Images by Michael Parks http://1photomike.smugmug.com/gallery/3392044_dzGEd/ Hello World! Here is an array of images from photo shoots that show some of the wonderful people I have been blessed to work with through the years and how I view my subjects and was able to capture those moments.When I travel weather in California in the mountains, or among the many Trees that our state is known for in the many districts and counties, or in other states of the US when I see a "Kodak moment" you better believe my camera is in position snapping up that great "photo op". I have found when I experience the beauty of nature and the culture and technology of modern civilization, I find myself captivated and before I know it my jaw has dropped and I'm reaching for my old trusty Minolta 35mm and making sure the right lens is on to capture the scene just as I see it, because to me "A great picture is worth more than a thousand words. I grew up in the East Bay Area (Oakland/SF) and at the age of fourteen while working at the Oakland Lake Merritt Park and Garden center a Photographer asked me if he could take some pictures of some the flowers in our garden center; and my response to myself was"why would anyone want to take snapshots of some flowers?" He must have noticed my look of "OK, whatever" and then showed me a few of his breathtakingly beautiful slides of the flowers he had taken from all fifty states in the US, and from other parts of the world. I didn't realize at the time how that encounter with that old man with those remarkable images of God's creation that lead me to never see the so called simple things in life the same, now I view them as Magnificent Masterpieces of the creations of a loving God who through the natural world we see the beauty of his love. In some of the most architectural wonders of the world, the High rises of Yesterday as well as Today's; you will find where the decorators have commissioned Artist with the brush, the camera or other forms of art who have been influenced by the beauty of nature. When you see see art in the purest forms what do you feel? Take time to behold and enjoy nature while we have it and during our brief stay on earth to enjoy it! "Who is pushing up daisies" Not to make lite of our demise, but we are a part of nature. Our lives are precious and yet so fragile and it seems some of us are like the hare, as in the story of the Hare and the Turtle. Mr. Hare was always scurrying around doing heaven knows what, and not sticking to what was at hand; always darting here and over there not really ever able to enjoy the places he went for not taking the time experience it fully. Mr. Turtle was well, you remember how he was; taking all day to get to the finish line with each and every step, after still one more step he would eventually make. Actually this is a bad analogy and quite frankly a depressing one to tell the truth, be that as it may, no seriously! When you think about it, but enough about the story, but the point is made, hopefully. Please let us continue to enjoy the beautiful things there are in nature and the ocean and children when they are learning to walk and talk and all those things that make us laugh that they do that years after they pass those ages we can still remember, and it brings a smile to our faces and our hearts. Sometimes negative things happen in life that put our minds in a different place or our reality seems to change if we are not careful; it seems to happen quite often to some people and they take for granted until or unless of course we were never able to because of a difficulty in our lives weather physical or mental which in most cases if the people in the world of substance and influence(the movers and shakers)would choose to use a portion of their substance to help people of unfortunate circumstances as a lot of people are to animals (which is a great and lofty and very important part of preserving nature)and you have children being neglected and abused and peoples lives being torn apart and ripped away from them in every way that one could imagine. Basically a lot of the injustice stems from the result or harvest of generations upon generations of selfishness, greed, the love of money(acquiring more and more and never being satisfied until we have more than the "Jones'") Needless to say the Jones' are trying to do the same thing from our perspective. The truth, in reality, the Jones' are trying to keep up with the Hilton's and Rockefeller's. The fact is 75 years ago a gallon of gasoline was about five cents, 30 years ago about seventy cents, and now here we are in 2008 the upper crust, the upper five percent that control what the rest of us, the ninety-five percent have left(as if our resources were divvied out as such). I am ending this monologue before I get on yet another subject! Thank you for stopping by, show some love to the less fortunate around you. Help stop poverty, one sandwich at a time, one job at a time, one room at a time, one smile at a time, one child support payment (instead of investing only in yourself for your future, think of those wonderful children you helped bring into this hard, cold and rough world) at a time, one act of being responsible one responsibility at a time, one less drink of alcohol before you drive at a time (when you really shouldn't be driving when you've had any), one positive comment instead of a negative one at a time, show Love and not hate one day at a time, be a better parent one day at a time, be a more committed Lover one day at a time, give from your heart love and understanding one day at a time, smile like you mean it one smile at a time. Let us all find ways of being better to ourselves and those we love and those who love us, it is not that hard if we do whatever it is, one at a time. These are the images that I see when I look into the eyes of a person, none of us are perfect and all of us make mistakes,or if we don't we are six feet under; and if we are truthful about mistakes from the past we may not be and should not be happy about, but should not rest there, but be proactive in the solution of being better people, and helping in more constructive ways those who are less fortunate today and as the world catches a glimpse of what it would take to make this world a better place to live and to help people see what that would look like; They would want to kill the person that would dare to make a difference, well I tried to make a point and I think I have made it and when you think about it, it seems as though the world doesn't have any "Home training" Like when children have to be trained to not be selfish, we teach them to share, to not hit each other we teach them to Love, (average) folks to teach them not to be selfish in society you have them pay taxes to where it hurts or is so uncomfortable, (Quiet money) folks the movers and the shakers their legislators and their attorneys find ways to not learn to share, those who we can help to do the same in their lives and not take for granted aspects and issues that need to be dealt with but we can and should make them right, and turn from anything that is not pleasing in the sight of the almighty and the one who Loves us more than we can never fully understand with our finite minds unyielded to the influence of the the omnipotent one. Michael Parks...The Photographer God has blessed me with more than just the ability to photograph..................I will continue to share more of the different ways of expressing my artistic nature, through music and the pen, I am a quiet person, or that is how I started out and I was shy as a real young man, but life teaches us lessons that shape us into the men and women we are today, Yesterday and tomorrow and if we are truthful with ourselves, each other and with our heavenly Father, who knows all and sees all, and from whom there are no secrets and nothing is hid from his eyes and the eyes of the angels, the good (those angels of God that do His biddings and protect us from harm and strengthen us when we are week if we ask for help, they are only a prayer away) Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven...They are doing His will 24 hours a day/7 days a week................................... .......................................and the evil angels http://www.smugmug.com/img/feed-icon.png Fashion Wed, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 -0800 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:33:06 -0700 http://www.smugmug.com/ Copyright 2009, the copyright holder of each photograph. Some portions copyright SmugMug. All rights reserved. http://1photomike.smugmug.com/Fashion/Images-by-Michael-Parks/Model-pics-for-website/189624501_6eGBZ-Ti-3.jpg Images by Michael Parks http://1photomike.smugmug.com/gallery/3392044_dzGEd/