Ruth Asawa

One of the reasons I like the daily newspaper is the obituary section. I know...grave-hunting is creepy enough but the obits, too? It’s not another morbid quirk. I look for people I know...accomplished people...interesting individuals I remember from another time. I’m behind in my Sunday New York Times’ and didn’t learn of Ruth Asawa’s death at age 87 until a month after it happened. She was an artist and sculptor.

Born in California into a Japanese-American family, she spent the war years in the internment camps with 120,000 other American citizens we could apparently no longer trust because they were Japanese.

I did not know Ms. Osawa but when I saw the photo of her and her work, I recalled shooting some of it in 2007. Especially since she made her home in San Francisco, the de Young Fine Arts Museum has a number of her wire sculptures.

Ruth Asawa sculpture in the de Young Museum (18 May 2007)

At one end of the modern building is a 144-foot tower. On the ground floor, in a stark and bare-walled atrium, hang some of her wire constructions. I was drawn to the sight of the sculptures and especially the shadows the spot lights threw onto the walls.

Interior spaces are often dark and the artificial light can be tricky to photograph. I suspect iPhones and some point-and-shoot cameras could capture this scene alright. I changed the white balance to tungsten...a better match to the spot light source. I did not have a tripod [museums don’t permit them] and had to steady the camera for a 1/13th second exposure...NOT recommended for a quality image. I was fortunate this one came out as well as it did.

Ruth Asawa sculpture in the de Young Museum (18 May 2007)

Turns out Ruth and I had more of a connection than I thought. I learned from the Times obit that in 1943, a Quaker group arranged for her to attend the Milwaukee State Teachers College so she could become an art teacher. I earned my Master’s Degree (and met my wife) there thirty years later when it was the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After three years of study, she was barred from obtaining a degree because we didn’t allow the Japanese to be student-teachers. In 1998, the University wanted to make it up to her and award her an honorary doctorate. She requested her long overdue bachelor’s degree instead.

Passed Presidents - # 20 – James A. Garfield

I am reading Candice Millard’s terrific story of the 20th president, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President. It is a riveting tale of a very different time and a man who might have been the best president we never had. In office only four months, he was shot on July 2nd and died, at age forty-nine, 132 years ago today in 1881.

James A. Garfield Tomb, Lake View Cemetery, 

Cleveland, OH (25 September 2006)

The assassin, Charles Guiteau, is often described as a disgruntled office-seeker. The reason I don’t write history or anything serious for public acceptance is that I would describe him as a delusional, deranged, grandiose whack-job. Because he once wrote a brief speech for ONE Republican event in New York...an event that included MANY speeches, he believed this one minor effort was solely responsible for Garfield winning the entire state and, therefore, the election. For this, he was convinced that he deserved to be appointed Minister to France. He believed God told him to kill Garfield and that the nation would rejoice at the deed. He even wrote a letter to Chester Arthur soliciting gratitude for what he did to make him president.

Regardless, if you read the full account of what happened after Garfield was shot, you’ll agree that the real assassins were his doctors. Although Guiteau was convicted and executed, it is easy to conclude the president’s death was caused by medical malpractice. Years before the shooting, the English surgeon, Joseph Lister had championed antiseptic methods that were widely accepted in Europe but disdained by the stubborn and arrogant American medical establishment. Doctors in this country didn’t believe in germs and couldn’t be bothered to wash their hands or clean their instruments. They actually thought the caked blood and pus on their surgical gowns was a sign of their proficiency.

Relief Sculpture on the outside of the Garfield Mausoleum

shows the president lying in state (25 September 2006)

The more I read about James A. Garfield, the more I wonder what he could have accomplished if he had two full terms in office instead of a few months...which were largely spent fending off patronage seekers. He was the last president who was born in a log cabin. Desperately poor as a youth, he never forgot the importance of hard work or the value of education. At his prep school, he could not afford tuition and worked on campus as a janitor and carpenter. After his first year, he learned his subjects so well, he was promoted to assistant professor.

He was an ordained minister and, after obtaining his college degree, embarked on an academic career and became a college president at age 26. When the Civil War began, he served for two years, rising to the rank of major general. With no prior military training, he led an outnumbered and out-gunned force to gain control of eastern Kentucky for the Union.

Under the dome of the Garfield Mausoleum (25 September 2006)

He served in the Ohio Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. He never actively sought or campaigned for any elected office. He was urged to serve and his reputation and promotion by others gained election victories. He went to the Republican convention in 1880 to nominate another Ohio candidate and the deadlocked delegates (after thirty six ballots) eventually chose him to run instead.

