CONTINUING ON MY RAILROADING THEME

BNSF AT SANDCUT, CALIFORNIA, 2006

I sat with this image for six years. I knew that there were elements of the composition that appealed to me, but I never could interpret it in a manner that reflected what I wanted to share. This closely matches my visual recollections of the type of lighting I recall in the lower San Joaquin Valley. The reason why I think I was stuck for so long in my dealings with this image is that I kept pumping up the saturation. I have a version of this photograph where the sky is very alive. The problem is that the sky in that part of the country is seldom vivid. The air is full of particulates, and the "haze" (a polite term for smog), is almost always a big factor in the clarity of one's vision.

SATURATED SANTA FE

I can say that this image is my interpretation of what I saw that day, and for the past six years I wanted this to be it. The truth is that I really do like both visions of the scene. I still have not determined if and when I will invest some paper and ink on this photograph. I think I will sit with them just a little while longer.

LISTEN TO THE COLD STEEL RING

STEEL ON STEEL, LOCOMOTIVE BRAKES AND DRIVERS, 2011

This is a new interpertation of the image. It is a substantial crop of the original digital image. I think that I am becoming fluent with my black and white language skills. I am currently enamored with the bit of toning that I am doing.

This image was processed entirely in Lightroom 4. I seldom work in Photoshop unless I need to do some cloning or healing to remove aspects of a composition.

LOOK HERE!

SHAPES, FORMS, AND MUTED COLOR ON A GRAY DAY IN FORTUNA

For me, it is often form that catches my eye. Sometimes form becomes more the focus of the image than the lighting. The lighting in this image is flat, and the only real contrast in the lighting is in the doorways. The primary contrast is created by the colors of the greens and browns.

I was drawn to the symmetrical as well as the asymmetrical aspects of these structures. The concrete curbs are mirrors of shape, but not scale.

SUNNY DAYS

IN LISA'S GARDEN

I took this image this morning, and I liked it enough to go ahead and print it. I chose to print it on canvas just so I could see how it would look. I think it actually came out looking very close to what the screen shows, but with some texture.

A DIFFERENT WAY OF SEEING

A STAR IN THE EVENING

I am venturing out a bit with this image. I consider it to be an interpretation of what I saw that day. This photograph represents what I saw while looking straight into the sun. The power and intensity may blind one's eyes, and so I only steal quick glimpses. The camera allows me to look longer.

THIS JUST MAKES ME HAPPY!

THE EDGE OF THE FOREST, PRAIRIE CREEK, 2010

This is an image that I have been working on for two years. I tried it in variations of composition, tone, and color. I finally, for now anyhow, settled on this composition (which is the full frame). I gave it a stronger and longer bath in the toner tray, so to speak. I think that the tall dark giants give the image the mood and tone that I think conveys the emotion I feel when I am there.

TEACHING AN OLD DOG

Wind Swept, Patrick's Point State Park, 2010

I feel humble. I am associating with some really marvelous artists. That any of these local artists will have anything to do with me is something I find to be very rewarding. My association with painters, photographers, sculptures and curators is becoming an ever widening circle. My eyes are treated to a tremendous amount of creativity, and most of it is right here in Humboldt County.

I think one of the best things that I ever did for my art, was to join the Redwood Art Association. Thorough the RAA's venues, I was afforded public gallery space in which to present my work. And through the RAA I received valuable feedback on my photography. I am sure that my work has hung in at least a dozen RAA shows over the course of the past three years.

Last year I joined the Humboldt Arts Council, The Eureka Photoshop Users Group, and the Redwood Camera Club. I feel that my association with these groups is, each in their own way, just as valuable as my association with the RAA.

I currently have a space in the downstairs of the Morris Graves Museum of Art where examples of my work that  are on display. I am honored that I was accepted as a featured artist in their space for retail art.

My experience with the Redwood Camera Club or RCC, is one that is very important to my development as an artist. There are some very talented photographers in that group, and they seem to be very willing to share their expertise with newcomers like me. I look forward to each meeting and critique.

I must also mention the Eureka Photoshop Users Group. I value the level of the presentations, and I feel that my skills within my craft are growing as a result of what I glean from each session. I look forward to each session.

What my title refers to is that I am learning like crazy. I am having a wonderful time honing my skills, learning new aspects of my art, and establishing friendships. All-in-all a pretty cool way to spend my "golden years".

