Postcard from the Cascades

The River Flows

The river flows quiet and swift
It twists and turns as the waters drift
It branches and breaks—its fingers entwine
It grows and grows—snakes like a vine.

The river with the soft scent of a calm day
With the smell of clean—hanging—still—in the grey
And sweetness carried on the breath of morning
It caresses the river—the waters flowing.

The river—crystalline from winter melt
And sweet with the summer soon felt
It tastes of springtime—the season between
And flows the river—so blue and clean.

The river—its lazy trickle of water
The musical rhythm—the ocean’s daughter
It whispers and murmurs—a song of its own
Playing over and over—in continuous drone.

The river—so clear and cool
The water flows—the color like a jewel
Its soft arms embrace the shore
The river surging from the days before.

The river flows quiet and swift
It twists and turns as the waters drift
It branches and breaks—its fingers in twine
It grows and grows—snakes like a vine.

Kailey Jennings

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Olympic National Park

I call this photo, “A Deer Trying to Save the Planet.” Cute name, don’t you think? I shot it up on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. For those who don’t know, Olympic Nation Park is on the Washington State Olympic Peninsula, west of Seattle.

Its such an interesting place as it encompasses beaches along the ocean all the way up into the Olympic Mountain Range. This photo was taken at about 5,200 feet.

Because so many people visit the area, the deer are not afraid of people and will let you get close for photographs. But, I would not recommend any petting. Hurricane Ridge offers a magnificent view of the Olympic Mountains…but as the name implies, this place can get very, very windy. Also snow in July is not unknown.

The park itself is a wonder of nature. The west side of the mountains is mainly beautiful beaches and rain forests. That side gets about 150” of rain per year…the most rain in the continental US. The east side gets considerable less rain…one area northeast of the park gets only 16” per year. The east side features a plethora of old growth forests, mainly consisting of Sitka Spruce trees.

The day I was up here there were plenty of deer wandering around the large grassy fields. I photographed several of them, but this one was by far the most interesting.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Oxford

I am back home in Tucson after a road trip that covered seven states and well over 3,000 grinding miles. I am still recovering from all that, but eventually you will see some of the best photos from this trip. I had a great time and did a lot.

This image is from a trip a few years ago to Great Britain. It is the Oxford Museum of Natural History…a fascinating place that would take several visits to take it all in. As you can see from the picture, there are several skeletons from prehistoric animals spread all over the place…including a T-Rex that you can see off to the right (I shot a close-up of the T-Rex and showed it to you two years ago in this blog).

Actually this very large structure also houses another museum…The Pitt River Museum. Its hard to tell where one museum ends and the other begins as the only way to get to Pitt River is through the Natural History Museum. Pitt River is actually the name of a British explorer who collected thousand of  archaeological and anthropological artifacts from all over the world. The collection now counts over 500,000 artifacts, donated by travelers, scholars and missionaries. And that does not include the exhibits in the Natural History Museum.

Actually, it was the architecture of this building that inspired me to take this shot. You just don’t see this kind of architectural design in America. It was built in 1861 and would be classified as Neo Gothic architecture. The ornamentation of the stonework and iron pillars incorporate natural forms such as leaves and branches, combining the Pre-Raphaelite style with the scientific role of the building. In that vein, statues of eminent men of science stand around the ground floor of the court…from Aristotle and Bacon through to Darwin and Linnaeus.

By the way, if you are bothered by clutter, be forewarned that both museums hold a lot of stuff. Otherwise it is well worth a visit.

Postcard from Sonoma

When I was a young boy, I used to sit out on the patio on Memorial Day and listen to the Indy 500 on the radio. It was a tradition with me…and still is. Now, of course, I watch it on TV. I am not a big racing fan, but I never miss the Indy 500. It is just something special.

Last weekend, after a wait of over 60 years, I attended my very first live Indy Car race…at the Sonoma Raceway here in Northern California. It is not an oval track like Indy, but rather a 2.3 mile road course.

Unlike football, basketball, baseball, hockey, or any other sport you might name, one gets to get up close and personal with drivers and their cars, not to mention pit crews, car owners, and some of the great legends of Indy car racing. I got to see legends like Johnny Rutherford and Mario Andretti and several more as they wandered around the garage area. I met a couple of current drivers and look inside their racing machines. It was all very interesting, and yes, exciting.

It was a two day event with some racing and qualifying on Saturday and the big race on Sunday. I will save some of the details for later blogs.

I was with my friend Dave from Wenatchee and his good friend Pete who flew in from Wisconsin for this race. They stayed with me in Walnut Creek and, in exchange for room and board, paid my way into the race track. Both are avid Indy car fans and they brought me up to speed on the fine points of Indy car racing. Thank God I had them as my guides.

A friend of Pete’s advised us to sit at turn 2 as we would be able to see a lot of action there and still be able to see about 2/3 of the road course…and he was right. We also found one of the few viewing spots on the track that had a couple of shade trees so we were able to escape the wrath of the August sun. 

We sat there for both days except for the qualifying trials on Sat where we sat in the main grandstand just above Pit Row. I won’t go into details, but the qualifying rounds were as exciting as the race on Sunday. It is all about strategy, not to mention speed.

On Sunday, after surviving the earthquake and the inevitable road closures, the race track, which is only a few miles from the quake’s epicenter, was deemed safe for racing. We were able to get our seat in the shade so all was good.

If you ever watch auto racing of any kind, you know that the most dangerous and exciting time of the race is when the race officially starts after a couple of warm-up laps. The cars get up to full speed and try to jockey for better position. That was especially true this day. I had my camera ready aimed at turns one and two and just kept continuously shooting away. And true to form, there was a huge melee of cars touching each other, going off the track into the dirt and spinning out. That is what you see in this photo as the cars come out of turn 2.

Fortunately, all the cars were able to get back on the track and continue the race. And an exciting race it was, especially the last 10 laps. Three of the lead cars figured their gas wrong and had to pit, putting them out of contention. One car who was leading the race, ran out of gas in site of the finish line and finished 14th. Three other cars ran out of gas after crossing the finish line…two stopped right in front of me.

Bottom line was I enjoyed myself thoroughly and hope I can do it again next year. I will have a few more pictures of this race event for you in the near future.

PS: I am going on an extended road trip and will not be able to do another blog until I get back to Tucson in a couple of weeks. So, don’t give up on me.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Santa Clara

Yes, I know you have not heard from me in a while. There is a good reason for that…I am on vacation up in Northern California again and I am having a great time. I’ve been to several events and had visits from old and new friends. But not to worry, I have many new photos and stories to tell.

Take for instance this photo: it is the new Levi Stadium in Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley. I was here to help inaugurate the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. This was the first football game played here and let me tell you, as an avid 49er fan since early childhood, this game was a stinker…the Niners lost 34-0 to the Denver Broncos. But at least I got to see Peyton Manning drive his team down the field for a touchdown and the game was preseason anyway.

