Father's Day

My father has been gone for more than nineteen years, but every once in a while, a wave of sadness still washes over me. They're not the overpowering, all-engulfing waves from when the grief was still new, but they're just enough to remind me of that empty spot he left in my heart when he made his journey. It's been a long time, but I still miss you Dad! Happy Father's Day. 

About the photograph: 

This is how I remember my father when my parents were still together, sometime in the early 1970s. He always had his hair short in those days. And of course, he always seemed to wear brown or baby-blue corduroy pants with white tube socks. Also, he usually wore t-shirts, but in this picture, he "dressed up" with a short sleeve button-up shirt.  

His glasses were the one constant feature that I always remember, no matter what phase of his life. 

I'm not sure about the location of this picture, but I always thought it was taken on Steptoe Butte, or perhaps Mount Spokane. Both places have a long, winding road that circles around the mountain toward the summit, each allowing for a magnificent view of the countryside below. 

The original photo is black and white (below), but I did some experimentation with a daguerreotype effect using picmonkey.com.

A scan of the original photograph.