Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The Photo Bin - January 2015


Selfies. Not a big fan. I suppose it’s because ego is one of those human traits that I believe has over-evolved, here of late, and the constant flow of arm-length mug shots has begun to wear thin on me. Besides, with a mug like mine, the fewer likenesses floating around, the better.

But Mary headed off for a few days to visit with family, leaving me to my own devices, and that’s always a dangerous thing. Moreover, my buddy Bob White recently floated a question to his artist and photographer acquaintances regarding self-portraits and the prospect intrigued me. After all, my "stock picture" is now ten years old (and a rough ten years at that) and my funky social media avatar is just that; funky. So, looking for a photographic challenge and having some time on my hands, I had a little fun, turned the camera around, and shot the above image out on the back porch. This is what a contented sixty-year-old looks like.

And that, my friends, should do it for another ten years.


Enough with the black-and-white. Let’s have some color. I was pleased to contribute to the recent winter edition of the Southern Culture on the Fly, placing a piece about the train tracks that lead to one of my favorite fishing holes. Last minute, I drove up to get a few more railroad images for the story and, while I was there, a mile-long string of graffiti rolled by. Add the shadowy tiger-stripes of trackside trees and a bit of a tilt and you come up with some fascinating abstracts.

I’m convinced that a trip to a rail yard would yield a fantastic array of colors and shapes, just begging to be photographed. True art, some of this stuff, especially flying by at 50mph.


And speaking of color, while it looks like a Fox Sports Network graphic, this image is actually a view from underneath the scoreboard at Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion, from Cremin's court, just outside of the center jump circle, where our dinner table was placed. We found ourselves looking up from this unique position as we attended the annual Georgia Tech Sports Scholarship Banquet, honoring the memory of our son and spending a few hours with this year's delightful recipient (a gifted young lady swimmer) of the memorial scholarship that we have established in Freeman's name. An evening filled with laughter and with tears, for neither can be fully appreciated without the other.

Go Jackets!

What is a Photo Bin?

17 comments:

Guy Franzen said...

http://www.drakemag.com/message-boards/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14313&hilit=benching

Tom Chandler said...

Here we have the motivational speaker at his dynamic best...

Mike Sepelak said...

Excellent! I had no idea, Guy. Thanks for the pointer!

Indeed, Tom. Can't you just feel the energy radiating from the image? I needed a nap afterwards.

Unknown said...

Like you, I'm not one for the "selfie" either. However yours doesn't have the feel of a selfie: it looks more like a casual portrait of a man at peace with his solitude, shot by a fine photographer who just happened to be laying on the ground, awkwardly close to your feet. I'm just glad you hadn't stepped in a pile of dog sh#t prior to the photo session. Oh, and I have that same Simms cold weather shirt, too. Best shirts, ever.

Mike Sepelak said...

A man at peace with his solitude...

Perfectly described, Kirk.

Luckily, the big dog is pretty good about heading to a usual spot, a bit deeper in the woods, for his relief. Easily avoided. The little dog, however, can't make it more than a few feet from the porch these days, but his tootsie rolls are easily tossed down the hill. (I can't believe we're talkin' dogshit, here. You bring out the best, don't you sir?)

But the Simms shirt... couldn't be better. Do you have the pants? Every bit as good.

Unknown said...

Mike, I am also at peace with my solitude, so perhaps that gives me insight ;) I do not have the pants. Are they a matching plaid as well? Because one cannot have too much plaid...

Mike Sepelak said...

Plaid? I wish. If they matched the shirt they'd be a fabulous pair of jammies. Sadly, they just come in dark elkhorn, whatever the heck that is. Looks like brown to me.

Feather Chucker said...

Photo Caption: "Rancid Crabtree"

Mike Sepelak said...

Works for me, Kevin.

Unknown said...

Outstanding photo Mike. I believe blog readers like to know who they're connecting with. Rancid Crabtree...who knew

Mike Sepelak said...

I couldn't agree more, Howard, that folks like to know who they're connecting with. The good ones, the bloggers that I've come to really appreciate, know how to do it without actually telling me about themselves. It just comes out in the their work. An odd sort of intimacy, if you will. We populate a funny little space, here in the blogosphere, don' we?

And at the very least, the Rancid part is true.

Fontinalis Rising said...

Stellar as always Mike. Let's fish soon.

Mike Sepelak said...

You betcha, Jason. Soon!

Mel said...

Mike, I am late getting around to the latest round of BlogBuddy posts. Just wanted to say that I think this selfie is casually a classic! Like you, I am tired of all the Selfies that flood media and social networks. This one fits the right into the "Ol' Geezer" museum.

Mike Sepelak said...

I resemble that remark, Mel!

Mike C.W. said...

Hell, I'd fish with that dude :)

What's the brew? Do I spy a pic of an educated fish on the bottle?

Mike Sepelak said...

And that dude would enjoy the company, Michael.

Good eyes on the beer bottle. It's part of my odd collection of mementoes, a bottle of Coon Rock Cream Ale from Lake Louie Brewing that returned with me from my first visit to the Driftless Area in Wisconsin where I fished with my buddy Len Harris. Good times.