Sunday, June 09, 2013

The sky opened and the earth shook


The sky has loomed large in painting and photography from the beginnings of each art form.  A dominant sky demonstrates power, scale and a mythic glimpse of the heavens like nothing else.

Big skies and empty deserts are natural collaborators.  They reflect each other’s vastness.   The Mohave among all deserts draws me and that attraction has been reflected here often.  Though all deserts share the attributes, if that word can apply to negatives, of an odd and meager human population, of abundant and desiccated icons of that habitation and a desperate austerity, the Mohave is more muy malo.  All deserts are inhospitable and forbidding but the Mohave is El Rey of badness. 

When we saw the monumental sky over the desert to our east we immediately got off the Interstate between Kingman and Needles, fingers crossed that we hadn’t missed the moment.  Getting the memorable shot, Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson would testify, is often a matter of seconds and we had few to spare.   Adams, for example, claims he had a minute to take Moonrise Over Hernandez back in 1941 and that he didn’t even have time to meter.  Myth or fact, the tale illustrates a truth. 

You know that sky had to be special for me to stop.  I’m not, shall we say, much of a stopper.  That’s the burden of being an A personality I suppose.   But as a psychiatrist friend has often said, “We have therapies for this.”  And the therapy is stop for the damn shot. 

Has anybody noticed that the titles of my posts are often song lyrics?  And, if so, what’s the name of the tune from which this title came?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

christian louboutin outlet
louis vuitton uk
basketball shoes,basketball sneakers,lebron james shoes,sports shoes,kobe bryant shoes,kobe sneakers,nike basketball shoes,running shoes,mens sport shoes,nike shoes
tiffany and co jewelry
mont blanc pens
mlb jerseys
louis vuitton handbags
oakland raiders jerseys
miami heat jersey
new orleans saints jerseys
roshe run men
cheap jordans, http://www.jordan-shoes.us.com
gucci,borse gucci,gucci sito ufficiale,gucci outlet
ray ban
coach outlet
abercrombie and fitch
air jordan shoes
swarovski jewelry
fitflop shoes
adidas wings
christian louboutin,louboutin,louboutin outlet,louboutin outlet italia,scarpe louboutin
tory burch shoes
fitflop
michael kors outlet
insanity
mac cosmetics
manchester united jersey
new york knicks jersey
michael kors factory outlet, http://www.michaelkorsfactoryoutletonline.com
ray ban,rayban,occhiali ray ban,ray-ban,ray ban occhiali,ray ban sunglasses
giuseppe zanotti

chenlina said...

gucci outlet
gucci shoes
hermes belt
hermes uk
hollister
hollister co
hollister kids
hollister uk
instyler curling iron
instyler max
jordan pas cher
jordan shoes
juicy couture
kate spade
kate spade outlet
kate spade uk
kevin durant shoes
kobe bryant shoes
lebron james shoes
longchamp
longchamp handbags
longchamp outlet
longchamp pas cher
louboutin
louboutin pas cher
louis vuitton
louis vuitton borse
louis vuitton handbags
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton pas cher
marc jacobs
mcm handbags
mcm outlet
michael kors
michael kors handbags
michael kors outlet
michael kors outlet online
mizuno running shoes
moncler jackets
moncler outlet
chenlina20151007

Unknown said...

baltimore ravens jerseys website
tennessee titans jersey Super
ravens jerseys with
ed hardy schedule
oklahoma city thunder jerseys around
nike blazer pas cher So,
bills jerseys go
new york knicks sheet}
eagles jerseys could
chargers jerseys of