MICHAEL SNYDER PHOTOGRAPHY

A Cold Full Moon at Lowry Park Zoo during their Wild Wonderland.

The Window

By Michael Snyder

 

The first day I saw the window it beckoned me: “sit here”.

White wooden frame, glass wavy with its age.

As I sat, the view pulled me

into a time past and present.

Write me a poem.

 

Outside the window the elder Oak tree welcomes

my gaze. Leaves in shades of light and dark green

bouncing in sunlight, waving with a breeze,

swaying with mesmerizing motion.

 Dance with me.

 

Below, the red brick drive recalls a time long gone

as a new BMW, ignoring the STOP sign, drives on.

Students of all ages and nationalities pass by, smiling,

laughing and bustling in the sunlight.

Walk with me.

 

The quiet images flicker like silent movies of yesterday.

The soundtrack is Silence, the unspoken language.

 Leaves dance, cars drive, people walk

in silence. I can hear it whispering:

Listen with me.

 

I cannot smell the gardenia’s sweet scent, nor

the night blooming jasmine’s fragrance filling the twilight

air, signaling the impending sunset. Light begins

to fade, colors change to red and orange on the leaves.

Savor with me.

 

Through the looking glass are ladies in Victorian dresses,

men in top hats and coats. Trains in the distance, boats

on the river, horses and carriages on the brick drive.

This window sees it all.

Watch with me.

 

How many students sat where I now dream?

What memories do they hold? Class is ending,

the sun has set. I now write my poem,

looking through the window as it softly says:

Remember.

Santiago my partner and his beautiful Monzter. Although Monzter will always be with us, our hearts will always be with him. Enjoy running free Monzter.

On October 27th at 7pm MOSI will host the Hispanic Scientist of the year Award Gala. The 2012 Honoree is  Nora D. Volkow, M.D. The Director of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  MOSI is an amazing science center, and if you have not had a chance to see it, you should. Go to their website and get your tickets to this years GALA http://www.mosi.org/national-hispanic-scientist-of-the-year.aspxt  “Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver…in the end, the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own.”  Quote by – Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

The Florida Museum of Photographic Art, FMoPA, had an all day photo shoot to capture images of the Tampa Bay area from 00:01 am to 12:59 pm September 22, 2012. All photos are submitted to FMoPA for possible publication in a Time Capsule book “One Day Tampa Bay”. Hopefully I can get two photos included. The Photos in the Events folder are some I did not submit. After the announcement of the selected images I will post the images I submitted. It was a long, but awesome day.

New Florida Wrestling in Lakeland Florida. After an invitation to take some photographs by FLEX Tolley, was honored to do some head shots and action shots for NFW and some other participants. Have a look at the shots in the Wrestling tab and visit NFW at http://newfloridawrestling.webs.com . Great night and looking forward to another visit.

The Tampa Club opened it’s doors to me last night to do some photography high atop the Bank of America Building in downtown Tampa. The Tampa Club occupies the 41st and 42nd floors and has outstanding views. You will find in the Places section some of the shots and later I will be returning after finding some new techniques to taking photo’s inside looking out. Happy Holidays and Thank You to Barry Shields and his staff that were very considerate and gave me open access to take these photographs I hope you will enjoy.

Santiago Echeverry performing as Edwardo at the Annual Meeting for the National Performance Network at the Straz Center in Tampa Florida. Edwardo is an illegal immigrant trying to survive in an intolerant world, burning quite a few ghosts from his past. http://santi.tv/edwardo

My beautiful new Grandson, born September 20th, born in the Tampa Bay area of beautiful Florida. You are sure to see more pictures in the Portrait section coming soon.

On a beautiful October afternoon we took a ride out to Picnic Island Park in Tampa Florida to watch the sunset. This picture jumped out at me with the color and silhouette of the people fishing. There is another picture in the Places Gallery of the sunset with the silhouette of my partner Santiago. If you have not been to a sunset in Florida or if you have not ventured out to Picnic Island Park do not miss this beautiful experience.