Something About Photography

Back in the 1860s, Mathew Brady focused his

photography on famous people and historical events.

In the 20^th Century, Ansel Adams had his eye

on the American West and landscape photography.

Annie Leibovitz, contemporary American photographer,

is best known for her dramatic celebrity portraits.

As I see it in photography, nature has no choice

but to present itself with unabashed truthful honestly.

Portraits of people present a unique challenge. One must be

at the ready for that precise instance to capture the unique

and diverse essence of each individual. For me, whether

posed or spontaneously in action and appearance, everyone

becomes a natural wonder, a personified celebrity.

                                      -30-

Chris Hanch 12-0-2021

On a Scale from One to Ten

I have some time before I most go.

Where is it I must be, you may

wonder? I have one of those I-pad

meetings with my physical therapist

from the VA.

She will ask me how I am doing

and on a scale from one to ten,

what is my pain level right now?

Oh, I’m managing, I’ll respond.

About a three, but it’s early and

more than likely I’ll be around a

seven or eight at the end of the day.

How in hell would I know.? It’s

all just a stupid number’s game

anyway.

Contact me around eight, nine or

ten this evening and I’ll tell you

again, I’m still managing. That’s

the best I can expect these old

and decrepit days.

I will say, though, given age and

condition, my “Wise Guy” and

“Smart Ass” functions are

working quite well. I can usually

attain a perfect ten most days

with those, you know.

Seems to get better or worse

with age, depending on how

you look at it. Thanks for asking

anyway.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 12-9-2021 

Day after Day

 

Picture this, you’re on you way to work.

Day after day the same. Off on Saturday

and Sunday. Saturday for shopping;

Sunday dedicated to church. Year after

year, oh, the tedium, oh, the waste, oh,

what a shame. One day you’ll find a way

out if your life doesn’t end you first.

Shit happens, you know. Happened to

Paul just the other day, an accident,

they say. But you know it was the same

old same old did him in. And you know

better than to complain. You got it made,

my friend. You keep telling yourself,

you got it made in the shade, basking day

after day in obscurity.

Not even Death bothers to call you out

by name. At least Paul went out in

a blaze of glory.

                        -30-

Chris Hanch 12-8-2021

Sometimes Less Than Colorful

 

For several hours today

I slaved over a photo with

my computer program

which is designed to

manipulate and enhance.

My color printer, made

by a renown and

reputable manufacturer

of such devices, is

usually spot-on with

its reproductions,

getting the hues and

contrasting just right.

But even with multiple

adjustments, I couldn’t

get my print to come

even close to a fair

comparison of the original—

Too much red in the faces,

to much blue washing

over the subjects.

Print after print without

satisfactory results. Damn!

Wasted paper, ink and

time.

I finally gave up, eliminating

the full-color process all

together, resorting to a

monotone sepia instead.

It was my last ditch-effort.

Frustrated and beaten by

the failure of my ability,

and thwarted by that

software and the printer’s

malevolent technology.

I suppose this is why I write

and type my poetry in black

and white. Even so, sometimes

my written work produces

nothing close to the colorful

imagery I seek to achieve.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 12-7-2921

The When, Where and Why of Me

 

As we age, remembering events in our lives is

what old folks such as I do most every day. To

stimulate time and place in my past life, I am

fortunate to have taken many photographs

highlighting people and places I have known.

I have arranged my thoughts into epochs, periods

of time defining the when, where and why of my

illustrious history. For example: My Army days

were from November 1964 through November

1967; I was married to my first wife with whom

I had two children for 17-years from 1966 to

1983; I lived in Albuquerque from 1991 into

1992; I moved to Denver in 1992, married my

second wife in 1993 and lived there until 2015

a year after she died...and on and on.

Of course there are other dates and events I

have compartmentalized where I moved about,

changed jobs and such. I won’t go into

the gory details here and bore you with my

addictive drug and alcohol binges and

various rehab and therapy episodes.

Suffice it to say, when I have my mental

journeys into the past nearly seventy-five

years of my life, I can pretty well define

where I was chronologically at any given

time.

Needless to say, this process gives me a

framework for how far I have advanced or

digressed over the years. Now of course

I am not 100% pin-point accurate all the

time. But as an old friend of mine use to

say: “Like horse shoes and hand grenades,

close is good enough.”

At least in my mind’s eye, the when, where

and why of the real me is not hard to find.

                               -30-

Chris Hanch 12-5-2021

Here, There, Everywhere

 

Up there,

out there,

here, there,

everywhere,

beyond,

millions,

billions,

no, trillions

of planets,

stars,

and galaxies,

more than

every comma

and period

man has

placed

or erased

on every

handwritten,

typed

or printed

page.

To coin

a widely expressed

British phrase,

It’s bloody

amazing!

The fact that

you are,

the reality

of me too,

among all

who ever were

and will

forever be.

Why, it’s

a friggin’

miracle

don’t you see?

Even rhetorical

questions

such as this

need to be

included as well,

a miracle,

I tell you,

a bloody, friggin’

miracle!

At least it’s

a science

beyond my

bloody, friggin’

comprehension.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 12-2-2021

Home, Foerver Home

 

Of one thing I am sure,

of one thing I am certain—

when my time comes,

I’ll be prepared to

move along.

No more heaven or hell

for me. In my lifetime I

have lived both and all

the places in between.

And when it was time,

I willingly moved along.

Some will say I am a drifter

who lived much of his later

life alone. I merely tired of

the tedious and stagnant

boorish places, cringed at

the made-to-order cosmetic

suburban faces.

So, I unchained myself,

a freeman in search of

the refreshing venture-

some to renew.

In the end, neither heaven,

hell nor the provincial for me,

but inevitably a newfound

home everlasting, amen.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 12-1-2021