All posts filed under: Positivity

Crystal Silence

February 13, 2021
by Michael Scandling
comments 25
Abstract / California / Horizon / ICM / Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

July 9, 2020 — San Mateo County, California. Feb 12, 2021 My Office. On February 9, we lost Chick Corea. A phenomenal composer, pianist, arranger, and producer. A mentor. A marvelous human being. Here’s an excerpt from his farewell message: “It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs […]

UFS

December 24, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 30
Iceland / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity

January 28, 2020, 11:29 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland Picked up from the Feb 21, 2020 post: The plot thickened; the aurora action quickly moved to center stage. This was taken when the Kp index of disturbances of Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar wind was 3.3. I can’t imagine how bright the top of the Kp scale — 9 — is. Maybe you really do need sunglasses. And then… What’s this? Unidentified Flying […]

Archway

July 29, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 18
Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity

Note to email subscribers: To get a far better look at the picture, open the email and then click on the title of the blog and you’ll be taken to the actual blog website. It’s always a much more satisfying view when you do this. July 27, 2020 — San Francisco Bay Area, California Arches are inclusive. Arches form bridges, not walls. Even the most delicate arch can form the strongest structure. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm […]

Thoughts About Life, June 19, 2020

June 19, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 32
Inspiration / Performance Photography / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity

July 14, 2011, San Jose Blues Festival, San Jose, California. Here’s a secret: I really enjoy doing performance photography. But it’s not a concentration: I’ve only posted performance photography twice before. The first was in my fourth blog post ever, on November 30, 2018. Today, for reasons that might already be obvious, I’ve decided to post another. This is Ruthie Foster. She grew up with music in her genes and in her early teens she […]

You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught

June 2, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 19
Abstract / California / Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

April 7, 1949 — The Majestic Theatre, New York Lt. Cable: “It’s not born in you. It happens after you’re born. You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear You’ve got to be taught from year to year It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are oddly made And people whose skin is […]

Chewy — World Traveler

May 27, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 53
California / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity

All over the world Every year, our friends and family waited with bated breath for our Christmas card. Every year we presented a photo of far-flung locales with the Muse and I and the boy. Sometimes the scenes happened almost as shown. We began the tradition in 2007 on the Sonoma County Coast. I told a business associate that we had to rent a helicopter to get the tree onto the rock. She believed it. […]

Chewy — Walkies and a Midnight Misadventure

May 5, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 39
California / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity

December 1, 2014 — Los Gatos Greek Trail, Los Gatos, California “Walkies” is more of a British expression than an Americanism, so we caught on late. It’s a perfect word. We learned it from Wallace and Gromit and adopted it immediately. So did Chewy. He adopted it so well that we had to resort to using other expressions when simply planning a day — perambulate, circumnavigate the block, mosey, constitutional, hike — to prevent him […]

Light on the Horizon, Kiwi Style

April 28, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 12
Impressionism / Inspiration / New Zealand / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

June 28, 2018 — Puketeraki Lookout, Otago, South Island, New Zealand Rescued from the archives. Here’s one that I kept coming back to, but in post-processing I could never get it to do what I saw. Tonight I could. And did. Persistence pays off in the end. This is for all the Kiwis who are showing the rest of the world how it’s done. In adversity, the light shines even brighter. Persistence pays off in […]

Light on the Horizon

April 26, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 30
California / Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

January 23, 2017 — Sonoma County Coast, California Rescued from the archives. I think the thing that appeals to me about glints of light on horizons is that I would prefer to think that there is a glint of light on the horizon — no matter how distant the horizon may be. And there is, provided it is we as individuals who supply the light — no matter how distant the horizon may be. I’ll […]

Calm

March 24, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 41
California / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

March 22, 2020 — San Mateo County Coast, California On Sunday, we took a ride along the coast. We were alone. The Pacific was calm… We returned to California on February 2 when the virus situation was just brewing. In the next six weeks the world was plunged into turmoil. These are uncertain times and as a general rule, people don’t deal with uncertainty very well. I’ve seen an entire spectrum of reactions and responses […]

Iceland Waves Bye Bye

March 21, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 27
Iceland / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Seascapes

January 26, 2020 — Reynisfjara (Black Sand) Beach, Iceland We’ve been home since the second of February. There has been enough time to sift through the bounty and select the best and you’ve seen quite a bit. It’s very possible that more will pop up after they’ve had a chance to marinate on the archive drive for a while. We shall see. One thing is certain: we will go back. One more thing: Iceland has […]

Merry / Happy Christmas / Holidays

December 24, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 40
Landscape / Photo Log / Photography / Positivity / Switzerland

December 25, 2019 — Earth Every year, our holiday card features a shot from our travels and every year I use the same clip-art Santa hats and the same elements for an Easter egg or two — because what better time for an Easter egg than Christmas? And every year we come up with the most corny doggerel we can think up: When you go to the land of the Swiss There’s a view you […]

Around the Neighborhood 1: A Tree

July 15, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 26
California / Inspiration / Photography / Positivity

July 14, 2019, Los Gatos Creek Trail. For the past several weeks I’ve been in a mode of weekly themes. It does give me a focus, so I’ll continue — but this one is different: it’s a smattering of what I’ve shot in and near my neighborhood in the past week or so. Not deathless photography, but it does make a nice potpourri. In many cases it proves the adage, the best camera is the […]