Scott Newton Photo

I only have a few images up in my house; I like to keep my walls uncluttered with yesterday’s images and ready for tomorrow’s, I suppose… ….but this one is up in my bedroom to remind me of how I felt the first time I glimpsed the little temple at the end of the path in the humid jungle air of Palenque. It feels like you can see past eons and epochs as your eyes peel back the layers, every step of the way. Built during the time of the great Pacal, this structure has seen over twelve centuries trek by, one of the oldest extant buildings in the Western Hemisphere. You can feel the ancient Mayans lurking in the shadows behind walls and trees, (only to find that it’s just the locals….35-40 generations later….)….

One of the great joys of living in the early 21st century is the offhand ease of seeing the best that a continent like, say, Africa might be hearing and dancing to right now…. Here, Femi Kuti, son of Feli Kuti–bringer of World Beat sounds to the Western World a generation ago–sings and brings his tribal songs, rhythms and magic straight from Nigeria to anyone close enough to view a teevee set.

This is one of my current favorite images, because I was recently able to “fix” an unsettling bluriness (that turned out to be chromatic aberration) and maybe, finally, be able to share what I saw when I shot the image. When I made the shot I could acutely feel the Spirit of the place. What do I mean by that? My belief system (via Plato, Socrates, Lao-Tzu,et al) informs me that, first of all, underlying everything, is Spirit (or Soul, or Essence, or Idea, or Tao, or whatever your name for it is). Spirit animates Matter. Our senses don’t pick up on intangible, non-physical Spirit, but our awareness sometimes does. We DO see things manifest into existence through the door that it provides. (We see the evidence of a things’s spirit by the qualities it reveals to us here in the “physical” or “real” world.) So, the trick is to see through the physical trappings–the outer appearance– to the core of the thing….. …..and try to find the angle, or view, or way of seeing that best reveals the essence–the wholeness– of the thing you’re photographing–to show it in it’s “best light”. When I shot this I was experiencing that state of heightened, temporary, fleeting awareness that we sometimes attain when we can feel the depth and breadth of the unseen world that runs around and through us. I can only pray a small part of that awareness conveys to you, the viewer. That’s why, after all,….. that’s why I shoot.

Hondo Crouch, legendary founder of mythical Lukenbach, TX, (the State of Mind based in a tiny hamlet in Hill Country) and bon-vivant extraordinaire (he’d hate that sobriquet) recited his poem “Lukenbach Moon” during intermission at a Jerry Jeff Walker concert at Austin Municipal Auditorium right before Christmas 1975.. This is one of those images that successfully conveys an experience–the Prime Directive of Photography. Hondo was a wonderful storyteller, probably the best I’ve ever heard. He could put you right There, wherever There was. A great photograph does the same thing, only for the eyes and not the ears. Both cater to the imagination. Hondo’s business card stated simply: “Hondo Crouch–Imagineer”. Secretly, I’ve been stockpiling images and honing technique attempting to maybe, someday, deserve the same title.

This was shot the first time I ever saw Stevie. He was an unheralded opening act for a guy named Randy Hansen (who was a Hendrix imitator, and a damn good one)….but I remember telling my wife that the real talent was the opening act. No shit. What a 10 year ride it was.

These are two of the marvelous sculptured heads that John L Stephens, F. Catherwood, and party found abandoned amid the jungle-conquered ruins in 1841. They protect the base of the north staircase of the El Castillo Pyramid. (Read about that amazing expedition in Stephen’s “Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan”, published originally in the 1840s, with really wonderful art by Catherwood.) I often think about the people who fashioned these beautiful and violent Mayan sculptures and structures. They sure left behind impressive art.

This is Kele Okereke of the English Alternative rock band Bloc Party. Kele is a remarkable performer; you get a glimpse of it here. I love the way the lighting has evolved at ACL; it’s a joy to work with the high-end lights we now use. Backlighting is a performance photographer’s best friend.

I’ve been scanning images created long ago and far away. I shot a lot of 120mm film in the olden (pre-digital)days, and sometimes an image insists that I scan and share. (For example, the brain cells that stored this image kept firing away at inappropriate moments, over the years, even in dreams….) So, here….. It’s like a second shoot, in a way, to let all of those years parade by and then, with the passing of seeming lifetimes, go back and see what has risen to the top. (And, now, I get the benefit of all the tools in Photoshop, like the filter/distort/lens correction filter, the sharpen tool, AND absolute color control. The lens correction filter alone has saved many an already-made shot from chromatic aberration and worse.) Texas DOES have Autumn color. See?

I didn’t think she could get much better, but she has. So young, and so poised and confident. She’s grown. I wonder how much more she’ll manifest, in front of the world, for all to see.

I’ve been reviewing images shot long ago, and came across this. It’s one of my favorites: strong, stark, compelling and unsettling. It has texture and mystery. I wonder where Cecilia is today…..was she ever happy?