Forgetting all that, Levi Stadium is terrific…much better than Candlestick Park, the last home of the 49ers…may it rest in peace. I explored the park with my camera before the game and was impressed with all the facilities. My seat was on the 20 yard line about 8 rows up from the field. So I got a good look at a lot of action, including the Peyton Manning touchdown. My seat was like an office chair…nicely padded on the bottom and very comfortable. If you ever go there for a day game, be aware the sun is shining on the entire stadium so bring sun block.

My journey to the stadium was even more interesting than the game. After exploring all the transportation alternatives, I decided to go via Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to Fremont…then onto a bus provided by Valley Transit (VTA) to the stadium.

The journey started easily enough. From Walnut Creek, I traveled to the MacArthur Street Station in Oakland where I changed trains to the Fremont Line. Then it got interesting…as we travelled along in a tunnel under Oakland, the train came to a stop. Then it started and stopped a few times before the driver came on the PA and announced the train was having mechanical problems.

He then shut down all electrical systems on the train to restart, leaving us passengers in darkness for a few minutes. Apparently the restart didn’t do the job. Finally he got the train started forward then came to a complete stop again. This was repeated over and over until we crawled into another station. The driver then announced the brakes had gone out and we all had to leave the train.

Fortunately, another Fremont train came along in a few minutes and we all hopped on it. From then on, the journey was easy. We made it to Fremont only a little bit late. And as promised, the buses were waiting there to take us to Levi Stadium. For the cost of $1, I boarded the bus and found the driver had provided donuts for all of us. So I grabbed a donut and a seat and waited for the bus to leave for the stadium.

It surprised me that no standing room only passengers were allowed on board. Turns out that is forbidden on a bus when it uses a freeway. Cool! I ate my donut and in only about 25 minutes we arrived a block or so from Levi Stadium.

After the game, the buses were waiting for us across the street from where they left us. I gave them my dollar and sat down. No donuts on the return trip. Traffic was surprisingly light on the freeway, but by the end of the game, most people had left, so no traffic snarls. I stayed till the bitter end to see if the 49ers would score at least one touchdown at the end, but Denver stopped them at the 1 yard line as time expired.

The rest of the trip was a piece of cake. In an hour I was back at the Walnut Creek station. Anyone who drives to the stadium is nuts. A long drive, with the inevitable traffic jam and $40 for parking. Forget it. My way was better.

What a day! But I have had other adventures here including an earthquake, a Giants game, and a weekend of Indy Car racing. Stay tuned for more stories and photos.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Walla Walla

The House On Lombardy Lane

It was my time of life, so vivid in my mind
A time of impressions so clear and deep
My time to move and find the home
The home and house to suit our style
My family only with impressions to gain
From the house that sat on Lombardy Lane!

The street so great in style and grace
Not a real street but one called a lane
The house with class and style kept my wants
Alive with anticipation; oh but to live there
Gave me the boost of desire and gain,
If only to live in the house on Lombardy Lane!

My friends were eager for that move
And family so true, brothers and sisters
Ready to venture in a residence so great
We were eager for the place of dreams
Then adapt to ways most suitable to reign
In the classy house on Lombardy Lane!

But the dreams soon faded away to another
House but farther away, though great and large
To bring my dreams in another way,
Bringing to me friends anew and many
Adding qualities of life that still remain
But losing a chance for the house on Lombardy Lane!

Larry B. Stell

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Red Canyon

Red Canyon is not a National Park, nor even a National Monument. But it is part of the Dixie National Forest in Southern Utah. If you think it looks a lot like Bryce Canyon National Park, its because it is located in the same general vicinity…Bryce is but a mere 10 miles away.

In fact if you are driving to Bryce from the West, you will pass right through Red Canyon. Make sure you stop at the Visitor’s Center, right on Highway 12. It is worth it, trust me. If you can stay a day or two and explore the trails, you will run into scenes like this one. There is a great campground there with campsites tucked away among the amazing rock formations.

I took this on the trail to Castro Canyon. If you think this looks like a road more than a trail…well it is, sort of. One of the fun things about Red Canyon is they allow all terrain vehicles (ATV) to roam at will throughout the area. In fact, it was shortly after I took this photo that a caravan of 8 or 9 three-wheeled ATV’s passed me on this very trail. I would love to go back there sometime and rent one and explore deeper into these canyons.

Red Canyon is just one part of magnificent scenery that encompasses Southeastern Utah. Highway 12 may be one of the most beautiful highways in all of the US. If you have the time, you should drive the whole highway from Red Canyon to where it ends at Capital Reef National Park. And definitely bring a camera with lots of storage space for photos.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Northeastern Washington

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that I enjoy creating digital paintings of broken down pickups and larger trucks. Well, here is another one…done in the Japanese Moku Hanga style.

My fascination with these old trucks started up in Northeastern Washington, a sparsely populated corner of the state near both the Idaho and Canadian borders. There are a few small towns here and there, but once you head north on highway 25 out of Davenport, the flat plains fall away and you enter some beautiful hills and mountain country.

This is also where you find most of the old trucks you have seen here in previous blogs. Sometimes I think there are more old abandoned trucks and cars up here than people. You find them in junk yards, in fields, sitting by the side of the road, and, in one case, under an apple tree.

No matter where I find these old trucks, they often make great subjects for paintings and sketches. Some of these paintings sold quite well when I was on the road doing art shows. I remember one show up in Montana where I sold out of every old truck print in every size.

Besides discovering old abandoned vehicles, there is much more to see and do up here in this far flung corner of America. Just outside the city of Republic, there is the Stonerose Fossil Site where you pay a small fee and quarry for 50 million year old fossils including shells, insects, fish, leaves and twigs, and bird feathers…and you get to keep them. I still have a small collection of ancient fossils I dug up on my visit.

Just barely south of Canada, we discovered China Bend Winery hidden away in the lush mountain greenery one finds that far north. I was surprised at the high quality of their wine being that the area is subject to some pretty severe winters. But the owner did his homework and found the right wine grapes that would not only survive, but thrive in these conditions. Trust me, their wines are delicious. 

And if old barns are your thing, there are plenty of them to see. Some are standing and some are not necessarily standing up straight. I photographed several of those, to be sure.

This part of Washington is a great place to get away from people and everyday city life. You can probably leave most of your electronic devices behind as there is little connectivity up here. We are talking about a return to the stone age…but a really beautiful stone age.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from San Francisco

 

The Ferry Building Conspiracy

by John Carney

Again, they were at the Piers,
The Game Pigeons,
Clustered about in thick groups,
Knowing no order,
Yet only the ceaseless hunger for dissonance,
As, again, the great crowds bustled along the thoroughfare,
Gaming them with the Food of Disorder.

Some clustered about the Ferry Building,
Which had been renamed by some,
“The Gaming Palace,”
Where the mad were known only by the wise and the wary,
To game the crowds with voice tricks and acoustical wonders of the same,
Without the immediate knowledge of that unfortunate gathering.

There, against the backdrop of the background chatter,
The Voice Artists plied their wares,
Vending madness for free to those would hear their sales “pitch.”
To feed the pigeons the same Pomegranate Seeds,
Persephone devoured in Her folly of love.

Madness had taken on a new lover,
And cavorted endlessly about the wharves,
In that City by The Bay,
Whose Voice was never at rest.

