"Video Postcards: Straight to the Heart of Art"

I don't know why this never entered my mind before. The world of YouTube.com has become nothing less than a massive repertoire of world video of every conceivable genre and level of acumen and artistic prowess...as well as lack thereof...and in past posts I've listed several links to videos of either amazing young artists, or otherwise talented/interesting individuals worthy of watching, if even but to marvel over...all off of the YouTube.com website. Now, hold that thought...

When I was in Rapid City, South Dakota doing weather at KEVN FOX 7, I had developed a unique concept to share with viewers there my photography, combined with my flute music, playing flutes I've made, my Ugly Boys. They were just under a minute long...from ads the screen would go black...then fade up to my title card with my flute music playing, slowly fading between my nature photography stills, and then fading to black at the end. The camera would then pop up on myself and the news anchor that day, and we'd chit-chat about where I went the past weekend to take the pictures, and somehow segue into the full weather forecast.

I called it my anti-news effort. I've worked in news for 18 years now, albeit just weather, and I disagree with the way a vast majority of news stories are handled. I wanted to make a positive effort to put something on the airwaves that was different, uplifting, and honoring of the incredible natural world around us, to counter the murders and accidents and other depressing news items we are bombarded with daily.

As an artist, it was a true 'synergy' to have taken all the photographs, recorded the music myself, and having made all the flutes I played, doing all of the recording/editing...it was the 'total' package experience and then some for me.

So I came up with these "Video Postcards" each week. And for some reason I only just now realized I could and should put a few on YouTube.com so you can link to it and see them for yourself, instead of sending out emails with 6MB files. I'll admit, the compression kills the quality, and you are best served by watching the video in its smaller window instead of enlarging it, FYI. Below are the 3 I've chosen to put on so far, the underlined words serving as a link to that particular video:

He Wakinyan Hohpi, Black Hills, South Dakota
(a.k.a. Harney Peak, today)






Spearfish Canyon, Black Hills, South Dakota
("Autumn's Quilt" I call this one)






Badlands National Park, South Dakota
(Badlands on a spring day)

I suppose that's what I love about the beauty of each new day...knowing there will be opportunities to learn at every moment...to grow...to experience...to become more Aware of the world around us.

May you walk in Beauty today and everyday.