He was an ardent abolitionist. His inaugural address spoke of the need for racial equality. He appointed Frederic Douglass the Recorder of Deeds in Washington, D.C. and other African Americans to government positions. I’d like to think that if Garfield had been alive to govern longer, the Reconstruction period might have taken a different turn and the South would not have retrenched its despicable apartheid society with Jim Crow laws.

In the eleven weeks it took his doctors to kill him, Garfield endured repeated attempts by at least twelve physicians to find the bullet with their dirty fingers and instruments. He was given heavy doses of quinine because malaria was prevalent in the swampy Washington area. His diet, heavy with meat, potatoes and other rich foods, constantly upset his digestion. He vomited constantly and lost eighty pounds, gaining little through nutrition. After two months of medical torture in the sweltering Washington summer, he was moved to a beach community on the Jersey shore where he died.

After John Kennedy was assassinated, the nation rallied behind Lyndon Johnson to enact new civil rights laws. And, for the first time since the Civil War, shared shock and grief over the president’s death united North and South...for a while anyway.

Garfield’s vice president, Chester Arthur owed his entire career to patronage and corrupt New York machine politics. However, as president, he enacted the civil service reforms that finally ended the spoils system in Washington through which the assassin Guiteau and hundreds of others sought to reward themselves.

A statue of the president stands under the dome of his mausoleum (25 September 2006)

James A. Garfield

20th President; Served 1881

Born: November 19, 1831, Orange, OH

Died: September 19, 1881, Elberon, NJ

Grave Location: Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Dates Visited: 10/20/2001; 9/25/2006

The presidents from Lincoln to the end of the 19th century are a forgettable lot. It’s a shame that James Garfield is in that number because his life was cut short. I believe his could have been a memorable presidency that changed the course of history for the better.

Passed Presidents - # 25 – William McKinley

On the final day of what The Archives call ‘Post-Retirement Road Trip II’, we were in Canton, OH. A short drive from the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the McKinley National Memorial, an impressive mausoleum on a hill with a nearby museum.

The McKinley National Memorial, Canton, OH (26 September 2006)

William McKinley, another Son of Ohio, was born in Niles in 1843 and died in 1901, 112 years ago today. At age 18, he enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the start of the Civil War and served until the war ended in 1865, rising to the rank of Brevet Major. He was a member of the House of Representatives for six terms and was Governor of Ohio before being elected president in 1896. After his vice president died, McKinley enlisted a young, charismatic war hero, Teddy Roosevelt to be his running mate in 1900. They won easily, defeating William Jennings Bryan for the second time.

The Spanish-American War is the event most people associate with McKinley’s time in office. Cuba wanted to be independent of Spain. The president preferred to avoid foreign entanglements but other interests [especially a rabid press] urged greater involvement. The sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana changed all that and war was declared. With Spain’s quick defeat and our acquisition of its territories, we began the 20th century as an emerging world power.

Inside McKinley’s Tomb (26 September 2006)

Six months into his second term, McKinley was shot by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz (pronounced “shol-gosh”). The son of eastern European immigrants, Czolgosz began working factory jobs at age ten. While the Industrial Revolution created fabulous wealth for some, it also spawned the labor movement and radical offshoots like the anarchists. This was a time when striking workers lost their jobs for demonstrating or, worse, were shot in the streets. Czolgosz was drawn to the anarchists’ cause and decided the president had to go.

According to Brian Lamb (‘Who is Buried in Grant’s Tomb? A Tour of Presidential Gravesites’), McKinley looked forward to attending the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo and meeting with the people. His Secretary was concerned about safety and cancelled the meet-and-greet part. The president said, “No one would want to hurt me” and put the meeting back on his schedule.

McKinley was shot in the abdomen on September 6th. Doctors actually thought he would survive as his health briefly improved. Eight days after the attack, he died of gangrene poisoning. Czolgosz was captured at the scene, tried, convicted and executed within two months. This was not the era of endless appeals and permanent residency on Death Row.

Inside McKinley’s Tomb (26 September 2006)

A fun read on the details surrounding the deaths of three of our murdered presidents is Sarah Vowell’s ‘Assassination Vacation’. It is the story of her personal journey to the many places associated with the last days of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and the men who killed them.

One tidbit I found particularly noteworthy was about Abraham Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Of course, he was present in 1865 when his father died across the street from Ford’s Theater. Sixteen years later, he was James Garfield’s Secretary of War and was with the president when he was shot in the train station in Washington. Twenty years after that, he had left government service and was president of the Pullman Railcar Company. At the invitation of President McKinley, he was present at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, though not at the scene of the shooting...this time. Most eerie.

