Isolation and Connections

Being home is not the worst thing in the world, but there is a sense of loss within me by the isolation from other family, specifically my sons and families. If it weren't for the fact that a virtual connection through FaceTime and our electronic devices allows us to actually see and talk in real time, I think this separation would have worse effects for both my wife Jennifer and I.
Yesterday, as we "got out" for a ride in the car, we received a video call from our youngest grandson, who really does miss us and our bi-weekly visits, and he was dressed in a Halloween costume! He made us laugh, expressed joy in seeing us, and asked if he could FaceTime us every day. A no brainer for Jennifer and I, we are now looking forward to his calls.

Mondays...

The second week of school begins, but at least we were able to be there and share!

I like both the depth in the spacing of the figures and the balance of the various sizes of the figures in this image. I did crop it to improve composition!

Jen's Beauty

These recent shots with a 200mm lens are just a small part of the beauty of Jennifer's flower garden at the East side of the house.

The three shots of the "Day Lillies" below were an  attempt to see the flowers from different points of view, emphasizing the stamen, petals or buds starting to present themselves for the next day.

None of the photos were altered in any way.

Afternoon Sun

Yesterday when I got home, I thought I would go down front and take some photos on the shore, but before I could get down there or even get out of the house, I was attracted to the afternoon light shining in through the living room windows. The geometry of the shapes of light on the floor and furniture were striking to me as they set up an interesting contrast in the bottom section of the image.

Black and White Shore

I like the idea of making black and white images, and it is through the editing abilities of the "Photos" app that an amazing amount of control over image and properties can be used. I used the control sliders to make this image lighter and a bit more "contrasty" to add some drama to the scene, which was shot in the early afternoon.

Right in the Room

 Backgrounds are a key to successful images, and I found this one right in the classroom. Besides having such a great subject, a simplified background draws attention to this center of interest.

Multiple Me

 "Selfies" shot in a dark room with a strobe light. No alterations to these images, but I would like some more time to explore the possibilities of slow shutter and the strobe effect. Repetition and pattern forming an interesting play of textures and color.

First Semester Returns

 These two students dropped by the gallery the other day and were clowning around, much like they did in my first semester black and white class. They  are good friends and you can see their connection in this piece,

No Day Like a Snow Day

 This image found my camera during the last nor'easter we had, and it reminded me so much of the first post I made on this blog site. There was no snow falling in that first one, but this one features the large flakes making a pattern across the entire frame. There is a sense of light on the snow laden branches that gives this image a strong sense of three dimensional form.

Haystack SBL 2017

Amazing that after helping to start the SBL program back in the 80's, that I would have a chance to bring students from my school to this amazing site to learn. Three days of more than eight hours in the studio helps students to realize what an intensive learning experience working in the Haystack studios can be. Even though I have worked in and on the campus dozens of times, each studio session is a magical experience. Here's the mosaic that i did this past few days!