There, if you would, you can find out what you’re “hearing,”
At the Devil’s Playground,
Where the Mad make merry with one another,
For the sake of the same.
Every seeking glory from those who have none,
And yet finding none save in the moment’s vanity,
Elusive as the moment’s passing,
And fleeting as a glance in Eternity’s Mirror.

As they pass one another along the walkway,
They trade barbs of reference,
To see who “controls” who;
To find out who is “talking to “who.”

“The Gaming Palace” is filled with busy, thronging mobs,
Blissfully unaware of who’s “talking” to them.

An unofficial act had come to town,
And the Voice Throwers had just arrived from the local madhouse,
To entertain the crowd.

The problem was:
They would never find out how entertained they were,
Until they, too, had arrived at the madhouse,
Lacking the company of the same for their trouble.
And bereft of the extra baggage of their sanity.

 

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from the Grand Canyon

I remember this day pretty well. It was my first day at the Grand Canyon North Rim. I had been to the South Rim 3 times before but never this side. In many ways, the North Rim is quite different. First, it is over 1,000 feet higher.

When you drive to the South Rim, you are in high desert country. But the approach to the North Rim is through lovely forested country. And while the South Rim is almost always open for tourists, the north side is shut down in the winter because of heavy snows. What a difference a thousand feet makes.

And while the actual distance from the South Rim to the North Rim is only a mile or so across, the driving distance from the south to the north is 212 miles. On this day, I drove there from Flagstaff, a distance of 207 miles. So I didn’t arrive until mid-afternoon.

First thing I did was take a walk to orient myself to this new place. It is quite different as there are only a couple of view points on the North Rim, while the South Rim has several places to stop to see different aspects of this magnificent National Park. I should mention there are a couple of long, severe dirt roads leading to other viewpoints on the north side, but I decided not to put my van through that torture. 

Towards sunset I took a hike out to Bright Angel Point. The wind was fierce that day, but the views were well worth it. Beautiful clouds filled the sky while the colors of the canyon were made bright by the late afternoon sun. Sadly, towards sunset, the clouds blocked the sun most of the time…but occasionally it poked through and I got some good photos, some of which have been shown here before.

On the way back, I passed this and a few other amazing trees in sunset light. I think this photo turned out well. One must always remember that even though you may be in one of the most magnificent and majestic places on this planet, always keep your eyes open for the small things, like a solitary tree at sunset. Those photos can be as beautiful as the ones you took of the sweeping vistas.  

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Central Oregon

Take a guess…how many covered bridges are there in Orgeon? 10, 20, or 30? Wrong! The answer is 50 covered bridges. Surprised? I sure was when I first learned about them. Oregon has more covered bridges than any state west of the Mississippi.

While certainly being nostalgic and beautiful, covering the bridges serves a real purpose. Back in the early 20th century, bridges built as river crossings were designed using Douglas Fir. Two world wars made steel in short supply. And with an abundance of forests in the state, Douglas Fir was the natural choice.

A wooden bridge was covered to keep the huge truss timbers dry. A covered bridge could last 80 years or more, while an uncovered one would deteriorate in about nine years! That is a big difference. 

Covered bridges are no longer built as steel and other materials are plentiful. But, of course, no one wants to lose the old covered ones. So the are kept in good working order as they are still perfectly for what they do and they are definitely tourist attractions. Oregon passed legislation back in 1987 to provide funds to keep these nostalgic bridges up and running. Hooray for them.

The bridge here is called the Goodpasture Bridge. Located in Lane County, east of Eugene, it is the second longest covered bridge in the state and one of the most popular for tourists with cameras. It was named for Benjamin Franklin Goodpasture, a pioneer farmer who had settled near the bridge site…a great name for a farmer!

It was built in 1938 at a total cost of $13,154. In 1987 Lane County spent $750,000 to restore it (inflation is a bitch!). It crosses the McKenzie River, 2 miles west of the community of Vida. If you are ever in Central Oregon, you can easily find brochures that lay out a route for seeing some or all of the bridge sites in Lane County. They have 17 of them. That is what I did…visiting 6 of them on my tour before continuing my journey east on the McKenzie Pass Highway.

PS: If you ever do it, bring your camera.

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tumacácori

This photo is of Mission San José de Tumacácori, now part of Tumacácori National Historical Park. It is about 45 miles south of Tucson and 15-20 miles north of the Mexican border. Its sits just off of Interstate 19.

On this visit late in the afternoon, I got lucky with the light and shadows. The trees all over the park cast some great shadows on the various nearby structures. Happily, there were trees right by the old mission and I was able to capture this image. 

The mission itself was founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1691, with the mission itself being completed in the 18th century. It was the first mission in Southern Arizona and was built to convert the local Native American tribes to Christianity.

Around 1860, it was repeatedly attacked by the Apache Tribe and was finally abandoned.  Restoration and stabilization efforts began in 1908 when the site was declared Tumacácori National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1990 it became part of the new Tumacácori National Historical Park.

Postcard from Morro Beach

Nearly two years ago, I showed you a very nice photo I took at sunset on Morro Beach. I said at the time it was the only decent sunset photo from my time there. I lied…but, not intentionally. While recently perusing through my photos of that time, I came across this gem. Don’t know how I missed it…but here it is. This is definitely the only other decent sunset photo I took during my short visit there…I swear!

I missed it because I took it from a distance. I had to do quite a bit of cropping to get it to this size. Thank God for cameras with lots and lots of pixels.

Two years ago, I mentioned that Morro Beach was a fabulous beach for walking, or sunbathing, or bikini watching. But for landscape photography, it is less than desirable. It is just a boring long beach. But I suspect true beach lovers vastly outnumber landscape photographers. So it goes…

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

Postcard from the Northern Cascades

The Lone Pine

By B. P. Avery

SWAY thy top, thou ancient pine—

  Warrior of the storm commanding!

Lone upon the mountain standing,

Whom no ivy’s arms entwine.

Melancholy souls like mine,
      

  ’Neath thy shadow passing slow,

Love to hear thy plaintive moan;

  ’Tis an echo of the woe

Found in human breasts alone.

Mournfully amid the ruins
       

  Of thy fellows standest thou,

Like a column of some temple

Living but in story now;

All around it, wildly scattered,

Fallen walls and pillars shattered.
   

Softly sighing through thy branches

  Sounds the wind, with fall and swell;

Now retreats, and now advances,

  Rousing fancy with its spell,

Like the melody that chances
      

  On the ear from distant bell,

Or the murmur that entrances

  Of the tinted sea-side shell.

Lo! musing on thy loneliness,

  Thy brethren seem again to rise;
      

On every hand a wilderness

  Shuts out the prospect of the skies.

’Tis verdure all, and deepest shade, no sound

Disturbs the thoughtful silence, save

A murmur such as rolls through Ocean cave,
       

And rustling of dry leaves upon the ground.

But while I listen with an awe profound,

A glance dispels the visionary wood—

A single tree remains where late ten thousand stood.

 

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Washington DC

I remember this day oh so very well! Some of my tale took place before this photo and a great deal more after. First the photo: I like this picture as the two young ladies gave Mr. Lincoln some scale and some badly needed color in the photo. They were posing for their mother so I took the opportunity to photograph them also.

