Saturday, April 25, 2009

Surf's up by Clark Little



These incredible images of waves were taken by the number one photographer of surf: Clark Little. He has dedicated his life to photographing the waves and has published a selection of the the best images of his career. He captures magical moments inside the "tube", as surfers say.




Water Sculpture Clark Little/SWNS





Break ... wave crashes down Clark Little/SWNS



Red ... mysterious shot Clark Little/SWNS




Splash ... stunning shot Clark Little/SWNS




White ... tumultuous water Clark Little/SWNS





Molten ... liquid gold Clark Little/SWNS


Beach ... surf crashes down Clark Little/SWNS




Tubular ... shining Clark Little/SWNS




Sand ... in surf Clark Little/SWNS




Sun ... glints off wave Clark Little/SWNS





He takes a beautiful shot, yeah?



--MHW























A Story by Howard Gladwin

I just read this and had to share...

By Howard Gladwin

In a Washington college classroom, they were discussing the qualifications to be President of the United States . It was pretty simple: the candidate must be a natural born citizen of at least 35 years of age. However, one girl in the class immediately started in on how unfair was the requirement to be a natural born citizen. In short, her opinion was that this requirement prevented many capable individuals from becoming president. The class was taking it in and letting her rant, but everyone's jaw hit the floor when she wrapped up her argument by stating, 'What makes a natural born citizen any more qualified to lead this country than one born by C-section.

Yep, these are some of the 18 year olds that just voted in the last election. The future leaders of our country!




--MHW

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My "Adopted" Family

I have this habit of collecting old photographs from thrift and antique stores. Feeling bad for the unknown souls, I carefully take them home and "adopt" them as my own family. The story teller in me creates a history for the people who stare back at me from the brittle, fragile paper. I often use the photos as historical research for the shows that I design and sometimes they make their way on to the stage as prop photographs and set dressing (always as copies of course--I do not want to further damage the originals).

Here are a few that I have collected over the years. If you recognize them--please let me know. I will be happy to return them to their true families.




Aren't they the happy couple? I really love this one. They do not looked strained as so many did when holding for the photo. Mr. & Mrs. look genuinely happy to be together. The photo was removed from its cardboard holder and contains no information.



Now this gentleman...he looks fierce! I bet he was a strict man of hard principles. The back of the photo says "Grampa Floyd" The photo was taken at Boyd Studios of Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa.



This lovely lady mystifies me. I can't tell if she is just timid or if she has some secret worth telling. The back of the photo says "Maggie M. Sweeney". The photo was taken at J.B. Gibson, Artistic Photographer, Coatesville, Pennsylvania.



He's very handsome, isn't he? Probably closing in on eighteen or twenty years. Maybe a college photo? The photo was taken by S. Smith of DeWitt, Iowa.



Another stern individual. She appears to have fought life very hard. I love the ribbon locket around her neck. This photo was taken by Thayer of Lake City, Iowa.



Here we have another beautiful couple. So sweet. According to the back of the photograph, they are Fred & Alice Wright. The photo was take by Zwiggle & Johnson's Studios in Rapid City, South Dakota.



Baby photos are rare for me to find. Many times it is difficult to tell if they are male or female as babies were all dressed the same until about 3 years of age. Luckily, this one simply says "Grandmother" and was also taken by S. Smith Photographer of DeWitt, Iowa.



A formal photo of sorts--notice the white bow tie, vest and frock coat. He reminds me of a violinist. This photo has no identifying markings as to the photographer but in the upper right hand corner is a name--Harry Paynlear (that is doing my best as I really can not make out the surname clearly).



This lovely lady probably sat for this photo during the mid to late 1920's. Again, there are no clues as to the photographer, location or even the identity of the woman.



This handsome young man also goes without identity. The photo was probably taken any time between 1923-1935--that is just a guess. Without really being able to view his full attire, I can only speculate when he lived. The card board holder has the photography studio as Janousek of Yankton, South Dakota.



If you know or recognize these individuals, please leave a contact address in under the comment section below.


--MHW

The Gangs of Helena Montana

Ah, how I miss this....




Somewhere there's a man wishing for hunting season.




Just looks like the "Hartford Insurance" logo, doesn't it?




Tummies full. Nap Time!!




The ones at the top always taste better.




"That's right! Run, you hoodlums!"



These photos were sent to me via email and I just had to share them.

--MHW