The Mayan End of the World: The Perfect Subject for Photography and a Drink

My best friend, Dubs McClusky was at the house the other day.  Dubs is really more than a friend: he's a confidant, someone I can trust with my darkest secrets (he thinks a dark secret is one you tell at night); he's someone who will keep refilling his glass with my most expensive single malt whiskey without feeling the need to ask for permission about something so trifling.  I've known Dubs for more than twenty years, and if nothing else he's consistent (especially with my single malt).  Not being a photographer himself, he always tries to say something nice about my work, despite the fact that there's not an artistic bone in his body.

"I love your pictures, but they would look so much better in color.  You know, color pictures are just so much more colorful."

Worshiping the Maximon by Tom Bell.  Copyright 2012.  All rights reserved.  The Maximon embodies Mayan mysticism.  By the way, this one's in color for Dubs.

"It's a matter of preference, Dubs.  Some people really love black and white images."

"I know, but they stopped making movies in black and white because people like 'em in color more."  He poured another glass and looked silently pass me for far too long.

"Something wrong, Dubs?"

"I'm worried, Tom," he lamented.  "They're saying the end of the world's only a month away."  He took a big gulp and stared deeply into his glass. "You know about that Mayan end-of-the-world stuff, don't you?  I mean your wife is from Guatemala and speaks Spanish and stuff."

"Right, Dubs.  I also have some friends who are archaeologists.  They say there's nothing to worry about."

I saw a glimmer of hope in Dubs' eyes.  "You know I saw a Three Stooges where the guys were archaeologists.  They found Rootin' Tootin's mummy."  He smiled deeply as his thoughts went back to the movie short of long ago.

"That was in black and white, by the way," I noted.

Magic by Tom Bell.  Copyright 2012.  All rights reserved.

He nodded, as if I had revealed something important, then he was lost again. "The world can't end before Christmas.  What about the presents!  This Mayan stuff is serious business!  By the way, there's just a little left in the bottle; you don't want any do you?"

I picked up the bottle and poured the rest into his glass.

"You should keep this 15 year old Scotch all the time," he noted.  "Its really good."

"I bet."

"But what if it really is the end of the world?  What then!"

"Well, Dubs, I'm really looking forward to it.  If it's really the end of the world, it's the best event a photographer could hope for."

"What do you mean?"  The confusion on his face intensified.

"Can you imagine having something like that to photograph?," I asked.  "Every photographer in the world will be looking for the best angle, that fine art shot that defines the moment!  It's going to be something great!"

"Huh?"

"Mine will be in black and white!"

"But you said those archaeologists say there's nothing to it."  Dubs was almost in tears.

"What do they know?" I said.

"Really?  But.... you said...."

"I know what I said.  But this is it, Dubs.  My wife told me not to tell you.  But this is it..."

His eyes were huge. "Noooo.  You're just playin' with me aren't you."

"Sorry, Dubs."

Silence.  Dropped jaw. Owl eyes.

"Listen, Dubs, if I were you, I'd enjoy it since there's nothing we can do. Why don't you buy a case of this single malt. Make it a couple of cases and you'll get a discount.  Since you won't have to pay it back, use your credit card and buy a  couple of cases of the 18 year old stock.  I can store it and we can drink to the end of the world anytime you want.  We'll show those archaeologists!"

His mouth was still agape.

I wasn't sure if I should slap him slightly, but I decided to speak instead.  "It's okay, Dubs.  I promise that the last photograph I take as the world ends will be of you."

"Okay," he said after a while. He hesitated, "...but would it be okay if you did it in color?"

You can view my website at: www.tombellart.com

The Mayan Beauty

The image below is one that I shot several years ago.  Another image of the same lady that I shot only a few seconds after this one has won numerous awards; its the photo I use on the entrance page to my website.  However, I recently came across this image in my files and I like it about as much as the one that has received so much attention.  Let me know what you think.

Another version of Mayan Beauty.  I met her when stopped to shoot a waterfall near Panajachel, Guatermala.  Her car had broken down.  Click on the image for a larger view.

My website features this image of Mayan Beauty.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com

More Street Photography - From the Files

The two images below have been on my hard drive unprocess for six years.  I've taken lots of photos of the same lady over the years.  Every time I visit Chichicastenango, she's always on the cathedral steps at pretty much the same place.    When I'm bored, I go back to the files to see if there's something that has potential.    These two images fit that category.

Flower vendor.  Chichicastenango, Guatemala. You can click on the photos for a larger view.

