Le Scale Studios

I have loved taking photos over the years of my many travels. The purpose of my Tumblr here is to talk about some of the more personal events of my travels.

[lescalestudios]

   I know I have a bunch of pictures of Alaska in my portfolio, but it's such a beautiful place. It's one of the only places left that has so little of it touched by man.    I understand Jack London's fascination with it. It's this vast untapped place, where wonder still exists on the planet. A place where you don't need an oxygen tank to get to or a giant metal ship.    But I also think there is something else to it. I had a conversation with my Aunt not that long ago about the concept of coming of age and sacred places. About how the town she went to college would always be special to her because it's where she learned who she really was outside of her family. We talked about how the first city my Mom moved to that was more than an hour away from home will always be special to Mom. I agreed, reflecting on what Firenze and all of Italy for that matter mean to me. It's part of why I mix Italian culture into everything I do... Well, that and the fact that it's my heritage.    So a part of me wonders if that is where the great American author Jack London found himself. Given that everything he wrote was about Alaska in some way, shape, or form.

[lescalestudios]

My Fiance took me here some years ago. I wouldn't call it a date per say because I spent most of the time laying on the dirty floor, and he really had to pee the whole time. However, the photoshoot I did there will always be special to me. It just made such beautiful shots. There was just something about my fiance remembering this place from his childhood, and thought to take me there in the winter for these amazing shots. My fiance doesn't really do photography, so the fact that he put himself into the headspace of my hobby meant/means a lot to me.

[lescalestudios]

Opal is my birthstone, but it was my grandmother's too. Her birthday was 3 days after mine. Every year on her birthday I make the same dish she used to make me after school. Fried Buttered Noodles. It helps me feel close to her. She practically raised me. No shame on my parents; they worked hard to provide for my brother and I. For that my parents had to work multiple jobs or jobs that traveled often. That means it was grandma getting us off the bus after school. It was her house we stayed at over school vacations while our parents worked.Grandma died a bit over 2 years ago. It was cancer and the hopelessness caused by the pandemic. And now I am noticing I'm having medical issues with the same area of the body she had cancer in. There's nothing that feels like reliving the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge than the feeling you are going through what a dead relative went through. She had other medical issues in that part of her body than just cancer... the same ones I'm having now. And a massive part of me is just sad that I can't ever ask her about how she dealt with it. I can't get an experience guide from her about what to expect. So I guess the lesson here is to ask your grandparents about the genetic medical conditions from an experience perspective while you can.

[lescalestudios]

The Italian town of Lucca often gets forgotten about when it comes to American tourism. The focus often shifts to Lucca's rival city Pisa. Rival in the way of 2 close by towns with competing sports teams. But only in Lucca can you get this rolling view of the Dolomites. It's a wonderful place that is often forgotten that deserves more fame. It also is home to some very good resturants.

I don't get paid to praise the town of Lucca. I just wish more people knew about it and the secret garden I was standing in to take this amazing photo.

[lescalestudios]

I took this while flying on the way to Firenze. Just looking down and seeing all the farm land and the older cities dotted on the land just made me feel like I was stepping into a world older than myself. Both part of something great and also just a blip on the radar. The more I look at this photo the more I miss living in Italy. I don't miss it for the politics of course. But I was in the best shape of my life: Medically, Emotionally, Physically, Mentally, etc. When I got bored I just walked to a new museum. I walked everywhere. I bought nothing but healthy food for insanely cheap. Every place I went out to eat at was affordable, and every place had vegetarian options. I miss living in Italy instead of enjoying living America.

[lescalestudios]

There's something about this Muscovite that makes me think of a stack of old books, or even Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451; one of my favorite books. It's just so weird to me that this gem sticks with my mind so strongly, because I had never heard of Muscovite until I took this photograph. But when I look at it now it somehow gives me the feeling of looking at history. Like stacks and stacks of old tomes giving us history and history masquerading as fiction. What I mean by that isn't that we should take every piece of fiction as literal history or a true story. What I mean is that in every fictional story there are things that are true. Most commonly the moral and lessons of the story. Perhaps it's that we should be weary playing god with science, or that family matters more than work success, or even that The Power Of Friendship can overcome most evils. There are things about fiction that are true, but they use the vessel of a good narrative to bring the point home better than just an old man yelling it to you from his front lawn. The great narratives are the sugar that makes the medicine (themes) go down. Evenmoreso, what themes tend to show up in literature show what themes are representative of the times. It's why art of all kinds from The Great Depression is suddenly in the public mind. Those old political cartoons about how low wages are and how high costs of living are become relevant as the world goes through another economic crisis of the same magnitude. If you look at other arts that were popular during their times you see people's fears on display. In late 1800 through to WWI there were a lot of books about how the sludge of Industrialization was coming out of the inter-cities to the country side. Books from 1917 (End of WWI) highlighted the horrors of war and how there's no honor or glory in war. In WWII many books focused on the dangers of Group Think, Fascism, and Total Power Of Governments. Showing the fears of what losing the war would mean. In the mid-late 1980, think about how many movies focused on a fear of technology. Movies like Terminator and War Games and Child's Play. They were coming out just as in manufacturing job pop of the 1990's was coming into play. In the late 2000's and early 2010's zombies began to take off, zombies created by experimental medicines, a disrespect for the environment, and the incompetency of governments. There there was The Hunger Games stories. The ones about futures where the governments became totalitarianistically fascist, destroyed nature, and demanded the sacrifice of child/ child like innocence. All during a time when school shootings started to become more and more common than ever before. Now there is this new wave of dystopia that we see in shows like Arcane and Squid Games. This idea that things are horrible for entire groups of people and no one seems to care; in part because the people standing by believe in the illusion of choice. So when I look at Muscovite I think about these books and tomes and how history has changed from the Victorian Era in more way than the obvious.

