The Grain part 1

It was one of those wet and rainy summers as I recall. These sorts of summers happen on the Palmer Divide out there in Elbert County, Colorado. It was the summer of 1987, thirty years ago, in my youth. I lived in a small cabin with 16 other camp counselors. It was a tremendous time, we were all about fifteen years old, away from home for weeks and doing fun stuff.

This was the summer when I really began to think about writing. My buddy Shawn and I wandered the hills and valleys in and around camp. We were probably shirking work, but at fifteen years old, how much work were they really wanting us to do? My time with Shawn was invaluable. Shawn was an odd dude, funny, imaginative and I loved him. Shawn wrote poetry. He encouraged me to write poetry too, and although I was not very good at it, I did my best. It was more of an exercise for writing and thinking and exploring creativity. At the time, I wrote more poetry than I read. My advice to young poets, or any poet: read more poetry than you write.

Creativity comes in many forms and manifestations.

I also had an ancient Nikkromat 35MM camera that came to me under slightly suspect circumstances. It was a massive model that was completely manual, heavy and required a certain level of skill that I did not have at the time. Yet, it was important to me to know how to use it and to make a record of that wet rainy summer of 1987.

My buddy Brent has come to a near hero status in my recollection. When we were kids, that summer of 1987, we spent many evenings walking far away from camp. He was, what I would have considered then, a seasoned veteran of photography, and a skillful crafter of art. He had a photo of the D&F Tower taken through an outstretched arm holding a magnifying glass.

Brent taught me how to use that camera. His direction was mostly mechanical. His direction led me the way of balancing the light meter with f/stops and shutter speed. Invaluable, really. Like Shawn with the poetry, Brent's time and photography began a life long love for this form.

Even now, a few pages and a few photographs can sum up the day, whether the day is creation or ruin.