I had planned to go for a walk. Before leaving I crossed the street to the pond to take a look. Some days are diamonds and some are stones someone said in a song once. A few moments this afternoon turned out to be pure crystal capable of casting a spell able to be recorded on a digital camera and preserved.
Well after getting a glimpse of what my camera had seen I abandoned my walk, short as it was, and went back inside to take a closer look. I found the "Mallard Illusions" I had snagged from the stream of time. Clicking the highlighted text will take you to my store at Zazzle.com and the page "Mallard Illusions" is on.
In just a matter of a few minutes all the images were collected. You can see how enchanting the illusions are in the video much better than the still shots. But then the still shots are like shooting an animal. Making it appear alive without movement is a great challenge. The video does not suffer from that handicap and I believe you will agree it is dazzling and illusory.
Each of the images below has been selected from the series of photographs in the video. I chose the ones I felt best fit the theme. By clicking on the images you will be taken to Zazzle.com where prints and frames may be ordered.
The public discourse on whether or not to go ahead and exploit the remaining carbon resources for a quick buck is what prompted me to put together these visual sentiments on the future of a society which has chosen carbon to provide its future energy security.
The ability to make a populace unable to decide if putting poison into their living space is harmful is a symptom of a dysfunctional democratic society. Its presence requires only blindly following leaders and experts. The leaders and experts have brought them to the point where a "carbon apocalypse" is inevitable. But we sing in unison "drill baby drill" like there's no tomorrow.
After shaking oneself free from the mind control exerted by experts and leaders it soon becomes obvious our leaders and thinkers have consistently proposed solutions that have made things worse than they were before. Does following their advice make sense anymore? Even without statistics for proof a person who has lived a lifetime knows how badly the leaders and experts have done. A person in control of his mind doesn't need someone to explain what has gone wrong.
I've made a series of prints on the theme of the impending debacle coming down on the people of the world due to the continued use of carbon based energy sources. These can be purchased at Zazzle.com. This future bearing down on us is too serious a matter to go unmentioned.
There is a department in my store for Environmental Art. As I contemplated the result of pouring poisons into the air, the water supply and the earth itself the following images presented themselves to me. Art From Another Dimension.
The issues at stake involve the future of the earth as a place that is able to support human life.
An energy policy should not make people have to make that kind of choice. Some would argue that it is not actually something chosen but something shoved down their throats against their will.
Whatever it is the fact remains that putting poison into the environment insures it will end up in the human body. This should be considered an unacceptable proposition. It almost seems absurd to have to point this out, but we have long since, as a society, lost track of the absolute reality of cause and effect. We appear to believe we can do anything and our actions will never have an effect we need to worry about. Below is a history of what happens when companies are allowed to use the process of 'fracking to extract carbon energy sources.
http://350.org/ is an website dedicated to exposing and solving the dilemma our leaders and their experts have created as our problem to solve if we wish to continue as a species. Check out the website to determine the problems facing you and your family in the future as a result of our societies devotion to carbon.
Learn how to create & buy custom products at Zazzle Check out my photography and art at Zazzle.com. Art From Another Dimension. I'm continually refreshing the selections and variety of products.
By clicking on the images above you will be taken to Zazzle.com where different sizes and frames are available.
The prints are high resolution 600 psi. They are useful for poster size or mailing as postcards. Each reveals the sense of doom staring the earth and its inhabitants in the face. It is not a pretty picture but it's time to face the future and see if it can be changed. It seems like a reasonable activity to spend ones time engaged in.
All original art work (C) 2013 by David H. Roche a Clear Running Water state of mind
The photographs were taken in a brief span of time on a sometime sunny, but mainly cloudy morning on or near the Riverwalk along the Columbia River in Astoria.
The impulses of the weather continually rearranged the clouds allowing spectacular lighting effects to appear briefly and unexpectedly.
The bridge and of course the river are what attracted me this morning. The bridge caught my attention the first time I saw it stretching four miles like a giant serpent uncoiled across the great river.
In the mist it disappears halfway to the other side. It offers a photographer a lot of opportunity drizzle or shine. Today the sporadic bright sun and moisture thick air produce startling effects.
