Archive | spiritual journey

Spring in the Aegean…2015

By John on April 5, 2015 in 120 film, 35 mm photography, beauty, biking, black and white portraiture, craft, Cyclades stone walls, Cycladic stone walls, darkroom work, Greece, hiking in the Cyclades, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, mountain bike race, mountain biking in Greece, Paroikia, Paros, Paros Portraits, portraiture, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spiritual journey, spring in the Aegean, stone walls, The Circle of Paros Bicycle Race, working

It has been the wettest and coolest spring that many can remember. Since March there have been more clouds than sun, more rain than not. Yes, this may seem acceptable to friends in more northern climes, but around here it makes people nervous. Paros is, for the most part, an arid climate and our primary agricultural gifts (olives, grapes, figs, tomatoes, etc…) demand that the soil be dry and the water stop falling from April to October. I am hoping that by the middle of the month the rains will cease.

I have been printing a lot and I have 30 pieces so far for my exhibit next fall. Another 20 and I can begin editing, then selenium toning, then off to the framers they go. I will most likely use a local company here in Paroikia, but I must demand a better frame quality. The most recent batch were inexpensive, lightweight and thinly lacquered stock and some people have brought this to my attention. I will be a little more struct with this next exhibit. What have I been printing? Old stuff, new stuff, 35mm, medium format. A little bit of everything.

I am going to invest in some archival storage for my collection of portraits that are still in their frames, in a box, in my bedroom, in my flat. I should get them out of this situation and into something more manageable. Plus, it will free a cubic meter of living space.

I have been biking a lot lately, which I need to do. I have been working on my hills, getting advice, pumping the pedals. There is an 18km mountain bike race in a couple of weeks that winds its way from Marpissa, through Piso Livadi, along Molos, through the valley to Glyfada and back to Marpissa. I rode it yesterday with some very fit pro-am folks and we rode it in 1:16. This included taking two wrong turns and not really going too fast. I hope to ride it in an hour. It is a solid goal. Other than that, I have been out on the road bike and digging that, getting ready for the Circle of Paros road race on June 6th.

Orthodox Easter is next Sunday. I will view the proceedings at Panagia Ekatontapiliani for Friday and Saturday nights, then at midnight on Saturday will break the fast with some friends at a local taverna! Paidakia, kokoretsi, patates, salates…Yum! Then the next day there will be a big feast at a friends home with whole lamb on the spit, chicken, sausages, pork chops…Yum again…

Two days later I hope to be swimming in the very chilly Aegean for my first swim of the season. I feel a need to be anointed in wine dark sea…

–JDCM

The end of February…

By John on February 24, 2015 in 120 film, 35 mm photography, beauty, biking, black and white portraiture, craft, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, mountain biking in Greece, Paroikia, Paros, Paros Portraits, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spiritual journey, spring in the Aegean, working

I am happy that February is almost done. It is the shortest month and here on Paros it has been very cold, but also quite beautiful with lots of rain, green fields promising spring. March harkens, change is just around the corner.

I guess this is a bullet-point post…

–I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. Some friends took me out to dinner at one of our favorite tavernas and I was truly touched by their generosity and warmth. Thank you, thank you…50 years on the planet, half a century. Hmmm…there were moments that I didn’t think I was going to make it, probably a couple where I tried not to. Dark times, indeed, and a lifetime ago. Rearview mirror stuff.

–I have been printing a lot in the darkroom. Nothing really specific, just printing, going through negatives from 2006, ’07, etc…current work too…35mm, 120…lots of stuff. It is for an exhibit I would like to have next fall. Some wise friends reminded me to not be too concerned with content because it was art schools that put forth the idea that a solo exhibit must have a theme. There will always be a common thread running through the show. At the very least, it is all my work. I can’t help it if people get confused. I’m not.

— I have been getting ready for a mountain bike race this weekend in the hill-town of Kostos and have already biked the route a few times. I am eagerly looking forward to it–13 km of ups and downs, rocky, gravely, sandy farm roads, washed out and rutted. There are some short stretches of paved stuff, but thankfully not so much. I have biked it already three times and my best time so far is 53 minutes, and that is after a 9 km uphill ride to get there. I hope to catch a ride with some friends, so I’ll be fresh. The weather this week is rainy off and on. I am hoping for light winds and sun on the day. It’s going to be a fun and muddy ride.

