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| Thundercloud at sunset (if i could just get those stupid poles out of the way I would have something special) :) |
The theory of the Heliocentric Model is not a new idea, Muslim, Greek and Mesopotamian scholars had proposed the idea as far back as 200BC but Copernicus was the first to publish results using measurements of the stars and other planets.
“This theory was first proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus was a Polish astronomer. He first published the heliocentric system in his book: De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, "On the revolutions of the heavenly bodies," which appeared in 1543. Copernicus died the same year his book was published. After 1,400 years, Copernicus was the first to propose a theory which differed from Ptolemy's geocentric system, according to which the earth is at rest in the center with the rest of the planets revolving around it. The claim that all planets revolve around the sun had been raised in ancient times, but Copernicus was the first to succeed in describing the movements of the planets using an astronomical theory which placed the sun at the center.”
The theory which seems so academic for us now, was cutting edge science in the 16th century, it also was contrary to the official dogma of the Catholic Church, who we all know isn’t the most open to new ideas, which is why that Copernicus didn’t bother publishing his book until he was on his death bed. Years later when Galileo proposed the idea, the church put him on house arrest for the last 8 years of his life. Now second graders with Styrofoam balls and bent up coat hangers make models of Copernicus’ and Galileo’s Heliocentric Model…
It is boggles the mind to look at just how much our world does revolve around the sun, both literally and figuratively . We used the phrase “Do you think the world revolves around you” to describe ego maniacs, our roman calendar is based upon phases of the sun, and the proximity of our hemisphere to the sun dictates whether we are bundled up or laying on the beach. Our culture revolves around the sun, we base our day to day activities on whether or not the sun is out. We take drugs to supplement the lack of vitamin D in the wintertime, shoot there is even a diagnosable disorder called S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder, really S.A.D.??? its called WINTER get a coat and go outside, or maybe don’t spend the entire daylight hours playing on facebook or video games. As I went trolling through my photos this past week I noticed that many of my photos have our sun as the main subject, it is with that notion that I offer this next photo montage, this is my version of the “Heliocentric Model”
Some of these pictures speak to me without uttering a sound, and others mark a distinct point or moment in my journey through life. These are just a few of the stops on my journey….
One of my all time favorite sunsets, as seen from the deck of the Cichla Ocellaris the bananas hanging off to the side just add enough to make supremely Amazon! (Amazon 2000)
Another Amazon sunset with just AMAZING color, the picture doesn't do it justice the sky was on fire that night (Amazon 2001)
Normally I am one who hates early mornings, but through all my travels in the Amazon I have never found it difficult to get up early (well except one moring after we drank all , yes I said ALL of the cold beer in the town of Novo Airao in one night) That story is for another time, and trust me its a good one, let just say we were the stuff of legend for quite some after that.
It is images like these that make getting up at 5 am all the more worthwhile, the sounds of the jungle stirring, the early morning sun peaking over the forest and reflecting on the glass calm waters of the Rio Negro. This to me is one of those moments where all seems right in the world , the stress and hustle and bustle of the modern world just vanish and you can just sit in the canoe and enjoy the images that nature feels fit to bestow on the lucky few of us in the early morning. (Amazon 2011)
If there is one sunset picture in this group that needs some explaniation it's this one, This is Xuxa's Sunset... One of my friends and Amazon travelling cohorts Sharon Ryan passed away in 2010 and her son and (my new friend) Dallas came to Brasil to scatter her ashes in some of her favorite places we have visited in our journeys. After placing ashes in several locations along the way, Dallas decided it was time to place the remainder into the river the she held so near and dear to her heart. We had a little memorial ceremony on the top deck and everybody shared their favorite memories of Xuxa (Sharon), stories of playing dominos and of her contagious smile and her absolute love of all things Amazon abounded. It wasnt a particualy fantastic sunset when we started but about the time everyone had finished, Dallas started to say a few words and the sky parted the sun peaked out if the clouds and then this AMAZIING scene unfolded behind him as he spoke. It was if Xuxa parted the clouds looking down from heaven so she could get a better view, whatever it was, the warm feeling I felt was from more than the setting amazonian sun. Xuxa was looking down on us. If you look the angles of the clouds its almost as if they are trying to spell X-u-x-a.. (I know that I told many of you that I too would like my ashes spread accross the Amazon, if I am lucky enough to have a son or daughter as caring and compasionate as Dallas to carry out those wishes, my life will have been a great sucess)
My dad has always told me and Jason my brother that we should start selling our pictures of Amazon sunsets and to be quite honest I never really gave it much thought but lookinig through the thousands of sunset photos I have accumulated in the past 15+ years, maybe he is on to something afterall. Keep your eyes peeled for http://www.amazonsunsets.com/
African sunsets were just a beautiful however they become a little tricky when you think that all of the predators come out at night and me wondering around trying to take pictures might not have been the smartest thing that I ever done, but just as beautiful as any others
At 14,000 feet on Mt. Kilimanjaro , the sun setting behind Mt. Meru is a sight to see!!!