Flower Vendor.  Chichicastenango, Guatemala.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com
 

Antigua Cathedral - Another One from the Files

When I haven't been doing much photography, I sometimes go back through my archives to see if there's a photo I missed, one that I never processed to bring it to its full potential.  Here's one that I shot back in 2005.  It sat on a hard drive until today.

Antigua Cathedral, across from the Central Plaza.  Antigua, Guatemala.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com

Magic

I'm a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).  I was surprised to receive an email yesterday morning from the NAPP saying that my photo Magic was chosen as the Image of the Week.  It depicts a Mayan Indian woman performing an arcane ritual in Chichicastenango, Guatemala.  She is surrounded by misty, white smoke from others also performing magic rituals on the steps of the cathedral only a few feet away.  Chichicastenango is indeed a very mysterious place and avery special place for photographers.

I was also contacted by the editor of Photoshop User magazine about the possible inclusion of the photograph in an upcoming issue.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com. 

From my Website to Bauhaus and Back!

Last week, I totally redesigned my website.  The idea was to provide an attractive, user-friendly gallery.  The site skipped the homepage altogether and went directly to the gallery.

My original homepage design is back!

After multiple questions about what happened to my old homepage, it's back!  The gallery is still new and far more user-friendly than the previous one, but the classic look of the original homepage is back.  I agree with the complainers:  the old homepage still works best as a gateway to the new gallery.

Let me know what you think.

http://www.tombellart.com/

From My Website to Bauhaus

I'll keep this post short.

I've totally redesigned my website. 

Please check it out and let me know what you think.

My website is at: http://www.tombellart.com 

Paintings of Antigua, Guatemala

I though I'd post a few more paintings from my recent trip to Guatemala.  You can click on the images for a larger view.  Navigate between the images with the left and right arrow keys. Press the escape key to return to the blog screen.

Agua Volcano from Antigua, Guatemala.

Cart, Hotel Quinta de las Flores.  Antigua, Guatemala.

Antique Chair.  Hotel Quinta de las Flores, Antigua, Guatemala.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com

Another Pacific Painting

I just though I'd share another of the photo paintings from my most recent trip to the Pacific coast of Guatemala.  My daughter wanted to practice gymnastics on the black sand beach.  I had my camera in hand. 

It is another print that will look great when printed to canvas.

For those of you who regularly read my blog, most of my posts are about fine art photography.  However, it's important to stay creative and try different things.  A photo painting might be just the thing to fill your creative need as you're waiting to find the perfect subject for your next fine art shot.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com

Painting a Pacific Sunset

I didn't do a great deal of fine art photography on our vacation to Guatemala over the Christmas break.  We spent about six day between the holidays on the Pacific coast, where most of my photos were of family,  ocean sunsets, and relaxing around the pool.  However, some of the photos, especially the sunsets were spectacular.  I decided to have a go at painting some of the sunsets:

My son with some of his cousins on the black sand beach.  Click on the image for greater detail.

Pacific coast after sunset.  The black sand is volcanic.  Click on the image for greater detail.

 I just goes to show that you should bring your camera even when photography isn't the primary objective.  These paintings should look great on canvas!

If you're in to mysteries and the amazing, you might enjoy the previous entry from my blog:
Mystery of the Miracle Frisbee, an event that took place on the very beaches you see above during our vacation.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

Mystery of the Miracle Frisbee

The story below is absolutely true.  My family and I were there and experienced this first-hand.  It is not the type of material you find in my typical blog entry.  However, it is too good not to share.  Please post your thoughts at the bottom of this page.  Share this with anyone you think might enjoy it or get caught up in the mystery.

What do you call it when something beyond understanding occurs -- something that defies all odds? Is it a paranormal event?  A coincidence of unimaginable proportions?  Magic?  Or is it a miracle? And what if you can prove to yourself and others that it really happened because you were there and you took photographs!  This incident concerns nothing more elaborate than a Frisbee, but it is mystifying, nevertheless.

My wife’s family is from Guatemala.  My wife, our two children, and I live in Illinois and sometimes visit her family in Central America over the holidays.  This year, we, along with most of my wife’s large family, spent the week after Christmas at my sister-in-law’s beach house on the Pacific coast of Guatemala.

My daughter practicing her gymnastics on the black sand beach.

Every day, my wife’s younger brother, Gonzalo, would run out to the volcanic black sand with his Frisbee and toss it along the beach or over the waves and let the wind return it to him.  Two days before New Year’s, as my children and some of the cousins played on the beach, I took my camera and photographed him exercising with the white disc.

My brother-in-law, Gonzalo, running on the beach with his Frisbee.  Notice the design of the Frisbee on the inset.

