Spring - The Edge of Water

While the weather seems more like spring, it is still pretty chilly with the wind right off the ocean. I went down to the shore this afternoon for a half-hour or so to take some pictures and it didn't take all that long to get really cold.

My intention was to try out my neutral density filter as a way of expressing the photo assignment "The Edge of Water" I use with classes. While I have read a great deal about using ND filters, I had never actually put it into practice. I made a bunch of mistakes, and then little by little got better at it to the point I got some images I think I like. Here are a few, and I find the almost pure white of the water in the first one fascinating after looking at ice on the bay for the most of the winter.

Frosty Morning

It is so nice to have some warm days and feel that sun on my face, but this morning had that "spring chill". I stopped the car and flicked on the "Hipstamatic" app on my phone, pointing it out through the windshield at the trees on the sides of the road. The frost contributed a sense of mystique to the image that I think represents this time of the season and that time of morning very well!

The Past Winter

I am already feeling nostalgic for last winter, especially after today has topped 60 degrees and the snow is melting quickly. I took this shot a couple of weeks ago, and felt at the time it was a marker for the end of winter, and then we got a few single digit temperatures over night and I did my "cake walk" on the ice a few days ago. Everthing is open in the bay now and it does feel good to really have winter behind us!

Acorn Composites

Hey All!

It's great to have a group of fellow teaching artists who are interested in the way that photo images might  be altered and manipulated to help students find a solution to ARTS problems in their work, as well as finding entirely new ways to express themselves!

This post is for the teachers in the MAEA Spring Conference in Brewer who are planning to participate in my workshop on using the MLTI "Acorn" program for image composites.

The link to files I have put together for the session is

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxJsGy-IBRrhfnd3VmdSTGZSY0ZmSmdjQ0RBRHo2dU1fZXhDaFVOTGJWaGZaU3VhUWVqMkU&usp=sharing

... and I hope you will free free to download or upload files to this folder. Now on to the session!

But I'm on it Tonight Anyway!

I did some "ice cake hopping" at dusk tonight down by the shore, and it was very cool. I also got a couple of images I like very much. The ice cakes are such a variety of shapes and sizes that they provide a very interesting random pattern along the shore. Looking back at the house, the shore becomes this white littered playground. I found it fascinating!

The Bay Ice is Now Unsafe!

Watching the ice begin to deteriorate the past few weeks has been interesting, and I think it will be a while before anyone walks on ice on Flander's. Really punky looking now and hard to access from the shore. Picture below.

Two Months Later

The ice in the bay has been pretty solid for the months of March and February, but these last few sunny days have begun to break it up, especially near the shore where the fresh water runs down and the sun strikes the snow and ice at an angle that facilitates melting. This may well have been my last day on the ice as it is starting to get sort of "punky" and the water is now seeping up through the cracks, especially along the shore.

Here are a few pictures I shot tonight at dusk.