Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir

Thursday evening I photographed the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir's rehearsal. These shots are a sampling of what I took. The choir is offering its 20th annual prayer breakfast on Sunday, May 1st at the Arcata Community Center at nine in the morning.

Schoolhouse Odyssey

Schoolhouse Odyssey

Yesterday I had the privilege to photograph this exhibit at the Morris Graves Art Museum in Eureka. This body of work, by local artist Diana Schoenfeld, is a rather extensive study of historic schoolhouses in numerous locations, including several from Humboldt County. The exhibit runs through next weekend, including Arts Alive on Saturday, May 7th. It is worth a visit. The artist is often on hand to share her knowledge.

Working in Lightroom

I worked on this image in Lightroom, and I think I improved it a bit. Click on the image for a larger view.

Hand Held Twilight Photos, and Why I Love IS

I took these images while on a walk in a redwood forest at Kneeland.  

 

The sun had set, and it was overcast. I set the camera to ISO 6400.

The high ISO and the lenses image-stabilization allowed for me to do close-up and telephoto shots in the near dark evening.

I recall the shutter speed being around 1/40 second. I had the lens open to f4.

This capability for hand-held photography is one that I don't often use. I almost always use a tripod and an ISO (ASA for all the old school types) of around 100. I grew up on Plus X and Panatomic X films, and D-76 1:1 developer for fine grain images, but never in the past did I think that I would hand hold an f4 lens in twilight, and get these kind of images. What a joy.

The sun was still in the sky when I took this shot. Rather pastoral (literally and figuratively).

New Show

I will be hanging a new show tomorrow at Summit Brokerage Services, INC at 923 3rd Street, Eureka. The images will be available for viewing during their normal business hours, and during an open house/Arts Alive venue on Saturday May 7th. I will feature mostly works of the local area, including landscapes, Eureka and Arcata architecture, night shots, and images from my Spirit Tree Series. All-in-all, I think there will be more than twenty images hanging on the wall.

Stripes, Dry Lagoon 2010

I have shared many of the images on this blog, buy I really want for you to see the printed image as it hangs on a wall. Therefore it would give me pleasure to see many of you in person.

Identify These Flowers Please

I think this a a Trillium, but I am not sure.

I found several of these yesterday. I don't recall having ever seen these before. I am thinking they are trillium, but I could use your help. Please leave a comment below.

Prairie Creek Sunday Outing

One of the things that I really like about going north is that some the things I most like to photograph are near Prairie Creek State Park.

I have even started photographing structures in Orick. There are only a few more that claim my interest, but it is still a joy to be able to stop and take some time with what I see there. Back when I was working, and driving through Orick,  I saw some of these photographs, but I never felt free to stop and take the time to photograph them.

Orick Presbyterian Church, April 2011

The same thing is true for when I was driving through Prairie Creek State Park in a work vehicle. I would see these "Spirit Trees" and wish for the opportunity to spend time with them so that I could "feel their energy" and find the compositions that I would briefly see while driving by.

Spirit Tree Series, April 2011

I figured that the alder trees all ready started to leaf out, and that there was only a slim chance that there would be anything of photographic interest for me from them (but that is fine since I am pleased with the images that I got on my last trip north). So I looked at a grove of what I think are big leaf maples. I studied these for years, and yesterday I felt as if I was closing in on what I had been visualizing. The above image is a representative of what I saw for all those years when I drove through.

New Eureka Photographs

Alternative Building Center, Eureka, April 2011

ABA Auto Services, Eureka, April 2011

Albee and Buck, Eureka, April 2011

Albee and Buck Number Two, Eureka, April 2011

Shadows and Forms, Former Auto Dealership, Eureka, April 2011

Jobu Shin Kan, Eureka, April 2011

The above images are but a sampling of what I made yesterday morning in Eureka. It has been quite awhile since I actually went out photographing. I also took numerous images of the Lloyd Building on Fifth Street. Yesterday was the first time that I was able to photograph the east wall without there being any cars in the lot.

I think there are some images that I would like to rephotograph. I think that Jobu Shin Kan could use a slightly tighter composition. I must admit that I do like the cracks in the asphalt, and the white lane markers. I would like to omit the motel on the left while keeping the other elements.