Later in the evening, my wife, Maria, and I, Gonzalo, his wife, Marta Yolanda,  and the children went down to the beach to catch the sunset.  The children built a castle in the sand.  Maria, Marta Yolanda, and I stood and watched the progress of the castle building activities, while Gonzalo launched his Frisbee toward the waves.  I took several photographs.  Several times, the Frisbee landed on the water and was returned in the waves.  Everyone was having a great time, until my brother-in-law made a bad toss.  He groaned as the Frisbee went into the waves and was not immediately returned on the surf.

The children made a sand castle, while my brother-in-law (far right) played with his Frisbee.

“It’s gone,” he said.

“Give it a minute, and maybe the waves will bring it back,” I suggested.

“No, Tom, I don’t think it’s coming back,” he sighed, as we all peered into the dark waves, hoping that he might be wrong.

After another half minute, I pointed into the surf as a white object came into view. 
“There it is,” I yelled.  The Frisbee washed directly to my wife’s feet and hit her on the shins.  She walked over and handed it to her brother.

He took the disc happily, but after only a moment said, “This isn’t my Frisbee.”

We all looked at him. 

“My Frisbee was red on top.   This one’s black.”

“That has to be your Frisbee,” I said.

“Maybe it had a sticker on it that came off in the water,” my wife suggested.

“No,” Gonzalo insisted.  “Mine was a pure white.  This is pearl colored.”

“That has to be your Frisbee,” I said.   “If it’s not, whose is it?  And how is it possible that it washed up at our feet just as we were looking for a Frisbee?  How many times have you ever had a Frisbee wash up at your feet, let alone when you’re looking for one?”

“Never,” he answered.

“And how many times have you ever just found a Frisbee on the beach?”

“Never.”

“Then how is it possible that this isn’t your Frisbee?

“I don’t know,” he answered.  “It just doesn’t look like my Frisbee.”  It was obvious that my logic had convinced him to give up his argument.

We watched another dramatic Pacific sunset, and then returned to the house to have dinner and rest for New Year’s Eve.

It wasn’t until the next morning when I was looking at some of my photos on the LCD screen of my camera that I realized I had shots from before the Frisbee was lost.  I quickly found the photos and zoomed in on one where the design on the Frisbee was plainly visible.

There was no doubt.  It was not the same Frisbee.  The photographs plainly show a Frisbee with a very different graphic design.  If not for the photographs, we all would have given up on the notion that one disc had been thrown into the ocean and a different disc returned.  It was just too difficult to believe.  But that’s exactly what happened:  one Frisbee was thrown into the ocean, only to be replaced by a different one a moment later.

The Frisbee that returned in the waves (center) and the Frisbee that was thrown into the ocean (inset).

I have no explanation.  Something very strange happened.  I don’t know how or why.  Maybe it was nature’s way of assuring us that miracles can and do happen.  If something with odds this impossible can take place, it can happen again.  And maybe next time, the miracle will be something that will change someone’s life for the better.  Maybe next time we’ll believe the impossible really can happen.  It’s already happened once.  It can happen again.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com.

September Pollux Awards - WPGA - FINE ART

I just received word that my photograph "Antigua Window" won first place in the fine art category of the September Pollux awards.

Congratulations to all the winners.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com.

Hope for Tomorrow

I am donating a couple of photographs and a couple of my paintings for a very important, very special event.  They will be auctioned to help children.

One of the photographs you can bid on. (16X20).  Signed by the artist.

 One of my paintings (16X20)

On Sunday, October 16, an event to help Guatemalan orphans will be held in my area (Southern Illinois). The Hope for Tomorrow Children’s Home in Guatemala will hold a fundraiser at the Walker's Bluff Vineyard (Reed Station Rd.) between Noon and 6PM. If you’re already in the area, it will be worth the trip. If you live several hundred miles away, it would be a great excuse to visit Southern Illinois’ famous wine trail and beautiful vineyards. Don’t forget your camera gear. If you can come, I will see you there.

I can already tell you that my artwork is worth many thousands of dollars, maybe millions.  However, I'll bet that you can get it for a lot less, although I hope you'll bid as much as you can -- afterall, it's to help children who can really use your help.  A friend of mine, also a fine photographer and artist, Steve McLaughlin, is also donating one of his paintings. His artwork is worth billions.  I hope you'll believe all that I'm telling you because children are at stake. However, his artwork has truly inspired me, and if you get his painting, you'll be very lucky, indeed.

Please take a look at this article in The Southern Illinoian about the Hope for Tomorrow Children's Home.