But about this day…it started in Maryland where I was staying. I hopped on a DC Metro Train and eventually exited near the Lincoln Memorial, but on the other side of the Potomac River  in Virginia. I decided to walk up to the Kennedy Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. It didn’t look all that far.

Well, trust me, it was. By the time I got to the Kennedy’s, I was already a bit worn out, but happy to see it and remember. And I was touched by the size and scope of the cemetery and all the fine men and women who served our country that are buried there.

But, I had to retrace my steps. Of course, I hoofed it…all the way down to the Potomac and across to the Lincoln Memorial. I noodled around for a while, took photos and generally tried to appreciate where I was. I then sat down on a bench to catch my breath and restore my strength…or so I hoped.

Truthfully, there was more to it than that. I sat for over 30 minutes, trying to get up enough courage to walk through the Vietnam Memorial. A few old friends have their names on that wall. Some years prior, I walked through the California Memorial and it affected me deeply. I really didn’t know if I could do it again. Eventually I did and made it through, but not unscathed. That was a terrible time in our history and a lot of fine young men died for nothing.

And while the long rest did improve my strength, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and hopped on a tour bus for while. I eventually got out at the Capitol Building as I had not yet visited it. After a little time, I walked (if you can believe it) down to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Now that was a real highlight for that day.

While I loved looking around, I found there is a planetarium there that puts on regular astronomy shows on a domed ceiling. It has those wonderful chairs that lean back to afford a view of the dome during the show. God knows, I love those shows.

As I went to purchase my ticket, I was informed by the ticket agent that I was a senior citizen and could get in at a lower rate. I stood there agog…it was the very first time I was recognized as a senior citizen (but certainly not the last). It is a difficult thing to be told, then accept that one is now a senior. But, being a practical person, I took the discounted price and entered the planetarium.

I was really looking forward to seeing this show. Sadly, I never saw any of it. As soon as my butt hit that comfortable, leaned-back chair, I was gone…out like a light. I had done way too much that day and could not stay awake. I guess it was good that I got a discount because I ran out of energy, just like a senior citizen. It was hard to deal with that whole concept. But, it is what it is. Damn…I really wanted to see that show.

From there, I found the nearest Metro station and headed back to the house in Maryland where I was staying. It was, all-in-all, a good day and I accomplished a great deal. But one never forgets the day when you find out you are no longer young.  

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Camp Verde

In 1,000 years, will your house look this good? Welcome to the improperly named Montezuma Castle National Monument! Located near the town of Camp Verde, AZ, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, just off of I-17 (not too far from Sedona), this beautifully preserved cliff dwelling can easily be compared to a 20 room high-rise apartment…although this apartment is nestled inside a limestone cliff.

The castle was built by the Sinagua people, northern cousins to the Hohokam tribe. They lived in this area from about 700 to 1450 AD. Best guess is that construction on this dwelling began around 700 and took five centuries to complete the five level structure.

White people discovered this place in 1860 and gave it the name of Montezuma’s Castle, mistakenly believing that the Aztec emperor was connected to the construction. In fact, the castle was abandoned by the Sinagua about 100 years before Montezuma was even born!

Prior to 1909, when President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a National Monument, the dwelling was often looted for artifacts. Even after 1909, visitors were allowed to climb ladders to explore the building. In 1951, after extensive damage was discovered, access was closed off to visitors and remains so today.

No one knows why the Sinagua left the area, but it was probably due to warfare with the Yavapai Tribe and/or drought.  Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived. Too bad. 

The visitor center includes a museum about the Sinagua and the tools they used to build the dwellings. The Montezuma Castle site houses many artifacts, such as stone tools, metates used for grinding corn, bone needles and ornaments of shell and gemstone which prove that the Sinagua were fine artisans. Worth a visit if you are in the area.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from a Potter’s Shop

The Water Jug Dream
(Ode to a Daydream)

 

In my mind there is a place
Of great beauty and of peace.
A place where I can finally rest,
And let my tensions cease.

There is a cabin in the wood,
Where I can make a Bauer.
Just a hammock in the trees
Filled with woodland flower.

 
A lovely brook flows past my home,
And whispers at it's play,
"Come and drink or swim with me,
or sing the song I play today".

I keep this dream within my heart,
For, heartstrings it does tug.
It blossomed forth from wildflowers,
Placed within my water jug.

by Diana Robillard-Hoy

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tucson

This is one of my experimental digital sketches…this time the left wing of an old B-36 bomber that was on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum here in Tucson. Since I moved here, you’ve seen a few images of the many aircraft on display here. If you are an old aircraft nut like myself, this is the place to visit.

The B-36 was a very unique aircraft in many ways. First, the prop engines are mounted on the back of the wing…three on each wing. At the very end of the wing are two jet engines…so in all, there are ten engines to propel this rather large aircraft. The jet engines were actually added later in the production period which lasted from 1949 to 1959. The aircraft was eventually replaced by the B-52.

The idea for this unique bomber actually came during World War II. The US wanted a long range bomber that could bomb Japan from bases in Hawaii. The first prototypes came off the Convair production lines in 1945-46. But, of course, it never saw action in WWII.

It could fly higher than any enemy aircraft of its day and its large wings could carry enough fuel to fly 10,000 miles. It’s bomb load capacity was huge and could easily carry several nuclear weapon. However, when the jet engines were added, the range was substantially reduced.

The first models had 6 gun turrets, but those were eventually made obsolete with the advent of air-to-air missiles. Later production models eliminated the gun turrets and 6 crewman, thereby increasing its range again.

With the advent of the B-52, the role of the B-36 was reduced to reconnaissance. In fact, the aircraft never saw any combat duty. Still, its completely unique design gave this aircraft a unique place in aviation history.

Postcard from Venice

“Streets flooded. Please advise.”
― Robert Benchley

Of all the words written about Venice, the above 4 words may be my favorite. Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist in the 1930’s and 40’s…best known for his contributions to The New Yorker magazine and Vanity Fair, to name just two. He also worked as a freelance writer and in Hollywood. There, he not only wrote for motion pictures but appeared in them…my favorite being a humorous short film entitled, “How to Sleep,” for which he won the Academy Award.

The above quote comes from a telegram he sent to his editor at the New Yorker. He had been sent to Venice on assignment and it was his first trip. Of course his telegram was just part of his unique sense of humor. Here are a few other quotes from this legendary humorist:

“Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.”

“Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment. ”

“As for me, except for an occasional heart attack, I feel as young as I ever did.”  

“The only cure for a real hangover is death.”

“There are two kinds of travel: first class and with children.”

PS: The above painting of a backwater canal in Venice was one of my best sellers when I was doing art shows.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tucson

If you followed this blog for any length of time (this is blog #704, if you can believe that), you may have figured out I have a passion for sketches. While I have no talent to do them by hand, I love to experiment by creating digital sketches from my own original photographs. It is amazing all the artistic tech tools that have evolved since the early days of digital photography. 