The sun setting behind Molokai from Kaanapali beach on Maui
Sunset whale watching tour, two humpback whale swim side by side as the sun sets off the coast of Maui. Nothing quite like a Hawaii sunset, words dont do it justice so I'll let the photos speak for themselves
As I travel around the world I can sometimes get caught up with work or just life in general and miss the little things. sometime just sitting on a beach watching the sun go down is just the thing to revive the soul, and some tired bones ( after a 16 mile hike) I was in St. Marks National Wildlife refuge just south of Tallahassee, FL and had been working 10+ hours a day for 6 days straight when i took my Sunday off to visit the wildlife refuge, the hike was awesome ( yet another story to be told later) but at the end of the day I saw the sun going down and i found this spot on the beach and just plopped down by myself with a couple of busy sandpipers and watched as the sun slipped out of site below the Gulf of Mexico, 30 minutes and 50 photos later I wound up with this gem... A photo and renewed attitude to start the week ahead...
Sunset over the Badlands in South Dakota
Caveat: This is not my photo, but I have been at this spot and taken some very similar to this, but my great friend Doug Noonan took this one of the Cape Fear River Delta in Baldhead Island, NC (great shot Doug, I have sunset envy)
This photo was taken on Lake Michigan on a Salmon fishing charter, I dont know the guy or the kid in this picture, but I can tell you that if I was able to spend a moment like this fishing with my kid it would be one that I would never forget. Get your kids out and involved in nature, there is no doubt in my mind that my dads love for the outdoors and fishing sparked in me a passion that burns brighter than the sun that I try to capture on film.
Sunset over Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, this one I cant really take all the credit for, the framing of the photo is all me but the actual image capture I relied on technology, my awesome Adventure Proof Camera has a setting to take picutes at set intervals, so I set it up on my tripod and went about cooking my dinner at my campsite and after the camera had taken a photo every 30 seconds for 1/2 hour I got this UN-RETOUCHED gem, I tweeked the color a bit for the print I have hanging in my house.
So I hope you all had a good time on my journey the Heliocentric blog. It's not hard to see how people in ancient times revered and worshiped the Sun. In fact many of us (myself included) still do worship the sun, I enjoy the feeling of warm or cold sunshine, there is something very primal about the feeling you get on a clear sunny day, it harkens back to our ancestors on the African plains hundreds of thousands of years ago, it is in our DNA, we need the sun way , way more than the sun needs us. Maybe its that very fact that draws us out on a warm winter day to enjoy the rays on our face, or what makes us want to visit the Amazon in the dead of the North American winter. Who knows but what I do know, is that the day I stop smiling when the sun hits my face is the day I might as well not live anymore. ( Lets be honest here I'll die with smile on my face, knowing that I am going back to my beloved Amazon to spend time with my good friend Xuxa) That's it for know, be well and don't be S.A.D. get some sun...
LIVE THE HELIOCENTRIC MODEL
