For the Birds

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

Robert Wilson Lynd

seagulls vying for a spot on the top of a lifeguard tower

A mockingbird between songs

Crow trying to out-sing the wind

Morning Coffee

Above me

The mourning dove sings,

the gulls cry out,

the mockingbird proudly

practices drills -

all of them

Unbothered by the disapproving

Clucks and coos of pigeons

Circling on the pavement below .

The herons mind their

Business, not making a sound

Or even acknowledging me

As an egret with a neck so thin

It can barely support his head

Picks his way silently

through the tall grass

And oh- here comes the crow;

my familiar friend

Calling on the wind

reminding me

everywhere i go

I am still home

Night heron watching the water at the marina

Great blue heron on top of the world

a tense green heron fishing

At the edge of the ocean, a crow walked beside me for awhile

A great egret gathering food from the tall grass in the park

Crow flying off a lifeguard tower

The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind.

Carly Simon

Coming from the quiet snowy retreat of my little house in Michigan to bright and noisy Miami Beach was a little bit of a shock to my system. I woke up the entire first week not knowing where I was. But after the initial adjustment, I found my routine here again and more importantly, where to go to be quiet and talk to the birds over morning coffee.

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you soon!

Seagulls watching sunrise

Framing

The magic possibility of framing a certain space and time is what brought me to photography. This process of recording elements of 3 dimensions in the flow of time, and fixing them in a 2 dimensional image, creates a new context for the elements of the photograph.

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

(See his photos)

What seems to hold you

Only frames you fleetingly

You were always free.

I have been thinking about and playing with frames in photographs.

How they can change an ordinary scene into something special.

How they can focus the eye, capture light, create intimacy with the vast.

You have escaped the cage. Your wings are stretched out. Now fly.

Rumi

Maybe this is something you can try yourself, if you’re interested. Go for a walk with your smartphone or camera and look for objects, doorways, fences, holes in walls, forks in trees - anything that you can look through to emphasize your subject beyond, within, or possibly even perched on your chosen frame. I would love to see what you come up with! You can either send it to me directly or just post it and tag me if you’re on Instagram @randomrho.

Thank you so much for being here! I am going to be traveling for the next couple weeks with unknown connectivity- so I might be posting on a slightly wonky schedule - but I’ll see you next week-ish 😊.

Potential frames are everywhere. Green Heron on the ropes at the Miami Beach Marina.

Scenes from a Long Walk

Walking sometimes means undertaking an inner voyage of discovery. You are shaped by buildings, faces, signs, weather and the atmosphere…Walking as a combination of movement, humility, balance, curiosity, smell, sound, light and - if you walk far enough - longing. A feeling which reaches for something, without finding it.

Erling Kagge, from Walking

A seagull flying into the sunrise over the Atlantic

fighting for scraps of food in the air

lizard basking in sunshine on the rocks at the marina

Fish crow gazing into the water of the shipping channel

rock dove perching on a ledge above a small local grocery store

egret fishing in a public fountain.

a single white flower floats on the surface of a pond

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Steven Wright

This was not just a single walk, or even a single day, but in hindsight it felt like one continuous experience. I am on the cusp of a change, trying to decide how and where to focus my time in the near future. I may begin blogging a little less frequently to make space for other work. Decision making is hard. Walking helps.

Thank you for being here.