Project 2022
258/365 A barely perceptible mist started to settle on the lowlands, stretching along the Normandy coast. The land was clear for miles in every direction. It was peaceful now, in contrast to the history that lived here more than a half century ago. Yet, my thoughts ran to those who fought and died for a better world they gave us. I asked myself, have we been good stewards? Do we honor their sacrifice? Time will tell…
257/365 Door - a guardian to another time or place. Walk through it and into history - sometimes the abandoned past, sometimes the opportunistic future. This door has seen centuries of life and then death. Splintered, aged and cracked, it carries its history in the decades of faded paint, chipped and peeling: this is the color of abandonment. Slowly decaying into the future, now it can now barely hang onto its rusted past. The worn cobblestone path passing by this door reflects the ancient past: once part of the old Arab world, then Palestine, it finally settled, more than a century ago, as one of the earliest Zionist settlements in Israel on the Northern Galilee. What history it could share.
256/365 It’s 45° out - and raining. You’re on a bike tackling one of the steepest street in Pittsburgh. Actually, you’re doing it on 13 of Pittsburgh’s steepest streets - and in under 5 hours! Welcome to Pittsburgh’s Dirty Dozen - the craziest bike challenge in the City. Struggling to climb Rialto Street without setting foot off the bike, these mountain climbers cum bikers attack the 5th steepest street in the city - and it’s only a 24% grade. The steepest is a 37% grade. Even when I drive up Rialto, I have to lean forward, afraid the Jeep will flip backwards. I can barely hike up Rialto Street - even on a nice, sunny warm day. What’s your physical challenge?
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, New Mexico
255/365 Perspective: how you look at something in the context of what you expect. As a photographer, to craft an image of a familiar object but from a different and uniquely engaging perspective is both challenging and exciting. Such was the opportunity on this day. A world of hot air balloons - in all manner of shapes, colors and sizes - floated above against a deep blue canvas. As I studied the skies, a burst of fire exploded nearby, signaling the start of a rising burn. The heated balloon shifted now, directly overhead; my opportunity had come.
From the 9/11 Memorial ... New York City
254/365 On this day - the 254th day of the year - we remember. On this day we shed a tear for the thousands who were lost. And on this day we commemerate and honor their souls. Never forget… For a more complete collection of images of the 9/11 Memorial, go here: https://www.johnschillerphotography.com/Personal/2014/14-08-11-World-Trade-Center-Memo/
253/365 It was nearly high noon, on a brisk walk through the backstreets of Lisbon. Something caught my eye as I passed the narrow alley. A window reflection across the cranberry-colored cement wall. Odd… that there was even a reflection from the light overhead. After all, it was mid-day and light just didn’t bend that way. But there it was. Today’s mystery…
Brewster Flats, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
252/365 She explores her changing world - real and reflected. Imagine what she sees, how she feels, what see thinks, Low tide on Brewster Flats offers up a perfect canvas - miles of sand and evolving waterscape along the coast and out to sea.
Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
251/365 We pray for peace. Israeli soldiers returning from the front, pray at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount - site of the Second Temple - in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Judaism where Jews are allowed to pray, and is just in front of the Temple Mount. Besides prayer, it is a ritual to insert a note into the crevices of the wall.
Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
250/365 The fog settled in, overtaking everything in its way. Distant mountains were quickly hidden from view. Rich landscapes were concealed. Forests became mystery parks as hikers challenged their way down the slippery trails. Even the marching birches slowed their walk through the damp woods, one after another.
249/365 Evening just started to settle in. The streets were already teeming with office workers heading home, shoppers making last minute purchases and tourists heading out for that first drink of the night. Not everyone, however, was on the move. As the city swirled around them, she reached up, as he leaned in, and time slowed for their moment. End of the day reunion? Off together? Parting for the night? Write your own ending…
248/365 Pittsburgh: City of rivers, bridges and steel. Monongahela River, Pinkerton’s Landing Bridge and Carrie Furnaces.
247/365 Winter has come. Ironic that each snowflake is unique unto itself while a blanket of snow unifies them all together. Slowly, slowly, they drift to the ground, filling up the empty spaces, molding softly to the shapes on the ground whatever they may be. And slicing through it all is that track of hardened steel, covered the length, yet glistening in contrast to the soft blanket of whiteness in every direction.
