Eight Hours A Day

And there it is, that nugget bright,
Which glimmers in this sod tonight –
“Eight hours a day photography
And anything you do will see
Success – interpret it at will”
Those words each echo in me still.

Back in the days of Sandy Lake,
I really liked to pictures take;
And as no person did that task,
I'd take some pics when people asked;
But it was getting out of hand –
Then thinking helped me understand.

“Get in?”; “Get out?” – the question rose,
(I'd work to do as heaven knows);
I thought about it hard and long,
Then came a vision plenty strong –
If I could somehow integrate
My pix and work I'd wealth create.

We call it, “Value Added”  here;
I saw cross-cultured language clear,
As I could not Cree-language speak
My photos could those needs now meet;
So focus came into my craft,
My service-work enabled that.

And now, today I saw again,
As TCK – the same old pain
Whenever I communicate,
My words don't work – I hesitate
To speak the truth I wish to share
With people here, as everywhere.

But now I see – photography –
That's how to share the things I see;
It's why I came into this town –
To pass such speaking-skills around –
But now I see my need afresh –
As TCK, speak to the rest.

I saw the gap in Sandy Lake
(Not right, for “TCK” came late)
But I'd not seen its use for me
Till now – a potent tool I see!
Somehow – to writing of it up;
Some seminars; some net-work stuff.

As Cartier-Bresson pointed out,
“Pix give a lovely way to shout
And free oneself – ways change quite slow
But uses shift, as well we know”;
So now this new use rises fast,
For culture-crossers – Ah! At last!

And thus at start of Giver-land,
A way to speak they'll understand –
New tools can take and shape each pix,
And open up a whole new mix
Of concepts, methods, ways and means
Of sharing life – to me it seems.

So, where to start? Get tools in place?
Draft up a book? – do info chase?
Share what I know? Bring others up?
And maybe Darius Meekis cup?
Locate an outlet – here? online?
“Come on, jump in, the water's fine!”

Lord, travel could be part of that –
Like Pano’s book, and distant facts
Brought down to earth from fantasy,
As folks use new technology –
Indeed how this explodes in me,
As folks find ways to speak like me.

I need to learn ’bout Photoshop,
So I can better boundary-hop;
The course I took in MRD
Comes flooding back, I allies see –
My head explodes – ways unforeseen –
All past is prologue – new crops seen.

navigation