Colorful Plank
Colorful Plank, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
This is a close-up of a fence from a previous image. I loved the detail of the mold that was growing on it.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Ynez, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Disciplined Vibrancy
I’ve mentioned previously about our visit to the Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez. There is something absolutely tranquil about lounging in a well-cultivated garden, surrounded by the synergy of discipline and vibrancy.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Ynez, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Point of Reference
This is the last image I will post from our short stop in Santa Barbara. Both these trees and boulders were large in their own right. But they are utterly dwarfed by the immense ocean.
It’s another poignant reminder that my life is part of something much, much larger than myself. If my gaze is always turned inward, then this distorted perspective can delude me into believing that I am the center of my life. And if the compass needle always points toward me, I will always be lost. I risk becoming entangled in the hell of self, always preoccupied with my needs, my dreams, my potential, my failures, my success.
Yet, the truth is that I am created for something far greater than myself. And sometimes I need to be felled like a tree before the ocean in order to regain a correct point of reference for my life.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Staying There
Staying There, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
This image reminds me of a story I heard about St Antony the Great of Egypt.
“Somebody asked Abba Antony, ‘What shall I do in order to please God?’ He replied, ‘Do what I tell you, which is this: wherever you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of Holy Scripture; wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep to these guide-lines, you will be saved.’”
The journey home — the journey towards being shaped into the likeness of Christ — does not consist of earth-shattering spiritual moments. Rather, God’s formational work in our lives takes place during the thousands of seemingly mundane moments of our daily lives. Like a boulder planted upon the shore and shaped by both waves and wind, our common lives reside at the overlap of two worlds. And simply staying there while remembering God in our thoughts and actions is the most significant thing we can do.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
On the Fringe of Two Worlds
This is another image from our stop at a beach in Santa Barbara. As you can see, the rocks were beautiful and the water breath-taking.
Beaches are the overlap between two worlds. You can simultaneously stand with both feet in two worlds. I like to think that our lives are also supposed to be like that. Everywhere we are the tides of heaven should lap over the sands of earth.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Rocks and Surf
Here’s an image from a beach in Santa Barbara that our family visited. The rocks and surf were so beautiful, inviting us to explore and linger upon the shore.
The ocean is mercurial, tranquil one moment and raging the next. And yet, each wave is a bow to its Creator.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Past Its Prime
I’ve mentioned before that I like photographing things that show age. There is something about rust, cracks and wrinkles that shout out, “I have a story!”
We saw this old truck under a grove of trees during our visit to Oak Glen. Shrouded in shade, it sat there alone and forgotten. Rotted tires. Rusted metal. Missing headlights. It was beautiful. And it made me wonder what kind of stories it could tell.
Upon what roads had it traveled? How many first kisses had it seen? How much laughter had it heard? Did it remember the times of abundance and the times of scarcity? And what is it thinking now as the world passes by?
We Like to Bite
We Like to Bite, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
Here’s another image from the ostrich farm in Solvang. It provides a bit more context for the previous image. I suspect these bad boys know what the sign says because they seemed ready to demonstrate it at a moment’s notice.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
What Are You Lookin’ At?
This is a fun image from our family’s trip to Solvang. For the kids’ sake, a few of our stops in Solvang were at different ranches. We saw miniature horses and miniature donkeys and these not-so-miniature ostriches.
The two younger kids wanted to feed them, so we paid the big bucks, took our feed-laden pie pans outside and tried not to get our hands mauled while these monsters gorged. They were larger than us and had the home field advantage, so they displayed absolutely no fear of us.
Image take with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Casual Pools
Casual Pools, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
One more image from Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. I loved how this stream casually collected in small pools among the rocks, nourishing the greens and reflecting the blues. The smooth surfaces suggest that the water has caressed these stones for many, many years. You can almost hear the water sighing as it slows to linger in liquid pools and to bask in the familiar warmth of friends.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Days I Cherish
This is an image from a recent trip to Oak Glen. The simplicity of this scene is what caught my eye. I love the clear blue sky kissed by clouds and the sloping hill beyond the fenced field.
On a personal note: When Debbie and I were dating over twenty years ago, I bought her a promise ring on a trip to Oak Glen. This time, it was our first trip to Oak Glen as a family. And like our other family trips this year, this one was full of delightful memories that continue to linger far beyond the moment.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x at Oak Glen, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Following the Stream
Following the Stream, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
This is another image from the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. It’s the view one encounters when one follows the stream fed from the small waterfall I displayed in a previous image. The stream would flow over beautiful boulders and collect in quiet pools, nourishing the surrounding flora.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x at the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Hidden Falls
This is an image from Debbie’s and my anniversary road trip into the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Near the top of the trail that we walked, we could hear the sounds of running water and people playing. Recessed into the rock wall, a small and nigh invisible waterfall fed pools of water and a stream.