–That’s it, really. Not much else to report.

–JDCM

In the shadow of Vesuvius…

By John on February 2, 2015 in beauty, biking, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, skill and craft, spiritual journey, working

I have just returned from Naples. I was surprised by many things. The first was that it is a filthy, rundown, graffiti-stained city unlike any other that I have seen. True. In many ways it is a real dump. Garbage everywhere…rotting, pollution blackened buildings in need of repair and restoration…Spray-painted graffiti on practically every surface you can imagine, including churches. UNESCO should step in and put a few 100 million Euros into the place. Or maybe the Camorra could use some of their influence to do something to improve the city at the heart of their criminal organization…Hmmm…

On the other hand, the place is chock-full of photo-ops. It is an old, old city, dating back to the 2nd millennium B.C.E. It has withstood the Greeks, Romans, the Bourbons, Napoleon and two world wars. The most recent left the city all but razed. Naples was the centerpiece of some of Mussolini’s greatest urban works, his arrogant attempt at a re-invention of the “empire.” No wonder it looks broken. It is. The people, on the other hand seem to be taking it all in stride, as if to say, “we were here first and we will be here when you’re gone…”

Then there is Vesuvius. Living in the shadow of a constant and active threat does something to a person, let alone a culture. The volcano is everywhere, looming over Naples, a momento mori : eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we could all be covered in volcanic ash (Pompeii) or liquified rock (Herculaneum). I think the Neapolitans are a race all to themselves. They have an element of piracy about them, an independence romanticized in the buccaneer, the privateer, the mercenary freebooter. They are a swarthy bunch.

The museums were stunning. Roman frescoes, mosaics…Caravaggio, Bruegel, et al…Pompeii was amazing. The food was really superb. The weather in late January is changeably mediterranean. There was sun, clouds, rain, wind…Pretty much what one would expect from one of the oldest and busiest seaports in the world. I will post some images on my Flickr page tomorrow so you can see some stuff that I saw.

Now I am back on Paros and the scirocco will be blowing most of the week. Warm air out of the Libyan desert, full of yellow dust, microscopic sand in the air like jaundiced fog. A sandstorm. I feel terribly out of shape and need to get back on the bike for some serious work. I have some printing I must address in the darkroom and the digital lab, both neglected commitments that I must fulfill. In a few weeks, the gods-be-willing, I will have surpassed the half-century mark. Busy month.

Detail of a Roman fresco. Note the chiaroscuro..

a wood panel detail by Polidoro da Caravaggio

–JDCM

Paros Winter…

By John on January 11, 2015 in beauty, darkroom work, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, quiet islands, spiritual journey, Uncategorized, working

I looked out my window and witnessed the dawn illuminating the rocks, the sea, the white and tan buildings of the little seaside town I call home. I live in a world of light, and always have. The light pours into my eyes, through my camera lens, bounces off the walls in my small flat.

I was raised in a home of education and knowledge. I read, explored and created from an early age. In some ways I have been ‘home-schooled’ in the art of learning. I know how to satisfy my curiosity. Learning was the cure-all for most blues, for it was there that I was able to rise out of whatever poverty (social, physical, etc…) I felt was governing my life. There were times in my life when all I had were my books, some paper and a pen. I did better than just survive. Even at my worst, I saw much of the world for what it could be–a world of light and possibilities.

This is not the truth for many, I know. I am not naive to the facts of real poverty and starvation. It is all around me. It is here, in this town. It is real. So how does this change? Through education, perhaps…but what kind?

As I write this, the starving and lost listen to the rhetoric of hate and violence, nodding their heads as their yearning minds absorb bitter venom. We know where this leads. The history books and daily newspapers are full of it. The real tragedy is that those wielding the knives and guns are not the real demons. They have been lied to, deceived, conned. They are pawns, broken wind-up toys set in motion by others, those higher up the food chain who have been educated, have money, and cultural influence. The tin souls of the desperate are twisted and we all suffer.

