Out On the Bay on Spring's First Day

The day was so nice today that I simply had to dig out the kayak and get out on the water. I didn't really dress so warm that it was bulky, just a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece vest, but it was very nice! I paddled up to the head of the bay past Watkin's Farm and took in all the seagulls, ducks and even an eagle on the trip. The photo I am posting is one that I particularly liked because of the seagulls on the rock and the position that placed the house in the background. I seem to notice things so differently on the water, and I appreciate the various points of view that present themselves.

16 Journals

I just finished another journal, and I got this urge to photograph them all together. It's something I have never done before and the "things" in my life are so varied and in such multiplicity that I can never photograph it all, so it seems that this concept presented itself from a thread of thought that was wrapped around my putting together a slide show of sorts of all my journal work. It may very well be the best legacy that I can leave behind in this world.
I've done more than 16, I have the ink drawings I did in the summer of '04 in an 11 by 14 journal, and I have the journals (one hand written, the other drawn) that Torrey and Cary gave me. And there's the missing one.

Band at the Library

We are shooting people pictures in Digital Photo class, so I had the chance to get some shots of our young musicians playing for the crowd at the NE Harbor Library tonight for the opening reception celebrating the artwork of MDI High School art students.
Getting the "feel" of the visual artwork on the background walls and for the musicians and their mannerisms while playing isn't always easy, but by moving around the space and becoming familiar with the surrounds it is much easier to get that "good" shot.

Nuts.

From close range with my phone. These are a part of my diet, and seeing them in the can yesterday morning kinda got me interested. The shallow depth of field and even the grains of salt are interesting aspects of this photo for me.

Roberta's Field Early Morning

As the sun shines onto the back field in our neighbor's house, I found this picture the other morning. I really love the play of cool blue against the sunlit warmer oranges and such in places in this landscape. A couple of little things I would probably remove in a perfect world. but I know things aren't perfect.

Here's the post looking west from the house.

Coyotes

There are a couple of coyotes that have been around the house for a while, and it is interesting to see how the full moon affects them as they have been howling a bit the past few nights. They came near the house today and did their howling thing, so we all went to the windows to watch them.

I got these pictures of the male as he sat over by the boats, calling out every once in a while, and then trotted toward the east into the spruces at the side of the house. They haven't been a bother in general, and they are interesting to watch.

Valentine's Day and Out on the Bay

This first photo is a shot I took of a shirt in my studio sink that I discharged some of the dye from with a bit of bleach. It is a close enough shot so that the subject is somewhat abstracted, and I really liked what the surface of the water did to the image creating a reflective plane.

The second picture was shot as I was standing on the ice out in the bay. I got a bunch of pictures of the ice out there, but I thought this picture looking back at the house was neat also because of the reflection in the rising water.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field…  where in these photos is depth of field and why does it happen? Who took these anyway? Interesting shots that are “close to home”. First to identify where they are wins a prize!

Snow Trees

 

This shot was taken in a moving car... I had to set my ISO (capture speed equivalent to ASA rating of 35mm roll film) to 1600 as it was early in the morning and I wanted a fast shutter speed to reduce the blur movement of the car (45-50 mph). I did manage to point the camera up to get an interesting perspective, but I took about 20 of these, this being the best one.

On The Snowy Roof

Butch was up on the roof today doing his thing with all the snow drifted against a second floor wall. By the time he had shoveled it all down he had quite a pile of well packed snow in front of the ceramics studio. I liked this one the best of several because it caught him in the action of moving the snow. People doing something tends to be more interesting than people doing nothing.

Colored Pencil Shavings

... up close! Texture and a sort of random pattern make this happen. A lot can happen from here with PhotoShop and a few filters!

Orange and White

I guess a lot of contemporary photography is actually about color. The control that the photographer has over the look and texture of photos is absolutely amazing when compared to what could be done and how easily just a couple of decades ago. I know, students, that I throw out a "couple of decades ago" with relative aplomb, but I've seen it. Color photos in media such as National Geographic and Sports Illustrated have been a standard of excellence for years, but to achieve those results the energy and effort was incredible. I warn you not to take this amazing control of color lightly, but to use it to advantage in the "look" of your work.

 The "Orange" is actually a clementine, and the "White" is simply a background for a photo which I would call "58", that I noticed for it's geometric composition, lines and angles. I went to the town landing wanting to photograph the frozen bay, but, as usual, ended up seeing a lot of other things to shoot. The clementine I shot when I got back home and noticed the color intensity when I laid it down on the orange counter.

OK, Class...

..let's get some of those great photos you take posted on your blog site! Here's a couple from Flander's Bay that I've taken!

My Hero, Robert Henri

A painter, not as much a photographer, but a fantastic teacher!