devoting, falling, asking
092 • 10/20/2025
…in a few words…
The Value of Showing Up: Last week I participated in Exposure Portfolio Reviews 2025 for Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP). This is always one of my favorite activities because I am tasked with reviewing photography portfolios (online) for a wide variety of people with a wide range of subject matter and skill levels.
It is also a process in which I am enabled to see what is out there and who is doing what in the creative landscape. The more I am asked to participate, the more I appreciate what each and every reviewee might go through just to be able to sit down in front of photographic professionals. There are reviewers from the fields of museums, publishing, galleries and publishing (me). Each of us brings forth differing levels of skills and attitudes to our chosen pursuits.
The key point as I write this is all those people who pull up a chair in front of me have chosen the most crucial step in their individual pursuits to become better at what they do. They have paid to be there. They have sacrificed family and work time. They have chosen to dip their creative toes a bit deeper into the challenging pool of the seeming unknown. Most importantly, they have chosen to show up.
I have experienced reviewing photographers who are at the top of their game and who have signed up for a portfolio review, just to expose a new series in which they are devoting a good deal of time. Others have only just begun to explore the world of photography.
The same holds true in almost any creative pursuit, whether that be in the fields of painting, sculpture, or working with fabrics. There is always something to learn and something to gain by choosing to expand your knowledge, whether that be with workshops, seminars, or one-on-one consultations. We have at our fingertips, at this time, a virtual world of learning opportunities.
Granted, it will take diligence, research, comparisons, and even good conversations with friends who might have already gone through the same process.
In order to progress, however, the bottom line is you have to show up in order to progress.
Me? I signed up for an online guitar course that will demand my attention and dedication to the process. It is a year-long course. Will I complete it? My track record in that area is not the best. We’ll see!
I’ll need you to check in with me from time to time for a gentle update.
*******
Please pass this along to others of like mind. We do need to spread the positivity around! Know that I will be working hard to make the starter better with each issue. It will come into your inbox at 8am, each Monday morning, free or paid. Comments are always welcomed! Enjoy!
Have vs. Have Not: “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ©Epicurus
Where is My Country Now:
It’s raining in Los Angeles hallelujah hallelu
Moonflowers open to breathe the night’s perfume
The city climbs the hillside just to see the color bloom
Petals turn a sidewalk stream jacaranda blue
Where is my country, now…
note: in this poignant video by Caitlin Canty, she asks the same question many others are asking. For that question I find answers in a walk with the subtle colors of fall all around me and in conversation with friends, as well as an unexpected kindness offered. When I first came across this video, I played it through once and then twice…
Joseph Campbell, If You Bring Love: At a certain moment in Nietzsche’s life, the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the heck happens, you say, “This is what I need.” It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. ©Joseph Campbell, Inspiration Peak
Shadow & Light Magazine Archives: Kevin Black, The Humanities Project: “The purpose of this portrait project is to counter the polarization in this country due to xenophobia. I believe that one of the strengths of our human population is its diversity. We are all intrinsically worthy of life, love, success and health.” ©Kevin Black, The Humanities Project (image)
Poetics: John O’Donohue: More from one of my favorite poets. His poems remind me of my trip to Ireland and walking the hills and valleys of Conamara, where this poet called home. Take a deep breath, relax… and read.
For One Who Is Exhausted, a Blessing
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
©John O’Donohue
©Conamara Valley, Tim Anderson
the starter is a reader-supported publication. To produce this newsletter it takes a bit of time, research and effort to create. If you would like to receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thank you, Mara!
Great issue👏
Bravo🙏