Thankful ...

To travel is to see the world, and to meet its inhabitants, to find acceptance there in their hospitality, and to find in complete strangers, a family we didn’t know we had.

David duChemin, Photographer & wise man too.

I was compelled to lift these words from the story David told over at Maptia.  I'm listening to Zaz sing  Historia De Un Amor en vivo as I write this. 

I'm loving the internet for allowing me to know of David's writing and photograpy, for allowing me to listen to Zaz and her magical music ... but most especially for allowing me to watch Christmas unfold back home in New Zealand, 12 hours ahead of us here in Belgium, via friends and family I won't be seeing this year.

On Facebook I wrote, 7am on 25 December in New Zealand, 7pm on 24 December here in Belgium. Summer back home, winter here ... sometimes the split in my reality is clear.

The foto, taken by Jurjana Pavlinovic-Timmermans, after our Christmas Eve catch-up in the city.  Thanks for the conversations, and for the laughter, Jurjana  :-)

Thankful ...

To travel is to see the world, and to meet its inhabitants, to find acceptance there in their hospitality, and to find in complete strangers, a family we didn’t know we had.

David duChemin, Photographer & wise man too.

I was compelled to lift these words from the story David told over at Maptia.  I'm listening to Zaz sing  Historia De Un Amor en vivo as I write this. 

I'm loving the internet for allowing me to know of David's writing and photograpy, for allowing me to listen to Zaz and her magical music ... but most especially for allowing me to watch Christmas unfold back home in New Zealand, 12 hours ahead of us here in Belgium, via friends and family I won't be seeing this year.

On Facebook I wrote, 7am on 25 December in New Zealand, 7pm on 24 December here in Belgium. Summer back home, winter here ... sometimes the split in my reality is clear.

The foto, taken by Jurjana Pavlinovic-Timmermans, after our Christmas Eve catch-up in the city.  Thanks for the conversations, and for the laughter, Jurjana  :-)

My Great Big Photographic Hero ...

My Great Big Photographic Hero ... David du Chemin, posted news that rocked my world.  In a bad way.

David is a talented photographer, a man who wanders the world, capturing scenes, telling stories, and sharing his wisdom in ways that delight me. 

I've just come from reading his blog, a post where he tells his story of being denied entry to the United States of America.  But I'll let him tell it: '

But after 5 hours of questioning, an extensive vehicle search, and a second interrogation, I was told I was being denied entry to the United States of America, because “we have no proof you’ll return to Canada and we worry you’ll try to live here,” which nearly had me on the floor with laughter because, ahem, how do I put this? I like living in Canada. I have no desire to live in the United States. I want to travel the U.S., I want to photograph it, but I have no desire to leave my home. Which, as it turns out, is good, because they aren’t letting me. God knows they wouldn’t want a Canadian stealing the job of a Mexican. I just wanted to visit, man, not invade.

I was finger-printed, photographed, and made to sign transcripts of the interrogation on top of the line that said, “Signature of Alien,” which made me want desperately to sign, “E.T.”, “Mork”, or “Spock.” I couldn’t decide, so I signed my name on the form, and got back into the Jeep, grateful they’d only used the latex gloves while they searched the trunk of the Jeep, and not the trunk of, uh, ahem, me.

He will, and is, handling this with grace but he has planned this roadtrip for a long time, he'd already started out on it before his accident and now, it's over.

There's nothing more to say ... is there?

David, Ralph and Vincent

Ridicule is a terrible whitherer of the imagination. It binds us where we should be free.
Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Found over on David du Chemin’s blog ... brilliant post.  He is writing wise words from his hospital bed in these days.  He pulled me in when I read, ‘I don’t know a single artist that doesn’t wrestle with cycles of self-doubt, second-guesses ...”

He, in turn, linked over to Vincent Versace

I loved so much of his article too ... a slice: Every image you create is an expression of the artistic inspiration that moves you. You express your creative voice by developing the ability to show what moves you without screaming for the attention of others. It means getting out of your own way and, in the moments when your creative spirit is moved, trusting that what comes from those moments will be good. Your goal should be to trust what you feel and constantly strive toward personal excellence and elegant performance. When your effectiveness becomes effortless, your images will move the viewer solely by the power that caused you to be moved.