The world, we are told, was made especially for man — a presumption not supported by all the facts. — John Muir

No matter how much you try, the mind and circumstances tend to conspire in ways to unsettle your soul. And when that happens, you need to find a way to reset, recalibrate and replenish. And for me, that usually means a few days of landscape photography.

Let’s go back and begin at this past Sunday…

Along with two photographer friends, I drove up the 101, so far north, that the highway typically seen carrying the venous blood of urban blight eventually gives way to a beautiful, two-lane road, sinewy and taut, slipping through mountains, valleys, tall trees, vineyards, and orchards. It is as if the world ends and life begins. Seven hours later, I find myself on the border of California and Oregon. 

Crescent City is one of the many small towns on the Pacific Coast. It doesn’t boast of many niceties. It is pockmarked with fast-food restaurants, a handful of motels, and the occasional hotel. The marina, the beach, and the lighthouse are the main attractions. There is a certain unpretentious quality to this town. It looks tranquil, laid back, and even pastoral in places. 

Still, all isn’t alright. Parts of it are very rundown. You can see traces of the same problems that infect most of America. The impacts left (Read more...)