Lincoln lived until 1926. He was aware of this association with the untimely ends of presidents and he no longer wanted to visit with them. I suspect no president wanted to be anywhere near him, either. I imagine Oval Office conversations like this. “So what’s on the schedule today, Miss Phelps...and is Lincoln going to be there? Ah, he is? Send the VP instead, along with my regrets.”

William McKinley

25th President; Served 1897-1901

Born: January 29, 1843, Niles, OH

Died: September 14, 1901, Buffalo, NY

Grave Location: McKinley National Memorial, Canton, OH

Date Visited: 9/26/2006

According to the historical marker at the foot of the hill on which the mausoleum sits, the children of America donated their pennies to fund this memorial. I wonder what the national mood was like at the time since this was the third president killed in a 36-year period. Most people my age know where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The attack on Pearl Harbor had the same impact on my parents just as the Millennial Generation knows where they were on 9/11. If the same time intervals are considered, it would be like having Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton murdered after JFK...quite disturbing.

The Right Place at the Right Time 3 - My Favorite Sunrise

When I discussed the need to underexpose certain scenes to get the most out of low light situations, I noted that sunsets are the most common example. Sunrises are similar but too many of us sleep through them and they are therefore less common.

I am one of those people. Beck is an early riser and I stay up late. Regardless, we live in the woods and only see sunrises and sunsets when we’re away from home...and as far as I’m concerned, I only see them when arrangements are made and alarm clocks are set.

One example of sunrise that everyone says you can’t miss is at the Grand Canyon. In 1975, we took a spring break drive away from snow-bound Wisconsin to Arizona. In addition to the snow and freezing temperatures we experienced in Arizona [just lucky I guess], we stayed overnight in Grand Canyon Village so we could experience the awe-inspiring sunrise.

Grand Canyon Sunrise (April 1975)

Waking up when it’s still dark out is difficult for some people but this was the Grand Canyon...one of the Natural Wonders of the World. Alarms were set. We got dressed...for winter. You can see there was snow on the ground at this elevation. Unfortunately, for a great sunrise, you need a clear sky and with the cloud cover, this was the best we got.

Fast forward 37 years to a family Thanksgiving escape to Cabo San Lucas...on the tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. The beaches around the hotels are nesting sites for sea turtles. One evening, the first emerging young ‘tortugas’ alerted guests and staff to a nest that was home to almost a hundred hatching eggs. Trained staff gathered the eggs and hatchlings to keep overnight for release at sunrise...so the babies could make it safely to the sea without being harassed by tourists or eaten by predators. Alarms were set. At least there were fewer clothes to put on. There were no interfering clouds and the sunrise was spectacular.

Sunrise, Cabo san Lucas (21 November 2012)

I believe this was not underexposed enough. The sand is

dark but it’s not the subject of the photo. The sun had

not even emerged and the sky was much redder to the eye.

The photo is not very interesting

Sunrise, Cabo san Lucas, Mexico (21 November 2012)

Taken moments after the shot above, this one could have

been framed better with the horizon a tad higher [my preference]

or lower, in keeping with the ‘Rule of Thirds’ approach to 

composition. I believe it looks better because it was 

underexposed to give the deeper color that confirms the 

emerging sun and the first light of the day.

I believe special sunrises and sunsets are like memorable meals. It isn’t just that the food was delicious. A great dining experience is just as much about who you were with, the place and its ambience, comfort, service and many other things. Sure, the steak was perfect and the drink was just right BUT she also looked spectacular and the server did a great job and you just had a rewarding day at work and they played your favorite song and the walk in the dark afterwards was romantic. The memory can be a composite of many factors.

Thirty years ago, the sunrise in Lutsen, Minnesota was like that...set up by all that happened the day before. We were driving along the north shore of Lake Superior. It was early autumn and the weather was perfect... clear, dry and not too warm. We were staying at a rustic, waterfront lodge...nothing special in the way of amenities. Since it was so nice out, we decided to take a picnic to the lake shore and enjoy the fading light with wine, cheese and snacks. We’ll always remember the rocks we sat on and how accommodating they were. There were places for us to sit as well as convenient ledges for every bottle, food item and piece of gear we had. We called the place ‘Cooperative Rock’.

