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“My life is too short for me to hurry.” That quote from British author and former gardener Marc Hamer jumped off the page as I was reading his book, “How to catch a mole, wisdom from a life lived in nature.”

The logic of it at first doesn’t add up, if life is short shouldn’t one try to get as much as possible from every day at a fast pace. In newspaper world the second hand on the clock is more relevant than the minute hand, seconds ticking away towards an ever present deadline.

As the world moves to online and everything is run by artificial intelligence, will deadlines cease to exist? No more, “Stop the presses and get me rewrite” yells into the newsrooms of old movies from the ’40s and ’50s. Today, the 24/7 stream of information flows like a river, always something arriving as the old news floats downstream.

But in the hybrid newsroom of print and online it turns out there are more deadlines than ever. First, the early print deadline around mid-day as stories and print wind their way through a labyrinth of news desk stops and then out to offsite planners and designers before arriving back in New England at the printing press in Providence, Rhode Island. Then an overnight ride back to Cape Cod for the final destination in a subscriber’s driveway or on the morning newsstand.

Online, stories, photos and videos are sent into a revolving queue based on page views and reader traffic set to specific times throughout the day aligning with website metrics calculated for the best times to catch the most “eyeballs.” As the 21st century moves into the 2020s, online monitoring is constant. Check out a pair of new shoes on a website and suddenly you are bombarded with popup ads for similar products. Indeed Big Brother is watching, no matter where your mouse and web browser might go, so act fast.

Circling back to Hamer’s observation, perhaps slowing down is the solution for our short lifespans. A moment remembered turns into a memory. Time wasted chasing a daily checklist may yield nothing more than a completed list. Like a busy bee in a field of flowers, a person can really only take on one thing at a time, best to be in the moment and enjoy.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Photo Shoot: No Need to Rush

Each week, Marion Technical College shares MarionMade! stories of our many wonderful people, places, products and programs in the greater Marion community. To read more positive stories of Marion, or to share some of your own, visit us at marionmade.org or on social media.

One man volunteers his time and talent to take dozens of beautiful pictures of Marion County − its new businesses, historical places, interesting people and everything in between.

“I like the history of Marion − from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Chapel to the Huber Machinery Museum to the True House. We need to learn about our history.” David Weichenthal said. “I also like learning about how people get their start in business.”

David moved to Marion with his family in 1980. His parents, Gerhardt (Gary) and Dorothy Weichenthal, owned the Beltone Hearing Aid Office on Main Street in Marion for many years before retiring.

While Dave spent decades programming computers with his degrees from the University of Rochester and Marion Technical College, he always had a love of photography.

Artistry runs in the Weichenthal family

David comes from an artistic family. His mother, Dorothy, still loves to paint and write at age 97. His sister, Patty Felker, makes Christian music. Joan Wood is a sculptor, painter, graphic designer and children’s book author. David borrowed Joan’s high-end camera equipment to snap photos as he started his hobby.

From family portraits to nature shots, David Weichenthal loves to take pictures. David says the secret is to take many photos.

“Only one of every 100 pictures may come out,” David said.

More: Aces of Trades: Jill Chitwood considered a ‘force of nature’

Photography has become more affordable with an iPhone and a digital camera. When David started his hobby, he had to buy and pay to develop rolls of film with only 36 pictures each.

“Last year, I took about 30,000 photos, and it only cost me $40 for an SSD storage card to hold all of them,” David said.

Story continues

Occasionally, a few subjects are reluctant to have their portraits taken.

“I try to present people in their best light,” David said. “People tell me they will break the camera, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

He likes taking candid shots and allowing young children to take photos.

“They love it! They haven’t broken anything so far,” Dave chuckled.

Photos archive history, follow a town’s legacy

He also loves genealogy and once inherited family photos from the 1890s. Unfortunately, only a handful of the pictures identified the people in them.

“It’s important to label your photos for future generations,” David said.

David enjoys getting to see and learn about different parts of Marion, from the Amish cabin builder in LaRue to LuLu’s Toy Shop in downtown Marion. Over the years, David generously volunteered dozens of hours to showcase this vibrant, thriving community.

“I’ve enjoyed all of the MarionMade! stories,” David said.

Any residents interested in licensing the MarionMade! logo, submitting photos, offering story ideas or sharing their passion for the community, can find resources on MarionMade.org under the “Get Involved” section. Ideas can also be submitted via social media channels or by email to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: David Weichenthal’s photos highlights Marion’s people and places

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The notion of what the world would look like if humans were to vanish has been explored extensively by scientists, as well as many post-apocalyptic movies.

However, French photographer Romain Veillon is making it his mission to capture in pictures the potential result of a planet without people.

The 38-year-old has spent years photographing abandoned places around the world that have been overtaken by nature, with eerily beautiful results.

