THE INCOMING PHOENIX ARRIVES FOR THE GATHERING OF THE "OTHERS"

Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and The Others, Arrive for Their Gathering

There is something very special about standing in a remote and unfamiliar environment during the dark hours. It is especially so to do so without the intrusion of artificially created light pollution. I think that I speak for many of us when I declare that we all need to expose ourselves to the elements of the night. I think it is important to do so without being "connected" via modern technology, IE cell phones and other distractions, that may take one's awareness elsewhere during the experience. Of course one may argue that my having the camera, and my busyness with photographing brings that element of modernity into the mix. I assert that instead of a distraction, the camera allows me to focus my attention to the aesthetic possibilities, and that it promotes my awareness.

Greeting the Rising Saturn, Sand Tufas Stand Proud

A Procession of Tufas Salute the Moonless Night Sky

I suppose that I may sound trite by adding some form of written meaning to some of my recent images, but I cannot help myself. I am not a student of modern fantasy, but I did grow up hearing and reading mother goose and other "children's" tales. I listened to recordings of talking trains, and of pumpkins that turned into coaches, so it is no wonder that I can perceive an essence of the unseen in so-called inanimate objects. 

SIERRA SUNSET

Sunset Over the June Lake Loop Area, May 2014

I know that I said before on this blog that I do not do sunsets. Well, I was wrong. If one is on the east side of the Sierra then how can may one pass this by.

A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN

Looking Toward Tioga

Up stream from my campground.

I just returned from a photography outing to Mono County on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. My pal Marc Chaton accompanied me on the trek. Saturday evening we went to the shore of Mono Lake to work on sunset photos and perhaps to do some light painting of some tufa towers. I did a considerable amount of light painting of some sand tufa while Marc prepared some burritos for us in my trusty Roadtrek camper van. After supper Marc wanted to experiment with taking photos of the abundant stars overhead. We discussed some of the technical challenges of doing so.
I realized that my knowledge of observational astronomy was very rusty. I suggested that the Milky Way was perhaps overhead in the still brightening night sky, but I could not even be sure of the location of the summer triangle to confirm my guess. We agreed that we need some direction and help with stellar location. Shortly thereafter, we noticed the approaching beam of a LED head lamp. That person went to the only other car in the area for awhile. Meanwhile Marc kept on experimenting with exposures of the stars. after a while, the person from the other vehicle came over and started talking about astro-photography. It turned out that this person was an expert on the subject. Brad Goldpaint http://goldpaintphotography.com/ then shared some of his considerable knowledge about locating nebula, stars, and constellations. He also shared technical know-how about exposure and lens selection.
Here is one example of some Milky Way imagery that I took on the next night.

HAND TINTING

Hand-Tinted Photo or Silo Number One

In the nineteen-eighties, I started a series of photographs of various structures in the rice growing region of California's Sacramento. Awhile back I posted some of the early work that I did with my old Rollicord film camera. This image is one I took in March, and it is in the early stages of what I expect to do with the "colorization".

CENTRAL VALLEY RICE

Here is a Sample of Some What I am Working On

END OF MY DROUGHT?

A Sneak Peek at What I am Working on

I have not posted on the blog for over a month. So here is a notion of what I am still working on.