MY OLD STOMPING GROUNDS

Southern Pacific Railroad Bakersfield Roundhouse, c.1975

I took this photograph before sunrise one morning while I was working as a hostler at the roundhouse. My duties were to move locomotives and consists of locomotives through the servicing area and on to wherever the roundhouse foreman wanted them to go. Sometimes we put individual engines onto the tracks off of the turntable, and sometimes we assembled multiple units into consists of two, four or more locomotives.

This photograph shows about seven "goats" or switch engines, and a consist of at least four units off to the upper right. I think those units were the head-end power for one of the Starpacers - either No. 365 or more likely, No. 375. Those units are being replaced with two "valley" locomotives for the trip to Fresno and Roseville.

ONE OF MY EARLIEST IMAGES

El Capitan, Yosemite, 1961, Kodak Brownie

Here is an example of how I figured out how to make a bridge through time. I took this Ektachrome in 1961 with a square Brownie. The film size is 127, or 1 5/8" square. I bridged time by scanning and  processing the very dirty slide in Photoshop and in Light Room. I had to work on it for quite awhile.

I wish that there was some method wherein I could speak to my fifteen-year-old self. I have a couple of pointers for him, but then what would I dare change? However, I do think he has a good eye, so perhaps I should just leave him alone. I think he may turn out all right.

STRIKING OUT

Emergence, 2012

This image along with two others were my submissions to The Northwest Eye, a juried show sponsored by the Humboldt Arts Council. All three of my works did not make the cut.

Not feeling rejected is the issue that I am working on. I prepared myself to accept that I could not only not win any awards, but that my work could be "juried out". I must admit that I do not feel all that bad. I felt much worse the last time that this happened. Yes, two years ago, I received a "best of show" in this exhibit, and of course I was elated. The lesson for me is to be neither upset or elated in any of these situations. In that regard, I am making progress.

Later: I went to pick up my work, and we could only find two of the three. We finally found the third - on the wall in the gallery. They missed including it in the accepted list. My attitude has shifted since this morning, but not as much as it would have a year ago. Nonetheless, I do feel better.

FORTY-FOUR YEARS AGO

Moonscape, Korea, 1968, Minolta SRT101 135mm f2.8

This photograph was taken from my tactical site. The distant lights on the hilltop are of a radar complex. The reflected moonlight is on water from the Yellow Sea. The tides here were very impressive.

BACK ON THE BLOG

Arches National Park, 1992

I took a break from blogging. I have not been doing much photography over the past couple of months. I think I am holding onto the notion that I will again be productive once I go on my first little photo journey. I am making progress with the scanning, and I finished my taxes five minutes ago.

TUG AT MY HEART

The Thor, Rustler, and Renown Tug Boats at Humboldt Bay, 1983

From the time I was a child, I always liked tug boats and locomotives. I think the start for me, was via Little Golden Books. I loved the book Tootle, and another about harbors and tugs. When I was very young I also listened to a 78 RPM recording of Sparky and the Talking Train. I was hooked, and though I no longer read Little Golden Books, the love for these heavy movers remains with me.

AT THE HAGOPIAN

Waiting at Lamy, New Mexico, 2007

A print of this image is now showing at the Hagopian Gallery, in Eureka as part of a group exhibit of the Eureka Photoshop User's Group.

SUNSETS

Sunset on the North Coast, 2012

Here, on the Humboldt coast, we are often treated to wondrous sunrises and sunsets (just as often they are obscured by the fog). That said, we do have scenery that is unmatched.

I grew up in Bakersfield where it was a greater challenge to find colorful sunsets and sunrises. I worked many night shifts on the railroad, and saw my share of sunrises and sunsets, but because I mostly worked nights; I saw many more sunrises.

The air in the lower San Joaquin Valley is trapped in the cauldron that is created by the surrounding mountains. The predominate air flow is from north-to-south, and the dust and pollutants rapidly build up, and have no exit. The air will clear after a storm blows through, and views of the mountains and sky are temporarily cleared. It usually only takes a day or so before the inversion layer recreates the opaque screen that filters the view. 

I gauged air quality in Bakersfield by looking toward the mountains. If I could see Breckenridge and Bear Mountains then I knew I could look for opportunities to photograph landscapes. I will admit that looking toward "my" two mountains was normally the first thing I did when I lived and worked there.

Bear Mountain from the Foothills Near Sandcut, East of Bakersfield, 2006

CAN YOU SAY "CLICHE "

Awaiting the Green Flash at Patrick's Point (I think)

One of my professor's used to use the term "cliche" frequently in his critiques. He was trying to get us students to discover, develop and to incorporate our own aesthetics in our work. Of course, most of us were still developing the skills that would/could lead to our own unique style, so the professor was afforded many an opportunity to use his favorite term.

I assert that we as artists are not always required to create images that are completely unique. Sometimes it is just fun to take a photograph of the obvious especially when the opportunity is presented. That is what this image is about. I will not submit it to a juried show, nonetheless, I sort of like it.

ODIN'S WORKSHOP

Brunhilde's Armor and Breastplate

I said it a million times, and I will say it again, "I love going back to images after they had some time to marinate in my mind. This is a crop of a much larger image, but it best conveys what I saw and felt the day I took the photograph.

MORE ON HUMBOLDT BAY IN 1993

Ten Ninety-One, Humboldt Bay, 1993

Here is another "legacy" photograph from my collection. I scanned this a couple days ago, and worked on it in Light Room. I had a lot of spotting to do. I sort of forgot just how "spotty" negatives become. I ran what I thought was a clean darkroom. I had a filtered drying cabinet, and I was careful with my handling of film and negatives.

PAINTING WITH LIGHT

Playing With the Light, a Study of Light and Form, Loleta, 1993

The first thing I noticed when looking at this scan was that my style has been well established for a long time. I, as an artist, am always evolving, but I think my essential vision, and my interpretation of that vision still carries the basis that was formed early in my life.