garrison beau scott

There are things in this life that are inherently good. The last bite of s’more, refrigerator art galleries, cold pillows and heavy blankets, Krazy Fiesta’s remix of Chromeo’s “Me and My Man.”

That shit is dope.

Anyway, so it was that I went off into the 30 degree night, iPod pumping, camera and tri-pod in tow to look for some more inherently cool goodness. And this is what I found.

• Walking alone without a care as to how goofy you look grooving to Krazy Fiesta is inherently good.

• Hand-made wool skullcaps that are big enough to fit over the headphones pumping Krazy Fiesta are inherently good.

• The sight of your breath shrouding the darkened windows of the houses you goofily funk your way past while geeking out to Krazy Fiesta is inherently good.

• Standing alone, in the middle of a frozen field, looking at a massive tree, under a sky of stars, with a camera, tri-pod and Krazy Fiesta pumping in the headphones worn snug under a hand-made wool skullcap as your breath joins the atmosphere, knowing that your pillow at home is cool and the blankets are heavy is inherently good.

This was taken down by the Vltava, right outside of Prague’s city center, on the way to Vysehrad. I didn’t actually see them in use, but I’m assuming that the rings serve to tie up boats, and the ladders serve to allow captains of said boats quicker access to the bars. But again, that’s all an assumption.

But it prompted me to think about things. Life things, and the dichotomy of said life. Something I mentioned a few days back, about the pure bliss of a simple existence, has been brewing in me, and as it happens, my wife. The traveling bug has hit us again and this time very hard. If only because at this point we are helpless to do anything about it. But the bug don’t care about any of that, it just knows the quickest way to your blood and sets its teeth into your flesh while it waves your passport in front of your watering eyes. Boats adrift.

The yang to this yin then, is the tie down. The security of knowing that despite the currents, the winds and any other external forces that might bear down on your vessel, there is a strength that you are tied to, steadfast and true.

When you have children; heath insurance, heating oil, a stocked fridge, all weather tires with a healthy tread, and magical monster dust, are the tie downs you require before you lay your own damn head down at night. There is no drifting when babies are snoring contentedly in rooms down the hall.

I would, at a moment’s notice, give everything for those 2 babies of mine. There’s an amazing line in what I feel is an amazing song by MGMT, “Time to Pretend.”

“This is our decision to live fast and die young
We’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun
Yeah, it’s overwhelming but what else can we do
Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?”

Other than the dying young part, I’m on board. We’re going to need a bigger boat.

It was a crisp, cold morning. Waking up in the hotel room, for the first time on that trip, it felt like winter. We had been lucky with the weather in Prague and Budapest, and other than a rainy day in Vienna, all told we had been blessed with a mild November in Europe. Our first morning in Cesky Krumlov brought a light dusting of snow, and a great breakfast. Again, it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

The morning was simple for the sole reason that all we had to do was exist. Life should be more like that, all the time in fact. Wake up, lounge in bed, eat a great meal, dress appropriately, make sure the cameras have film, and choose a direction. Explore, love, laugh, find a pastry shop and eat whatever your heart directs your finger to point at in case you don’t speak Czech. As long as you learn Prosim (please) and Dekuji (thank you) things will go fine, just remember to order coffee with those pastries.

Belly full, new friends made, promises to never forget and off to make more pictures. Simple. The way it should be.

Anne over at Ample Sanity is a pretty cool soul. Besides being a friend of this site, she’s also got a perspective on things that you don’t find everyday. And did I mention her impeccable taste?

When I started this blog, I had no idea who would come. I have been very lucky to form some friendships with other photographers, and through mutual appreciation of work, I’ve been given the chance to see some great imagery and share some of mine.

I am in no way qualifying the contributions of others, as I deeply appreciate everyone’s kind thoughts when they are so moved to speak about my pictures. I’m just pointing out that it has been Anne’s words that have taught me the most about my own photography.

And what I mean by that, is I had thought the series of pictures I made at Bowdoin College, while pretty cool if I don’t say so myself, were just images of some goal posts on an athletic field, it was Anne who opened my mind to the possibility that they were much more.

A friend of mine in college wanted frogs in her backyard. She built a pond. I asked her how she knew frogs would come. She told me they always do, just build a pond. Sure enough, a few months later, she had frogs. Much in the same way the 1919 Chicago White Sox materialized out of an Iowa cornfield.

So, it’s come to this. I have a goal. I am building it. The voices in my head have yet to make their presence known, but I have a feeling they’re just biding their time, and I want to avoid them at all costs. Unless they sound like Jerry Garcia and play a mean Dire Wolf.

My goal, is to write and direct for film.

No…not the movie, or the main combatant for the Predator. Actual aliens. If the stereotypical image of them; skinny elongated bodies, large heads, is true to form, and the state of things with the majority of this populace continues on its trajectory, would anyone be surprised to stumble across E.T. asking this lamppost for its leader?