23
Feb
2010
Dispatches From Dublin
Wow, it’s been nearly a month since my last update! The main reason for this post is that I’ve completed the photos from Dublin, but I realize for anyone who doesn’t check Facebook, you may not know I ever got back! It was a mostly uneventful return. I did manage to leave my power adapter and a USB cord behind in the hostel. Some people leave their heart places, I appear to leave other bits behind… I actually remembered it on the train to the airport but did the math for what the train ticket cost me and realized I’d come out ahead just buying replacements rather than turning around. The airport in Paris was… an experience… I have experienced a good number of airports in multiple countries. From the cold and mechanical experience with security in Frankfurt to the cattle treatment at Atlanta Hartsfield, this was the first time I experienced someone who was personally hateful. I actually spoke back to him which I rarely do in these situations! I’ll save the details, but I was happy to be bound for the states! My last gift from France was a lingering cough that turned into an infection. This has not been a healthy winter for me. So much for lowering my stress and becoming healthier! But a good round of antibiotics and steroids and all better, which allowed me to begin working on my photos from Ireland in earnest!
Normally, I edit photos in chronological order. I very rarely deviate from that pattern, but I have this time. I think it helped me to attack the pile of photos by going at them in an order that doesn’t highlight how much is left to go. Thus, my first round of photos is from Dublin. Those who read the travel logs, know that I passed through Dublin multiple times in my trip, so the photos literally span the beginning, middle, and end of my time there. I will now be attacking other sections of the trip. I’m attaching a handful of photos to this post, but these are somewhat randomly selected. I rely on your collective feedback as well as my own second review to really cull the best of the lot any time I edit my photos.
Winter Skies
A view from Dublin’s Phoenix Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe. The cross was erected in 1979 for a visit by Pope John Paul II. He conducted an outdoor mass here that was attended by more than a million people. The frost on the ground is just a taste of the winter that’s coming for my trip in Ireland!
The Distance - Glasnevin Cemetery
One of those predictable (from me) cemetery photos – Dublin’s Glasnevin cemetery in the snow – apparently snow is not common for Dublin, but I saw plenty of it. I’m just lucky like that!
Dublin's An Post
A view of Dublin’s main post office taken from O’Connell Street. It was the last of the grand Georgian buildings built in Dublin and still serves as the main branch post office in Dublin and the headquarters for the Irish postal service, An Post. The lady in red makes this photo for me.
Ridiculous River Liffey Panorama
While I certainly hope you will click through to see this and the other photos larger, this one demands it to fully appreciate. This is a panorama beyond reason, one of many photos I took along the River Liffey on this day (the light and skies were exceptional). It’s, if memory serves, six vertical images stitched together in photoshop. It’s probably around 160 degrees of view of the north bank of the river. The O’Connell street bridge to the right actually runs parallel to where I’m standing in reality. Despite the inherent distortions, or maybe because of them, I really love this shot.
Bright Lights, Big City - Dublin's Temple Bar
From my last night in Dublin is this fisheye photo of a pub in Temple Bar. Temple Bar is actually the name of a neighborhood, and not a specific pub, although I guess this one claims to be THE Temple Bar. I really liked the color, lights, symmetry, even the people waiting along the sidewalk outside. It’s my favorite of several shots I took that evening.
I certainly hope you’ll all check out the rest of the gallery and let me know what you like most amongst the lot of them!
20
Dec
2009
Churchill & New York City
What a truly random combination of work, but it’s what I have to discuss right now!
As I prepare to prepare (yes, I’m that far behind) for my trip to Ireland, I’m doing my best to finish editing my NYC photos. It’s a fair bet, however, that while I may post them in my gallery on my website, nothing new is going to make its way to my prints until I’m back.
I encourage you all to take a look at the NYC photos I’ve posted thus far and will likely add to in the next week (so check back).
Mark Tisdale – Sept 2009 in NYC Gallery
There’s already some photos in there of which I’m very proud. And as is often the fact, I look at them and ponder when I might make it back to explore more of what I saw. Not tomorrow by any stretch, but someday I expect.
Lady Liberty Lifts Her Light
Knowing my sometime predictable luck, it should be no surprise that the boat ride on my first day in New York was as close as I ever got to the famous Statue of Liberty. Bad weather the morning I intended on visiting left this my best view, but it was not bad at all. The statue is a true treasure, and my photos that day gave me an excuse to do something a little more artistic, creating this many layered image to resemble an old color postcard.
New York Rhythm
This is one image I was quite taken with. It does require a small amount of explanation, though. I am quite near sighted and have an astigmatism. I would not get far in the world without my glasses. I was on a night tour of the city and took my glasses off for a second and glanced down a side street. This is more or less what I saw. And I loved the view, the city boiled down to its chaotic best. Lights without form! It suddenly occurred to me that I could reproduce this for my camera by putting it out of focus. So, you can see the world as I saw it. I played with this off and on the rest of the evening, and may post more but this first try was my favorite.
