One Friday in Retirement

As I was perusing Tim Ernst’s website this morning, I discovered on this page a photo of what I think was the Roadtrek RV I saw sitting in the Coronado Center parking lot yesterday morning.  I remarked to my sister-in-law that, not long ago, I’d explored getting a Roadtrek.  She laughed, giving me an incredulous look.  My wife did not come to my rescue, confirming the seriousness with which we had considered matter; I will assume she did not hear me.

We were at the Coronado Center for the HSV Audubon Society meeting, featuring a presentation by Tim Ernst.  Neighbors had commented about him, saying his books of Arkansas natural settings were wonderful.  And now I can say it: Tim Ernst is a spectacularly good nature photographer.  His night photography is stunning.  People familiar with his work (he has published a number of books of photography) probably do not need me to tell them he’s good.

Yesterday was his first presentation of a new program called Arkansas Nightscapes, a slide show companion to his new book of the same title.  He is an avid outdoorsman, in addition to being a remarkable photographer, which helps him capture his photos.  Some of the subjects of his photographs require extensive hiking and climbing through rough terrain in very desolate places.  For his latest book, much of that hiking and climbing took place at night, with little or no light to guide him, save for the moon and the stars (which, by the way, as his photographs illustrate, can provide quite a lot of light to the camera with long exposure settings)

We followed up on the Tim Ernst program with lunch at Riverside Grocery in Benton, where we took advantage of the fact that it was Friday, the only day the combo gas station-convenience store-restaurant serves catfish.  Then, last night, we went to the Woodlands Auditorium to see and hear Pete Peterkin’s show, in which his quite good impersonations of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, et al were impressive.

It was a full day, indeed.  Today and tomorrow, I must force myself to practice reading poetry in preparation for Wednesday’s performance at Maxine’s.

 

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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