We were about halfway through our 2011 Canadian adventure when we happened upon an Acadian village in New Brunswick, Canada. It was a very interesting place, but in my mind the star of it all was the old greeter above who welcomed us to his home.
He must have heard us rustling about and thought he would take a peek. I wished him well, and congratulated him for all the obvious winters he had survived there. He didn’t have much to say, but was still there when we left the building next to his home. Every time I view the photos from this visit, I joyfully remember my forever Canadian friend
Mystic is simple mystical. It is perhaps the most beautiful place along the Atlantic seaboard.
Ever since I saw the 1988 movie “Mystic Pizza” , Mystic has been on my bucket list. The movie was the first one for Julie Roberts, and it certainly wasn’t her last.
But, of course, there is much more to Mystic than pizza. The mosaic above is a transformed photo of the harbor area.
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in Groton and Stonington, Connecticut. Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in 1784.
I discovered Flaming Gorge, Utah during my trip to the Ft Bridger Rendezvous in 2018. Ft. Bridger was on my bucket list for more years than I can remember. It was the first fur traders rendezvous in the U.S. I will be putting out a mosaic on that site soon. This one is dedicated to the adventures of traveling in a 30+ year old pickup across some of the peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
When I left the Fort Bridger Rendezvous in 2018, I decided to take a 55 mile scenic route through the Rocky Mountains instead of using the closest Interstate. That meant taking State roads through Utah. It seemed like a good time, and it was some of the most beautiful real estate in the U.S. But, one thing I didn’t consider was that I was in a 26 year old truck with 100,000+ miles on it. Getting up some of those mountains were a struggle for my µRV. I was in the middle of this trek when I came across the view above. The truck was on the verge of overheating so I decided to spend almost an hour taking in the landscape. That proved to be the most peaceful part of the trip.
I am still enjoying all the photos I took from my March trip to an Indiana University greenhouse. There was such a variety of plants there. Even though I have seriously been taking photos of flowers and such, I haven’t really done much studying to know the names and varieties. I think I kinda just enjoy the artsy side of this new hobby. They do make some interesting mosaics, don’t they?
I don’t know if the above plant is some sort of Medusa or if it is just dead? Either way is just fine with me. BTW… I purposely took the pic with all the infrastructure in the background. That shows that it is a working greenhouse. I like that.
For this mosaic, I want to talk a little about AI (artificial intelligence) and how it relates to “My Mind’s Eye”. I am a techie, but even I am getting a little disturbed about the constant presence of AI in my life. Maybe the most disturbing thing is AI is that it is becoming more and more dominant as the days and months go by. I realize that this is new stuff that will eventually settle down to some established state, but right now it just seems too pervasive.
Some say that AI will replace artists, but, I kind of have a different view of the matter.
Yes, there are now apps that can mimic those of past artists. I used one of those apps on the mosaic above to give my photograph of a Galena Illinois street a Van Gogh-ish type flavor. I had an image in my mind’s eye of what I wanted it to look like. The morphing app did a pretty good job of meeting my expectations.
That got me to thinking, is AI just another tool in the artist’s palette? In the old days, meaning 600 years ago, the only way to produce what was in the artist mind’s eye was pigmented oils of various hues. It turns out that many of those pigments proved to be very toxic, and I imagine, caused premature death for the artist. Then about 150 years ago someone invented photographs. That technology was adamantly resisted by the artists of the day, but now is considered an art form of its own. Will AI enhancement of photos eventually prove to be the same. I kinda think so.
To me, art is something that simply fulfills what the mind’s eye sees.
Does it matter if that is done with messy toxic paint of AI based apps? But, getting to the crux of the matter, AI is not a creative process, but instead it just mimics other’s creativity. So, I don’t think the analog artist is threatened that much.
Who knew that full-size trees also had thorns. This picture was taken at the Indiana University Biology Greenhouse. The tree was about a foot in diameter and probably 20 feet tall.
