"Spanning the Mississippi"
As a child, I sometimes played along the banks of the mighty Mississippi on the Natchez side when I visited my great Aunt who lived on Canal Street. I clearly remember the unusual, coarse, gritty consistency of the river sand and clay, and all of the river debris that washed up on the banks: old, dead tree stumps, trash, bottles, logs, lumber and sometimes, the heavy steel cabled tow-ropes as seen in the foreground here, laying half buried in sand.
Despite the modern bridges, this image has an ancient lonely, melancholy feel to it; which for me, the river has always seemed to exude. The banks and the river are a favorite landscape subject for me, and it always seems to present something new and different.
This shot is from the Vidalia, Louisiana side looking back east across the river toward Natchez, Mississippi. It was taken in May 2015 with a Nikon D810, using a Nikkor 16mm fisheye lens: f/3.5; ISO 64; at 1/25th of a second.
"The Solemnity of Priests"
This photograph resonated with me due to its tranquil mood and captivating solemnity. The subjects in the image are Roman Catholic priests at a fellow priest's jubilee, marking his fiftieth year of being ordained in the priesthood. I caught them in a moment of prayer and deep reflection on what their calling and sacrificial life mean ... to them ... to God ... and to those they are called upon to shepherd. When I was reviewing the images, this one stood out from all the rest. For me, it captures something I treasure in my own life: solitude and deep peace even while surrounded by events, people, and the difficult circumstances that this life often throws at us. It is very apparent that these priests operate out of a core reality that evade many people, which is to be grounded spiritually and to lead lives with eternal value. I hope the image speaks to you in a similar and profound way.
This event took place in June of 2014 at Twin Oaks, an antebellum home in Natchez, Mississippi. The image was captured using a Nikon D7100 at f/5.0, ISO 400, 1/30th of a second at a focal length of 92mm (crop sensor), in ambient (available) light only. It was processed with Adobe Lightroom 5.
