Graven Images

Many may have noticed that with my obsession with churches. I also have an obsession with graveyards. I think there are about as many reasons for this as there are cemeteries.

First as a friend of mine pointed out you can do any kind of photography that you want to at a cemetery. You can do portrait style. You can do landscapes, still life. You name it. So for a photographer like myself that likes to jump all over the place I love that I can do architectural and portraits in the same place.

Deeper than that I truly like to be face to face with mortality. It puts things into perspective for me. I can look around a cemetery and get reminded that my time is very precious and I should be using it wisely. It truly helps me put things in there proper place in my life. Suddenly the newest fancy gadget doesn't seem as important as enjoying a sunset or watching a child play, or noticing a leaf fall off a tree.

I also really enjoy the quiet of a cemetery, not very many people bother you when your walking around. It is a sacred place were we all greet the non-permanence of our existence and all that we love. It is a place that causes reflection and contemplation on its deepest level. It is only through death that we learn of life, the wise ones have a habit of saying. I find much truth in that.

I have a hard time passing up a cemetery for those reasons, old or new, big or small I will always try to walk through them and give my respects. I hope some of the images I capture will show the great many lessons that I have taken from them.

The Photo-Monk

Caleb Storms

Fresh Fruit

It is summer time and as I walk around I find ripe berries everywhere. I remember as a kid picking mulberries and eating them while outside playing. I remember in fact eating many things I found in the woods, its amazing I didn't get sick. Anyway, I have been tempted through my walks to start picking some of this great looking fruit and snacking as I walked. I didn't however, mainly because the berries were scattered all over the ground and in the gutters. So my mind thought right away that there must be something "wrong" with them if no one else was eating them.

This brings me to the real topic of this post. The Photo-Monk has been exposed to some real poverty, not only in this country but I have also met many people from other countries were starvation is part of their everyday existence. The thought of berries falling and rotting on the ground would be very strange to them. The idea that I just past all this free fruit by would also not make any sense to them. I thought about this quite a bit this week. I then started to notice all the things I passed just walking around the city. I passed strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, something that may have been cranberries. There could have been some good prickly pears out there and so on.

Out of this I decided a couple of things. We are certainly spoiled here and I need to get an edible plant guide so I don't have to pass up such a beautiful banquet of fruit because of my ignorance. For the other thing that I realized is as a child I knew what everything was, growing up in rural Indiana. As an adult if its not clearly marked on the package, I'm not sure what I"m eating.

So next time you have a picnic, try serving a wild berry salad, how cool would that be?

Caleb Storms

Then Photo-Monk

Going to Church with it.

Anyone that even briefly looks at my photography will figure out that I have a deep fascination with churches and temples of all sorts. The fascination goes so much deeper than just the structures. I am very curious about mans' pursuit of spirituality and God.

I myself am very much a spiritual seeker, hence the name Photo-Monk. I have sought spiritual truths in many forms for the bulk of my life. So I find it hard to pass a church or temple without looking at it in awe. I am always looking for a sign of the inspiration behind the building and a clue to the practices inside. I find it quite interesting when peoples belief manifests themselves in a building, act, cause and so on. In many ways that is at the heart of the Photo-Monk project. An artistic and spiritual pilgrimage. Not in order to convert or preach to anyone about anything. More in an effort to commune with everyone and learn.

The thought had accord to me to visit many different churches on my travels. The chance to sit with practitioners of many different faiths in many different places appeals to me. I have to ask of course if they would welcome the experience as much as I would. Some I am sure would not be to thrilled with having this strange backpacking artist sitting amongst them, others I'm sure would love the opportunity to hear of my adventures. At any rate, you can bet I will give it a try.

So if you see a wondering Photo-Monk in your town, invite him to Church with you. I bet you will be surprised at his enthusiastic reply. I believe as long as we all travel in the same general direction, in my case loving kindness. We will all arrive at the same place no matter how wondering our road may be. This is at the heart of my curiosity. I seek only to learn of others paths, not to judge them.

Caleb Storms

The Photo-Monk

Crime Scenes

Living in Atlanta, a city with 5 million plus people I guess its not that rare to run into an occasional crime scene or two. However, I seem to find a crime scene every time I go out and about. It really makes ya wonder. about this city. I mean it doesn't seem that violent of a city to me.

So this brings me to the topic of this post. Its not crime or violence or even the yellow "Do not cross" tape I keep running into it. It is what makes Atlanta such a great place to create in and why I have made it my home all these years.

First off, as an artist, Atlanta has a really great tension in it. A vibe to it that says anything can happen at any time. I think a lot of cities have this feeling, but Atlanta's is explosive. I think it comes from the history of civil rights here. This city has been on both sides of that argument at several different times. Even now It is in the middle of it with the gay rights movement. Atlanta was the home of Martin Luther King Jr. and the KKK. Is the deep Republican Southland and the largest gay population on this coast. So it has this diverse tension to it that is wonderful for creativity.

Also there is a contrast just in the look of Atlanta. It is a city, yet it is not hard at all to find green space, hell even lakes inside the beltway. It is the only city I know of that you can smell waste on one block and magnolias on the next. Sometimes smelling both at the same time.

So with all this strange contradiction and tension I guess it shouldn't surprise me to find crime scene tape every time I'm out. As long as I'm not involved in the crime and I don't stumble upon an actual body, I find it interesting when I see it.

So to answer many peoples question "will the photo-monk return to Atlanta when he is done walking ?" Unless I find an equally interesting city, I will. I am a Yankee that has been subdued by the south. A rural kid that has fallen in love with the city. I will be back.

Caleb Storms

The Photo-monk.

Dear Mom

Dear Mother,
Thank you for loving your very strange son. Thank you for not giving up on me when even I did. Thank you for seeing the beauty in my uniqueness even when you didn't get it at all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If Buddha was correct about rebirth, we all have been each other's mother. So to all sentient beings who have felt alone and afraid. Remember I have been your mother and you have been mine. I will show you great compassion as my mother in this life has shown me.

If Buddha was wrong, I will still use this idea as a reminder that we are all interdependent in one form or another.

Caleb Storms
The Photo Monk