Is there a way to cure this without leaving our own darkness? As a frightened animal, my first internal reaction is just that–a reaction. It is as violent and angry as the news I read every morning. The initial solution is terrible. I realize that this is the reaction the toy-winders want. Next comes something more rational, but that holds a cold, black and silver aura, historically vile…

The truth is that I have no idea what to do. I have no quick fix, no philosophy with which to stop the clicking mechanisms. I cannot un-wind the broken toys. I am afraid that no one can.

I will not end on this bleak note. I began with the light, and so I will seek the light again. I look out the window of the small cafe where I type and I see the cyan sky, green hills surrounding the quiet bay, a wine-dark sea. I have the whole day ahead of me and will use it to create, engage peacefully and show gratitude for these gifts. Maybe that is the way to stop the toy-winders.

Clear-minded-clear thinking-clear speaking-smiling face. Keep it light.

A storm moves across Sifnos

–JDCM

The true gifts…

By John on January 1, 2015 in Athens Greece, beauty, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paroikia, Paros, rangefinder camera, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spiritual journey, Uncategorized, working

–It is New Year’s Day, 2015. Happy New Year! May this next year bring us all the best that life has to offer. I am sure there will be uncertainties, enough for all: jobs, businesses, pursuits of all colors. The best thing I have found is to be active and know when to let go of something that simply will not budge. It is better to walk away from the brick wall than to keep banging your head against it.

–Sometimes the best gifts can be those that have been worked on and constructed by the giver. I gave some of my family photographs this year. This past autumn I was lucky enough to be in Paris for a week and photographed the Parc de Bagatelle with my Voigtlander r4M using Rollei 400s film. The negatives were lovely and I chose three specific images for presents. I worked carefully on the pieces, choosing specific papers for the right feel, adjusting the developing chemistry to activate the proper tonal scale and contrast. They are lovely. I was happy passing them on to good homes where they would be appreciated.

–I return to Greece this week. If all goes well I will be back on Paros by Tuesday lunchtime. My name day is January 7th, which is also the birthday of a close friend, mentor and colleague. I hope to cook her and her husband dinner that night. Probably pork chops.

–The real gifts are non-material. I no longer live in an imagined world of fear, where people are out to get me, shaft me, or otherwise take advantage of what I like to think of as my good nature. I no longer play the victim card. I no longer need to open up my Bag from the Past to show people what-tough-time-I-have-had-and-if-you-had-my-life-you-would-be-like-this-too! I am so happy I found a way up and out, have been able to let go of so many bad ideas and open my heart, embracing change as a positive force. Yes, I have days that are not perfect, but that is OK. That is the gift of being right-sized: I am a person among people, a worker among workers. I am emotionally secure among grown-up people.

–I heard a good quote the other day…

“You know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart? They are both ridiculous!”

–JDCM

Christmas/New Year post…2014

By John on December 22, 2014 in 35 mm photography, beauty, biking, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, mountain biking in Greece, Paroikia, Paros, quiet islands, rangefinder camera, skill and craft, spiritual journey, working

-I am back in the USA for the holidays. If there is anything I have learned this year it is that the varieties of human experience can be summed in a single word: absurd. Tragic, comic…whatever. It is all variations of absurd arrogance and tomfoolery. Disagree if you want, I won’t stop you. I am no different.

-The ‘Cafe/Kafe’ images are on display in a new gallery on my Sidelit website. You can access them through the blog or simply click here. These are scans of the actual b/w photographs, not scans of the negatives.

-I took the train to NYC a few days ago and visited the Metropolitan Museum for the day with a friend. We looked at a marvelous Cubist exhibit, a private collection of Braque, Picasso, Gris and Leger. Superb! Then we gazed in wonder at the Stanford Album, a collection of 18″x 22″ photographs from the 19th century photographer Carlton Watkins, the first to document Yosemite National Park. Truly amazing! Then we wandered among the 29 portraits of Madame Hortense Cezanne , painted by her husband over the course of many years. Lovely! We could not resist the small but dramatic El Greco exhibit. Astounding! With time to spare before our respective trains we ventured into the American Impressionist wing, visiting Sargent’s ‘Madame X’ and looking at Winslow Homer’s wild seascapes. She returned to New Haven and I headed back north. A perfect day at the museum.

