The beginning of the universe was inspired by seeds of darkness.

Photograph taken of a Butterfly Wind-chime at my childhood home.
The photo was shifted 90 degrees because I preferred the composition.

Photograph of sunset seen through an ornate gate of star jasmine.

All watch you Work,
You do it with Ease...
for Beauty's your job,
our Eyes does it please.

This is a photograph of a silhouetted fruit tree under the spell of bella luna.

The leaves seemingly Rorschach into creatures of the mind as the placidity of a silent moon reminds me just how brief our existence on this beautiful planet can be.

This tree seemed to be studying me when I photographed him.
It conjures up images of JRR Tolkien's tales of the Ents. (thus the name)
Sort of a Middle Earth déjà vu I tend to get when I capture forestry... as if these were remnants of a magical existence which was somehow replaced by logic and science.

Some aerial beauty captured at a skate park in the Inland Empire, CA.

Angelic wax flame guardians have come to the divine assistance of an ornate blue glass & silver harped Angel to form an Iridescent Trinity. Irredentism of heavenly spirits - annexing all those benevolent entities strewn across the physical universe into a boundary-less nation of allies - equipped to silently battle the children of darkness in perfect sync with the tick-tock of an eternal grandfather clock. - his chimes only audible as the hands point to the Alpha and the Omega.

This was a photo taken once upon a holiday.

Photograph of a Chinese tiger's eye bead bracelet which had broken. Originally I had set them on the wall for better natural lighting but the contrast from the shadows and the moon* gave it an almost surreal feeling to me, as if they were children of the satellite longing to return to the heavens. I had lost one of the stones in a large grassy area and after searching for quite some time, I remember closing my eyes and walking forward several steps... I reached down with my eyes still shut and mysteriously picked up the object hidden in about 3" of grass. The stone bead remains a talisman to me.

*The moon in this photo was enhanced post capture with Corel Photo-Paint effects. The moon the original photo was smaller and blurred due to the lens focus on the foreground so I made the necessary changes to improve the image.

Lakshmi

In the background of this simple nature shot - I was lucky enough to capture a most curious arrangement of refracted sunlight bouncing from my second story windows onto the side of a neighbor's house. The light appeared in the shape of a four petal flower as if it was made by a giant magnifying lens. Possibly from a light house or some other huge glass object. When pulled the image out of focus it reminded me of a bright bloom made from pure golden sunset.

After I viewed the photo it gave me the feeling of a mother bird teaching her newborn how to fly. Except this was no mother bird - it was our beautiful sun. The foreground plant seemed to sit in hibernation, taking notes on how to bloom from the gracious sun.

Flutter-by Flutter-by, dear dear Butterfly
rest on Winds, best on Winds
Let your love Pass me by
Palette wings, Color sings
Take you Not my diamond rings
for Love I heard, from my eyes,
the shallow Song, which I Despise
.

Monarch butterfly.

This is a photo I took of some low rolling clouds on some Indian lands close to Palm Springs, CA. I superimposed the skull images of skulls on the clouds from Janet's "my response" The clouds moving at ground level were very spooky.

If you're a music fan you'll probably recognize the title. <3 the Smiths

This is a photograph of a solitary cherry taken from the beautiful Cherry Orchards near Palmdale California. I definitely recommend this place which was actually in Leona Valley. They charge $5 per person to enter the orchards then about $3 per pound for all the cherries you can pick. Yummy.

How quickly some pick - the most beautiful first... only to find - the taste is the worst. We'll hang here together - till we fall from the tree... sweeter each day - as you hang here with me.

This is another cherry orchard shot. I noticed these two cherries remained unpicked - surrounded by empty stems. I thought about how some people may find each other by simply being left behind. Like wallflowers at a high school dance - never noticing each other until everybody else is in the middle of the room . We just sit there waiting to bloom from the sight of another in our same predicament.

This was a close-up reflection from a coffee table in my photo entitled: 紅色 - Red

It gives me visuals of a human in pure spirit form passing through the womb just before conception. An esoteric firefly meandering to it's predetermined location, driven by divine selection - as if it was being photographed through a "Third Eye."

A basic photograph taken in a coffee shop. The light refracting from the table was quite brilliant and hypnotic. I like to capture reflections even in their simplest form.

I often wondered what a great master would do if he was born during modern times... what would he do if he was obligated by family tradition to work for his father's construction company?

