I sit across the breakfast table from my mother. All is well here. (Leica m8, Voigtlander 75mm, ISO 320)
–JDCM
Polly Jo, July 2014
a pear, a white bowl
yucca and lily
nasturtium, basil and salvia
day lilies
astilbe
I am back on Paros, grateful for the short time away, grateful to be home. I am dropping off my laptop at a Mac repair shop in Naoussa in about an hour, so I’ll update now and be off-line for a few days while they fix my RAM/overheating issues. Get some other stuff done… Here are some thoughts gleaned from the notebook I kept while away from my keyboard.
–On Iraklia, be sure to eat at ‘Pefkos’. A nice, small family-run taverna. I had excellent goat there and fried zucchini. Ate there twice.
–On the day I left Iraklia, I wrote “Fisherman repair nets. There is music on the radio. My donkey and I wait for the boat to Naxos.”
–A kamaki is a traditional three-pronged spear used to hunt fish. It is also the term used for the people (kamakia) who wait for you to disembark from a boat. They try to lure you in to stay at their hotel, studio or apartment. I wrote “The life of a kamaki is no life at all.”
–A poem…Sikinos slips by/stone dragon in/a shining sea./From the stern/I gaze up/its scaly flank/searching for Episkopi/the worn dome/the Apollonian columns.
–“I’ve seen Sikinos burning, from miles away, on another island, years ago. From Andiparos the blaze measured 5 mm between my fingertips. A year later I searched the rocky terraces and found no sign of the inferno. Perhaps it was dragon spit.”
–I was able to finish ‘Ulysses’ while on holiday. “As the Aqua Jewel slid into the harbor of Sifnos, Molly Bloom exclaimed “…yes I said yesI will yes.”
–A Gypsy woman wearing an electric blue t-shirt. Written in large, bold black letters is “variegated moss green.”
–“The lights of Paros shine faintly off the starboard bow. I can see Paros from where I am.”
–JDCM
–I had forgotten how posh Milos can be. It is easy to avoid if one so chooses.
–From the top of Prophitas Ilias (748 m) the view is spectacular. Even on a hazy day like today, the archipelago was in full view. Kimolos, Polyagios, Santorini, Sifnos, Serifos, Folegandros, Paros. This was all around me. Far to the south I could make out a faint, long shape: Crete.
–The FIAT Panda is, perhaps, the finest car in its class ever made. A real gaidaros…a real donkey. I have mentioned this in other posts already. A big ‘thank you’ to Niko’s Rental in Adamas for allowing me to change my rental agreement not once, but twice.
–I have purchased my ferry ticket back to Paros on the ‘Aqua Jewel’, leaving Sunday evening at 18:00 hrs. This leaves me with almost three full days left for my biking, hiking, swimming and photography. Not always in that order.
–Yesterday I had just finished up an arduous 10km hike, ending up at a lovely beach on the west coast. As I lay on the sand I suddenly realized I did not know what day of the week it was. I had to laugh.
–The last time I was here ( June 2012) I only spent 3 days. Being here so long has allowed me to really get into Milos. I have discovered that despite the heavy mining and cosmopolitan aspects, it is as rugged and wild as they come. Wild goats still scamper up and down the rocky crags.
–Tomorrow is a photography day. My goal is to finish one roll of AGFA in my Voigtlander and start another. Easy-peasy. Rocks and wood.
–JDCM
So here are the bullet points…
–I was supposed to travel to Milos last Tuesday but the high winds cancelled my boat. Then my laptop died before I left Paros. I left it behind. I took the next available ferry from Paros to Naxos. Enroute I bumped into some folks I knew (Orfeas, Bjornante) so the gods put me there for a good reason. I continued from Naxos to the small island of Iraklia, one of the Minor Cyclades. I spent the next 3 days hiking and biking that very quiet place. While there my “smartphone” decided I wasn’t smart enough, so it locked me out. I’ll get some reading done instead.
–Yesterday morning I began my odyssey to Milos. 3 boats, 16.5 hours. Iraklia back to Naxos; Naxos to Ios; Ios to Milos. I arrived at 24:30 last night, checked into my hotel, unpacked and had a solid night’s sleep.
–So I am here for the next week. Lots of biking, hiking, swimming and sun. I hope to visit nearby Kimolos next week for a day trip. It is a short ride on a slipper ferry from Pollonia to the Port of Kimolos and the boat goes every two hours or so.