I like the contrasts contained within this image. One contrast is the brilliant and rigid stone carved by a dark and liquid line of water. Another contrast is the intertwining of bare branches with those green and lush with life.
Image taken with a Nikon D40x at the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
The Other Side
This is another image from our summer Solvang trip. I just love the colorful mold growing on the fence.
If walls are boundaries, then fences are boundaries with temptation. A wall both prohibits movement across its border and prevents one from looking beyond. Try as you might, you cannot look through a wall.
However, a fence, while restricting movement across its boundary, invites us to flights of imagination. If we allow it, a fence can inspire us of what might be, inviting us to gaze beyond its partition and to speculate about what could lie on the other side.
Norman Vincent Peale said, “Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.” I wonder what kind internal fences reside within me. Some are good and necessary, protecting me from dangers I should avoid. Other fences, I suspect, are constructed out of my fear or anger. They provide a false sense of security and excuse me from traversing into areas that I need to journey.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Silent Scars
This is an image of a tree in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. As Debbie and I drove through this area in August, we saw large portions that had been burned in a devastating fire back in 2003.
Beneath the canopy of blue sky and surrounded by new life, this hunched and crooked tree reminds me of a tribal elder sharing stories to the next generation. It instructs with hushed whispers and silent scars, passing on the wisdom it has acquired through surviving life’s struggles. And it knows that the young will only truly understand when they too have encountered life’s conflagrations.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Transience
Our family’s Solvang trip this past summer holds a very special place in my memories for many reasons. I feel like something changed when summer ended. Perhaps it’s because my oldest child is a senior in high school and is now looking toward finding a job and attending a college.
For whatever reasons, my memories of this past summer, and especially of our family’s short trips to Solvang and Lake Casitas, seem like small moments of tranquility before crossing a significant threshold in our lives. They were brief periods of time when the cares and responsibilities that pull each of us in different directions were left at home and so we could leisurely enjoy each other.
Many of the images that I brought home from Solvang evoke these feelings and remind me of the transience of my current role as father. I have only a very brief time with my children before they move onto the next phases of their lives. I’m filled with such love for them. I already miss who they were and know that I will really miss them when they move on to the next steps of their journey.
And as much as I would love to freeze life, I know that trying to hold onto them is like trying to clutch the clouds to my chest. It simply cannot be done. I can only watch in wonder as they pass by, thankful that I had the chance to be part of that moment.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Grapes
This is another image taken at Gainey Vineyards in Solvang. The grapes and vines were beautifully textured. For me, this image conveys a hands-in-the-dirt aspect of life. This form of beauty doesn’t drift down from the heavens. It is dirty and requires hard work. It must be coaxed from the ground, sometimes even wrestled from the earth with great sweat, blood and tears.
Yet, such is life. Real life.
This photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Serene
One of the memorable moments during our family’s trip to Solvang this past summer was visiting the Gainey Vineyard. It was such a peaceful place to spend the afternoon. Our family explored the vineyards, slowly walking amongst the rows of vines. As we emerged from one of the rows, I saw another vineyard in the distance.
I like images of solitary trees. This one of an isolated tree surrounded by cultivated rows of vines and canopied by a blue sky and wispy clouds was too good to pass up. It’s a pictorial reminder of the serenity that we experienced.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Friend In Black and White
Friend In Black and White, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
I edited this image awhile ago; the same time I edited the color version of the same image. Yet, for some reason I never posted this one, which is strange because I really like it.
I’m not sure why, but black and white images usually seem to focus on the “story” more than color images. Perhaps the lack of color shifts the viewer’s attention more toward lighting, composition and texture.
It’s funny. The color and black and white images are identical. Yet, each one communicates something different to me.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in San Dimas, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Looming in the Trees
As I was photographing some farm equipment early in the morning on Mission Drive in Solvang, I saw the mill looming across the street and from behind the trees. The early morning silence and the grey fog blanketing the hills gave the moment an eerie quality. For some reason it reminded me of scenes from movies like Jurassic Park or Lost when you know there’s a monster lurking in the forest.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Tractor Wheels
This is another image from a series of photos I took of abandoned farm equipment during our Solvang trip. Frankly, I’m not even sure what purpose these wheels have. But they look cool, like props from a post-Apocalyptic movie.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Nojoqui Falls 3
This is a third photo of Nojoqui Falls near Solvang, CA. As I mentioned in a previous image, even though the falls were a mere trickle, the surrounding environment was lush.