-I have been going to the health club and walking/jogging my 8 miles on the treadmill with regularity. I love the knowledge that I can get my heart rate up to 170 bpm and keep it there for 45 minutes without losing my breath. I will be ready to get back on my bike when I return to Paros in less than two weeks. I miss it already. I have some Greek language homework to finish and a couple of emails in Greek that I have promised my teacher. First things first.

-I have been shooting some Fomapan 400 with my Leica M2 so I will have some non-Greek views to look at when I return and develop the film. I have to print more portraits before I get too busy in March. If I cannot complete the printing on my own then I will have to send the negatives to Athens and pay for the work. This is not an ideal situation, but if I have to do it, then I will.

-Christmas is in a few days and the New Year follows. Much has occurred in this past year and I am happy I have no regrets. 2015 is already shaping up to be busy.

-JDCM

Pisa…2014

By John on September 23, 2014 in autumn, beauty, craft, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, skill and craft, spiritual journey, Uncategorized

–It has been two years since I have visited Italy. What I have seen still inspires.

–This year I traveled to Pisa with some friends. The sun was warm, the clouds white, puffy and benevolent. The breeze was cool enough to be pleasant and carried a slight tang of the nearby sea. I have always been impressed with Pisa. I find the town charming and the buildings along the Arno fill me with a kind of peace as they gracefully follow the curve of the river. I imagine the Romans in their boats, big and small, navigating…

–The Camposanto is the emotional high point for me. The frescoes are amazing for many reasons, perhaps because they are even there. Anyone who visits is made aware of the damage caused by Allied bombing during the Second World War and the subsequent attempts to repair and restore their delicate structures.

–Of all the great dignitaries, princes, princesses, lords and ladies entombed in the Campo, one resident stands out: Deane Keller. Keller was an American, a member of the MFAA Group that, during WW II, scoured a desolated Europe to save the great artistic treasures either looted by the NAZIs or damaged by the ravages of war. He is responsible for the saving of what we now see in Florence and Pisa, especially the frescoes of Pisa. Much was lost. Much has disappeared. While standing next to Keller’s tomb, I was talking to a friend about this. I began to cry. I was reminded that what we draw, paint, sculpt or photograph is of the finest delicacy and so easily destroyed. Keller tried to fix what he could and his work continues to this day.

–JDCM

Frescoe restoration at the Campo Santo, Pisa, Italy 2014

Fresco restoration at the Camposanto, Pisa, Italy 2014

Departures and arrivals…

By John on September 17, 2014 in 35 mm photography, autumn, beauty, biking, black and white portraiture, craft, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, Paros Portraits, portraiture, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spiritual journey, Uncategorized, working

The crowds have thinned out on Paros. The roads have become less treacherous and the island is, once again, for those of us who live here. There is a collective sigh of relief. I have been biking well, using my new Boardman road bike and loving it. In a recent post I stated that I wanted to ride at least 125km per week. I have done that in three days. I will have to up the ante. Maybe 200km? Easy-peasey. My mountain biking has been vigorous and rugged. As it should be.

I continue to build a solid portfolio of 35mm portrait pieces for my exhibit scheduled in the fall of 2015. I think I also have enough ‘cafe-Cafe‘ images for the small show I hope to hang in November. Now all I have to do is print, matte and frame 12 images. This will begin in October, when I return…

I am leaving for Italy tomorrow. It will be a short trip, only a couple of weeks, and I will hook up with friends and colleagues for some art, art history and good eats. I am all but packed with only my shaving kit to stuff in my rucksack. My camera bag is ready, awaiting my laptop and assorted odds and ends. I am only bringing two cameras: my trusty, well-used Canon G11 point-and-shoot and the small Pentax 35mm I bought from a friend last July when I was back in America. I will bring the 50mm and 135mm lenses. I have been having fun with this little machine and so it feels good to continue the joy.

Cavafy’s poetry continues to inspire and fill me with emotion…

Return

Return often and take hold of me,

cherished sensation, return and take hold of me–

when the body’s memory awakens.

and past desire again runs through the blood;

when the lips and skin remember,

and the hands feel as though they touch again.

Return often and take hold of me at night,

when the lips and skin remember.