–I cannot upload any pictures or change the header so that will have to wait until I get back to Paros, fix my laptop, etc….
–JDCM
–May is here. The sun is shining, the tourists are few. The winds are from the south, north, east and west. It is lovely here on Paros.
–My darkroom work is progressing nicely. I have been printing my Weather/Texture 35mm images on a regular basis and am finding great joy in the consistency of this portfolio. I have also been keeping up with my 4×5 portrait work and recently photographed a young artist who is visiting our fair isle. I made 12 exposures, of varying depths-of-field. I’ll develop them this weekend. Paros Portraits, Part II moves at its own pace…
–Recently a close friend gave me a lovely gift: Richard Avedon’s Woman in the Mirror . The images reminded me to look a little deeper into this photographer’s life. I have always been impressed by his work. I admire those who labor at what they love and have paid their dues, either through hard work, hard times, or both. Avedon was a skilled craftsman who supported himself and his family through commercial photography. While I never met the man, I get the feeling that while he became famous in his own time, he maintained his humility.
Avedon said that “I never wanted to be called an artist. I wanted to be called a photographer.”
…also “sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.”
He also believed that “a photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much a part of the photograph as what he’s wearing or how he looks.”
–Dig it.
–JDCM
-Lamb, potatoes, candles, inscense, cantors, kokoretsi, gut soup, “Xristos Anesti!…Alithos Anesti!”, tomatos, friends, family, fanari, rose petals, rose water, the Light of the World, breaking the fast, grill, spring, Paros, sharing the light…
Happy Easter!
-JDCM
–I have heard from folks in the US that their weather has finally turned spring-like and the snows have ended. It has been a difficult season for them and they need to put away their shovels and plows.
—Slow Art Day is coming up. I will be gathering with some friends at a local museum here on Paros and participate. I was reminded this morning that the average museum visitor spends between 5 and 30 seconds looking at a piece of art and that time is usually when they read the tag on the wall. During this day we will look at 5 pieces, for 15 minutes each. Then we will reconvene and discuss what we saw, how we felt, etc…I am looking forward to it. Too many cultural institutions treat their space like a shopping mall. MoMA in New York is one of them. I think I have blogged about this already.
–When I first visited Paros in 2006 as a tourist, I came specifically to see their museum. It has one of the finest collections of Greek art in Europe. It only cost me 2 Euros to get in. It still costs 2 Euros. I was here for two days and visited twice.
–I continue my own printing in the darkroom. I am doing well. Although I may have made some strict goals at the outset, I have relaxed those boundaries. I seem to be falling within them anyway. Tomorrow I hope to expose some 4x5s.
–I competed in my second Parian sports event the other day. It was the Paros Diathalon, held out at Molos Beach and the village of Marmara. It consisted of a 7km run and then a 12km mountain bike. My teammate Margaret ran and then I biked. I had a great time and, once again, felt at home within that diverse community. I will post some images on my Flickr site. I am waiting to hear from people who have pictures of me. Our total time was 63min, 55sec. I think we placed 5th or 6th in the ‘Teams’ category.
–In a couple of weeks I have a break from work. I might stick around, I might take off. I might do both. Load up the panniers and go…
–JDCM
–Yesterday was the Ides of March. I made it through unscathed. Et tu…?
–The day before, march 14th, was my mother’s 90th birthday. She made it as well. 90 years…
–What has she been witness to since 1924! Well, almost everything worth talking about. Plus, she has raised three children and set them on their respective paths. One is a professor at a large University. Another is an artist living on a small island. The third is…well, that’s me. Funny. It feels like we three have all found our own islands we call home. Her love has been unconditional and generous. She may, at times, worry about our sanities, but she has always been there, no strings attached. She has never asked for proof of good will. If I have had any regrets or guilt, they have been my own and are non-transferable. Kind of like airplane tickets.
–Today I went to a mountain bike race in the hill town of Kostas. I could have raced it myself, but opted out so I could photograph instead. I brought my big Canon 5D MKII, my 35mm Voigtlander and my Wista 4×5. I packed up 16 pieces of Kodak TPX 320 and had some old-time fun with large-format sports photography. I am eager to see how they come out. While I waited along the dirt road for the pack to appear, I was suddenly struck by the knowledge that this is how it was always done, for almost a century. Photographers standing on the side of the road with their tripods and 8x10s/4x5s/etc…waiting for the runner/horse/bicycle/car/locomotive to come barreling down the track and trying to catch the moment. It’s not easy. I was thankful for my knowledge of depth-of-field so all I had to do was whip the film packs in-and-out of the back of the camera. I was loading, exposing, sliding the cover back on, unloading, and tossing the exposed film pack on the grassy ground. 15 exposures later (one dud) I was done. I finished up a roll of EFKE 100 35mm in the Voigtlander, made a few digital snaps of the closing events, and called it a day.