And now that you’ve seen some New York City, I can jump to Winston Churchill, because the connection is obvious isn’t it? Maybe you don’t know that the iconic prime minister of the United Kingdom, in fact, had American ties? His mother was born in Rochester, New York, and was raised in Brooklyn and New York City. So yes, there is a connection between New York and the famous British Bulldog. However, truth be told, there’s a different reason I’m posting this one. A couple of days ago, I was contacted by a would be buyer who really liked my photo of the statue of Winston Churchill silhouetted in front of London’s Big Ben. However, she had a special request that I fulfilled.
She wanted me to include the Churchill quotation that I have always included with the description of this piece on the print itself. And I think it was an excellent request! I’m really happy with the result and wanted to share it. I think it definitely helps anchor and explain the image and it was almost as if I left that massive base just for this purpose. I wish I could have been that forward thinking! Anyway, here’s hoping she enjoys it when she receives it!
19
Dec
2009
New Years 2010 Deciphered
Since I’ve been in my own little world lately, I figured I should get in at least one blog update before rushing off for my 6th New Years abroad. In this order, the past five were Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party, Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay (rained out, drying off in a tiny hotel room watching Paolo Nutini sing in Edinburgh Castle on TV), a night train from Cairo to Aswan in Egypt, and a beach party in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. You never know when this string of celebrations will, for good or not, end. In fact, had I not sold my house in November, I’m not sure I would have felt so free to make these plans, particularly for a bit beyond a month of time on the road!
I also rarely posted trip specifics before, but it’s amazing how much more free you feel when you don’t have to ponder that you’re advertising an empty house! So, as things stand, I leave Dec 26th bound for Dublin, Ireland. I arrive the 27th and will be there a whole night! The morning of the 28th, I’ll be hopping straight on to a 6 day Paddywagon bus tour that rings around the whole isle. Granted you can only see so much in such a short period, but I’m considering it the appetizer. Beyond that, I have literally no plans until I leave for Paris on the 23rd of January. So, I have weeks to spend in Dublin certainly and perhaps revisiting somewhere from the tour or I’m looking a lot at the Aran Islands off the Southwestern coast. The largest island, Inis Mor, is about 9 miles long and at its widest point, about 3 miles wide. At this time of the year, there won’t be many tourists and it’s mostly a pedestrian place with some awesome prehistoric forts and beautiful geography. The photos I’ve seen of it call my name, but there’s a chance that somewhere I visit at the outset will call me back louder. Any one with Ireland suggestions, by all means, feel free to drop them my way!
On the 23rd, bound for Paris for 5 nights before returning home for winter and more reflection time. You see, at the outset of this grand experiment, the plan was firmly spending my savings on some good old fashioned travel time. And it may well stay that way, but I’m also toying with the idea of spending some of my savings on something a bit more lasting if I can find the right place, probably in one of Georgia’s “second cities” - preferably closer to the mid-state. It may surprise some of you that I nearly put down an offer on a house in Macon this month. At the literal last moment, I decided to shelve that idea for the moment.
Why not Atlanta? Atlanta was a chapter of my life I wouldn’t exchange. Like any good book, it had its highs and lows, and it set the stage for learning how much I loved seeing the world beyond and, of course, it was where I learned to love being behind a camera so much. But I also don’t relish returning to Atlanta. I would not be so bold as to say never. There’s especially some soft spots in my heart for intown Atlanta where I lived my first two years. They were the poorest years of my life (getting started after college), when every penny mattered, but it seemed everything was on my doorstep of my tiny apartment and it was the most diverse community in which I’ve lived. So, you can see, genuinely no hard feelings, but I have also grown weary of the size of Atlanta, not the people but the sprawl, for now anyway. Each trip back to see friends or handle business has reminded me what it’s like to sit in grid lock traffic and how frustrated I got not being able to get somewhere 10 miles away in less than an hour. If Atlanta can ever escape the car and embrace mass transit, it could be an awesome place.
So, I may come back at the end of January and decide to start down a new path, or I may come back and plan some more travel starting in Spring, or if I have an incredible light bulb go off, I may figure out a way to do some of column A and some of column B.
Where did this new direction come from? While I was already reading a lot about small living before my summer adrift, I’ve had a lot of time to really read about a lot of different topics, specifically centering around small living, urban homesteading, and trying to have a smaller impact on the world. And I don’t per se see myself in a travel camper (believe it or not, heavily considered), I do see that even my 1,500 sq foot town house was more than I ever needed alone. There are families, living in less space than I had to myself. Some are actually here in the US, but most you’d read about here have done so out of choice, i.e. the (hopefully) growing realization that we don’t really NEED 3,000 square foot houses. All they become is places to pile more and more belongings. Anyone who saw my storage unit would know that I’m in no danger of becoming an ascetic monk soon, but I have over the past few years (and will continue to) shed some of the things in my life that are truly just retaining space. Having a smaller place to keep your stuff is its own mandate to deal with excess. And if I can wing a way not to be paying for that space over 30 years of my life, all the better. When you look at how much of your budget is spent on your house and all the stuff in it, you’ll realize that those mortgages are not just a promise to pay a loan but an anchor to a way of life that may not offer you as much satisfaction as you thought.