For his recent book “Green Urbex: The World Without Us,” released in 2021, he shot a series of deserted and/or forgotten spots, including a ghost town in Namibia, an abandoned cinema in Brussels, a dilapidated Tuscan villa and a disused railway track in Ukraine.

‘Post-apocalyptic vision’

Veillon, who is working on the second volume of the book, hopes the haunting images will serve as a reminder of the “necessity to live in harmony with our habitat,” as well as highlight the importance of working with rather than against nature.

“We are all fascinated by this post-apocalyptic vision,” he says. “Maybe we need to be the witness of that to enjoy what we have and the time in front of us.”

The book, which is only available in French at present, is divided into three different sections. The first showcases deserted places that remain relatively well preserved and the second focuses on dilapidated sites in a far worse state.

Finally, the third section is made of images of long-forgotten places that have been completely overrun by vegetation.

“The photographs were all shot during the last 10 years,” Veillon tells CNN via email. “It’s really a mix of all the places I have been documenting since I started.”

Enduring fascination

His fascination with abandoned places began at an early age, when he discovered a deserted truck factory near Paris.

Although the book, which contains over 200 images, provides some historical background to a number of the sites, the photographer says he tries to offer as little detail as possible so that people can “make up their own answers” to any questions they may have.

“Each story will be different from the other, and that’s what I love,” he adds.

However, capturing deserted spots in so many different, and often remote, corners of the world is far more complicated than just picking up a camera and hitting the road.

Veillon sometimes spends months researching lesser known sites and pinpointing their exact location, not to mention applying for authorization to photograph some of them.

“I spend hours searching for historical clues that can help me locate the location I want to photograph,” he explains.

Extraordinary sites

“There’s a huge amount of time [spent] on Google Maps trying to see if some buildings might be buried under vegetation. And just driving around when you’re in a new area can also bring some nice surprises.”

Having friends all over the world has also proved useful to the photographer, who often receives tips from other travelers, and sometimes his social media followers, on potential sites to include in his work.

One of the highlights from the book is an image of Buzludzha, an abandoned Soviet monument in Bulgaria, which Veillon says was one of his favorite places to photograph.

“Buzludzha is for sure the most extraordinary and unique place I have ever been to,” he says of the former Bulgarian Communist Party headquarters built atop a mountain.

“From the outside, it looks like a UFO, and inside, you find the most beautiful mosaics.”

Romania’s defunct Constanța Casino, which has been designated as a historic monument by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony, also left a lasting impression.

Nature reclaiming

“I was so surprised to see the remains of the old casino stage, the wonderful chandeliers or the ornaments of the grand staircase,” he admits.

Veillon’s haunting images of Japan’s Nara Dreamland, taken around a decade after the theme park closed in 2006, have garnered the most attention.

“This is a perfect example of what I want to show when we say ‘nature is taking over,” he says. “You can see ivy slowly covering the roller coaster like it is getting eaten by it. The park was destroyed [between 2016 and 2017] not long after my visit, so it makes the photograph even more iconic I think.”

While the travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic have meant that Veillon’s travels have been few and far between of late, he’s planning to visit Peru later this year and also hopes to visit ghost town Akarmara, a former coal mining village in Abkhazia, Georgia that’s been overtaken by trees, in the near future.

However, Abkhazia remains closed to international visitors.

“It [Akarmara] is the one journey I should have done a long time ago,” he says.

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Chris Pratt, 44, enjoyed a family outing with all three of his children on Sunday morning and looked as happy as could be. The actor was photographed walking outside with his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, 33, his oldest son Jack, 10, and two daughters, Lyla, 2, and Eloise, 1, and flashed a big smile to nearby cameras. Jack was having fun on a scooter while the Chris was pushing Eloise’s stroller and Katherine pushed Lyla’s.

The former Everwood star wore a casual outfit that included a gray T-shirt, black shorts, and black sneakers. He also added sunglasses and a black baseball cap. Katherine wore an opened black button-down long-sleeved shirt over a black top, black leggings, and black sneakers. She also added sunglasses to her look and had her hair down under a white baseball cap.

Jack, whose mother is Anna Faris, wore a dark blue T-shirt, matching shorts, and black sneakers with white socks, while Lyla wore a white graphic tee, leggings, and white sneakers. The blonde cutie also had her hair up. Eloise wore a light pink outfit and had her hair in pigtails.

Chris’ latest family outing comes a month after Katherine took to Instagram to share adorable photos of the doting dad and their daughters. She also included photos of herself hanging out with family and friends and doing all kinds of activities. “Nature, jenga and family,” she captioned the post.

In addition to being photographed on outings and sharing their own casual photos of their family on social media, Chris and Katherine have also shared holiday photos. Some of the most recent holiday photos were for Easter. Katherine showed off her daughters and other family members, like her mom Maria Shriver, in the special post. She also showed off gorgeous nature photos of their surroundings. “Easter of love, family, sisters and some firsts for little one ,” she captioned the post.

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