Framing My Travels

Dear you,

Good journalists, lawyers and scholars all know that there's a moment at which one must cut off the research process and start writing. There's a reason for this: you can research forever and never put that research to use. Each new discovery prompts new questions about the context of whatever was discovered. You have to constrain your research, or all you'll do is dig.

Still, I've not quite finished wading through the information I'll need to tell Mel's story the way I want (though I'm starting to see the shore). Moreover, when I was at the Library of Congress in March, I only had so much time to work (and I'll have to go back to the National Archives, as I've discussed before). Fortunately, many Library of Congress materials concerning notable figures have been microfilmed and made available for inter-library loan. That means I can request some materials to view at my own library, on my own schedule. That's why yesterday I was in a crowded reading room on the second floor of the central branch of the Multnomah County Library reading a Roosevelt Administration cabinet member's once-secret communications. While I scrolled the microfilm,a man behind me studied old Oregon newspapers, some middle-aged guys at the other end of the table played video games on laptops, and dozens of people with nowhere else to go spent the day studying newspapers, finishing homework and grooming themselves in the building's restrooms. It was a jarring departure from the cloistered, high-security research facilities at which I've spent much of my Spring, but this space is these people's space as much as it is mine.

In any case, it was exciting to do real book work with the added knowledge I now know who's going to publish it. Oh, how I thrive on deadlines, and I'm loving the idea of setting a schedule to finish this book. I bet it will feel much like the training schedules I used to run my first and second marathon last year. Those schedules nourished me because I'm so used to, and tired of, my unconstrained freelance life as it seeps and leaks without form or direction.

As much as I have to corral my writing and my research, I find if I have a camera in my hand instinct takes over. When I travel — whether across the country or across the city — I begin to see potential photographs framed everywhere I look. It's a delicate approach; one doesn't want to miss the moment in the search for memories of the moment. What's more? Some moments are meant to be transitory, to be fully experienced, not boxed by lenses and mirrors. Still, I've been enjoying photography as a counterpoint to my writing, and, since I often travel alone, the chance to share what I see with people I wish could be there with me (by the way, are you following me on Instagram?). Friends and family who know me as a writer often tell me they're surprised to see how many photos I've taken. I don't pretend to be as great a photographer as many of my friends (check out the work of my Salt Institute collaborator Whitney Fox, or my old friend Jennifer Livia, to see what real pros can do), but photography is an ever-growing, ever-improving pursuit of mine, and I'm proud of what I have done so far. Some of the things I see stick with me, like the above photo, which I took in December, 2011, while dog-sitting for some friends who lived near Portland State University. I think you might enjoy some of what I've shot before, which you can do by clicking the "photography" link in the portfolio section of my main web site.

Okay, enough shameless marketing, but know that I want you to see the photos because I want you to know a little bit about me. I'd love to know a little bit more about you. What passions do you want to share?

Envisioning you,

-Bill

Oh, the Places You'll Go - Picture of the Day

Torrey Pines State Reserve as seen from a bus stop in Del Mar, California. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

Yesterday, you may have read my post about the costs and toll book-related research takes. If you haven't yet, please do, and if you like it, or me, or the project I'm working on please click the contribution button and share a few dollars with me. 

But today, when I started my research day, I was twice reminded why I can't complain too much. First, the photo above was where I waited for the bus. I'm staying with family up Highway 101 from the UCSD campus. I couldn't even really complain that the bus was significantly late.

Then I ended up here:

The Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

That's the Geisel Library at UCSD. It's the home of the Mandeville Special Collections, where I've been examining the papers of Frank Tillman Durdin and Peggy Durdin, who were friends of Mel's in China  and Australia. But that's not why I'm sharing it right now. Rather, I was excited to discover as I walked through the library a wealth of artifacts from Dr. Seuss, AKA Theodore Seuss Geisel, who made the library possible. 

This is one of the perks of research. While it may take quite a while to recognize where my research is taking me, the unexpected finds and things I see along the way make the journey a pleasant one.

Oh, the places you'll go.

Reflecting on Portland - Photo of the Day

Leaves strewn across a puddle at the intersection of W Burnside and NW Park Ave. in Downtown Portland, Ore. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

Downtown Portland, as seen by foot and puddle. Like what you see? Visit my photoshelter page to see more and order prints of your favorite shots. And don't forget that you can always support my work here and follow me on Instagram and Twitter.

Opening Up To Spring - Photo of the Day

Poppy in bloom. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

Like what you see? Purchase prints, mugs and other items here. Prefer writing or radio? Browse my portfolio, check out my blog, or learn about the book I'm working on. Want to buy me a coffee? Donate a buck (or more) here.

Transit Modality Decision Overload - Picture of the Day

A plethora of transit options at the South Waterfront campus of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. (Photo by Bill Lascher).

Like what you see? Purchase prints, mugs and other items here. Prefer writing or radio? Browse my portfolio, check out my blog, or learn about the book I'm working on. Want to buy me a coffee? Donate a buck (or more) here.

Descending into Kaupo Gap - Photo of the Day

Two hikers descend into Kaupo Gap at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui, Hawai'i. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

Two hikers descend into Kaupo Gap at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui, Hawai'i in today's photo of the day. Like what you see? Visit my photoshelter page to see more and order prints of your favorite shots. And don't forget that you can always support my work here and follow me on Instagram and Twitter. 

Picture of the Day Starts With a Glance of L.A.

Frank Gehry's iconic style shines through the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. (Photo by Bill Lascher).

Did you know that aside from my writing I shoot many of my own photographs? Beginning today, I'm going to resume regularly sharing examples of my photography. Like what you see? Visit my photoshelter page to see more and order prints or digital copies of your favorite shots. And don't forget that you can always support my work here and follow me on Instagram and Twitter.