–JDCM

Cavafy on the beach…

By John on September 7, 2014 in autumn, beauty, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, quiet islands, spiritual journey, Uncategorized

–A friend recently presented me with a small collection of C. P. Cavafy’s poetry. I am familiar with his work, but not so much with those collected in this small, beautiful anthology.

–Today we lay on the beach on Andiparos. Waves lapped at the rocks; birds sang in the dry, hot September air; we swam, ate lunch. We read Cavafy to each other. I was particularly moved by his poem ‘Ithaca’, written in 1911. It is of leaving and arriving, the maturation of the soul and that this is all we may wish for as our journeys continue.

–We all come to places, places we have read about in books, or perhaps overheard–they are awed, exotic hushed whipsers. We all leave these places, hopefully taking with us what we have been given, what we can carry, gifts from Phoenecians…

Ithaca

As you set out bound for Ithaca

hope that the journey is a long one,

full of adventures, full of learning.

Of the Laestrygonians and Cyclopes,

of wrathful Poseidon have no fear,

you’ll never meet suchlike on your journey,

if your thoughts remain lofty, if noble

sentiment grips your body and spirit.

You’ll never encounter raging Poseidon,

Laestrygonians and Cyclopes,

unless you bear them in your soul,

unless your soul sets them before you.

Hope that the journey is a long one.

That the summer morns be many

when with what delight, what joy

you enter harbours hitherto unseen;

that you stop at Phoenecian markets,

and acquire fine merchandise,

nacre and coral, amber and ebony,

and all kinds of heady perfumes,

as many heady perfumes as you can;

that you visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from the erudite.

Always keep Ithaca in mind.

To arrive there is your destination.

But in no way rush the voyage.

Better for it to last many years;

and for you to berth on the isle an old man,

rich with all you gained on the journey,

without expecting Ithaca to give you riches.

Ithaca gave you the wonderful voyage.

Without her you would not have set out on your way.

Yet she has nothing more to give you.

And though you may find her wanting, Ithaca has not

deceived you.

Wise as you’ve become, with so much experience,

already you’ll have understood what these Ithacas mean.

C.P. Cavafy, 1911

I will continue reading Cavafy. I fall into his words, as one falls into a conversation.

–JDCM

Impressions of Amsterdam…

By John on August 22, 2014 in spiritual journey, Uncategorized

Amsterdam is not really part of Holland. It is an autonomous state within the Netherlands. They would prefer it if you did not call them “Dutch.”

The weather during my stay has been unusually cool and wet, very much like November weather on Paros. I am grateful I brought my fleece and warmer, wet-weather clothes. I have needed them.

People in Amsterdam are so fluent in English as to make native English speakers seem lacking. I have even heard the locals speaking English to each other. Odd. At other times I have heard a very Anglicized Dutch. An Amsterdammer told me they love to hear visiting Belgians speak Flemish since it is closer to their mother tongue.

The food here is good, if on the heavy side. In addition to the traditional Amsterdammer restaurants there are numerous Indonesian and Surinamese places, a tasty side-effect of brutal colonization and the Dutch East India Trading Company. For some reason there are also large numbers of Argentinian/Uruguayan steak houses. These seem to cater more to tourists. Another interesting restaurant is all-you-can-eat sushi. The locals love these spots. I ate at one twice. Inexpensive and high quality.

The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum (modern art) are all superb. I bought my tickets in advance and avoided the long waits on line. I also visited the Rembrandt House and the Dutch Resistance Museum. Both were excellent and worth a viewing, especially the latter. Ultra-right wing political parties are on the rise in Holland and in Europe as a whole. We must all take a stand against fascism and all that it means. If not me, then who? If not now, when?

I do not think that those who drafted the laws regarding the decriminalization of “soft drugs” in Holland expected the odor of pot smoke to fill the streets and cafes full of college students getting wasted. There are national movements trying to limit the usage to residents, but in Amsterdam that vote was thrown out. Too much tourist money. Still, it is illegal to grow it, illegal to transport it, illegal to sell over 5 grams per day to one person and illegal to buy it in bulk. Therefore the “legal” cafes are still reliant on the black market for their stash. So what is legal about it? I recoiled as if from a hot stove.

As I write this I am out of town visiting friends in the small rural village of Elspeet. Really lovely. Quiet, green and flat as a panenkoek.

–JDCM

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