Back on the Bike

Now that school is over and I have my studio pretty well cleaned up, I've gotten back on track with my Marin® bike and I'm lovin' the feeling of the road passing under my feet/wheels. Although I'm missing all of those TV episodes such as "Bones", Numb3rs" and of course "The X Files"!

Got a Bike rack from George and put it on today!

Flowers Gone By

It's been a more difficult end-of-the-year for school then I have been able to recall for a while, but I've been cleaning out my studio, discovering things that I don't need, things that I had forgotten I had and things that I have learned over the years. I never really have thought much about accumulated knowledge and understanding, but realize now how important it all is to allow a person to be who they truly are or even want to be. Everything dies, but to be as beautiful as a flower for such a short time might very well be worth that short time.

Flowers Close Up

We have bouquets of flowers all over the house and so yesterday during a moment of inspiration and amidst thoughts that seeing things closely can make them clearer, I got out some close-up filters and shot a few of the flowers in the dining room.

I worked on these a bit, adjusting color and sharpness as well as saturation and contrast. I also "touched up" some errant spots of "another color" and just tried to simplify some of the images. Here are four of many.

Jackson Again...

... given the somber mood at home recently with the death of Jen's younger sister and the way that Matthew "stepped up" and conducted himself during the graveside ceremony, Jackson was a resource of happiness for several of our family, and eased the sorrow and tension.

It's sometimes strange how we react to the situations that life puts us in, but somehow the innocence of youth pulls us together to define the context of where and who we really are and how we will continue to be. Here are four, untouched from the camera as I don't have the energy right now to do "tweaking" as it might be needed. Tomorrow will be some floral shots that I really worked for, what with close up lenses and diffused lighting and a tripod and all.

With that happy-go-lucky, not a care in the world face, Jackson says "bye-bye"!

More Spring Leaves

I just can't leave (no pun intended) this subject alone. It seems as though the setting sun combined with the telephoto lens has provided me with images and color (none of these have been altered at all from the camera) that I continue to find fascinating and pleasing. There is a joy in the beauty of nature that is to me miraculous because there seem to also be so many imperfections in nature and how "she" works. I imagine that it is all spiritual, and often feel that spirit when I photograph the "natural world". When I see an image through the viewfinder of my camera that moves me and seems "striking" it is almost as though I have captured or contained nature at its best, having been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Backlit by the Sun

I took a quick break from my "lawnmower man" task after supper tonight and I grabbed my Sony Alpha and went out to photograph in the low sunset. I found a number of subjects such as the new blossoms on the crab apple trees and the sugar plum, but I turned toward the sun and noticed how it shone through the leaves of the maple tree in the back yard, where it is just beginning to leave out. Here are three I liked the best, these are about light first, subject second and the composition always!

Georgia On My Mind

So I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything here, but I have been really busy at school and doing things with my student photographers, so I really don't feel too guilty. I took my phone out this morning and grabbed a couple of shots from the vase of flowers on the kitchen table. Mother's Day was Sunday, but the flowers are still in pretty good shape. Georgia O'Keeffe has always been so beautiful to me, and I haven't been able to get her off my mind today!

Sunset Stil-life

I was struck by the light from the low sun after "suppah" last night and so I went down front to see if I could find a few pictures. I found more than sixty-five and narrowed down a few to post on blogs. I have taken so many pictures of the apple tree down by the shore, and in fact it was one of the first subjects I put on this blog, that I've lost count. I'm always telling my students to "work for the picture" by changing points of view, moving in and out, and generally just looking for a "fresh or unusual" approach to a subject. I found my self doing just that with the apple tree, and moving around to the lighted side I found this sort of "still-life" with some flotsam that wintered under the base of the tree.

Last Weekend

A surprise visit from Jackson and his Mom & Dad made last weekend very nice! We had a lot of "holding" time and I took hundreds of pictures. Here are a couple I liked.

Sewing for Matthew

Tonight after supper I took Matthew's torn jeans upstairs to "patch up", and I used the Brother machine. I started sewing with the classic "zig-zag" and saw something in the cloth, the shiny pressure foot and the path of thread that came from the process. I went downstairs and grabbed my camera, took three shots, saw what I wanted, what struck me in the first place and finished the sewing. Here are two of the three shots, they seemed to have the most "drama" for me.