Klotz Silk Mill, Lonaconing, Maryland
246/365 Shuttered for history more than half a century ago, this once thriving manufacturing plant showcases spools of forgotten silk that hint of the finest cloth made here years ago. American greatness abandoned…
245/365 I met her in the market. At once a pleasant contradiction. Lively colored shirt, a modest smile for the camera. Her skin a likely roadmap to her life. A hard life of struggle, just getting by? Or a woman of leisure enjoying the warmth of too much sun? Ageless she is. Like so much of Cuba - a land of contrast and color.
244/365 Each day, they wait and they watch. These are the women of the walled Italian town, San Gimigano. In the Tuscan hills, not far from Florence in one direction and Siena in the other, this ancient town maintains a well-preserved, yet medieval skyline. The center of town is the Piazza della Cisterna where these women take up their station, engage the passing crowds, absorb the nearby harp music and scout in every direction, not missing a beat. Each day they meet. They watch and wait.
243/365 The total eclipse phase was just about to end. Off the coast of California, the trifecta of lunar eclipses - a Super Blue Blood Moon - hit the pier in Oceanside! A rarity for sure. There was one in 1982 and before that in 1866! Next time it’s in 2037! So - let’s break this down! A lunar eclipse - that’s easy - that’s when the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, hiding the light from the Sun that’s cast on the Moon. A Super Full Moon is somewhat common. It’s when the moon is closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit - in particular within 360,000 km. This one was actually 202km further away - but who’s counting. The last Super Full Moon was August 2022 and the next one is the same time next year. A Blue Moon - now Elvis made that famous. It’s the second full moon of a calendar month. And finally a Blood Moon drifts into the science of bending light rays. The Moon appears reddish - or blood-reddish - due to the scattering of light, particles and the wavelength of radiation - all called the Rayleigh Scattering Effect. It’s the same reason that sunsets are so beautifully orange. This eclipse started just before 3am and wrapped up around 8am.
242/365 It was late in the day as the bridge from Memphis carried us across the “Mighty Mississipp” into Arkansas. The forest-rich land of Tennessee now gave way thousands of acres of harvested farm country. Dust from a tractor tilling the earth now rose into the haze that hung over middle America, heated by the sun, still high in the sky. Soon we’d be in Little Rock, home to a civil rights landmark Central High School and Brown vs Board of Education.
241/365 In the Old Town section of Marblehead, houses along State Street shine with a rainbow of colors. Natives refer to that area of Marblehead as “Downtown”. “Old Town” is a term mostly used by real estate brokers to describe the larger area of town built-up before the Civil War. State St. is one of several streets that benefited from a big project to bury the electric and telephone wires. The downhill end of State St. meets Front St. at the Town Landing. There is a drain which runs under State St. to the harbor; it runs in an easement to the Town granted by one Elbridge Gerry, who was a local bigwig and politician, present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence (but refused to do so himself), and was also, a Governor of Massachusetts. Gerry was the 5th Vice President, serving under James Madison, and most notably was responsible for the term "gerrymandering"!
Northside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
240/365 The train tracks edged their way through downtown to finally cut a channel through the park on the “Northside”. What seemed at once so out of place brings a calm and hidden Hallmark beauty to the park. Golden ginkgos lined the tops of the walls, hiding the channel from view. Autumn leaves drifted softly down as they settled across the tracks. Aging cement walls painted with algae and leeching limestone provide safe harbor to trains as they continue their lumbering journey northward.
Near Paradise, South Island, New Zealand
239/365 Not far from Paradise on the South Island, and with Isengard in our sites, we headed south toward Queenstown. We had emerged from the a more forested and remote area. Pasture lands, bounded by the nearby mountains, opened up before us and welcomed sheep to graze. Far up ahead, snow-capped mountain peaks caught the late day sun, signaling that daytime would soon be coming to a close. Sunset wasn’t that far behind.
238/365 Leave no footprints. No cars, no motorcycles, no trucks. The road along the port harbor is empty and quiet now. Night has taken over. The street lamps guarding the roadway wash the sidewalks and street in an eerie-colored light . A couple returning from the night’s activities slips through the dead of night, slowly biking along the harbor’s edge. Leave no footprints…
237/365 Just before the depths of winter, Mother Nature gives us a show to remember, a reason to return. The warmth of her autumn colors carries us though the stark months. Her artistry paints the forests and reminds us there will be better days.
236/365 Morning has broken… That moment when the dark of night gives way to day’s first light. When the first light of day reaches over the edge to the future. When the future is ours to create. A time to let go of yesterday and renew, refresh and begin again. We own this moment. Embrace it.