Abandoned Buildings and Other Places Time has Forgotten...

"Abandoned 1" - Route 4, Enfield, NH

This is the first in a series of images of various abandoned buildings and structures located in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Time and the original owners seem to have forgotten these places... but I'm sure they all have a story to tell.

If you are a local follower and recognize any of these places please post a comment as to the former use. Eventually I hope to put together an album of these images along with a brief history the building or location.

 Thanks!

"Evening Shadow" - Craft's Hill, Lebanon NH

"Evening Shadow"

Seeing the shadow cast by an unseen fern on the bark of this birch tree reminded me that it is often the “shadow of our actions” that defines who we are and establishes our presence in this world rather than what we do while physically seen.

Signs #1

"Follow Your Heart"  :-)  

"Follow Your Heart"

This is the first in a series of new photographs I am working on... "alternative interpretations" of the signs (both literal and figurative) that we see and experience in our lives each day.

In this case it is about following your heart!

Have a great journey! :-)  

To see this and more visit: https://davemengle.smugmug.com/Inspiration/

Smell All the Flowers...

One of the problems with photographing flowers is that it is so easy to get caught up in their sheer beauty through the viewfinder that it is easy to totally miss or ignore their other great attributes.

And one of these is the multitude of wonderful smells and fragrances you experience while "nose to blossom" when taking closeups like this one.

And it was this realization the other day that led me to re-think the old expression about "Taking time to smell the Roses".

In fact we should take time to smell all the flowers and experiences life presents us with.  Often it is easy to get caught up in one aspect of something and miss a lot of what life is just begging us to experience.

So the next time you start to focus in what you think is that single most important aspect of something take a step back... take a deep breath and enjoy the rest of what life has to offer!  :-)

Black and White...

Detail - Rusted Fence Post, Lebanon  NH

"Rusted Fence Post - Lebanon, NH"

Occasionally I try getting back to my roots in photography by setting the shooting menu on my cameras to "monochrome"... otherwise known as "black and white".  I like challenging myself to try and "see" in shades of grey again.  And I have to say that each time I'm not really happy with the results. Not because of a lack of vision on my part... but I think because of the technology.  It just doesn't seem to "be there".  The images - like this one - are always Ok but seem to lack the richness, depth and tonality you get when shooting with silver based film.
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When I first developed an interest in photography many years ago, black and white was the medium of choice for many reasons... but mostly because of the lower cost of film and processing.  And also because of the thrill of what passed for "instant gratification" back then.  By shooting black and white it was possible to see the results of a day spent with the camera relatively quickly.  At that time color film had to be shipped out for processing and it took days if not weeks to get back from the lab. But I could process my 35mm Tri-X film and make a few prints in my parent's basement within a matter of hours... which seemed remarkable at the time.

Needless to say photography has come a long way and I'm sure it will continue to evolve. Even as little as ten years ago many of us were still shooting film. And as someone who grew up in the business splashing around in photographic chemistry, I have to say I don't really miss those hours in the darkroom mixing Dektol and Rapid Fixer while listening to bad pop music on the radio.  But I do miss the sense of craftsmanship that was involved in making prints by my own hand and experiencing the magic of seeing an image spring to life from the surface of a blank piece of paper.

Due to it's very nature digital photography just doesn't allow us to experience the same sense of interaction and involvement in the process of creating a photograph.  It is not as hands-on.  And maybe that is why the finished images don't have the same aesthetic appeal and emotional impact on me when I look at them.  It is because they are not a part of me but rather any assembly of pixels interpreted by a computer instead of being the result of light passing through the shape of my own hand. 

70 Years Later...

Hiroshima - August 1945

Even 70 years after the fact, I don’t think there is anything the American government or people can do to apologize adequately for the use of two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in August of 1945.

It would be futile to even try... and I'm not sure the Japanese people could ever forgive us.  I doubt that I could.

These attacks were violent, horrible and controversial - even within the US government at the time- and were designed "to end the war with Japan at the earliest possible moment"... which they did.

But they were also attacks that were carried out with many tragic and unforeseen consequences we are still dealing with today.  The use of these two weapons… code-named Little Boy and Fat Man changed the world forever.  

