MorseBlog

Introduction (Originally written in Oct 2016) A Photable My grandfather Cushman Morse (the Grandchildren knew him as Grandpa Cushy) tried to start a small business shortly after he he moved his family from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts to Phoenix Arizona around 1948. The move precipitated by my father's asthma where a drier climate was recommended. My grandparent lived the rest of their lives in Arizona. My grandfather was an avid photographer at the time and would later start camera store in Phoenix called Cushy's Cameras. He used a large format 4x5 view camera though I am unsure of the make. The business was called Photables and were coffee tables with a large black and white print under glass. In a previous post on this blog I said... He had a local carpenter make the tables and he took the photos, usually custom, that he then placed under a sheet of glass for the table top. He started with a 4x5 negative and printed it in his own darkroom. My father recalls he devel...

Every few years when we visit friends and family over Christmas in southern California we stay a few days in Borrego Springs. Borrego Springs is a small resort community in the middle of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The first time I took my wife here she was shocked at how bleak and desolate it is. It is very desolate and dry. In winter however the weather is perfect for hiking. After some time she began to see the subtleties of the desert and now we both enjoy visiting and walking in the park. My grandmother first introduced me to the desert. She lived north of Phoenix in the Sonoran desert and she had a great love for it. They lived on about 5 acres in a house with great big windows that brought the desert landscape into the house. My grandfather built a pond and waterfall that attracted wildlife from all over the desert. In addition to the rabbits, coyotes, mule deer, mountain lions, rattle snakes, and gila monsters my grandmother taught me the names of different cactus...