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| Except as noted, all photographs Copyright 2005 King Douglas | ||
January 16, 2005  |
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Here are some miscellaneous images, in no particular order, that I've been wanting to share. Each image has a story. I'm going to put a few of them on this page and follow up with a few more in the coming days. |
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In my youth I had a career in the theater. Here's a copy of my Actors' Equity card...you'll note that I was a "Senior Member" in 1969.
This image reminds me that the United States put the first human being on the moon in the summer of 1969, when I was 25 years old, within the deadline set by President John F. Kennedy. |
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 Photo: Paula Dowers |
I turned 60 on June 23, 2004. I set my expectations very low for that auspicious occasion. Paula Dowers (my sweet wife), actually managed, with the help of two friends, to light the 60 candles they had painstakingly positioned on my delicious, homemade chocolate cake.
Believe me, it was a temporarily frightening experience to hold the blazing cake in my hands. As it turned out, my sixtieth birthday was one of the happiest and most fulfilling of my life. I can't even explain it. Everything seemed so perfect and wonderful. This is a very happy time in my life, and I owe much of my happiness to my wife Paula Dowers, my two remarkable children, my family and my friends. |
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In 1980, I was the official photographer for the China portion of the Boston Ballet Company's world tour: 21 days in the People's Republic of China, divided between Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, plus 5 days in Hong Kong.
I wanted to have a business card in both English and Chinese. I was fortunate to find a person whose Chinese calligraphy was particularly fine. The Chinese characters on the left translate to, "My name is King," on the right, "I am a photographer." On the reverse is written, also in fine Chinese calligraphy, "May I take a photograph of you?" I didn't know at the time that the Chinese had the habit of turning business cards over and reading the back of the card. I was surprised at first at the number of people who turned the card over, then straightened, smiled at me and said (in Chinese), "Of course, go right ahead!" I took many needless photos of people holding my business card and smiling. |
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I had to spend a lot of time in the dark in the old days, developing film (in total darkness), then printing the images in a darkroom lit with a dim yellow light. This cartoon reminds me of the good old days.
Nowadays with digital photography, Photoshop and the web, my life is so much more full of light. |
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This is the Douglas tartan. There are variations. My ancestry is Scot on my father's side and English on my mother's.
My wife and son joined me on a business trip to the beautiful city of Edinburgh, Scotland, a few years ago. I hope to put some Edinburgh photos on this site soon. |
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Here's my draft cart. I went through the induction process in May 1965 during the height of the Vietnam war. However, I was suffering a severe athletic injury to both knees at the time so I was put on temporary deferment , classified as "1-Y." I was not called back. | |
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| January 14, 2005 | |
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| I decided to start a journal in order to post miscellaneous images that have a story attached and to post them without waiting to accumulate a set of like images. So here we go. | ||
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At the left you see my tree man, Roberto Vergara. Roberto was recommended to me by my friend, Alan Brown. I wanted to have my large pecan tree trimmed because it cast too much shade in my backyard.
I hadn't seen this particular job done before. It was remarkable. Roberto went about the task in a practiced, careful and efficient manner. Starting with the lower branches, he caused each piece he cut to fall exactly where it wanted it to land. On the ground, his wife cut the fallen pieces into firewood. I knew the tree was tall, but until I saw him near the top, I didn't have a full appreciation of just how tall it is, and the larger image doesn't even show the base of the tree. |
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Here's one of the benefits of trimming a large tree. How long do we have to let the wood dry before we can enjoy watching it burn in our fireplace? Alan Brown says I should leave it for at least one full season.
John Troesser of TexasEscapes.com agrees, but cautions to use it next season or risk of harboring disease-carrying bugs in the long term. |
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