What is a Monthly Leaf Pile? Monthly Leaf Piles are summary posts where I “rake together” of a variety of thoughts, activities, and behind-the-scenes activities that include more personal stories, commentary, and whatever else I can think of in looking back at the previous month. Much like a monthly journal entry. If you enjoy them, be sure to subscribe to this blog by filling in your email in the area below this post.
This month’s Leaf Pile is going to be short and quick. July 2020 certainly wasn’t one of my better months.
Photography
The only photographs I made in July 2020 were on my phone. Of those, I will probably only keep one that will make it to my site. This is an impressionistic view out a window where I developed most of it on my phone. Once viewing it on a desktop monitor, I realized I perhaps saved and resaved it too many times, resulting in some lost detail. That became the subject of my post on Gigapixel AI and some pitfalls of doing all the developing on your phone.
Archives
I redeveloped this image from a 2003 dive on a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean. I’d have to check my slide archive (this was photographed using film), this may have been the only keeper from that entire trip. I remember a very long, very rough boat ride, quite far out in the Atlantic.
I still have so many older film images that could probably use some touchup with some of these new developing tools available to us today. I just need to set aside the time to work on it.
Health care art
I took on a new client this month for a cancer center in Illinois. They will be making this image into a 5 foot x 3 foot (1.5m x 1m) backlit transparency. I look forward to seeing the final installation photos at the end of August.
Environment
Always Learning
Despite everything else going on, I completed a 9-day training course with the Climate Reality Project and shared a post on one of the assignments from the week. This is much more than attending a single training course and then moving on. It is a large global network of people who are sharing presentations, information on a large variety of topics related to the climate crisis. Everyone logs their “Acts of Leadership” which tracks a wide variety of actions from contacts with elected officials, hosting presentations, writing blog posts and Op Eds, to meeting with others. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
Next week I plan on attending more training with the Citizen’s Climate Lobby on strategies in working with legislators.
Creativity
Climate Music?
Yes! An increasing number of musicians are creating songs highlighting their concerns about climate change. Here is a particularly catchy one:
Quote of the Month
Inside yourself or outside, you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it.
Thaddeus Golas
Another well done leaf pile for this month.
Congratulations on having the new client and the image made on backlit transparency. I would love to see what that looks like on the wall.
I liked the song, had to listen to it twice, and wanted to see if I could find the lyrics. I was surprised to find on Google that the song writer died in November of 2019. What a wonderful song to leave as her legacy. And, she was from Saline, Michigan.
By the way, you mentioned film. Can you remind me what that is? 🙂 On the serious side you reminded me of the slides I have in boxes that really could be looked through and and then scan the good ones.
Thanks, Monte. Yes, indeed sad Kathy Suits Keeping passed away, not long after this song was released. I am glad Alex Preston made a special effort to make sure she is recognized as the songwriter and tells the story of the collaboration.
A lot of people are actually photographing those old slides on light tables now instead of scanning them – including myself. So much easier I think. Seems like a good project for that new camera of yours and perhaps a macro lens.
I think you did well for the month of July considering everything, Mark. I mean this isn’t exactly your typical summer, is it? Plus the other stuff you were working through. I know I’m in a major slump just now. I haven’t worked up the inspiration or enthusiasm for even a worthwhile post.
The “Lake Huron Dune Grass at Sunrise” image should be a stunner enlarged and with backlighting. I look forward to seeing photos of the final results.
No, not a typical summer at all. Summer is usually a slow time for me anyway photographically but with everything else, a real struggle. And I know all too well the struggle with enthusiasm. But I made a commitment to myself to give this monthly summary thing a go, to force myself to commit to something as far as blog posts. I figure I should at least give it 6 months. I just don’t like putting out something that I feel is forced, which this one kinda felt that way as I was under a deadline. Therein is a question I suppose – do you honor the commitment you made to yourself doing something just to check the box, or is it better to wait until you feel it is ready? Sometimes I feel that way with photos also. 🙂
I am looking forward to the installation photos of the beach shot also. Thanks, Earl. I hope all is well.
Always enjoyable to read your end of the month assessments.
Thanks Howard. Not much to this one.