A snowy day at Mohomony. — Photo by Bob Kirchman
It was a snowy slippery kind of day in January of 2017. I was making my way to Natural Bridge for a juried event to select prints to be sold in their gift shop. We set up our displays and were asked to leave the hall. One of the staff at Natural Bridge told me that we were free to walk down to the bridge. It was a pretty raw day, so most everybody either headed to lunch at the Pink Cadillac or into nearby Lexington, Virginia.
I couldn’t resist the chance to walk down to the bridge. You couldn’t walk under it at the time because of concerns about the bridge’s stability. I think a lot of my fellow artists might have concluded there wouldn’t be much to see. There was a barricade right before you got to it.
Pressing up to the barrier, I found a Winter wonderland awaiting beyond, pristine, and with no footprints disturbing the new-fallen snow. It was beyond reach — but not so far away that you couldn’t photograph it. The day was somber, but I grabbed some images anyway and made sepias from them.
Ironically these prints, which were not even in my display at the select event, became my best selling offering at the gift shop. After engineers tested the integrity of the limestone arch, the path under it was reopened. The moral here might be to never pass up the opportunity to take a walk. You never know what you might discover.
Beginning a new year, I find myself taking inspiration from people like Latvian photographer Anete Lusina [click to read], who shares her unique images of how she sees the world. Her work features interesting architecture, nature, powerlifting, and looks behind the scenes. Yes, this year is a time to look at your world with a fresh perspective.
It is to that end that my grandchildren and I discovered the Stereopticon [click to read]. My cousin, Page Jordan [click to view], who is also a gifted photographer, gifted me with the device that belonged to our grandmother. It might be of no use to a Cyclopes [click to read], but for us it was a great exercise in seeing the world.
We even learned how to capture our own images for the stereopticon cards. My granddaughter took an image of the “hobbit chair” outside the studio. A discarded stump and a bit of chainsaw creativity had made for a bit of Middle Earth furniture. What simple wonders await in the days ahead? There are explorations to be had, and artistic messes to make! I say “Let the Journey Begin!”
The Natural Bridge and its surroundings on a snowy day. — Photos by Bob Kirchman