Rick Schwartz, Author at Just Enough Focus

January 4, 2017January 4, 2017

Train to Anchorage

I took this on a train to Anchorage Alaska as I stood on the platform of a rail car just behind the engine. It is fair to say I got a good dose of diesel fumes that day, especially in the tunnels. But I wouldn’t have traded it for anything, it was an awesome experience.   The more I ride trains the more pictures I have of coming through tunnels. It invariable evokes the metaphors of pulling through and the light at the end. These are things we all experience and it’s natural to find corollaries in the world to represent our inner thoughts.

Daily Image

As such I wax philosophical about images because sometimes I find it more interesting that what my camera settings were or what I was doing at the time. I’m interesting in interpretation and how we relate to images.

I prefer to find a hopeful meaning in an image. For me it’s important to be open to the possibility of good things. I think good things are not by chance, rather a state of mind; that’s what optimism is.

images with tracks

I am fortunate to have traveled the rails on a high mountain pass and experience re-emerging into the light from a tunnel. It is at once visceral and metaphorical. What more could I want?

January 3, 2017January 3, 2017

Bikes, Umbrellas and Canals

If I had to sum up my impressions of Amsterdam in three words I would say bikes, umbrellas and canals. There were a lot of each. To take it a step further, operating a bike shop here is steady employment. As well, I think that selling umbrellas might also be big business.

Daily Image

I stood on an adjacent bridge taking photos of people as they crossed this bridge. This scene typifies the central canal district and is repeated hundreds of times from one bridge to the next.

Because I was carrying a camera I didn’t have an umbrella, otherwise it’s a good idea to have one. It got me thinking that umbrellas haven’t changed much in a hundred years, they still look and operate the same.

travel related gallery

Lo and behold, a few weeks later I started seeing ads on TV about new type of inverted umbrella. Without going into all the details I think it’s an amazing idea and the only thing I can’t figure out is why nobody invented / inverted it years ago. My wife was so impressed she bought four and gave them away as gifts. So here is a tip, someone needs to open up an inverted umbrella stand in Amsterdam, I think it will be license to print money.

January 2, 2017January 2, 2017

Look Into The Future

What do you see when you look into the future? I think looking into the future is a bit of a fools errand. You think you know what will happen but it doesn’t. And it takes attention away from the present moment, the here and the now. Not that I don’t dream, set goals have a New Years resolution or two. Living in the present while not losing track of the direction of our lives is a balancing act.

Daily Image

This image makes me think of those kinds of things. It’s a metaphor for the uncertainty in the sea of possibilities. We sit on the precipice and look out at the year ahead. We each see something different.

This is an image I took in California as I headed home. The original image looks different, a little more concrete and realistic. But for me photography will often evoke metaphors and I am easily attracted to them. Art is metaphor, a representation of something in our psyches, collective and individual. Artists become immersed in the exploration of metaphors, representing deeper meanings on the canvas.

favorites from the gallery

When I look into the new year I see a clean canvas. I’m curious to know what the new year will bring, yet perhaps the only way to get there is to be present in the current moment.

December 30, 2016January 5, 2017

Manatee Memorial Hospital

This is the Manatee Memorial Hospital which is across the river from my home. I don’t normally take pictures of hospitals but this perspective across the water was hard to pass up. Reflections make anything look good, it could be a Walmart and if it was reflected in the water I’d probably take a picture of it.

Daily Photo

I am fortunate to live so close to a hospital, you never know when it will come in handy. Its come in handy a few times for family and neighbors since I moved here. My wife stayed here once and every now and then we would hear a lullaby over the speakers. Its what they do whenever a baby is born. As I write this it’s just before New Years and they’ll play it again for the first baby of 2017. I imagine it will draw applause.

Did you know the police tend to spend a lot of time at hospitals? There are many reasons but one is that sometimes people get injured as they try to flee. It seems every time I drive by there are patrol cars parked near the emergency entrance.

long exposure images from the gallery

It’s no wonder that police will often marry nurses. They meet in the line of work and it goes from there. They both work in public service so they have that in common as well.

I think its fair to say that hospitals, and the people that work in them have seen just about everything. I hope I don’t ever need to come here, but if I do I know I’ll be in good hands, and not far from home.

December 29, 2016

Redington Shores

This is from a few days ago in Redington Shores, a beach community south of Clearwater. People were out strolling along the beach at sunset. The water was cold to the touch but still some were swimming or smashing about nonetheless.

Daily Image

I was visiting a friend who lives in a condo overlooking the gulf. The view of the beach at sunset is indescribable.

The last time I visited it was at the end of summer and an afternoon storm blew in. However not it’s winter and the water is calm, almost without waves. During that storm the waves were much higher and sand was deposited in to the pools of the condominiums.

Summer is like winter in Florida, and winter is like summer with the mild weather.

beach gallery

Now that the holidays are almost over, the snowbirds start to reappear. Southbound traffic on the interstate is full of cars, trailers and motorhomes as they make the yearly migration. This is good for the local economy. It’s also a time for people watching. You can’t help notice the relief of leaving the cold behind.