There was no sunset to watch since we faced east and the sun was long out of sight behind us in the trees. However, the cloudless blue sky over the water gave us a show. As the light faded, the sky displayed every cool color imaginable. While the western sky ran from yellow to orange to red and some of that spilled over to the vast lake, the eastern sky also went through pinks, blues and greens toward eventual black. It was breath-taking...and the company and food and scenery all made it a day to remember.

As the TV ads say, “But wait! There’s more.” Something woke me up in the dark the next morning. There was no plan for sunrise. No alarms were set. I stumbled toward the window and saw this clear, red sky. “Beck! Wake up! Get dressed. We have to get outside for this.”

Lake Superior Sunrise, Lutsen, MN (September 1983)

Again, the shot is a little underexposed to bring out the deeper, red of the sky. The shadows of the shoreline rocks and trees are just silhouettes. If I exposed the shot to make them more distinct, the sky would have been totally washed out and the scene would have been ruined. People have asked what filter I used to get this effect. The fact is the sky looked exactly like this before the sun appeared.

Maybe it isn’t the best sunrise picture I ever took. But, it certainly is the most memorable.

Tip of the Day – Sometimes Darker is What Works

The following is for folks who have more than point-and-shoot, fully automatic cameras. While AUTO works almost all the time, there are certain scenes and times when you wish the photo looked more like what you are actually seeing.

Auto settings are terrific. Point and shoot and forget the rest. There was once a time when photography required more work and a greater understanding of the need for the right amount of light to make a proper image. Now, your modest, point-and-shoot pocket camera or your smart phone AND every upscale, pro camera (when the exposure mode is set on AUTO) will meter the scene and select an aperture and shutter speed that exposes the image to the same, universal degree. Light meters are calibrated to target the mid-tone range of light and it’s based on what they call the 18% grey card.

In fact, cameras that offer aperture and shutter priority modes also meter to make exposures the same way...just right. Most of the time, that’s all you need for your shot...a proper exposure of all the aspects of the scene.

But what if you don’t want just right? What if that’s not what you’re seeing? Certain images just have to be darker. There are scenes and times when you want the photo to be less than properly exposed. You want night to look like night, not day. The image needs to be dark.

In December, 2009, we visited Paris. It is a wonderful, historic, photogenic place. Four years earlier, we were there in May and I photographed the exterior of the Hotel National des Invalides, the hospital and retirement home for French war veterans. On the second visit, we got to spend some time inside.

Hotel National des Invalides, Paris (29 April 2006)

Built by Louis XIV and completed in 1676, the complex includes museums, a magnificent, domed chapel and the burial sites for many of the country’s military heroes. Napoleon Bonaparte himself has the space of highest honor, under the dome. Inside the red porphyry sarcophagus, the Emperor’s remains are contained in six [count ‘em, SIX] concentric coffins. The little guy never did things in a small way.

Napoleon’s Tomb, Hotel National des Invalides, Paris (27 December 2009)

On the four sides of the main floor above the sarcophagus are alcoves that display what might be considered the second tier personages. One of them is Marshal Ferdinand Foch. He was France’s top military man and Commander of all the Allied Forces during World War I. He is the only French person commemorated by a statue in London and you know how much the Brits love the French. Foch also presciently said of the Versailles treaty, "This is not peace. It is an armistice for 20 years." The timing of his prediction was almost perfect.

The alcove that contains the Marshal’s tomb is a VERY impressive space...solely because of the somber, blue atmosphere created by the stained glass and the powerful image of the WW I soldiers carrying one of their own.

One cannot wander around the tomb. Visitors are allowed no further than the entry portals so photography options are limited. You might find a way to keep the camera very still and take a long exposure of the scene. This would brighten the tomb but overexpose the windows that are the only source of light in the room. Or you can use a flash to illuminate the entire space.

Tomb of Marshal Foch, Paris (27 December 2009)

I suppose this is OK. It documents the scene, illuminates the dark areas...but creates an image that is far from what my eyes were seeing.

The neat thing about digital cameras...you can see your shot right after you take it. Yes, the camera’s screen is really small but it’s better than burning a roll of film, flying 5000 miles home, sending it off for developing...only to learn that NONE of the shots came out just right.

I wanted to take a picture that captured what was there. The shot had to be dark and somber, in keeping with the light and the striking, shadowy figures that set the mood. I moved to the other entryway and used the MANUAL setting to underexpose the shot...saw the results...changed the settings...shot again...until it came out the way I wanted...the way it looked...the way it felt. A little persistence and effort can yield a much better result.

Tomb of Marshal Foch, Paris (27 December 2009)