strength

(blue) sky for Roberta © kjm

remember

sky for charlie © kjm

father

sky for patrick and his family © kjm

dusk, wednesday

sky for steve and jen © kjm

fishing/thinking

sky above where dad fished as a young man © kjm

My dad was a passionate fisherman for many years of his life. As kids, we would open his heavy, brown metal tackle box to look at its strange, colorful contents, and I have early memories of him cleaning Lake Michigan salmon in the kitchen sink. One of his oldest friends recently told me that he still has a fishing pole that my dad gave him 50 years ago. In middle age, due in part, I suppose, to the corporate nature of his work, he took up golf and stopped fishing.

After Marilu and I caught a few fish during the family reunion, I decided to take along some of my dad's old gear along on an upcoming canoe trip. His tackle box, at some point, had changed to a newer plastic one, but I found all the contents as I remembered them: daredevils, rattlers, bobbers and sinkers. I took the contents and 10 fishing rods out to Andy's house for advice. Most of the fishing I've done as a younger man has been with Andy, so this was a fun conversation to have over a beer. He pointed out which lures to take, examined the rods for the best choice, and wound new 8 lb. test onto an old reel. Andy will be on this trip, and I love the idea that we could catch some big lake trout for a shore dinner.

But this is a conversation that I would have loved to have with my dad. It's one that I can imagine quite clearly - with him peering into the tackle box and poking his finger around the lures. He'd know just what I should bring.

[Sky Above is a new small series]

many happy years

Sky for Chris and Kirsten © kjm

Today my friend Chris Kessler is getting married. I can't make the wedding, unfortunately, but here's my gift to them - the sky as seen over Elmira, Michigan.

a dark and stormy

sky for cheryl © kjm

A while back, my brother-in-law Mark read one of my posts about photographing the sky. He suggested that if I ever captured a stormy scene, my sister Cheryl might like a print. Cheryl loves weather, especially the dramatic variety, and I think she secretly monitors the dew point of the locales where I'm traveling. We had a few more storms roll through in the last few days, and this was the sky from my front walk. It was a creepy sight, with the clouds swirling and changing form quickly. Sis, a print's at the lab.

sky eyeing

© kjm

I'll be looking upward next week.

From time to time, I'll make a picture of the sky for a friend. The first time I did this was for a friend's birthday, back when I lived in Cincinnati. The basic idea is that I decide to make a sky photo for someone, and then spend some time searching for a nice image. If the search takes me a week, then I've happily had that person on my mind for that time. In the end, I make just two prints - one for my friend, and one for me. The picture above was made for another Kevin - the youngest son of my lifelong friend, Dave.

I'll be driving along the California coast next week, and will be studying the sky to make a picture for my friends Kari and Brad, who are getting married in a month.