Nearly a decade has gone by since the tragedy this country will forever remember as 9/11 took place in downtown Manhattan.  Yet, the pain and suffering of that day remains an open wound in the collective consciousness of this country as we struggle with the consequences.

One might ask “what is the price of freedom?”  Is it a plane full of innocent travelers forced to overcome their fear and fight back to save even more lives if they do not?  Is it a man in charge of security who continually reenters a burning tower to make sure that the employees in his company are all safe and accounted for only to perish in the collapse of the building? Is it the numerous acts of selfless heroism that take place every day so that others may live on? Yes, this is most certainly the price of freedom.

The price of freedom is more than these acts of brave men and women who lost their lives  placing themselves in harm’s way putting someone else’s well being in front of their own. This is what we dwell upon. It is what we choose to see and accept as being the price of freedom.

There is another price for freedom. It’s one that has received much discussion yet isn’t necessarily associated with being free. With each trip we take by air we are under ever increasing scrutiny as our bags and persons are searched to the point of frustration.  Applying for a job or a driver’s license or a bank account is more difficult and requires more paperwork to ensure that we are who we say we are. Our conversations by phone are intercepted as is our email to friends, family and associates, scrutinized for any sign of a link to terror.  Some of us are placed on watch lists without our knowledge with no apparent reason as to why. Yes, this too is most certainly the price of freedom.

Another price of freedom is the right of a community to come together to build a private center of Islamic education and worship mere blocks away from what we now call “ground zero” in Manhattan, the scar marking the location of the towers brought down on September 11th, 2001. This same freedom extends to a Christian preacher in Florida who has vowed to turn this solemn day into a show of American solidarity by burning copies of the book of Koran in protest of the desire to build that same Islamic center near ground zero.  This is the side of freedom that makes us angry and divides us as a people of diverse beliefs and understanding.

Freedom is all these things. We cannot effectively separate one from the others without taking away the freedom we have as inalienable rights.  As Helen Keller so poignantly stated, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet…”Let’s pray that our souls shall continue to be strengthened, our ambition inspired and success achieved through our tolerance and understanding that freedom isn’t always so free.

Enjoy!

MD

Careful planning went into the preparation of this  portrait a couple weeks prior to our session. I scheduled a visit to my client’s home specifically for the purpose of selecting clothing, props, location and time of day to design a portrait  for them that would be indicative of the relaxed country style we wished to portray.

The afternoon of the session was pleasantly warm with a hint of fall and the quality of existing illumination perfectly angled for side lighting in some images and for creating a  soft diffused glow from the wide open sky in others.

I  made use of on camera speedlight in most images to fill in the shadows that were darker than I desired. I took care to dial down the flash power to keep from giving the portraits an over lit look. The idea was to hide the appearance of any  axillary illumination and make the images appear as if they were taken with straight natural light.

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All in all I was pleased with the outcome and enjoyed the opportunity  to make creative use of such a wonderful late afternoon in Rural Southern Oregon.

The End

A beautiful night for a bottle of wine and music

The evening started out calm enough. The building thunder clouds which gently let loose with  a few quarter sized drops didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits at all, with most present staying completely dry under the ample tent awnings. The gentle cooling breeze was a welcome relief from the late summer heat. The atmosphere was relaxed. Little did we know how hot it would soon get.

Delightful reflection

My wife and I were privileged to be among the fortunate souls treated to an awesome evening of  percussion and guitar music.  Flying fingers and musical passion filled the air with Nuevo Flamenco music fused with Latin jazz and even a classical piece that held the crowd in an emotional swell of delight.

The evening darkens as the emotional atmosphere starts to heat up

At first the guests were rather subdued, soon however the sights and  sounds of guitar and drum, accompanied by the infectious energy of the musical artists washed over us in delightful  waves.  With outstanding wine  soothing our souls and intoxicating sounds lifting our spirits,  toes began to tap, hands  to clap and hips  to sway.

