Meditation Hall

a windy day, fitful clouds, changing light
beach full of all ages cooling off in thick tree shade

stroll along water's edge till you reach the garden
sound of wind in trees, creek waterfall splashing



meditation hall rustic unfinished
open on two sides, two walls with benches
latticed windows, one tall, one round





be stillness
motionless music
silence of whipping leaves



round eye window
of the heart looking out—
distant worlds, so close

In the Garden: Purple Hearts

Purple-hearted flowers, in my garden. Chives and columbine. Large clumps of each.





Columbine flowers are fascinating. They are layered, complex shapes, with different colors. This pale purple and white on some, deeper blue and white on others. I had three or four clumps of columbine this year, that exploded with color and lasted a long time.



This last photo of columbine is my favorite of this group of photos. It shows the design of my little garden to advantage. Even though I don't have a lot of space for my garden, I have been strongly influenced by Japanese Zen gardens in my planning, and this shows that well.

Japanese Garden: Fresh Visions

Gateway

I am currently getting heavily involved in infrared digital photography. I've been wanting to get into IR photography for several years, but during the era of film it was so technically challenging and difficult that it was beyond me. Now, in the digital photography era, it has become much simpler and easier to do. I purchased an IR filter for my digital camera(s) at the beginning of September, and have been exploring ever since. It's a whole new way to see the world: the world revealed as the eye never sees it.

I'll have more to say about all this soon, both technically and philosophically. Meanwhile, I'm going to hit the road for a few days, take in a concert, do some fall color photography and videography up north, and I'm taking along the IR rig.

Meanwhile, here are some IR photos made at the nearby Japanese garden—one of my favorite settings for making photographs. I find the stillness and peacefulness in this images to be what my spirit needs right now, to become settled, calm, and refreshed. I hope they do as well for you.











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Infrared photography, because it makes use of the longer wavelengths both near and far from the red spectrum that we can see, requires longer exposures. The IR filters themselves function to block out the visible spectrum while letting through the longer wavelengths. All of this means time exposures on the tripod. Even on a sunny afternoon, exposures can take between 1 and 4 seconds to achieve proper exposure and contrast.


(time exposure with zoom in IR)


(time exposure using natural light and color)

Autumnal Equinox

In the Garden

I shall go to the garden and meditate.
I shall go into the garden, and sit beneath
the short maples and tall cedars,
koi at my feet, and rain kissing my brow.
I shall not notice the rain
as I meditate, its kiss or its promise.
I shall let the rain come, let it snow,
let it snow, let it come unto me that
the garden is never empty of rain.



I shall sit in the garden and clear my mind.
I shall go into the garden and empty self to
become true self, emptied, whole, full of
the clear white light.



I shall go into the garden, and return.
I shall come out again from the garden,
kissed by wolf and eagle, alive to the dew.



I shall return from the garden not alone
but surrounded by invisible garlands of snowflowers.
I shall stand beneath the palms in the garden
and dwell amongst their shadows as though made lion.



I shall make a flute of my bones, and play.
I shall return to the garden as though never leaving,
never remaining, in constant motion yet
eternally still.



And there shall I rest, in time, in slow time,
eternal rest shall be mine, in time, eternal,
to rest inside time and out, never ending,
and rest in the hand and heart of each darker pool.



(images from the Japanese Garden and Glass Palace, Como Park Conservatory,
St. Paul, MN, September 2010)

Rain in the Garden

images from the Japanese Garden, Como Park Conservatory,
St. Paul, MN, September 2010



These first drops of rain are from the beginning of a heavy storm that lasted 36 hours and gave almost 10 inches of rain on the land, causing flash floods and other problems later.



When I was in the Japanese Garden, it was just beginning to rain, and the drops of water were a perfect moment in the garden. The quiet was deepened by the rain, which also sent most people running back indoors. The wise photographer, however, is willing to risk everything, even to get a little wet, in order to be in the right place at the right time to capture such momentary beauty.



This remains one of my favorite Japanese Gardens, which I have visited many times. I have sat here before, meditated, people-watched, experienced the tea house. I have written music here, made many photographs here, emptied my mind here. This garden is also featured prominently in my DVD Japanese Gardens, from Liquid Crystal Gallery.

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Three Worlds

inspired by a woodcut by M.C. Escher

Newt in the Garden of Eden

images from the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens, CA, Feburary 2010

















At the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens for the afternoon, magnolias and rhododendrons already in bloom, wandering over to the Japanese Garden section, where the ponds and streams and moss-covered boulders along the trails never fail to soothe and relax, the pond is full of newts.



Newts are amphibious. The exist mostly in water, but can also live on land, and do for part of the year. One of the California State Parks south of San Francisco has an actual "Newt Crossing" sign on its entrance drive, reminding you to watch out for the soft-bodied critters dashing across the road during mating season.



Those little white spheres or bubbles are egg sacs, attached along the stems of the water lilies, or other pond plants. The newts like to attach the egg sacs along a frond or stem, rather than in clusters.



We sat there and watched the newts playing, patrolling the eggs, and engaging in sexual activities. They danced and dove in the water, and put on quite the lascivious ballet. How often do you get to see such glories? (I'll resist several newt puns that come to mind, for now.)