[lescalestudios]

There's just something about watching The Great Smoky Mountains roll out into the distance with all their colors on full display. They may not be the tallest mountains but in age they hold so much awe. The first time I visited Tennessee I bought a collection of "Native American Stories" that was either not specific about the tribe, or that 7th grade me forgot entirely. I learned an amazing creation story about a large god-like bird resting it's wings on the land to make The Smoky Mountains' hills and valleys. That story and one about a large sky dog stealing food to make the Milky Way made me more interested than ever to learn more about the native peoples and their culture. It was also on this trip that I learned about the Trail of Tears, and just how inhuman the natives where treated. It seems like a late time to learn that lesson, but being there and seeing just what was lost puts a whole new perspective on the things you learned in dry textbooks. Dry textbooks that underplayed the viscous nature of history to make the victors' descendants feel comfortable, while many suffered in silence. We have a long way to go still, but the first step is allowing ourselves to have conversations that make us uncomfortable. Only when we talk about the depths of pain openly can we truly begin to heal the damage that has been done. That's why Critical Race Theory is so important. So that people can heal, and others can learn. Then reparations need to be made.  

[lescalestudios]

It's on this day that we remember the lost voices of those that passed on 9/11. We use this day to remember those acts of heroism by everyday ordinary people and how strangers became family through the bonds of trauma. We remember the loss of people like a 3 year old girl onboard a flight, a group of people trying to take back their plane, and first responders who died of medical complications years after running into ruins. Their voices may be lost to us, but their memory never will.

And I do want to cycle back to the people I mentioned. I’ve watched people sit on a 3 year old’s grave marker like a bench and take selfies. I have been through the Flight 93 Memorial and heard the audio recordings of peoples last words. But what kills me most is that today those First Responders will be called heroes while congress still pushes to make sure their medical bills aren’t covered by the US Government. I know people are tired of hearing about this day 21 years later but we need to use this day to respect those that gave up their lives to prevent more death.

I’m not talking about nationalism or patriotism. I’m talking about the people on United 93 who tried to get the plane back under their control. I’m talking about the First Responders who became an after thought by their own government that kept using their sacrifices to push their political agendas. People need to keep talking about 9/11 until some form of restitution is paid to the families of the First Responders that had to pay for their own medical bills out of pocket; the medical bills caused by the fact that congress dragged their butts on ensuring their healthcare.

[lescalestudios]

Amethysts were some of my favorite gems as a kid. There is just something about this one that makes me think of Dwarven crystal caves. And also The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien, which is my favorite work of Tolkien's. That says a lot as I've taken in-depth courses that study only his work. That course also had my favorite final project ever in it. See the last 1/3rd of The Hobbit is just a different take on the last 1/3rd of Beowulf, down to the item stolen from the Dragon by the Thief. There is also a famous "translator" named Seamus Heaney. Heaney would "translate" (my instructors demanded I use that word loosely) Early English works like Beowulf, but give up some accuracy to keep the sing-songy nature of the original poem. To do this repeated sounds were often used in the original text, so the "translation" would repeat sounds. So for my final in that course I took the scene where Bilbo stole Smaug's chalice (book version remember) and then Smaug had a bad dream before waking up and destroying Dale. I wrote Smaug's dream. In his dream he drempt that he was the Dragon in Beowulf. HOWEVER, for only the dream parts that were written I used Heaney's alliterational sing-song style. To this day I am still proud of that final. So to say that this photo of Amethyst makes me think of this whole experience for me is to say quite a lot of positive feelings and pride.

[lescalestudios]

My favorite thing in the world is to go for a walk early on summer mornings. Right before the heat of summer starts to wake up. Normally I go alone but on my last trip into Washington DC my parents and brother joined me. It was nice and peaceful and a great way to start the day before the chaos of Tourism took over.

I guess if anything I just want to say National Parks are important. They deserve to be kept trash free (aka everyone clean up after yourselves). They deserve to be protected from oil drilling and mining.

