To The Lighthouse

"So fine was the morning except for a streak of wind

here and there that the sea and sky looked all one fabric."

-- Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse

Huron Lighthouse 12-14-14

"He heard her in his heart -- whispering from the mist."

-- John Geddes, A Familiar Rain

There is a lighthouse in my town.

It's a perfectly fine, serviceable lighthouse situated on the south shore of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Huron River. It is a functioning lighthouse that guides pleasure boaters and fisherman into the local marinas, and giant freight ships to the limestone plant.

Our lighthouse is kind of an icon around here. It shows up in logos. Businesses use it in their advertising. The Chamber of Commerce pimps it out in brochures and shit like that. Tourists take pictures of it. Local artists paint it. Blah, blah, blah.

I used to go running out on the elevated cement walkway that leads to the lighthouse from the shore. But it's been years since I went out there for a look.

No reason, really. I haven't been avoiding the lighthouse. I haven't been shunning it. I just don't think about it.

Some people go all gaga for lighthouses. They paint pictures of lighthouses and photograph lighthouses and embroider lighthouses onto sweatshirts.

I don't know. I guess I'm kind of over it. I'm pretty fucking blasé about lighthouses. If you've see it once, you've seen it a million times, right? Do I really need to see it again?

From an artistic subject matter standpoint, lighthouses seem too predictable, too sentimental, too obvious.

Anyway, yesterday I said "fuck you" to my cynical lighthouse apathy, turned left instead of right, and walked to the damn lighthouse. I even took some pictures.

The cold air and the mist felt good on my skin.

The solitude of being out there where nobody else was felt good in my soul.

The lighthouse looked decidedly lovely through the camera's lens.

It was one of those drizzly, monochromatic days, where everything goes all soft and misty. A day rendered in gray tones. Like England.

There were tons of screaming, squawking seagulls flying around lending dynamic movement to the otherwise static nature of the scene.

There was texture. There was atmosphere.

I don't mind saying I got kind of into it. I was out there shooting photos until my fingers went numb and I had to put my mittens back on.

Walking back towards shore, I realized that even though I've seen the lighthouse and multitudinous images of it, I have never seen it through my own camera's lens.

I've seen other people's images, but never made my own.

It opened my eyes and gave me a fresh perspective on what I thought was a stale, tired old subject.

It's a good thing I made that left turn.

It's A Good Thing I Had My Camera With Me

"Swimsuit season may be over and many of you will be growing your winter coat,

but what if you get that last minute chance to go to Hawaii or the Bahamas?

What are you going to do?

You certainly don't want to look like a Sasquatch in your swimsuit."

-- CajunMama, TravelingMamas.com

Sasquatch (Vermilion, OH) 7-21-14

So I was on a motorcycle ride in Vermilion, Ohio, and I just happened to have my camera in the saddlebag when I spotted this sexy Sasquatch in a red bikini standing alongside the road.

So of course I stopped to take its picture, because, well, that's just what you do when you have a camera and you spot a Sasquatch in a red bikini standing alongside the road. You don't just pass that shit up.

The other side of Sasquatch, 7-21-14

So I was snapping away and a guy walked up to me:

Him: (pointing) There's an even bigger one over there.

Me: Is it wearing a bikini?

Him: No.

Me: Not interested. But this is funny as hell. It kind of makes my day.

Him: Yeah. The owner goes to Brazil every year and buys all kind of bikinis. The last one was green. But it fell off.

Me: Well, it's a good thing he had an extra one.

And P.S. -- Who walks into a swimsuit shop in Brazil and says "I need to buy a few bikinis for my Sasquatch." Maybe it doesn't sound so weird in Portuguese.

Anyway, I thought Miss Thang looked fly in her itsy bitsy teenie weenie bikini -- well-toned, muffin top under control. She was showing maybe just a little too much coin slot, but otherwise, she looked good.

Oh, and she could definitely use a good waxing.

I'd suggest a Brazilian.