The entire ‘feeling’ can change with the time required to take a few steps to for another picture. This morning elements of air, water vapor and sunlight with the motion of clouds and wind add their dimensions capriciously.
The ‘Great River’ of the west is the place that greets the great ships of the sea.
For now they float, unmoving, tethered at low tide.
Below are some of the pictures I took which did not make it into the final cut for the video.
The images below are photographs in the video I selected. If you are interested in purchasing a print click on the image and you will be taken to my store at Zazzle.com. You will be able to choose from different frames and sizes.
Midnight is a time of mystery. In the darkness God is said to have found light, removed the light from the abode of darkness, and begun the act of creation.
I thought of that as this image began to develop. It didn't begin as darkness but it did begin with an incoherent media comprised of colors of the rainbow in a pattern of stripes. One stripe for each color of the rainbow. With the blur tool I smudged and then highlighted the individual colored stripes and began to experiment. I was quite amazed at what appeared.
At some point I saw the image of a pond emerge. It has the features of the pond across the street but that is a co-incidence, the pond in the image never existed. But at that point I began to actively work on making it a pond.
I added the moon behind it. It turned blue accidentally and I left it that way thinking it was in harmony with the way the entire piece was developing.
I added the two ducks. Actually it is the same duck in different layers with the colors inverted. My goal was a 'yin and yang' impression in the midst of bold, diversity of color. I felt the black and white were a complementary anomaly. The heron was an afterthought which I felt was needed for balance.
After the initial image which is lost but consisted only of stripes of the colors of the rainbow which I applied, I eventually arrived at the two images below.
I combined the images to make "Blue Moon At Midnight" which may be purchased in a variety of sizes and frame selections by clicking the image below. You will be taken to Zazzle.com where my store is.
I took some pictures while on a visit to Hug Point State Park. The park is dotted with sea caves. Many are accessible and easy to be explored. An essential tool when exploring these sea caves is the use of a tide table. Not a few unsuspecting cave investigators have gotten their feet wet, or worse as a result of not taking the tide to mind.
Below is one of the several caves.
I used only one initial image to make "The Fungus Collectors", the image below. I found an immense amount of possibilities in the patterns left after molten granite hardened into spontaneous designs. I began to discover and enhance what I found in the images.
The Fungus Collectors received its name in a serendipitous flash as I looked at the dark dank shapes of once liquid stone, now frozen into the face of a gnome in a cave on the sea shore.
I saw one distinct face emerge as I zoomed and edited. I said; 'wow' and copied it and used it to make the three. I was quite happy to see it turn out the way it finally did. Hence the designation"The Fungus Collectors # 5".
Below is the initial result. The'gnome' figure on the right simply appeared. I only touched up the very top of the head. The facial appearance is exactly as I found it. I copied it and used it. The entire form has an unusual shape which came about as liquid rock became solid.
The finished product below is available for sale by clicking on the picture. You will be taken to Zazzle.com where you can select a size and frame of your choice.
"Dream Time" got it's name from the dreamy state which appeared as I worked on the picture. Several layers are involved. As I worked I remembered hearing of aboriginal myths of the Dream Time and I recalled the story of creatures emerging from inside of the earth into the light of day. So I played with that theme some. The bird in the image is a Turkey Vulture which I added for it's symbolic value.
Below are the two main images I combined to make "Dream Time". I added the 'ocean' in front of it to begin the composition after combining the first two images. So the water was not where it appears it is.
"Dream Time" can be purchased by clicking on the image below. You will be taken to Zazzle.com where you can choose a size and frame.
This is another photograph taken at Hug Point. It is what I accomplished by taking a photograph inside one of the sea caves looking outward. I then added an enlarged duplicate of the original and combined them.
You may purchase "Hole In The Wall" by clicking the image below.