Anyway, before I get all mystic and hippie-like here, I’ll let it go at that. I’m happy to discuss with anyone who’s interested and you are free to use it for my sanity hearing later. 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I hope that everyone out there who I’ve known over the years has an awesome holiday! This is as close to a card as I’m sending, but the sentiment is heart felt. Even if I don’t talk to you every day, I think of people I knew last week as well as many years ago quite often. And even if I’m awful at responding, I love to hear from you about what’s going on in your lives! Merry Christmas and Happiest year ahead to you all!
28
Oct
2009
Harvest Haul
Ah, time for a bit of a catch up post!
First off, my book Egyptian Dreams, which you may recall is available through Blurb, is entered in a contest at Blurb. I would MUCH appreciate if you could take a few moments to go and vote for it if you have not already done so!
For those who have already voted, thank you so much! For those who haven’t yet, there’s less than 2 weeks, what are you waiting for!?
As long as I’m shamelessly self promoting, I felt like I should point out that there’s currently a special running at Zazzle, another online Print on Demand shop where I host some of my work. It runs through 10/31 and is appropriately 10.31% off any purchase. So, a great time to start or finish your Christmas shopping and save some money on the way. To take advantage of this special, enter the code TRICKORTREAT
at checkout. Here’s all the lovely tiny print for the offer.
* 10.31% of the net sale price will be deducted when the coupon code TRICKORTREAT is applied at checkout. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid from October 19, 2009 at 12:01am PT through October 31, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers.
A little less self-promotion but partially so is reminding everyone that this weekend is Montezuma’s annual Fall Festival, known as the Beaver Creek Festival. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather because I’m told that the 15th annual festival should be a good one! And I will have a booth there – that’s all my self promotion for one post! Here’s a quote from one of the organizers about what to expect this year.
There will be GREAT children’s games, yummy food, cool art, excellent musicians, and worthwhile prizes! Don’t forget the Duck Doodle: $300 would come in handy for Christmas Shopping!
Okay, now for a few photos! I completed editing and uploading photos from my brief stop in Savannah last month. I still have to work on the NYC photos, but at least some progress. Savannah was beautiful and I hope you’ll all enjoy some photos!
Savannah River Sunrise
From my first morning in Savannah, Sunrise on the River near Battery Hamilton. It was a bit subdued by the clouds but pretty nonetheless!
Tybee Light at Dawn
Tybee light was beautiful in the morning and I love the cottage that the lighthouse keeper lived in back in the day. It’s been restored inside. All in all a very well kept monument to the history of the area.
East River Street
I didn’t get a lot of photos of the town itself. Spent so much time out on the coast or on the bus that I never really explored like I’d like to, but this photo from East River Street gives you a bit of a feel.
Cathedral of St. John The Baptist
Savannah’s lovely cathedral – simply gorgeous – be sure to check out the gallery for some interior shots as well!
Moon River
The natural beauty near Savannah actually inspired several Panorama shots. It’s hard to pick just one to show here, but this is Moon River near dusk and the colors were very special!
Angels of Bonaventure
In case you’re unaware the statue on the front of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was photographed in Bonaventure. Not the oldest cemetery in Savannah but a lovely one! The statue from the book had to be moved to protect it but there’s still some incredible statuary there!
Sunset Sea
My last evening in Savannah was back out to Tybee Island where I enjoyed strolling the beach. It was a subdued sky with a lot of clouds, but the colors and light was still pretty perfect. The above is a long exposure shot. I’ll pick one more, but I hope you’ll go check them all out. It’s hard for me to pick out my own favorites never mind yours!
Tybee Blue
One of the last from that evening on Tybee, the sun had sunk down and twilight was almost a solid cast of blue from the sky to the reflecting water on the beach.
For more of Savannah, check out the Savannah gallery.
11
Sep
2009
Egyptian Dreams
I had hinted on my facebook fan page that I was going to self publish a book of my photos from Egypt. And after a bit of a learning curve, it’s ready to see the light of day!
It’s an opportunity for those of you who don’t have enough wall space to devote to all my photos from that lovely country to own them and enjoy them.
Egyptian dreams
Scenes from Across the country of modern Egypt, from the pyramids (the only surviving one of the seven wonders of the world) to the Red Sea, an exploration of the amazing beauty of Egypt’s past and present.
That’s the cover of the book, Egyptian Dreams – following the links to it will give you a chance to preview some of the interior of the book as well as front and back covers. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Let me take the opportunity to say how entirely responsive the support people at Blurb were throughout the process. That along with feedback from others I know who have worked with them is why I’m confident enough to print my book through them. And the copy I have looks brilliant to me!
Still, if any customer has an issue with the quality of their book, please let me know the details as well.
All the details of the book can be found here – if you have any questions, please let me know!