But some people will never care. They will only care about getting their gas prices lower, and honestly who can blame them. In the US there is no public transportation infrastructure, we are forced to use cars if we don't live in the inner city. Inflation is up to 11% now I think? Places complain about how people don't want to work while also telling you "that's a you problem" when you tell them that you can't afford rent off of what they pay you.

This whole thing was going to be a post praising national parks and why we need more but looking at the headlines that have come out this week in regards to climate health... and I just feel as though whatever I could say would fall on deaf ears. It's times like these I think about the theme of Arcane. How to get people to care more about another cause than to care about their own conveniences.

[lescalestudios]

I took this photo of a slab of Malachite while on vacation and visiting a museum. While this slab is beautiful, there’s something about it that look like cells in a sickness. I don’t know if it’s because I watched too much She-Ra remake and Steven Universe or if it’s from coming out on the other side of a global illness.

There’s even a part of it that looks like some jewelry that I bought in Alaska, but I know what I bought was just glass and not Malachite.

And then finally there’s something about it that reminds me of those PS1 games where the backgrounds were pre-rendered compared the characters you played. Games like Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Cross, and Digimon World.

I guess this Malachite just brings up a lot of different thoughts to the foreground.

[lescalestudios]

I took this during a light flurry and a walk around town. This abandoned building has always drawn me to it. It reminds me of a time long past and the romancing of such times as simpler... but it wasn’t simpler. It was easier for privilege and harder for others. I just wish for a time of peace and prosperity... but I don’t think I will see it in my life time.

[lescalestudios]

Train tracks during the big snow storm hitting the US. It was 25 Degrees (F) but it said it felt like 13(F) according to my phone. 

However, it was nice to go out and take photos and videos of the storm with my day off work.

I got a new phone within the last month and I am really excited about the kinds of videos and photos I can produce. While I do have real cameras to take out for more professional work, they aren’t as readily available as my cell phone.

Either way if you are caught in this try to stay home, stay warm, and just watch some tv. Last snow storm my fiance and I watched the new Mortal Kombat movie with my fiance. The irony of watching SubZero kill people during a snow storm that was so bad I called off of work, just hit me today.

So take care. Stay Safe. Drink Water Everyone

[lescalestudios]

Merry Christmas Everyone!Over where I am it isn’t snowing this year, however, I always feel like Christmas needs some snow. Because thanks global warming. So here is a picture from a national park in Poland during the spring. Merry Christmas everyone  

[lescalestudios]

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Fall will always be my favorite time of year. The colors of change in the air, the cold crisp mornings, and of course some of the best time to spend with family (that includes found families too). So while much is going on today, please take a moment to enjoy this morning's sunrise, from a small untouched Forest in the Suburbs.

[lescalestudios]

I wish I had something more of substance to write about this picture from Ketchikan, Alaska. It just gives me Riverdale vibes so hard, or like a Stephen King Novel setting.

We went in the summer so it was 50 degrees (F) and raining, because surprise Alaska is technically a rain forest  because of the amount of precipitation. We also went during what is known as Salmon Rot Season. See at the end of the Salmon Life Cycle, Salmon start to rot and decay while THEY ARE STILL ALIVE, which by itself is a horrifying thought. However, this means that the whole island reeks of dead rotting fish (who are actually still alive). This also means that the smell attracts bears and birds and the like come out of the woodwork to feast on them.

Alaska btw also have clever logging protections that turn most of its land into protected land. So most of the forest just gets to stay.

[lescalestudios]

So I live in a once industrial town, in the rust belt of America. While the town I live in has rebounded into a booming college town, most of the surrounding towns and cities haven’t. And I’ve been staring at the world around me more and more like everyone else trapped in quarantine, while I listen to Hasley as I write creatively. I began reflecting  on the lyrics more too.

Which brings me to the word “Americana”. I didn’t know what the word meant until recently. It’s that star spangled American pride that you see plastered everywhere in the US around the Fourth of July as if the American flag both vomited everywhere and burst into a million splatters that land on every middle aged white dad in a suburb. While it is depressing the decay of the rust belt while it is somehow romanticized is Americana.

Romanticizing the decay of places that were once popular and wealthy and well-to-do into drug filled last gasps of an area tying to live past an economic last gasp before it dies out.

I look at these unused railroad tracks that lead to a “dead before I was born” grain mill and I just cannot stop reflecting on the word “Americana”. As well as the idea that Americana feels dumb as hell while the rust belt crumbles into ashes to be spread by the wind... all while there is a state bill on the table to spend $30,000 to renamed a lake park after a president who didn’t win a reelection. $30,000 would pull so many towns out of their last breaths, but sure lets rename a park.

So Americana is so much the life blood of the Rust Belt, and yet is such a slap in the face. No matter how many American flags you put up, or wear, or use as plates; they wont saving your dying town.