I made my entrance into the commercial art world by creating digital paintings and sketches and did very well. Today there are far more tools available to the digital photographer to create these paintings and sketches than there were several years ago when I was on the art trail.

This weekend, I made a visit to the University of Arizona Art Museum to see a special collection of sketches and engravings from some of the greatest artists the western world has ever known. I saw artworks by Goya, Whistler, Guercino, Durer, Manet, and Rembrandt, to name a few.

What I learned is that for so long, sketches were considered of no importance. Often sketches were used as conceptual drawings for future paintings. So they had no artistic or monetary value. Then came the age of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Albrecht Durer. Suddenly, the world began to realize that many sketches were indeed great art. 

Later, other great artists like Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Jacques Louis David, and other famous painters such as: Honore Daumier, Edgar Degas, Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann, David Hockney, and Lucian Freud, exemplified the art of sketching. The word draughtsman (or draftsman) is the usual term for an artist who practices drawing.

Of course, I don’t consider myself a master of sketching, but I am a good photographer and I love to experiment to make my photos works of art different than most photos. An example is the digital sketch shown above.

It is of the pool area at my apartment complex. Nothing special in terms of subject matter. It is the digital technique of sketching that I used here that makes all the difference. It is a fun sketch for sure, but I like what I created. I am curious if you do also. I will keep sketching my photos and occasionally share them here.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Morrow Bay

Sunset on the Beach

The sun was setting with all its power and glory
on the horizon behind the sea as I stood there
on the sand which lay along the water's edge.

The clouds in the sky had the effect of evolving translucent light
yet as the sun sank further down into the sea
this light was changing to a sombre silver-grey.

Darkness was descending upon me where I stood
yet in the far horizon before me daylight was
making its impact once again on the earth.

It was getting chilly and darker and a slight breeze
was beginning to arouse the waters of a once calm sea.

The tide was going out and I could feel the moisture
from underneath my feet being taken away.
The sun was drawing away the very waters of the sea before me it seemed and everything was beginning to have a haunted aspect,
for without light all seemed to attain a gloomy and ghostly atmosphere.

The sun was now but a tinge of orange
giving off its last rays of light being swallowed by the sea.
What a splendid sight it was I thought seeing something alive
and wondrous making its last impact with beauty and significance before vanishing temporarily and rising again on the opposite to where it set.

It seemed to suggest that where there is light there is life
and where there is no light life would be unbearable and dark.
Dusk had come and night was here so I thought that I had better depart
in order to live and enjoy the sight just seen at some other date.

George Krokos

 

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Chicago

Chicago

I'm goin' to Chicago
I'm goin' back that way, someday
I'm heading back to Chicago.

I'm goin back to Chicago
And you know I mean to stay
At the Hotel Blackstone when I go.

Though winds may winge and blow
Off th' lake and freeze my face;
Though it may heavily snow

Sideways and hit ten below,
It'll be warm at my baby's place-
That much I do know.

I'm gonna' ride that old Metro
To th' museum down the way-
See Mista's Wood and Georgie Bellows, too.

There I'll sip pernod
All day
And watch the icicles grow
When I go back to Chicago.

Morgan Michaels

 

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Mesa

Sometimes if you look either straight up or straight down with your camera, you can find some interesting subjects for a photo. So it is with this image. I shot this on the campus of Arizona State Polytechnic University in Mesa, Arizona. In this case, I looked straight up while inside a very unique building on campus.

I call this photo “Jumble” as it contains a hodgepodge of interesting architectural elements jumbled together to form a cohesive whole. You’ve got horizontal and vertical elements, not to mention lines running in all directions. But, to me, what makes the image all come together is the circular fan. Everything else is straight lines and rectangles. But by having something completely circular, everything just works. I am sure the architects of the building knew that also.

This building is Peralta Hall, designed by Lake/Flato Architects. The building is very open and makes excellent use of natural light. It is integrated with three existing building and creates a cohesive complex (To see these unique buildings in their entirety, check out this website) I took this photo while standing in an open air hallway. The classrooms are off to my right and left and above me on 3 different levels.

Many of my architectural photos are done in black and white and that was my original plan for this image. But, after a long hard look, I realized in this case, color adds to the visual quality of the photo. The more I look at this photo the more I like it. I hope you do also.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tempe

Harmonious Walkways

Spinning across our vision, images gyrate and coalesce in
our mind's imagination and creative eyes.

Revolving naturally forever, along walkways of courtyards
made for us alone to find our ways back to peace and
harmony within ourselves.

RoseAnn V. Shawiak

___________________________

Photograph by J.R. Corkrum

“Lighting the Way”

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from the Arches

The Arches National Park in Southeastern Utah is one of my favorite National Parks.  This is Skyline Arch, a beautiful arch located near the end of the road deep into the park. I walked off the road a ways to get this photo under it. On the other side of this arch is the campground where I stayed for a few days. Hardy climbers can get up to the arch from the campground side. 

I remember this day well…it was one of those days where amazing clouds ruled the landscape.  When you have a beautiful day in a beautiful place such as this, one cannot stop shooting. If you have followed this blog for a long time, you have already seen some of the images from this day. This is the first one I have posted in a while.

As Ansel Adams once said about a day like this:

“Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.”

That was this day for me in the Arches. The clouds and the light were beyond belief! I considered myself one of the luckiest men with a camera on the planet that day.

Definitely make The Arches National Park one of your destinations in the future. PS: The Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands National Park is only a few miles up the road from the Arches. How handy is that?

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Morro Bay

This is a photo of one of those unique architectural features I love to shoot when I find them. This is an old movie theater that was recently restored, but still remains empty. Sadly, it was the most interesting object in Morro Bay to photograph. Even the beaches there are boring, photographically speaking.

I believe the design of this building would labeled “Art Deco.” Whatever its name, it is certainly unique. Wikipedia describes this style as “…an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation.”

That sounds about right to me. I don’t know what else to say about it except it certainly stands out among all the other buildings in boring Morrow Bay.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from the Oregon Coast

This is one of my more abstract sketches…I found these trees along a small road near the Oregon Coast. I got carried away with my sketching techniques and out popped this black and white abstract sketch. I didn’t think anyone would like it, but it turned out to be quite popular when I was doing art shows.

Once, for the wedding of a family friend, I offered the bride the choice of any of my art works for a wedding present. She was a big fan of my work and I was quite surprised when she chose this sketch. As an artist, one never knows what people will like. This one sure surprised me.

PS: the title of this one is “Trees.”

With that title, I could not resist bringing out this most famous poem with the same name…written in 1913 by Joyce Kilmer.

 

Trees

By Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

 

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Downtown Phoenix

A few weeks ago, my son Eric treated me to a weekend in Phoenix. We stayed at a luxury downtown hotel and after checking in we walked to Chase Field and had dinner before the Dodgers/Diamondback game. There is a TGI Fridays located in the upper deck of the left field corner. The food is reasonably good and well priced considering it is inside a ball park where prices tend to be a bit high.

Anyway, it was a lovely evening, not very warm, so they rolled the stadium roof back just before the game started. We had good seats and rooted hard for the hometown team to win…not because we like the D’Backs, but because we are both SF Giants fans..and our second favorite team is anyone playing the Dodgers. Alas, it was not to be as the Dodger’s rolled over the local boys. They really are not very good this year.