"If fossil fuel infrastructure is not rapidly changed, the world will 'lose for ever' the chance to avoid dangerous climate change." according to an article dated November 9, 2011 by Fiona Harvey in the Guardian. We're a year further on now and in that time the U.S has announced itself to be in possession of most of the carbon based energy reserves in the world. Prior to becoming 'Oil Rich', dependence on oil was considered a liability and national security concern. New ways of extraction by an environmentally irresponsible method called 'fracking' have revealed much more accessible natural gas than was available for extraction in the past. While at first glance this largess of newly discovered energy sources seems like wonderful news, in fact the new technologies present a far more serious problem than any geographical or economic enemy could ever present. This technology threatens to extinguish life on earth as we are used to it. Below is a short video about 'fracking'. You should be able to decide if such a business is suited for your community after watching.
Whether or not the earth can continue as a living bio-system is the question now confronting the human race as the result of the new found wealth of carbon based resources. A polluted environment smells like wealth to one percent of the people in the world and the viable quality of drinking water is not an obstacle to these agents of carbon terror while they're on the way to the bank.
The exploitation of these natural resources is aided and abetted by the U.S. government itself. It is a disquieting thought that our public servants think our water supply is not important enough to protect for the 99% of the people who use water as a part of their daily life.
In a New York Times article by Ian Urbina dated March 29, 2012 it was revealed "EPA researchers concluded that some of the drillers' waste was hazardous and should be tightly controlled.
But that's not what Congress heard. Some recommendations regarding oil and gas waste were eliminated in the final report handed to lawmakers in 1987."
Read more:
Along with 'fracking' which is already making life miserable for ordinary property owners, the Keystone Pipeline appears to be saying 'en garde' to the environment. I found the issues laid out for discussion at a PBS website. You can look at how it stacks up.
Think Progress has put together some reasons not to choose an economic future dependent on "Oil Dollars" from the extraction of oil from tar sands in Canada. Take a look at them.
Unfortunately the 99 percent who know better are not in the loop. They have no voice. They've been hung on a cross of carbon and left there for the birds to pick clean. Their voices have been muffled by the covert passing of dollars into the hands of congressional representatives who do what the dollars tell them to do.
The people have no jobs and no money which means they cannot speak. They are trapped. They know they have no future to pass on to their children. They know in their hearts the world and their way of life is collapsing around them. They are scared.
At this juncture you may benefit from the information in the following film, a penetrating social commentary titled "Slavery By Consent: Understanding The Human Farm". I do not subscribe to all the ideas in this, but many insights the film brings to view make me say 'Duh!' Why didn't I understand what was being done to me?
Many people understand something bad has been done to them but for one reason or another do not make the necessary conclusions that will enable them to solve the problems, or even see what the problems are. You can watch the film by clicking this sentence. You'll find some thought provoking concepts.
On the local scene mega carbon dollars are up for grabs for the LNG and Coal industries. The Columbia river has always been prized for its ability to facilitate transportation and trade. It looks Like 2013 will be different only in the projects considered.
Historically beginning with furs and then fish these industries systematically reduced the natural resources to the point where common men and women have a hard time making a living. Robin Trower's designation 'Victims of the Fury',fits all to well as a description of the way things are.
The current industries clamoring to ply their trade on it's banks have the capacity to cause further and even catastrophic harm to the environment and communities associated with them. The track record of the industries involved is not a record that allows confidence.
I had the opportunity to go into town and brought my camera along. Astoria is a charming old city. It's architecture is fascinating to photograph. Situated on the banks of the Columbia River, Astoria is only 4 miles from Washington State where marijuana is legal. Oregon has decided to keep marijuana illegal. I suppose now there will be increased illegal drug traffic and law enforcement expenses thanks to the voters of Oregon.
What follows is some of the strikingly attractive buildings along the main street.
There could hardly be more varied styles juxtaposed together. But it all seems to fit like a patchwork quilt.
My eye was caught by the zig zag of the stairs.
The 'Tidal Rock' I saw for the first time today.
There it is.
This little sign for a coffee shop caught my eye.
The Liberty Theatre is right next door.
My eye gets caught by angles. The angles were what I saw that made me take the picture below.
After working on it it turned into the psychedelic style art below. An ordinary alley
turned into a neat little out of the ordinary poster.
The two figures in the foreground are constructed from pieces of flames I photographed and reassembled. According to biblical imagery God makes his ministers 'flames of fire' so I had that in mind when working on the picture.
Visitation is available for purchase at my store at Zazzle.com by clicking on the image below.