–I have been lining up some new subjects for continued portraiture. I figure that if I can practice diligence, I will have a large enough portfolio to begin printing next autumn. I continue to pray to the gods of photography for deliverance of a 4×5 enlarger.
–Spring seems to have arrived. The light has been superb. What else is there to say?
-JDCM
–I haven’t spoken much about my photography lately, not since my Paros Portrait exhibition in August 2013. Although I have shot and developed plenty of film, I haven’t been printing. This has changed in the past couple of weeks.
–I am continuing my 4×5 portrait work and will do so at least for another year. This as a larger arc beneath which I conceive and work on several other projects.
— I am thinking of a 35mm collection of textural pieces. By “textural” I mean close up images of worn wood, rusted and tarnished metals, peeling paint. These images tell of time and of the elements. My eye falls into the deepest crack in the wood, the darkest keyhole, into the tiniest shadow beneath a curling leaf of old paint. I want to go there. I want to set up shop. This new portfolio will be small, only 12 pieces. I will begin during the first week of March and finish on the last week of May. That is 12 weeks, or close enough.
–The soft focus work of Julia Margaret Cameron has also inspired me, especially after seeing a small exhibit last December in America. I will work on something along those lines. Still lives and medium format feels like the right way to go. I will need to go shopping for the right kinds of vases and props. This will give me a chance to pick up some new crockery for my own kitchen as well–plates and bowls and such.
–More biking, of course. The weather just cries “get outside…move your muscles…” The other day I rode to Marathi, then headed north overland, then northeast, bushwhacking until I was able to make it to a small farm road that led me to a large monastery just outside of Paroikia. From there I headed back north, across the road. Somewhere in there I punctured my rear tire, so I stopped and changed the tube. Then I headed back home. Clear paths? Hmmm…That’s subjective. Click the thumbnails to enlarge…
–JDCM
If there is a path there, I worked for it. Unrideable, of course. I pushed the bike.
10 minutes of quick repairs and I was back on the road.
–Today is my birthday. I have been on the planet, breathing the air, since February 17, 1965. I am an Aquarian, and in the the Year of the Wood Snake to boot. It’s a heavy combination, if you follow these things. Those of you who know me well enough will see that the associated characteristics fit me to a “T.”
–My future family were traveling in Europe when I was born. They settled in Dublin, Ireland for a year waiting for me to arrive. When I was old enough to travel they hit the road again and stayed in Italy for a couple of months before heading back to America. My sisters were 10 and 8. Somewhere there are home movies my father made showing us all at the time.
–I have had my share of successes and failures. Some of them have been of my own doing and some have been granted or inflicted upon me. Such is life. No one is immune to that dynamic. I suppose it is how we roll with the punches, how we dust ourselves off, that matters.
–Yesterday I surprised myself. After a tough 2-hour, somewhat technical, mountain bike ride, I bumped into a small phalanx of other riders on my way back home. One invited me along for a leisurely ride into the hills. I went. I usually would not do this, i.e., join in so quickly. It was fun. I met some people I hadn’t met before, had a couple small chats. Nothing too committed, nothing too serious. Then I came home.
–I also had a superb and very difficult ride three days ago. I rode from Paroikia to Lefkes (45 min.) and then from Lefkes to the radio aerials that sit atop the highest peak (1.25 hrs). From there I rode down the south-western slope, along an extremely rocky track, that eventually turned into a decent farm road. All unpaved, of course. The route eventually led me to Kakapetra, an area just south of Paroikia and a stones throw from a friend’s house (45 min.) I stopped by for coffee and a chat. The image below is from that jaunt. You can see the aerials far away in the distance.
–I have reapplied for my American passport via the mail and the embassy in Athens; I have washed a load of laundry; I have shopped for cat food. Tonight, I get to eat dinner with a good friend at one of my favorite restaurants on the planet. I begin my 50th year as a photographer and an amateur mountain biker. Looking back, when I turned 30 I was a chef de cuisine (10 years) and a guitar player (15 years). Like the snake, I shed my skin.
Biking from the aerials on Paros.