Of course, the real point of this weekend was not baseball or luxury hotels…it was to be with my son and bond once again while we did some of our favorite things together. Eric and I are very close as I raised him by myself from age 9 on. Probably it is more accurate to say that we raised each other.

From the game, we walked back to our hotel. On the way I took this photo of the Phoenix Convention Center all lit up at night. I can easily recommend downtown Phoenix as a beautiful and enjoyable destination, especially at night.

After getting back to our hotel, we got out of the elevator on the wrong floor…and discovered a beautiful outdoor pool and patio area with great views of Phoenix. We then went up to our room and made a batch of Manhattans…our beverage of choice for the evening (two parts high quality Rye Whisky to one part high quality Sweet Vermouth with a dash of bitters and topped off with a maraschino cherry). I brought all the fixin’s from home.

With drinks in hand we went back to the pool/patio area and sat and talked the rest of the evening away. I did have to go back upstairs once to make another batch as we were having a great time…all the while looking at Phoenix all lit up at night. What was really great was we had the entire place to ourselves and the weather was perfect. Magical moments like this don’t come around very often.

Around midnight we headed downstairs to the bar to sample a different beverage or two and some midnight snack food. From there, it was back upstairs to our room to crash.

In the morning we decided against the $18 pancakes the hotel was offering and found a great little bakery across the street that made simple breakfasts for a reasonable price. Sadly, from there, we had to part ways as Eric had to get back to Yuma to prepare his very best dress uniform for an important visitor from Washington DC the next day. I don’t know if I ever mentioned here that Eric is in the Border Patrol Intelligence Division.

I don’t know if I can ever put into words how great this weekend was. Bonding with my son while enjoying some of the best scenery that Phoenix has to offer. It was magical and the memories will stay with me as long as I live. A special time with a special guy.

Postcard from Tucson

Daisy Time

By Marjorie Pickthall

See, the grass is full of stars,

Fallen in their brightness;

Hearts they have of shining gold,

Rays of shining whiteness.

 

Buttercups have honeyed hearts,

Bees they love the clover,

But I love the daisies' dance

All the meadow over.

 

Blow, O blow, you happy winds,

Singing summer's praises,

Up the field and down the field

A-dancing with the daisies.

Postcard from Tempe

This is one of the first buildings I saw when I drove into Tempe and on to the campus of Arizona State University. I mean, how could one miss this multi-story structure with a bunch of X’s all the way around it? Of course, I have an eye for architectural oddities, or perhaps I should say unique architectural elements.

And this is a very unique building and I am only sorry I couldn’t capture all of it. It is three-sided instead of the usual four. Each side has a curve on it as you can see from the image. In fact, I call this photo, “Where the X’s Start to Curve.”

Of course, I see the sides as X’s…but they could easily be seen as rows of V’s or W’s, or even diamond shapes. My eye and brain saw them as X’s. I am not sure what that says about me. Is this some sort of architectural Rorschach Test?

Anyway it makes a wonderful addition to my collection of architectural images. There are a few more images to come from my day on two ASU campuses.

PS: Sorry about no blogs last week. I suffered a sever bout of food poisoning (I am guessing Salmonella from one of our local establishments) a week ago and it has taken a while for me to recover fully. It’s hard to be creative when one is sick.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Arizona State University

 

A Cyclist’s Concern: Part One

It’s ten until ten.
I’ve slept in again!
My alarm, I swear that it’s broken.
I sleep as it beeps,
Or maybe I creep and silence the wake up call motive.
I manage my snooze.
And often throw shoes, to pause the start of the day.
I wake in a bind.
It’s always I find, I try, but I’m late anyway.
Sloshed morning thoughts.
Can’t find my keys, my pants, my watch.
Of course I’ve forgot the numbers to the lock.
Oh, pretty please!
I twist the bike lock free!
Might make it if I flee!
Check the rear view to watch traffic carefully.
I ride up the hill, I don’t have the skill.
I stall, I slip, I perspire.
I move up the curb just missing a swerve
from the truck with the sudden flat tire.
Straight peddling on, til the looks are all gone
while I calm the fear I’ve acquired.
Police turn round the corner,
I stare in pure horror as one motions for me to dismount it.
Truck nowhere in sight, and I get the slight,
as he writes me a ticket for riding my bike where pedestrians tread,
can all this be right?
Did nobody see that freight give me fright?!
Confound it!
Shamed, shunned, despair.
I’ll walk, I don’t care. The doctor suggested fresh air.
I glance to my wrist- it’s Sunday the fifth!
I don’t have to be anywhere!

Claud Capuano Dec. 2013

Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum – “Bikes on Campus”

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tucson

Yes…it’s that time. Cactus flowers are springing up all over the Sonoran Desert. Spring here is like no other in the world. All the plants you associate with Spring are in full bloom also, just like where you live. But, cactus flowers always come a little bit later. Almost every day I like to take a walk in the desert (on a paved walkway to avoid rattlers and scorpions) and right now flowers from every kind of cactus imaginable line both sides of the trail.

This flower is from the king of all cactus…the Saguaro. This particular cactus, is an old one as it has a couple of large arms. Remember, the Saguaro don’t start growing arms until it is about 100 years old. Behind this flower, you can see bulbs that will soon open to reveal their flowers. You can always count on lots of flowers from older Saguaros.

The only problem for the photographer is almost all Saguaro flowers grow on top of the main branch or the arms. And these cactus can get pretty tall…much taller than me! I got lucky with this particular one as there was a mound in front of it and, with the help of a long lens, I was able to get eye-level with the flower.

Out where I live in the western foothills above Tucson, the Saguaro are as thick as thieves. There are hundreds of them on each hill around my place. The Saguaro Cactus National Park is only a few miles from here. So I have my pick of cactus to shoot. All I need is a little natural elevation to photograph the flowers face-to-face.

Although you may have seen Saguaro Cactus in John Wayne westerns, supposedly based in Texas, they really only grow in this area and further south in Mexico. PS: for your information, many of those John Wayne films were shot just a few miles from here at the Old Tucson Movie Studios. So, if you see any movie with Saguaros, you know they were shot here.  

Come down in April sometime and see these beauties for yourself.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Rome

 

The Roman Forum

A Poem by Nicholas Michell

 

The Forum, glory of departed time!

Where temples dazzled, arches rose sublime,

And statues burned with life— what see we now?

Stones, fragments, dust — yet pride is loath to bow;

A few pale columns point to what hath been,

The last, lone, sorrowing orphans of the scene,

And mouldered walls, fair marbles, ages' spoil,

Reluctant mingle with the meaner soil:

Still Phocas' pillar struggles with decay,

And thy hold arch, Severus, spans the way;

But gone the car, and lightning-breathing steed,

And where an emperor stood, now waves the weed;

No more along the Forum's stately side

The musing sage sweeps by in toga'd pride,

Or hear we from the platform's glittering beak

The fiery orator in thunder speak;

But there the herdsman leans, and sheep and swine

Pollute the once rich path and radiant shrine:

Caesar, Augustus, Tully! gaze ye here,

Frown from the grave, and drop th' indignant tear.

