New York, New York

 

New York, New York

These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray

Right through the very heart of it

New York, New York

I want to wake up, in a city that never sleeps

And find I’m king of the hill

Top of the heap

   

 

These little town blues, are melting away

I’ll make a brand new start of it

 

         In old New York

If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere

     

 

It’s up to you, New York..New York

 

 

 

New York…New York

I want to wake up, in a city that never sleeps

  

 

 

 

And find I’m A number one, top of the list

King of the hill, A number one….

     

 

   

These little town blues, are melting away

I’ll make a brand new start of it

 

 

 

 

   

 

In old New York

If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere

 

It’s up to you, New York..New York New York

 

  

 

 

 

       

 

MAINE

Portrait of the Self Against the Sea

An eyelash offshore

combs the lip of cheek.

 

Dark rock-scrag

holds foam and sight alike,

sound distant,

constant and soft with salt.

 

Man mirrors the sea—

made again and again

to bloom.

 

 

|Thanks goes to Mr. Ewandi for those words, that captures my memory of the sea that these photographs cannot.

 

 

Ray Bozekowski

 

 

My grandpa Ray passed away Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Ray was born on July 7, 1932 in Grafton, ND, the son of John and Natalie (Stoltman) Bozekowski. He was reared on the family farm near Warsaw, ND. Ray attended school in Warsaw and Minto, graduating from Minto in 1950. He Received an honorable discharge for his service in the Korean War Conflict from 1953 to 1955. Ray and Jeanette Horejsi were married on Septemeber 6, 1955 at St. John’s Catholic Church in Grafton, ND. He worked for Bridgman Creameries in Grafton and East Grand Forks, MN. In 1967, he began working for Cloverdale Foods in Mandan as a sales supervisor and later with Western Dairies in Dickinson. He was also a custodian at Dickinson High School for twelve years, before early retirement because of a disability. Ray enjoyed spending time with his family, reading and playing pinochle.

I remember my grandfather being a man that loved unconditionally, hard work was valued, and most importantly took care and loved his family with all his heart. I will remember the way my grandpa loved my grandmother. I will remember how he always offered to help, never having you to lift a finger. I will remember the way he always offered me a soda or a mineral water, always. I will remember him napping in that blue, velvet recliner. I will remember the way he smiled. I will remember that he always took care of everyone; Janette, my father, his grand kids with unwavering enthusiasm and pride. Most of all I will remember my grandfather through the vision of my family, for he raised a loving and generous family that truly supports and loves each other.  I am the luckiest granddaughter to have had such a wonderful man who loved & taught me so much about life.

                         

 

 

 

Death is Nothing at All

 

 

Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away to the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect.
Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolute unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you.
For an interval.
Somewhere. Very near.
Just around the corner.

All is well.

Henry Scott Holland

The Bay

 

Zach & Angela

       

Luella Jacobs

Luella Jacobs was my grandmother. She was a loving & devoted wife, caring & cherished mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, one of the most beautiful & strong woman I have had in my life.

Luella Maixner was born October 19, 1926 on the family homestead near Buffalo Springs, ND. The youngest daughter of John and Luella (Langer) Maixner. She was raised and educated near the homestead, and graduated from St. Mary’s High School, New England in 1944. She then went to work for the New England Creamery until 1946. Luella married Walter Jacobs on November 26, 1946 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, to become such an inspiration of love and faith. In the spring of 1947 they bought a farmstead 10 miles southeast of Amidon, ND. Luella & Walt raised 10 wonderful children on the farm, creating such a blessed family that would never cease growing of friends, loved ones, stories & laughter. In 1982 they moved to New England and in 1989 bought the Maixner home, where they have lived since. Luella lived a life of Christian charity, no one entered her home who was not loved, accepted, and fed. She loved baking bread, gardening, playing pinochle, denim quilting, sewing and making Christmas ornaments for all of the many grandchildren.

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.” – Winnie The Pooh

 

Luella Jacobs

October 19, 1926 – May 9 2012

 

Luella & her many hats! What beautiful women ❤

 

I FEEL FINE

I actually DO feel fine. I also feel jealous of Jonathan Harris and his brilliant ways to telling stories. For one I believe the stories Jonathan is telling are really poignant  in our culture and as an evolving human race. For instance his project entitled “We Feel Fine” Jonathan has developed computer programs that studied and collected blog posts or web ‘foot prints’ of phrases and posts that have the phrase “I feel” or “I am feeling” the project has a wide range of communication through various different visual displays of all the different posts of how everyone was feeling.

 

 

 

Also I find his project entitled “I want you to want me” fascinating. This project studies the different communications on online dating sites. I find Jonathan’s way of displaying and communicating these statistics very intriguing because it seems like thousands and thousands of people are looking & struggling to find someone to connect with, and through this project it displays each individual as a balloon which floats around. This comes across as the balloons are just swimming in a big endless sky trying to connect/bump into one another.

 

I am also envious of his project “Whale Hunt” which he lived & followed with a family of Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska. He documented the event by taking a photo every 5 mins, the rate of taking photos changed by the moments of high adrenaline. His project is online and displayed in various forms again of showing the process and timeline of the whole experience and story.

 

please also watch his TED Talk

and his most recent lecture on his up and coming project entitled “Cowbird” and more about how Jonathan Harris is “Humanizing the Web” here

 

Paul Nicklen

Also, if you haven’t, watch this other TED video about Paul Nicklen another brilliant National Geographic photographer! He shares the same passion (if not more) about saving our majestic polar regions

Paul Nicklen: Tales of ice-bound wonderlands

OH! That’s a Beautiful Iceberg!

I have been catching up on the wonderful TED talks recently that I have not watched. I then found Camille Seaman a brilliant Native American photographer that has focused her time in the polar regions of the world. Please take a look at her website . With my recent obsessions with polar regions and colder climate cultures her photographs pluck my heart strings and I truly envy her stunning and awe-inspiring photographs of icebergs.

“Camille Seaman was born in 1969 to a Native American (Shinnecock tribe) father and African American mother. She graduated in 1992 from the State University of New York at Purchase, where she studied photography with Jan Groover and has since taken master workshops with Steve McCurry, Sebastiao Salgado, and Paul Fusco. Her photographs have been published in National Geographic Magazine, Italian Geo, German GEO, TIME, The New York Times Sunday magazine, Newsweek, Outside, Zeit Wissen, Men’s Journal, Seed, Camera Arts, Issues, PDN, and American Photo among many others, She frequently leads photographic and self-publishing workshops.”

 

here are some of my favorites:

 

Please also watch this beautiful lecture from her from TED. It is truly inspiring

Twins IIII

Here is another body of work I have been inspired by recently; a Czech Republic photographer Tereza Vlčková entitled “Two”. This body of work relates to Ariko Inakoa in which they both are capturing young girls, all identical twins, in a very dream-like portrait of their relationship together. What I love about Tereza’s body of work is the lighting and spaces she photographs, or places these young girls in, it really focuses on their differences. In the same effect bringing to light natures incredible ability to produce two genetically identical human beings. Tereza work brings a conversation about a young girl’s childhood and challenges the stereotypes we see of that being naive or with a certain purity. In a way I believe very revealing portraiture

See the rest of her work here