If, however, you’re not able to attend, please consider a tax deductable donation to this very worthy cause. Also, consider sponsoring a child. Check out the Hope for Tomorrow Children’s Home website and you’ll understand the importance of the cause and also that this is a legitimate charity that will make a real difference in the lives of children. Information on helping can be found within the website.

You can view my website at: http://www.tombellart.com/.

International Photo Award Honorable Mentions

I recieved word that I recieved four honorable mentions in the 2011 International Photography Awards.  Congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions.  My honorable mentions are below.

One of five photos from the series "Mayan Women."

One of two photos from the series "Holy Cross Chapel, Slovakia."



One of five photos from the series "Views of Antigua."

One of one photos: "The Bus Esmeralda."

See all the winners at: http://www.photoawards.com/.

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com/.

2nd WPGA Black & White Awards

I was surprised to learn that I have received  First, Second, and Third place awards in the Worldwide Photographic Gala Awards (WPGA)  2nd Edition B&W Photography Awards.  Additionally, there was also a Special Mention of the Jury.

 Loyal readers of my blog will remember the very first photo I ever published on this blog back in November of 2009.  In my first entry Learning Photoshop and my Dog have a Lot in Common, I wrote a sort-of-true story about my dog, Mr. Watson. The photo posted along with it was the one that won first place in the category of Animals and Wildlife.  Upon seeing the photo, a professional photographer wrote to me: "I feel I can communicate with this animal from his portrait."  Needless to say, you can see the intelligence in his eyes.  For more on that, be sure to read the 2009 entry.


Mr. Watson.  First Place in Animals and Wildlife category

The other two winners are a landscape and a street scene I photographed several years ago in Slovakia.  I waited until last year to process the images as black & white photographs.

Old Bratislava Street.  Second Place in Cityscapes and Street Photography category.

Holy Cross Chapel Landscape.  Third place in Landscape category.

The Special Mention of the Jury was the Arch of Santa Catalina in Antigua, Guatemala.

Arch of Santa Catalina, Guatemala.  Special Mention of the Jury (Cityscapes).

Congratulations to all the winners.  You can see them here.

My website is at:  http://www.tombellart.com/.

PX3 - People's Choice Award

I just received word that my "Mayan Women" series won 2nd place in the Portrait category of the Prix de la Photographie, Paris (PX3) People's Choice Awards.  Congratulations to all the winners.

You can see all the People's Choice Award winners at:  http://px3.fr/winners/2011/public.php

My website is at:  http://www.tombellart.com/

PX3 - Views of Antigua, Guatemala

UPDATE:  I just learned that eight other entries are also official selections, in addition to the series below.

I was pleased to learn this morning that the jurors of the Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3), have named my Views of Antigua series as a "Px3 Official Selection for 2011."  The jury's final selection will be announced next week.

You can find the Px3 at px3.fr. 

My website is at: tombellart.com.

A Summer Art Exhibition

This summer, if you happen to be in Southern Illinois, you can see a couple of my photographic prints at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mt. Vernon.  Antigua Garden and Holy Cross Chapel, Slovakia will be on display as part of the Southern Illinois Artrists Open Competition.  My photographs will be among 62 works featured.  The show will consist of paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, etc., in addition to photographs.  The exhibition is August 6 - October 28, 2011.  The exhibition preview and awards ceremony is August 6 at 6:30 pm.


Antigua Garden

Holy Cross Chapel, Slovakia

Another of my photographys, Arch of Santa Catalina, Guatemala was recognized last week with a second place win in the April Pollux Awards.

Arch of Santa Catalina, Guatemala



Now that it's summer, it's time to capture more images....

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com/.

WPGA Pollux Awards Announced

I was pleased to learn that my portfolio of Guatemala portraits won first place in the non-professional division of the Worldwide Photographic Gala Awards/Pollux Awards.

There were 18,912 entries from 65 countries.  Congratulations to all of the winners and honorable mentions.

The winners announcement can be seen at:  http://www.thegalaawards.net/announcements/2010-pollux-awards-awardees

You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com/.

Children are the Best Photographic Subjects

Most of the time, I don't really want people staring into the lens of my camera.  With children, it doesn't really matter -- because you get an honest image that tells something about the subject.  My example is below:  Mayan Indian children at a rural school in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.  As school children, they are curious as school children should be.  Their curiosity is reflected in every face.  Who is this with a camera?  What is he doing at my school?  What is this all about?  Why is he taking our picture?

Click on the photo for a larger image.

I'm very pleased with the above photograph, not because it's technically a masterpiece or anywhere close -- but it tells a great story-- an after all, isn't that what photography is about?


You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com/.