Union of sky and sea

Union of sky and sea, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

It was the day we said goodbye
under the union of sea and sky
closing in upon us as we cried...

The past is gone

The past is gone, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Though the doors of the past have long been closed,
you open them again, throwing fuel on a fire nearly out...
and so the healing must start again, a new ending process...
until we learn to let go and accept the past that's gone...

Hard Times

Hard Times, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

What do you do when there's no one around?

Seems paper still has some purpose...

Red December Skies

Red December Skies, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The light of morning begins to define the world,
giving shape to things once only dreamed...

They filled the streets

They filled the streets, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Trying a different approach to shooting the summer solstice parade...
going for the smack dab in the middle point of view.... and different
camera angles, high, low, and in between for something a bit more
dynamic...

Yesterday's gone

Yesterday's gone, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The best thing we can do about yesterday is leave where it belongs, in the past...
Forget it, move on, don't cry over it, it's gone...

and so they follow

and so they follow, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

I took a different approach to photographing the Summer Solstice Parade this year, trying to take shots from a child's point of view, smack dab in the middle of the action.

And so we must part

And so we must part, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

By the last light of day,
we said our goodbyes,
heading separate ways,
hoping meet again someday...

Running out of time

Running out of time, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

All those things we wanted to do
and never came to be, our list too
long, and just not enough tomorrows

They jump at dawn

They jump at dawn, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

I've been digging through my archives to cull some old images for my employer's web project.  This shot is from way back in 2004, and I'm starting to post some even older images.

All taken with older equipment and just sitting in a box on DVDs I burned.  It's good that these images are coming back out to find some use.

What bothers me though, is that I told my employer more than a decade ago that they should build an image/media library and build it up over time.

It's not like storage hasn't gotten cheaper and digital cameras too.  In fact digital cameras are ubiquitous now.  Staff could have built up quite a library by now.

It's been obvious for a long time that digital is here to stay, and that the web and mobile platforms will continue to grow.

There's no excuse to be stuck in analog thinking when it comes to media and presentation, or the dissemination of information for the purpose of public service and communication.

Yet, this is where many organizations are finding themselves, panicked as they try and catch up, and still not thinking ahead. 

Bat Ball

Bat Ball, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

All things pass, to be forgotten

Chained Up

Chained Up, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Yesterday I came across and article about a guy who was coming to the end of his analog life.  He's probably in the same age group as me, post fifty, and realizes that it's time to downsize and purge.  Always a good thing.

His big revelation was that he's part of the last generation of analog accumulators.  Books, records, CDs, DVDs, printed photos, etc., all this stuff adds up, and really is a burden.  Most analog mementos only mean something to those holding on to time, it's the memories behind them that give them most of their value.

In the end, most of this still will end up at a thrift shop or in a landfill.  That's the bottom line. And yet, he was lamenting the loss, and was even more troubled that Generation Text will be free from the burden of analog stuff.

The comments that followed his post showed that he's not alone.  Maybe it's just me, but I see it as a freedom from being chained up to the past and to things, and that it's a good thing to get away from analog.

Taking Shape

Taking Shape, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

With time and effort a dream takes shape

Big Smile

Big Smile, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Good fortune is made in the way we live

You haunt me still

You haunt me still, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

For nearly a year I've been working on a writing project, and not a personal one in the sense that it's not my writing.  It's my mother's writing, a collection of scraps of paper and old journals.  Things that haven't fared too well over the decades.

Journals of old poems, faded and torn with pages missing, all nearly forgotten.  Found in old boxes and on the backs of shelves.  I've been collecting them, and posting them in the form of a blog for my mother, it's her work and the postings are on her behalf.  I'm more or less the unpaid help.

She was excited to get her work out for people to see when we first talked about it, but she probably doesn't remember that discussion today.

Her memory is fading, and rather quickly too.  She has Dementia/Alzheimer's, which seems to run in the family, and it's starting to play havoc on her memory.  It's not as bad as I've seen, but she's in the early stages.

This project has helped me in an odd way, getting to know my mother better on a deeper, more personal level, and to help me get ready for the eventual goodbye.

Thanks to this digital age and ebooks, my mom's dream of becoming a published poet has come true, though she can't really grasp that concept.  To her the world is still analog and tactile, so unless you can touch something how can it exist?  Odd thinking coming from a woman of faith.

This project has had a more profound impact on me than I expected, and it will continue to do so for a long long time.  It's been a bit emotional, but has also given me a lot of strength, helped to keep me focused, and taught me that there's a healing aspect to technology that I'd never realized existed.

On her toes

On her toes, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

A pattern extracted from the scenery
she walks out from my memory
I knew her once when sleep would come
together in worlds of dreams we'd roam
She's waiting now, on her toes
in worlds of dreams, for me to go

Economic Tumble

Economic Tumble, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

When we're motivated only by green
we sell ourselves short and our dreams
and the illusions we build sit on sand
lacking foundation, unable to stand

The homeless gauntlet

The homeless gauntlet, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

They move in and out of shadows,
within our reach... on the fringe,
between two worlds, we must pass through

Oh, no

Oh, no, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Judge,
be judged
as if
glass
houses
existed

Exploring Realms

Exploring Realms, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

If dreams are to mean anything, they need to be explored

The corners of my mind

The corners of my mind, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

In the shadows of my memory

hide the moments of you and me

our time together fading slowly

Enter

Enter, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

What lays dormant in the imagination?  The possibilities are endless, but we need to be willing to explore that realm.  To learn to feed and nourish creativity, and to go to where
it takes us.

Fading Love

Fading Love, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Love fades
as do our memories
all to become dust in time
blown away by the winds
with scant a trace we were here
or that the events of our lives
ever happened
all just changing shapes
in the realm of infinity

Curiosity

Curiosity, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Curiosity is at the soul of imagination,
it pushes our art and science forward,
and opens the possibilities of our dreams

an empty wait

an empty wait, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

So much of our time is lost to waiting for things that amount to nothing. Make the most of your time on doing things that matter to you and others.

Unforgettable

Unforgettable, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Unforgettable
until the break of day
Unforgettable
until the time passes away
Unforgettable
the fading things you had to say

Night Life

Night Life, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

Those long ago nights,
and far away places...
meant so much, once

Ride along

Ride along, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

The world is a place that will never make sense,
we're all just here for the ride and nothing more

Long Remembered Years

Long Remembered Years, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

This process of passing made over lifetimes,
long and short, memories made and forgotten,
a journey where giving means more than taking

Blind Justice

Blind Justice, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.

In world of self-interest
blinded to right and wrong
justice takes a backseat
it's time we get back
to doing right by others