Night Sky

August is about to end. It was a beautiful day here in Chaumont, NY. The past few mornings have been cool, starting out under 60 degrees F. I had to go to the doctors this morning. The visit was a follow up to my previous visit a couple of weeks ago. I had to have a Dr. fill out a form with my "vitals" for the insurance plan offered by the Post-Standard. Overall the Doc was pleased with all of my tests. He says I am an all around healthy guy. Thank you dear God.

This Winter will be the 4th one in which we will use a wood stove to help heat our house. When I installed the stove I discovered the side porch had some serious decay and rot in the roof and roof trusses, frame work etc. Well, my brother Rocket Ron rebuilt it. Mostly. The finishing features were left for me to do. But then calamity struck. My job hours were cut and $$$ became tight. So it has been better than 2 1/2 years since, and today I finally got around to working on it. I made some good progress and consequently feel good about how the day went.

The evening arrived. I sat out on the front porch and played through some of my classical guitar repertoire. It was, and is, a simply gorgeous night. Warm, peaceful, and the sky ablaze with stars. Suddenly I was struck with trying to make a photo of the stars. I set the camera to a 30 sec., f2.8 exposure, ISO 2500 and laid it on a table in the back yard, pointed at the sky, and released the shutter. This was the resulting photo:


Gee, I liked the results. That prompted me to experiment some more. Eventually I began to hand hold the camera and move it around (while pointed at the sky), with various shutter speeds ranging from 10 to 30 seconds. The brightest stars (planets?)made for some interesting streaking patterns. I quickly selected the following as one of the more interesting, abstract results:



So this is how it goes with me. My life is a splendid mixture of routine and spontaneity. When I got up this morning I had no idea that I would spend the evening photographing the night sky. And when I did photograph the night sky I had no idea that it would lead to the experimentation and the end results. I am reminded once again what the great Spanish artist Picasso said: "Inspiration exists, but it must find you working."
Each day unfolds with me rising from my bed. I start the coffee brewing. I brush my teeth and wash my face. I pour the coffee and go to my guitar. That is routine that is as solid as Sears. The guitar is like the photography. I start out playing or reading through a new piece, or maybe practice a scale. I begin the act of doing. Then at some point I often take an unexpected turn to some other piece of music, or suddenly discover a new approach to a problematic musical phrase, or what ever. Do you get my point? I am a far better photographer than guitarist, but both persuits lead to moments of inspiration, reverie, and an acknowlegement of God.

So having a routine is good. It gets you working at something on a regular basis. It is then the act of doing this routine that opens the door to inspiration, enlightenment, achievement. I am simply blown away at how great life and living is.