BOLD SHAPES AND COLORS

FORTUNA RECTANGLES AND SQUARES, APRIL 2012

I did pump up the vibrance to Kodachrome levels in this image, but otherwise this is just about what it looked like to me on Sunday. I like the simplicity in the shapes, and how the strong colors work against the gray of the sky and the darker gray of the asphalt.

POKING AROUND FERNBRIDGE AND PHOTOGRAPHY AS ART

RED ON GRAY, FERNBRIDGE, APRIL, 2012

I saw an image that looks a lot like this one the other day that another photographer took. I do not think it was this place, but if it is - sorry! It is not my intention to steal another photographer's idea, but I will admit to being inspired by what I saw. Anyhow, I was at this location to photograph the old station, which I did, but was more inspired by this building. I wonder if when I print this if the sky will come through as well as it does here. I find that the Humboldt sky is often difficult to accurately portray in print. There is usually not enough detail or contrast in the fog to give any texture. I see it here, and to me it looks just about "spot on".

I am pondering the notion of Limitations as it applies to photography. My thesis goes something like this: Why is it considered "bad taste", or "gimmicky" for photographers to make "over-saturated" images? I just recently heard that a photographer, whose work I very much admire, was criticized for using too much saturation in his prints. I get it that if the criticism was because of the personal taste of the critic - that it could be a valid critique. But I ask "would the same critic have felt that way with an oil painter's interpenetration of a similar subject matter"?

I think that there are several types of photography, and they have completely different intended purposes. The documentary style of  photography that one would see in journalism is a valid style, and it is one that I feel should be accurate in how it conveys its message. A journalistic photograph is supposed to represent the truth of the subject in an objective manner. I think it is downright dishonest to present something as being factual that has been altered.

Here is my point about photography as art. I assert that photography that is presented as art, and is intended to be presented as such, should be free of the biases that so often are applied to photographic works.  Just because the title card has the word "photograph" written on it does not mean that the piece "has to meet certain arbitrary aesthetic standards". A work that is an interpretation of a subject regardless of the medium, should be judged as it is, - an image hanging on a wall. I think viewers and critics should let go of first establishing how an image was created, and focus their attention on the piece. I do not think that there is a standard for water color painters that penalizes for "over saturation" so why are photographer's slammed for using strong or unnatural colors?

I of course, acknowledge that a bold pallet in and of itself, will not make a strong image. But I do feel that the artist no matter what medium they use, should feel unrestricted by the rules they learned. Art is about freedom of expression. Art is about discovery. Art is on the leading edge of human creativity. Great artists know the rules, but are not bound by them. There art may lead us to new discoveries, and open our eyes to new possibilities.

WHITE ON WHITE

HOBBLED, KARZOK, LADAKH, 2008

I realized that I never posted this image on this blog. This horse belongs to a nomad. It likely has been in Tibet, but this particular day it was in the remote village of Karzok. Karzok is in a far corner of Ladakh, and is close to Tibet. I understand that nomads regularly transit back and fourth from Ladakh to Tibet. In this area of the Himalayan mountains lines on a map do not reflect the everyday realities of the people living there.

At first I thought it was cruel to do that to this horse, but then I realized that if it ran away that the people who owned it would be deprived of their means of support.

 

PRINTING FRENZY

AURORA BOREALIS AND THE CYCLONE, EUREKA, 2010

I worked a lot on this and a similar image yesterday and today. I like 'em both. I printed this and the other image of the cyclone. Counting these two, I think I printed something like a dozen images over the course of the past several days. I just finished using up my second roll of Canson Platine paper. I just love how accurately it adheres to the image that I see on the monitor. I sometimes only see a slight dulling of the image when I "soft-proof" the photograph in Lightroom.

PRIMARY COLORS, ADDITIVE AND SUBTRACTIVE

LAS VEGAS, NEW MEXICO, 2010

I photographed in Las Vegas several times during my stay there in 2010. I first saw Las Vegas while I was on a week-long bicycle tour of the mountain country of New Mexico. I was with a large group, and Las Vegas was the destination of our second day of riding. I knew then that I would return some day with proper camera gear so that I could properly explore the town. I did find that this place was more visually stimulating to me than was Santa Fe.

I keep coming across this photo as a candidate to print and show, but I always seem to brush it aside. I kept telling myself that people would not appreciate it like I do. Then I remembered that I am best off when I trust my vision - even if others may not "get it".

I think the splash of blue at the lower left is essential to the success of this image. That is a lesson I learned from looking at a Curtis Otto painting recently.