Electronic Writer

Life is simply more interesting with people in it. People are the seasoning to your recipe. They have a great influence on your day and your moods–both good and bad. And, biologically, humans are social creatures (I hope the Anthropologists would support this assertion). We need interaction with others humans to survive and be emotionally healthy.

As a photographer, I have always struggled with creating Landscape images. Even my images with the best composition and lighting left me feeling empty–as if there was something missing. That element has always been people. According to my tastes, a person, or people, would make this image more interesting. A silhouette or someone sitting on the rocks. Perhaps a couple holding hands. Children playing in the tidepools.

As much as I love this image of Monterey Bay at sunset, the photograph is a bit deceptive. There WERE people present when I pressed the shutter release. There were boats returning to harbor. People were walking on the sandy portion of the beach. A couple stood behind me in an embrace. His arms were warmly wrapped around her–sharing warmth as they watched the sun descend for the day.

Where are the people in your life? Keep your favorite people close to you, and allow new people into your life. There is a risk that they may make things worse, but most likely, they will add an unexpected dimension to your life–something you cannot achieve on your own.

I am dredging up more pictures from my Paris trip. Part of this re-visit is plainly for nostalgia. The other component, however, is to surround myself with really energizing things.

The image is of the Georges Pompidou Centre–located in the Marais district–and, I love the lines of the building. It is architecturally interesting with all of the plumbing, heating/cooling, wiring, and exhaust pipes built on the OUTSIDE of the building rather than being nested within the walls.

The Marais, where the Pompidou Center is located, was a fashionable neighborhood where the French Bourgeoisie lived until the French Revolution–when they were beheaded by the peasants. The neighborhood was left alone, for the most part, until the 1970’s (about 200 years later) when it was rediscovered because of the low property prices and historic buildings. The properties were mostly undisturbed, and close to historic sites–Place de Nation, and the ruins of the Bastille Prison (which the peasants burned to the ground after their successful revolution).

The Georges Pompidou Center, the Picasso Museum of Modern Art, and The Museum of History and Science were all built in the Marais within the timespan of about 15 years.