I spent the last weekend organizing my iPhoto Library so that it’s easier to find what I want here at RJsCorner. Putting 18,000 photos into about 20 different boxes is no small challenge, but due to my Aspie traits, I am up to it.
During all this work I came to the realization that I have an affinity towards stoplights. The art and structure, especially this one, fascinates me. This picture was taken while I was visiting one of the Wright Brother’s sites in Dayton Ohio. There is so much to see in Dayton, I will have to get back for another visit.
I’ve gone through thousands of small towns in my fifty years of traveling America. One of the things that always catches my attention are the faded signs of the past on an abandoned building. I am always tempted to stop and try to find out a little about the sign, as I’m sure it has an interesting history. I did try once, but all I got were shrugs and “I don’t know”. So, instead, I tend to make up stories about every sign I encounter. I’m pretty sure this picture is from a town in my area that was probably once a well traveled tourist path. But, now it is likely just local people going about their daily business.
It saddens me that small-town America has almost disappeared. The Interstate Highway system is the primary reason, but there are several others that also contributed. In 1900 60% of the population lived in rural areas and 40% of those lived on farms. By the time I was born it was down to 17% farmers. Today that number is now less than 2% farmers and 15% who still live in rural areas.
About 25 years ago, when I started to seriously travel America, I only used State highways. I liked the diversity of small towns. But there came a point where more and more small towns were becoming shells of their past. For many, about the only business left in the town was the local post office, and maybe a gas station/thrift market. As the years went by this became very depressing to me. Finally, about 10 years ago, I started taking Interstate highways. That has finally become the norm for me.
Just like everything else in life, things have changed to make small-town America a thing of the past. But it does no good to spend our future lamenting the past. The sooner more people realize this, the better off we will be.
I think this is one of my most artsy photographs I have taken. It is kinda in the vain of my many reflection pictures. But, this one was taken through a large window in the Terminal Tower building lobby in Cleveland, Ohio.
Just when I think I have photographed the most complex “Into The Depth” flower, another one come to take the “Most” title. If I were to make an abstract painting that described the complexity of my mind, it would probably closely resemble this picture.
Just so you know, this picture was not modified in the least from when it was taken.
As soon as I saw this place, I immediately stomped on the brake petal. I knew I HAD to have a picture of it. It has remained on my wall since that April day in 2015. When I read my first book about the “Mountain Men” as a teenager, I have always dreamed that in a previous life I was a mountain man. When I say the movie “Jeremiah Johnson” in 1972, that thought was permanently welded into my mind.
As the picture says, it was taken near LaFruto in southern Colorado. Like so many other times, the only regret I have was that I didn’t take a closer look.
I spent most of my roadtrips in 2020 going to reenactments, and I must say the guy in the picture above is my favorite for authenticity. I often wonder what he does in the 21st century version of himself? There will eventually be many posts reporting on specific reenactments, but for this one I just want to point out some of the best of the best reenactors.
And this is definitely artsy. These Artsy Ladies were in the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens which is located in Rockford, Illinois. When I visited in 2017, the Bruce Monro Light Exhibit was the current attraction. This was in the beginning phase of my search for artsy. I don’t know if these ladies were part of that exhibit or a permanent part of the conservatory, but they did fit very well into landscape of the dome. They were about 5 feet tall and made of glass, but I can’t imagine exactly how they were actually constructed.
The conservatory itself is certainly in the top three I have visited. The plants were nice, but the artsy is what flabbergasted me. It is well worth a visit if you are in the Chicago area.
Here are a few other photos with captions if you care to see them. Just click on any image and a larger version will pop up.
This was a third arty, but a childI think they said there were 80,000 bulbs there that gave a magical view at night.Artsy, artsy, everywhereI had a croaking conversation with this little guyThis is a picture of a picture of a picture.Even fiber optic stems among the plantsA little info about the light showI have to finish up with one of their beauties