As a country America will forever bear the scar of being the first and only country to have ever used nuclear weapons. Just as the Japanese people will forever bear the scar of being the first and only victims of such a “rain of ruin from the air”… as then president Harry Truman said in announcing the attacks.

And like all of human history we can not change what has been done… we can only hope to learn from our mistakes. While considered necessary and triumphant by many of those in this country at the time… these attacks also set the stage for the last 70 years worth of fluctuating political tension, dangerous brinksmanship, financial hardship in many countries and a sense of genuine fear around the globe as people learned to “stop worrying and love the bomb”… growing up as members of the “Strangelove generation”.

If there is any “greater good” (which are horribly ironic and maybe even inappropriate words to use) that could have come out of the use of these bombs it is not the often heard justification that they saved American lives… it may be that they have just saved lives. Millions… if not billions of lives around the world.

Because I am hopeful that the world has actually learned a lesson from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki... and that this is why we haven’t seen another such weapon used as an act of war or aggression since. The use of these two bombs over Japan in 1945 has hopefully proved to the world that the indiscriminate destruction and horror unleashed by the use of nuclear weapons is beyond the shear comprehension or ability of even most evil of forces or bitterest of enemies to use against one another.

We can hope.

"Now You're Done"...

Off duty Detective Stephen LeBert during a confrontation
with a motorist on Sunday, 26 July 2015

Imagine yourself being cut off by an unmarked vehicle on an unknown road after dark. You know you have made a wrong turn at an intersection and are now about to be confronted by a stranger leaping from his SUV -and who’s first words to you are - “Now you’re done”. Assuming you are about to become another victim of the “road rage” so prevalent throughout this country… you nervously wonder what will happen next.
But this stranger now identifies himself as a police officer and follows that with - “I’ll blow a hole right through your [expletive] head”. Hard to believe... Yes! But the whole incident was caught on camera and you can watch it here if you haven’t seen it already: 

http://www.cnn.com/…/massachusetts-detective-motorist-confr…

But my point in writing this article is not lash out at how amazingly stupid, unprofessional and arrogant this off-duty detective’s actions were. They have been caught on camera and I hope his career in law enforcement is over. He’s clearly not fit to carry a badge let alone a gun and is certainly not worthy of the public’s trust and confidence.

Instead my intent is to turn this into an opportunity to thank all the truly honest, brave and respectable law enforcement officers who do their job quietly, professionally and at some degree of personal risk everyday. Thankfully, in my experience… these are the only kind of police men and women I have ever known or dealt with.

Officers like Leroy Smith who was recently photographed helping a man wearing National Socialist Movement (KKK) attire up the stairs during a rally July 18 in South Carolina. These are the kind of police men and women who set the standard for others and who deserve our respect and support.

However, do we have problems with some of the police in this country? Yes, in my opinion we do… at least some extent and in some places. To many young, unarmed black men including Michael Brown and Darren Wilson have died recently by the hand of individual officers or police departments throughout this country to deny there are problems. And this is just one example. But as harsh and terrible a reality as this is… we can’t let it overshadow the overwhelming good done by tens of thousands of law enforcement officers each day throughout the county. It would be a classic case of stereotyping and letting "a few bad apples" spoil the whole batch to conclude otherwise.

And if even for a second you feel the police in this country are out of control, corrupt or undeserving of the public trust… believe me when I say there are places in this world where the situation is much worse. Places where the police are worse than worthless and will let physical harm come to an innocent teenage women at the hand of thugs simply for expressing her views. Then afterward turn their backs on her and refuse to offer assistance or help her find medical care. Their callous inaction in full view of hundreds of people. But even in these countries there are certainly still some fundamentally good, honest and respectable officers of the law.

Stephen LeBert and his actions are an example of most everything we don’t want to see in our police men and women.  But his inappropriate and unprofessional actions and behavior serve as a stark contrast against which to compare the outstanding work done by all the dedicated, professional and hard working police officers who patrol our communities each day… quietly and professionally looking out for our safety and the public interest.

And to these men and women in blue... we should each take a moment to say "Thank you" for all that they do!

Leroy Smith, who was recently photographed helping a man wearing
 National Socialist Movement (KKK) attire
 up the stairs during a rally July 18 in South Carolina.
Photo Credit: AP / Rob Godfrey