 

Digital Sketch from an Original Photo by J.R. Corkrum

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Naples

I only spent one day in Naples, but do I have several stories to tell about that short sojourn. But, for now, I will just tell you one of my favorites.

To enjoy this story, you need to know three things: First, we were given a guided tour of Naples by our Italian friends who lived there for many years. So that made it easier to get around and understand what was going on. Second, understand that Naples was the most bombed city in Italy in World War II. Third, there are 27 centuries of history inside this amazing city.

To begin our tour, we took a streetcar from the railway station (we were catching a train to Florence in the evening) down to where the line ends at the waterfront. From there we could see the Isle of Capri, a famous vacation spot for Roman Emperors and today’s wealthier tourists.

From there we started our real walking tour along the oldest street in Naples, built by the Romans over 2,000 year ago. This would eventually take us back to the train station. Of course, the real reason was to take in some of most famous sites in this amazing city.

At one spot, there were two large churches across the street from each other…one was Gothic and the other Baroque. And you could not imaging two churches so opposite from each other. The Gothic church was extremely austere, almost sterile, in it architecture and decorations; while the Baroque church was as rich in decorations as any church or cathedral in Italy. It was stunning, to say the least…all quite normal for Baroque churches.

My story begins in this church. As I wandered with my Italian guide enjoying the marvels this church had to offer, we were approached by this very elderly woman, who clearly was headed right for me.

She started screaming at me in Italian and I had no idea what she was saying. I looked at my guide and friend for help and he just signaled me to stay cool. But this woman kept screaming at me, and attracting a lot of onlookers.

I kept hearing the word “Bomba” over and over. All I could think of was the word meant bomb. As for the rest of her diatribe, I did not have a clue. She finally finished and wandered off.

I turned to my friend and asked what she was saying and did the word bomba mean bomb? He said yes it did. What the woman was doing was chewing me out for bombing Naples in World War II. She obviously knew I was an American. But the kicker was she said that the Italian government had become so corrupt that she wanted me to fly my bomber up to Rome and bomb it!

Needless to say we all had a good laugh over this. How clever of her to spot me as an American but, of course, I was born after the end of the war in Europe. I still laugh when I think about that old woman. If I only could remember where I parked my bomber.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from the Sonoran Desert

The flowers bloom in the Desert joyously—
They do not weary themselves with questioning;
They are careless whether they be seen, or praised.
They blossom unto life perfectly and unto death perfectly, leaving nothing unsaid.
They spread a voluptuous carpet for the feet of the Wind
And to the frolic Breezes which overleap them, they whisper:
“Stay a moment, Brother; plunder us of our passion;
Our day is short, but our beauty is eternal.”
Never have I found a place, or a season, without beauty.
Neither the sea, where the white stallions champ their bits and rear against their bridles, Nor the Desert, bride of the Sun, which sits scornful, apart…

Excerpt from “The Poet in the Desert” - By Charles Erskine Scott Wood

A Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Hunters

The Old Country Church

There's a place near to me, where I'm longing to be
With my friends at the old country church
There with mother we went and our Sundays we spent
With our friends at the old country church

Precious years of memories
Oh, what joy they bring to me
How I long once more to be
With my friends at the old country church

How I wish that today all the people would pray
Like we prayed in that old country church
If they'd only confess, Jesus surely would bless
As He did in that old country church

Precious years of memories
Oh, what joy they bring to me
How I long once more to be
With my friends at the old country church

 

Lyrics from a song by Hank Williams

Written by J.W. Vaughn

Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum 

“Old Church in a Tiny Town”

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tempe

10 days ago, I headed north toward the greater Phoenix metropolitan area…specifically Tempe and Mesa. Not only did I want to get out-of-town and do something different, I also had an itchy shutter finger and felt like photographing something new.

My targets were two of the Arizona State campuses…the main ASU campus in Tempe and the ASU Polytechnic campus out in Mesa. It was a great day for photography…nice weather and some lovely clouds in the sky. Believe it or not, in my 5.5 years here I had never visited an ASU campus…have been close a couple of times, but never visited. And as you might have noticed over time, I have a penchant for intimate architectural photos…not whole buildings necessarily but small elements of buildings that make interesting photos.

Such is the case with this photo…it is part of the Memorial Auditorium where major events take place on campus. I was fascinated with the arches that led up the ramp to the auditorium. I knew immediately I wanted a photograph and that it would be in black and white as so many of my architectural photos are.

As you might guess, there is a major rivalry between ASU and the University of Arizona in my home town of Tucson. Not just sports, but in most everything. You can buy t-shirts here that say “ASWho?” Even I have a Arizona t-shirt that takes a shot at ASU. I did not wear it this day.

As I wandered around campus, I found it interesting to compare the two campuses. Both are located in a downtown area, but ASU feels a little more cramped. UofA is much, much larger and has far more open spaces including a gigantic, mostly grass mall that stretches on and on (very similar to the one in Washington DC). For instance, they could never hold the Tucson Book Fest at ASU as there is not enough room.

As far as architectural elements go, UofA has a bit more that ASU…but still I found many interesting buildings to photograph (as you will see here over time). Still, it is a lovely campus and I really enjoyed walking around and photographing. I also have a few more photos to show you from the Polytechnic campus in Mesa, but will save those for another day.

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from a Truck Graveyard

The Truck Graveyard

Across the road from new truck sales
Lay a yard filld with trucks that died
These vehicles' voice offer tales
Once on them a trucker relied

They thought that he would be companion
Their eternal guide protect them
He  took one to the Grand Canyon
He was truck's total brain stem

Made the decisions for each day
This truck didn't object just follow
Whichever way trucker would stray
Even if where lay Capistrano Swallow

Then one day the truck's tires went flat
Soon in this graveyard this truck lies
Trucker lost his favorite hat 
Old trucker no longer truck guides

by Sara Kendrick

Japanese-Style Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum

From his original photograph

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Scottsdale

All to soon, the Cactus League Spring Training in Arizona came to an end. Today was the last day of preseason games here in our fair state. Tonight or tomorrow the teams will head back to their respective cities, play a couple more exhibition games, then start the regular season on Sunday or Monday.

It is always such a sad time for diehard baseball fans like myself to see Spring Training come to an end, especially when it is in your backyard. They are so different than regular season games because they don’t count…and you get to see a lot of different players on the field…the regular players are usually done by the 5th inning. Then it’s time for the younger players to show their stuff.

When I came to Tucson, the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks were the only two teams training here (the Chicago White Sox left the year before). So I went to several games every year…until both teams moved up to the Phoenix area. Now, all the teams in the Cactus League are in the same vicinity so travel is easy for them.

So even though we have no teams here anymore, a few teams like the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers normally come down and play a couple of games here. But, this year, those two teams went to Australia to play there. So, for the first time in over 50 years, there were no Cactus League games in my fair city.

I only went north once this pre-season to see a game…and happily for me, it was the San Francisco Giants, my favorite team in baseball, playing the San Diego Padres in Scottsdale. Even though they lost that day, it was still a fun time at the old ball park.