I'm picturing this is how he might express a passion for Chiaroscuro (contrast of light and shadows) being limited solely to construction projects and building materials for artistic subject matter.

Photograph of a Japanese Anime-esque Fairy Kite.
I had this kite flying high upon a hill one gusty day. The wind was relentless & it felt as if my body was constantly pressed against a cold concrete wall or floor - thus the title.

A broken flowered branch lay nearby on the ground which I affixed to the tails of the kite to provide more balance. This conjures images of a short romance & the brief moment of beauty as your lover freely departs like the wind. The futile attempt to entice her to stay with gifts of beauty, serves merely as a reminder of how the true beauty lies within the heartbreak of her leaving.

I fancied the contrast lighting on the bouquet more so than the actual flowers. Broken Repairs represents that feeling you have in a relationship when you subconsciously realize you've overexerted the balance of affections with your partner - and you find yourself trying to repair something which was never really broken. Only in your solitude after the relationship has ended - do you finally discover the process of how you "Repair" things.... is dysfunctional or "Broken." Even more profound is the realization that your perception of what's broken is merely a by-product of trying to control something better off left untouched.

Photograph taken at Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA
Chinese Guardian Stone Lion

This photograph was taken of a friend's vehicle, this is NOT a promotion for a car company but more of an observation of art and society. The Silverado emblem was intricate and seemed to be designed for aesthetics. Several periods throughout US history reflect creativity and commercial expression of the individual, while others seem focused on basic purpose or worse yet, the distinct purpose of corporate profit in mind with little attention to beauty. Some interesting visuals are things like the 4th street bridge in Los Angeles, or perhaps art deco architecture seen in many cities across the nation and many 60's and 70's building structures.

The color Maize is a favorite of mine along with Avocado green and some of the choices in appliance colors from the 70's.

Below is a quote from a Native American legend about a man named Arikara who was hunting buffalo for several days to no avail... then one day they mysteriously vanished leading him to discover Maize, better know as corn.

"Everyone knows how my life since childhood has been useless, that my deeds among you more evil than good. So, since no one would regret should any evil befall me, I will be first to touch the plant and taste its fruit."

Native American Legend of Arikara

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Arikara_Corn_The_First_To_Know_Maize-Arikara.html

Photographed at mid "dey" from the spectacular "Koi" pond at Huntington Library

Inch Worm is a fav of mine on the Crayola palette, along with Midnight Blue and Olive.

Pretty straightforward photograph of a squirrel.

I've got to give these little critters some respect... their roots go back nearly 40 million years. Human evolution has nearly destroyed our planet in the past century alone - I hope we can make it 40 million years and still look as perky as this fella.

We were all once benevolent creatures of nature which strayed from the path of innocence. Lured and tempted - induced to worship human language for it's intended purpose of controlling other beings created by the Demiurge.

No word conceived by man,
can ever break the spell
Their letters merely bind you.
to the litigants of hell.

Shadow Storm

Photograph taken at the home of a childhood friend on the last visit to my hometown. His mother lives in a nursing home and the house lays dormant - it's nice to capture a moment or image from your past which still exists.

The architecture of this bird feeder reminded me of a tourist center somewhere on a long stretch of highway. Perhaps the birds used it in a similar fashion.

My thoughts strayed to how they perceived this new addition to their environment. I began to wonder further about the ease of obtaining food and how it might affect our winged friends. In our efforts to be kind were we doing damage? Would it make them lazy? Would it diminish their capacity to fend for themselves in the wild?

I then realized how few humans these day have basic survival skills and how reliant society has made us on the food supply chain. How easily manufacturers and corporations can control our freedoms with the prices, while many can do little but silently complain. The time of the small farmer has past and with it has ushered in a new era of domesticated animals... us. Just like the empty bird feeder, what happens when our bird feeder is empty?

Another photo from my leafy green Koi pond series at Huntington Library in Pasadena.

This is a photo of a clay rabbit statue taken in the yard of a childhood friend - back in my home town. I liked the lighting very much.

Fate delivered me to a skate park in the Inland Empire today. Took a lot of video footage of some incredibly gifted trick cyclists and skaters. The "sick" amount of air they ascertain in flight contributes to the title.

This photograph was taken of the side of a tree trunk. The shadows from the leaves were broken by this image made of light. Many have different opinions on what they think the image is.

The Dragonfly daydreamed about the exciting life of a Firefly.