Debbie posted some more information in a previous post’s comments stating that there are four different types of fern growing in the mineral-rich water. In this photo I attempted to capture a vibrant and dramatic representation of this lush environment.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Courtyard
This is another image from the series of photos I took at a local college. I loved the detail in the tiles and concrete throughout the courtyard and tried to capture it in this image.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Glendora, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Upward
These are the access stairs to the beach we visited in Santa Barbara. Actually, they are only a fraction of the stairs we had to climb to get to the beach. The kids counted over 200 stairs. As you can imagine, going down was a lot easier than going up. A couple of residents passed us by several times. They were exercising by jogging up and down the stairs. Crazy people!
One thing is certain: The journey upward is always difficult, yet worth the effort.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Fallen Giant
As we followed the shoreline at the beach in Santa Barbara, we chanced across several large trees that had toppled from the cliffs above. These trees were a poignant reminder that anyone can fall.
Just recently, I was reminded that we are called human beings and that the word “human” is epistemologically related to the word, “humus,” which is Latin for “earth.” We are fashioned from the earth. Humus is also the word from which come the words “humble” and “humility.” It is wise for us to always remember to live humbly and “close to the earth.”
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Beauty Before
So, let’s jump forward a bit in our Solvang trip. On our way home, we stopped off at a beach in Santa Barbara. There are always interesting things to explore at a beach.
One of the things I enjoy about photography is deciding upon what subjects to focus. Sometimes beauty is found in the larger picture. Panoramas, for example, can be absolutely breathtaking as they invite the viewer into a larger-than-life perspective. But sometimes a larger picture can distract us from the subtler beauty right in front of us. It’s one of the reasons why I love macro photography. Beauty can be found virtually inches in front of us.
I was originally composing this shot with the rocky shoreline as the focus. Then I noticed the rock inches from my face. So I focused there. I don’t know if it made a "better" shot, but I like how the stark textures and colors offsets the softer colors of the background.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Barbara, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Abandoned Cart
On our second day in Solvang, I woke up early to go photographing around the outskirts of Solvang. I found a field with some abandoned farm equipment. In the early morning mist, the scene took on a melancholic tone.
We live in a disposable culture. Old things are quickly discarded for the new. And while I’m as guilty as the next person, I’m discovering a new appreciation for age through photography. Whether its rust, cracks, splinters or wrinkles, the signs of age often carry a story worth hearing.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Tranquil Vineyard
On our first day in Solvang, we drove out to the Gainey Vineyard, in Santa Ynez. While there, we enjoyed wine-tasting and a tour of the vineyard. The grounds were so peaceful. We spent a fair amount of time lounging on the grass and exploring the Vineyard. I tried to capture some of that tranquility in this photo.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Santa Ynez, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Above the Trees
During our hike at Nojoqui Falls, I noticed that the skies were absolutely beautiful. I would frequently glance upward through the trees to be amazed by what I saw. I love clouds, so it didn’t take much coaxing to point my camera upward.
I love how the rich blue and white of the sky is framed by the lush green of the trees. It’s like looking through a portal. And a good reminder to look up as I walk through life.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x at Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
Nojoqui Falls 2
Nojoqui Falls 2, originally uploaded by Jason Zahariades.
This is another image of Nojoqui Falls. Regarding Nojoqui Falls, Jordan Rane asks in an article:
“What is it about a waterfall that inspires us to walk that extra thousand yards, drive that additional half an hour, make that otherwise inexplicable knee-jerk detour off the highway for the privilege of gazing upon liquid pouring over a 66.4-foot sandstone cliff into the stillness of a secluded canyon in an unpronounceable Santa Barbara County park a couple of miles off the 101 Freeway?”
Frankly, I don’t know if there’s any answer that can adequately capture why we’re compelled to go out of our way to view a waterfall. Perhaps in that moment we learn a small lesson in seeing. And by seeing, we’re connected to something much larger and older than ourselves and are thus enriched.
I’ve posted this photo despite its similarity to the previous post mostly because of the lens flare. I intentionally captured the lens flare because I liked the faux fisheye look it created.
Photo taken with a Nikon D40x in Solvang, CA. Post in Capture NX2.