What makes these games so special is the size of the stadiums…they are very small, so you are right on top of the action. The players are a little friendlier and looser than normal so a baseball fan can have fun interacting with them. Its just a great experience that you will seldom find in a big-league ballpark. 

I also got to experience Old Town Scottsdale, something I had not done before. It is quite a place and certainly worth a visit. I was with my good friends, the Millers, from Walnut Creek, CA, so I got to experience the city with them. Always more fun when with friends. And of course, there were fellow Giant fans everywhere.

If you ever visit Scottsdale, be aware they have guys and girls running around town in golf carts. They will take you anywhere you want to go for no charge (they live on tips). It beats taxis. Our driver found out I was new to Scottsdale and gave me a great tour around Old Town.

I can honestly say I may never have had such a great day experiencing  Spring Training baseball from sunrise to sunset.

PS: This photo was not of the Giants game I attended. I forgot my camera. Dummy!

Postcard from a Long Lost Garden

The Morning-Glory

We wreathed about our darling's head
The morning-glory bright;
Her little face looked out beneath
So full of life and light,
So lit as with a sunrise,
That we could only say,
'She is the morning-glory true,
And her poor types are they.'

So always from that happy time
We called her by their name,
And very fitting did it seem,--
For sure as morning came,
Behind her cradle bars she smiled
To catch the first faint ray,
As from the trellis smiles the flower
And opens to the day.

But not so beautiful they rear
Their airy cups of blue,
As turned her sweet eyes to the light,
Brimmed with sleep's tender dew;
And not so close their tendrils fine
Round their supports are thrown,
As those dear arms whose outstretched plea
Clasped all hearts to her own.

We used to think how she had come,
Even as comes the flower,
The last and perfect added gift
To crown Love's morning hour;
And how in her was imaged forth
The love we could not say,
As on the little dewdrops round
Shines back the heart of day.

We never could have thought, O God,
That she must wither up,
Almost before a day was flown,
Like the morning-glory's cup;
We never thought to see her droop
Her fair and noble head,
Till she lay stretched before our eyes,
Wilted, and cold, and dead!

The morning-glory's blossoming
Will soon be coming round,--
We see their rows of heart-shaped leaves
Upspringing from the ground;
The tender things the winter killed
Renew again their birth,
But the glory of our morning
Has passed away from earth.

Earth! in vain our aching eyes
Stretch over thy green plain!
Too harsh thy dews, too gross thine air,
Her spirit to sustain;
But up in groves of Paradise
Full surely we shall see
Our morning-glory beautiful
Twine round our dear Lord's knee.

Maria White Lowell

Digital Sketch Entitled Morning Glories by J.R. Corkrum

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from Tucson

My life has been filled with great music. From my earliest days of Rock n’ Roll (for which I was royally chastised by the nuns at school), to my discovery of modern jazz and later classical music. Of course, we all enjoy music of one sort or another, but my life’s journey with music has been very special…a personal odyssey, if you will.

Last week, I sat captivated by the Arizona Symphony’s performance of the powerful Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony. The power of that music had me pinned to my seat as if held by a giant magnet. I recall the same thing happened in London when the Philharmonia Orchestra played the “Mars” Section of Holst’s “Planets.”

After last week’s symphony, I thought about some of the great venues where I heard some of the finest music composed on this planet. Besides classical, I listened to some of the great legends of jazz play their music in small jazz nightclubs…but I will leave those memories for another day. Today, it is about classical music.

I’ve been privileged to hear some great symphonic music in the concert halls of London, Paris, Oxford and other European cities…not to mention here in the US. Another piece of music that pinned me to my seat was the remarkable Beethoven 9th Symphony. The first time I heard it live, I could hardly walk after the performance. And to think he wrote it while totally deaf.

I’ve heard Mozart played in St. Martins In-The-Field Church in Trafalgar Square in London; the haunting Vaughn Williams’ “Fantasy on a Theme of Thomas Tallis” at the Southbank Center, also in London; Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” in Sainte Chappelle in Paris; and more Vivaldi in Venice. I could go on, but suffice it to say I’ve been fortunate to hear great music performed all over the world.

I began my journey with classical music while in my 20’s. As I listened and enjoyed, I wanted to learn more about it. What I learned early was: in order to really appreciate the music, one must know more about the composer, where and when he lived, what his life was like, and how long he lived.

Then I learned the basic eras of each composer and how church music later morphed into secular music…how the Classical era of Mozart and Haydn followed the Baroque Era of Bach and Vivaldi; and how Classical was followed by the Romantic Era…and on an on. I learned where each composer fit into the scheme of things and how his music differed from others in each epoch. By doing that, classical music appreciation fell into place.

It’s been a wonderful journey…and it continues to this day. Living in a university town affords me plenty of great classical concerts. Besides Tchaikovsky, in the past couple of months I’ve heard Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, a piano concert by one of the world’s great pianists who played the music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Chopin…all in one glorious evening. I am a very fortunate man and I hope to hear more great music before this journey comes to an end.

Postcard from Tucson

I created this digital sketch from a photo I took on campus at the University of Arizona. For your information, it is part of the large Electrical and Computer Engineering Building. Like other buildings on campus, the architecture is a reflection of the classes taught inside. Notice the rounded top of the building that looks like a computer. There are others just like it all around the building.

Still, it fits nicely into the general architectural scheme of the entire university…and the rocks give it a desert feel. After all, we are indeed in the desert. I love all the design elements in the image…the stairs leading up to the building, the rounded exterior, and the covered walkway leading inside. All are wonderful design elements leading to the creation of the entire image.

Frankly, I think this image works much better as a digital sketch rather than a photo. As you may have noticed from recent blogs, I’ve really gotten back into sketching and painting…digitally, of course from my own photos. If I did these by hand using pencil and paints…well, take my word for it…it would not be good. My skill is in photography and now in post processing…creating different styles of images that express my inner feelings as an artist. Thank God there are new products on the market that let me experiment.

It’s funny that I thought when I retired I would have more time for photography and digital painting. But, that is not necessarily the case except perhaps in the summer when the heat keeps me indoors.

But this time of year here is amazing…the weather is wonderful and the activities abound. This week alone I have been to 3 concerts in 4 nights, two lectures and a baseball game. And this weekend is the incredible (and very large) Tucson Festival of Books where authors famous and not-so-famous, come to give talks and participate in author’s panel discussions, and of course, promote their books. It is a two day event that keeps me hopping all day long. Love it!

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.

Postcard from a Bygone Garden

An Iris Blessing

May your blooms be floriferous and in good form,

Distinctive, with good substance, flare, and airborne,

With standards and falls that endure, never torn.

May you display many buds and blooms sublime,

In graceful proportion on strong stalks each day,

Gently floating above the fans and the fray.

May you too reach toward the moon and stars,

Bloom after bloom, many seasons in the sun,

Enjoying your life, health, and each loved one,

Until your 'living days are artfully done.

By Georgia Gudykunst

 

Digital Sketch by J.R. Corkrum

“The Lonely Iris”

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.