm off hwy. 4 on pass peak, ca
el dorado national forest, ca - first attempt at making order in a forest scene. the focus is on sharing the 3 different growth stages from the smallest pin in the lower right to the two redwoods on the left that rise out of the scene
hidden falls in in hidden falls regional park, st. paul, mn
red leaf in wolf creek - banning state park, sandstone, mn
gooseberry falls with low volume of water, gooseberry falls state park, mn
silver christmas tree, mounds view, mn
ceramic vintage roosters, mounds view, mn
inland lake off off hwy 61, mn
by last known reports throughout lands far and near, the man currently journeys throughout the exquisite land of minnesota and other nearby enchanted lands; his backpack contains, along with his constant companion, an array of magical devices at his command when desired. such as wonderful torches that light up the night...or varying pieces and shades of glass that can extend a moment into lingering moments. these, among other things, contribute to the making of images from his quiet world.
so dear readers....how does this story end? does the man live happily ever after? why yes, he does! to live happily ever after does not depend on whether dragons, trolls, evil witches and evil warlocks, evil kings and evil queens, wars, etc. are in control of our lands. to live happily ever after is to trust that the king of all lands, seen and unseen, is in control even when it does not seem so. narnia, another land from another once upon a time, once was under the spell of winter and the white witch. for a long time, she ruled. but it was a limited rule. aslan was always on the tongue and mind of those who trusted in him. and at just the right time, aslan came and defeated the white witch. spring sprung...permanently, in narnia!
and so the man lives happily ever after because he trusts that a permanent spring is coming!
i hope you all enjoyed this this blog! my hope was to write in the genre of a fairytale which i've never done! i hope you found it entertaining to read about a true, but brief, once upon a time in a fairytale sense. please, share your comments below about this blog. i'd love to hear your thoughts on this blog should you have any to share! i do read and reply to every comment.
while these images will not appear on my website as gallery images available for sale, if you are interested in any of them, i most certainly will make them available to you. they are older images that were made before the creation of my website. i don't make it a habit of going backwards to include older images. the iphone 5s image will not make a good wall print as it was shot with an older phone camera sensor. at best, that image would make a nice 5x7 and, possibly, an 8x10 print.
i appreciate your continued support through reading my blogs. i know this was a long time coming. it was put on hold to prep for the art crawl i was recently a part of as well as delayed by writing in a new style that i've not yet utilized before. i do hope it was worth the wait!
i'd be honored if you would share this blog with others you think or know would enjoy reading it. simply copy and paste the url above into an email or media of your choice. alternatively, you can also click on the social media buttons at the bottom to share.
thanks again for checking out my newest blog and i'll see you next time with "more images from a quiet world"!