Jim Stubblefield & J.P. Durand light the fires of Incendio at Roxyann

Fireworks from enchanted fingers is all I can express to describe the guitar rhythms that carried us all, spellbound, to places far beyond the vineyard where we were. Music ruled the night, our hearts, our minds.

Bassist Liza Carbe' thrills the audience with her amazing musical talent

The fire and fury of the first several numbers rose in intensity and  we were  not prepared  for the wonderful gift of a tender and moving classical piece.  As it  pulled us back from the precipice of ecstatic abandonment to a place of quiet solitude  I saw in the  faces of  the audience that I was not alone. They too were touched by this extraordinary juxtaposition of styles.

A quiet and sentimental moment during the concert

By the end of the evening dancing was in full swing as subdued guests became party going participants in a merry tangle of joyful exuberance.  The musicians were more than happy to keep the fever pitch lit and threw on more resonating fuel to fan the fun.

Incendio plays at a dizzying pitch to the delight and admiration of the crowd at Roxyann

And what would the perfect ending to a perfect evening of entertainment be without a  Conga line!

Happy staff and guests participate in a Conga line to wrap up a perfect night of wine and music at Roxyann in Medford last Saturday night

Incendio has a website, for those of you who missed this extraordinary event at Roxyann, where you can listen  to a sampling of their talent.

Roxyann winery has a  website and you can also follow them on Twitter

What I’d love is to have a few folks cruise on over, have a read and give me some feedback in the comments section of the article.

Any takers?

If so:    http://hubpages.com/t/c69f5

MD

For you folks who haven’t had a family portrait in awhile, (and I know who you are!), now’s the time to plan and schedule  an autumn outdoor portrait before the sun sinks too much further to the south.  I’m offering a special that is way too good for anyone to pass up for the month of September.  Give me a call…I’ll be happy to tell you all about it.

If you happen to have a high school senior this year, I’ve got a great offer to extend to you as well.

Also, I’m getting nearer to my complete overhaul to my website.  Look for the changes coming soon!

MD

Anyway, I’ve challenged myself to be creative without the bells and whistles of all my pro gear, using only my iPhone.

I’m still waiting to hear what projects some other viewers are working on.  I’d love to share thoughts with anyone interested.

In the meantime please read this month’s article, ” How Do You See The World”.  As always, your comments and observations are welcomed!

MD

When does a kitchen sink cease being a repository of dirty dishes & become a visual artist's playground?

Alright. Maybe it’s the fact that I just recently discovered the visual magic of the iPod 3G phone camera, or it could be a strong desire to throw caution to the wind and just let the creative cards fall where they may, and then again it could be physiological fallout from the incredible heat we have been experiencing in Southern Oregon.  Whatever the reason, I’ve decided to embark upon a personal photography project and share it with you, my occassional blog viewers. Oh my, you poor, poor souls!

If you’ve been following my twitters and Facebook offerings the past few weeks you may have noticed  I’ve been passing on a photo from the field here and there.  I think I’ve been bitten by the simplicity photo bug and am having a blast discovering just what I can do with this little electronic marvel! I spent the greater part of this morning hunched over the  screen of my 3G perusing the App store for new and exciting downloads with which to manipulate and enhance my mini-digital masterpieces.

As much as I enjoy using my D200′s and all the other photo boy tool toys that help put food on the table and keep bill collector’s at bay I currently  feel a need for a simpler approach to creativity. I long for a Zen or Haiku approach to the visual poetry of light.  I wax philosophical at the thought of creating items of substance from realized opportunities.  Who among the creative personalities reading this hasn’t wanted to dwell at  a simpler level yet achieve a moment worth sharing?

Bebe' - Feline of eMotion

So, this is my goal, my desire and my joy of sharing it all with you, now and then, here and there.  I’d love to hear what projects you are working on right now and whether you are feeling a similar desire to be more creative and less driven by your passion.  As always, I love sharing  and comments and  critiques are  more than welcome.  Let’s begin a dialogue of images and words shall we?