ARTS ALIVE SATURDAY 6-9 PM

RSVD

I am inviting everyone to come see the NORTHWEST EYE exhibition at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka. I am inviting everyone to see the exhibit. The show is currently open Wednesdays through Saturdays. Arts Alive will be this Saturday, June 4th from 6-9 pm. Please come out. I intend to be on hand for awhile around six until seven.

The Smock of Sagacity

The Smock of Sagacity and My Tool Belts

THE SMOCK OF SAGACITY

I want to share with you some insights that I recently had while working on a couple of projects around the house.

Rodger Harding, my former father-in-law, presented me with a great gift. Rod, as he liked to be called, was a very meticulous and skilled craftsman. He had solid skills as a mechanic, and especially as an electrician. He owned a comprehensive set of tools that he kept in his toolbox. He knew how to use them. Many times over the years when he and my mother-in-law came to visit Rod would offer to do repair work to the house. He installed bathroom fans, kitchen lights, doors and many other similar projects.

One of the things that I noticed about his work was that he always took great pride in the quality of the job that he undertook. He never seemed rushed, but he always spent enough time on a project so that when he was finished the final product really looked and functioned very well. I once got a look at the basement of his mountain cabin where Rod had installed his water heater. I will always recall what a tidy job he had done. The pipes, hoses, flues and the water heater all became a sort of sculpture. 


Up to that time the quality of my plumbing jobs were functional, but not necessarily "pretty". I realized that it was possible to combine form with function. It took years for me to incorporate the higher standard, but I started toward that goal after seeing the cabin's plumbing. It was his dedication to high quality craftsmanship that appealed to me. I came to realize that I was setting my standards of craftsmanship to try to match those of Rod.

Rod passed away about twenty years ago. I ultimately acquired many of his tools, including his tool chest. I also received his tan mechanic's smock.

Nowadays, when I am working on an electrical or plumbing project, I don Rod's smock. I like that it protects my clothing, and it provides some nice pockets for rags, pencils, and some tools. It also helps me to stay focused on the project.

The smock also provides some other benefits. I have especially noticed lately that when I am wearing the smock, I feel connected to Rod. I get a sense that he is sort of looking over my shoulder, and offering some advice.

Last week I had to rebuild my garage door operator. I needed to replace the gears. When the parts came, I donned the smock and went to work. The project went along smoothly until I needed to remove a drift pin that held the main gear onto the drive shaft. I needed a drift pin punch, and I did not think I had one - I looked but could not find anything that would work. An inner voice kept after me to search Rod's old toolbox. In one of the drawers, in a small pouch with regular punches was one drift pin punch, and it turned out to be the exact size for the pin I needed to remove. The rest of the job went very well, and I saved lots of money by doing the repairs myself.

Whenever I wear the smock, I feel confident, calm and patient. I strongly sense Rod's spirit. I usually acknowledge this presence, and give my regards to him by my gratitude for all that he shared with me. All the while, I give blessings to Rod as I honor him.

I remain my own man, but I feel somehow that my wearing that smock enhances my skills. It is almost as if the smock imparts super powers. I now possess the calmness, assurance, and skills of a master. They are my skills, but they were given to me.  

While wearing the Smock of Sagacity, I enter into a form of meditation. I come to grasp the truth of "chop wood - carry water." I come completely into the moment, and I become focused on the project. My mind is quiet, and I am present. More than anything, I feel connected to God.

My understanding of prayer is clearer now too. I now realize that blessings can and do come from those of us on the earth plane. I know that we can and do bless those who have already passed. It is true as well that as we bless them we too are blessed. The whole realm of these prayers spreads to others who were instrumental in my development as a man. I think of my parents, grandparents, teachers, mentors at the railroad, coworkers at the FAA and so many more. I honor these and others, and trust that what I do and share may pass the blessings along.

Thank you Rod!

Current Work Hanging in Eureka

The Title for this photograph is RSVD.

This particular photograph is part of a series that I took in November of last year. I used the 17mm tilt/shift lens, and I am pleased with how well it came out.

This image was accepted in the juried show Northwest Eye which is now on exhibit at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka. There will be an opening reception during Arts Alive June 4th from 6-9p.m. Besides my piece there a lots of really fine photographs. I think the show is well worth seeing.

Below are a couple more of my photographs of the same series.

I titled this one RESERVED NUMBER ONE

SHADOWS ON THE LLOYD BUILDING

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.

Vernal Reflections

Vernal Reflections Study in Black and White, near Freshwater Lagoon 2011

I feel as if I am finally closing in on some successful images of red alder trees. I've been studying these for years and years, photographing them first with my trusty old Korona 4"x5" view camera, and then with the Mamiya 645 roll film camera. I never felt that I got the dynamic range, and thus the prints that I visualized when I took the photographs.

That has all changed. Yesterday when I was at Prairie Creek, and Freshwater Lagoon, I was able to capture the images that for years had eluded my abilities. I just now printed this one, and one other that I took yesterday. These images on the internet are only representations of what the prints look like. They really need to be seen in person, but at least these will give you a general idea of their aesthetics.

I have a couple of shows coming up this year, and many of these prints will be exhibited at those. I will be at the Senior Resource Center for the month of July, and at the F Street Foto Gallery in August and September. Both galleries are in Eureka.