Some bears can climb, and some can’t. Bernard is a climber. He’s also a charmer. As I was taking this picture of him climbing the steps to the Jefferson Memorial, he attracted a crowd – of Miss Cherry Blossom contestants, no less. I kid you not. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
I’ve another confession to make. For years I traveled with a stuffed animal named Bernard Bear. I’m not talking about when I was ten either. I was into my fifties at the time. It’s a long story, one that I will no doubt share at some point – but not tonight. The interesting thing is that if you embrace the inherent foolishness of traveling with a Teddy Bear when you have grey hair, most people play along. Bernard was great at breaking the ice, so it helped me meet many interesting people. He even started his own blog, and Facebook page.
The fine line I was alluding to in the title is the line between fantasy and reality – between weird and innocent fun. I think I managed to stay on the right side of that line, but then I would think that, wouldn’t I. But I’m not so sure about Bernard though.
This is a picture I took of Bernard climbing the Eiffel Tower – the real one in Paris, not the imitation in Las Vegas.
I found this gear on the window ledge of an abandoned building in Saskatchewan. More details to follow, but I like the effect so I thought I’d share this one today.
Just one small example of the amazing detail you will see at Jerash in Jordan.
It’s strange how you never know. One of my more popular posts so far was simply titled “Purple”. Who knew it was such a popular color. But it got me thinking about just how many shades of purple I could find in the plants around me. Turns out to be quite a few. The picture immediately above was taken in my garden, while this one was taken at Umm Qais in Jordan.
Between these extremes I found shades of purple all over the map – literally and figuratively – including Canada, Jordan and the USA. I hope you enjoy.
When I started this blog, I imagined the photographs would be secondary to the writing. At best. I’ve never been one to put much effort into editing pictures. I have friends who will spend hours editing a single photograph until they get exactly the effect they are looking for. Not me. On the other hand, I have no trouble spending hours editing words to get just the right effect. But virtually every photograph on this blog is posted exactly as it was taken. The very few that have been edited have simply been cropped. I’m sure I could do better if I embraced Photoshop, but I just don’t have the interest. Yet.
You’re probably wondering where this is going. I was looking at the pictures I posted yesterday, and started thinking about this one. I realized that with just a little cropping, it could look much better – at least to me. The contrasts between the wrinkled golden mushroom cup, the black shadows, the dark mulch with just a hint of silver, and the gossamer threads hanging from the mushroom, really worked for me. I hope it does for you too. It almost makes me want to get a good camera – and a proper photo editing program. We’ll have to see.
While I’m in a philosophical mood (a nice glass of wine with dinner will do that) I can’t help wondering if anyone actually reads my words, or if everyone just looks at the pictures. (“I read it for the articles – honest!” comes to mind…) I’d love to hear you thoughts on this. I’ll no doubt keep composing these digressions to accompany the photographs in any case, but if you enjoy the writing, please let me know.
Okay, not really. But every time I look at this photograph it evokes images of a mysterious deep sea creature gliding over the ocean floor, illuminated by a lone diver’s torch. That may be my creative side trying to emerge – or perhaps just my delusional side. But either way, this is one of my favorite photographs, and one of the very first I took with my first digital camera on a camping trip, almost a decade ago.
On the other hand, this one was taken yesterday in my garden. It is illuminated by the setting sun, and looks like a miniature stairway to … I have no idea where.
I am continually amazed at the diversity of mushrooms. This is just a tiny sampling.
The stone walls in Jordan make the perfect canvas for portraits of flowers and ants.
The Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian hotel complex in Las Vegas includes a replica of St. Mark’s Square. I’ve never been to Venice, so I really can’t comment on the realism, but one thing did strike me. The “sky”. The colors are intense, and surprisingly realistic. It very effectively evokes the mood of a calm evening, just around sunset. Many shopping areas in Vegas use the same technique to create a sense of perpetual twilight – presumably to keep you shopping longer. No matter how often I see it, I always find myself impressed by the effect.
After a long day locked in a windowless conference room it’s nice to get outside. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done in Vegas. Everything is designed to channel you back into the shops and casinos. But eventually I found an elevated walkway to take me across to my hotel. It was near sunset, and the sky was that perfect blue. I was admiring the effect, when suddenly it hit me. I was outside. This was real. Ironically, the most surreal moment I’ve ever had in Las Vegas was the realization that I was looking at something real. Only in Vegas.
I’ll close with a picture of the lights of Las Vegas taken from the bar on the 107th floor of the Stratosphere. I can’t quite decide whether this shows the ultimate fantasy or the ultimate reality of Vegas. Let me know what you think.
I’ve heard that people either love Las Vegas, or they hate it. I don’t love it. And yet, I recommend you see it – once.
I think in the early days Vegas sought to imitate – perhaps even parody – glamorous locations. As long as Vegas was anything but glamorous, this was easy. But as its reputation grew it became more and more difficult until in the end, the only thing worthy of imitating was … Las Vegas. And so, it became a parody of itself. I’ve no idea quite what that means, but it’s surprising how many people agree with it.
Everything about Vegas is sharper than life. It’s a bit like watching an ultra-high definition TV – or perhaps like being inside one. This is completely unlike other venues. For example, Disney goes to great lengths to create a truly immersive experience. Everything is obviously artificial and yet, every detail is consistent. No one could ever think that Mickey Mouse is real. But when you put him in Disneyland, it somehow works. Vegas is just the opposite. Every detail, taken in isolation, is precisely accurate. But the incongruity of the context destroys any pretext of reality.
By now, you are probably wondering exactly what I’m getting at. I started this post with a picture of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Or did I?
One picture is the real Eiffel Tower, and the other is the half-scale imitation in Vegas. If you know Paris well, you can probably figure it out. There are a number of clues, but they are subtle. But slightly expand the field of view by taking two steps back, and it becomes clear.
Step back even further, and any fool can tell the difference.
I thought for a long time about the title for this post. In the end, I decided to use an allusion to the Las Vegas ad campaign that says “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Here’s the thing, at least as I see it. The ad implies you will experience something so exciting and dangerous that you will not want anyone to know about it when you return home. And that’s exactly what it will feel like at the time. Much the way that from the right angle you could think you were looking at the real Eiffel Tower. But take a step back to get some perspective, and it’s all harmless fun. Perhaps I’m just not trying hard enough, and there really are forbidden pleasures in Vegas. But somehow I suspect no more so than in any other city.
If It Was Today... 