PLAYING WITH THE BLUR

My Copycat Attempt at What Rick Gustafson Creates, 2012

This is out-and-out copying Rick's process as best I can. I was out photographing awhile back, and was having to use slow shutter speeds, and I thought to myself, "why not go with the blur". So I made a few attempts, and this was the best of the lot.

PATRICK'S POINT ONE YEAR AGO

My Way of Saying "Good Morning", Patrick's Point, 2012

SHADOWS ON THE WALL

Baggage Cart at Lamy Station, 2010

I worked on two variations of this image, and ultimately settled on this the full-frame image. The camera I used for this image was my all time favorite - my old Sony R1.

I shared my thoughts about that camera a couple of years back. The main issue that I had with it was its extremely slow write speeds. Once I started shooting in the "raw" format, the camera became very slow. I read recently that if one took two images in rapid succession that the buffer would be full, and the camera unusable for about nine seconds. So if I were shooting a landscape in HDR and needing three shots in rapid succession, this camera could not deliver. I tried over and over. What would happen is that the clouds would move so much between the three shots that it became a problem later when I was working to assemble them as an HDR image. Nowadays, there are software solutions to at least part of the problem.

I did not have that problem with this image because it was a single shot, and I had shot it in the raw format so that there is plenty of information available for me to work with. I think this photograph shows that.

CONTINUING WITH CAUTION

Caution at Big Lagoon, March 2012

I oftentimes think that I should come up with something profound to say about the art of an image, and if not, at least say something about the craft involved. This image, like most of my work, was shot in "Raw", processed in Light Room, and presented here. I almost always work in that particular workflow. I often do my spot removal in Photoshop, and I usually save that step until the end of my workflow. I always print from LR.

CAUTION!

Warning Signs and Budding Alders, Big Lagoon, March 2012

This is another photograph that I allowed to "ripen". I always thought that this stand of alder was a good example of what I hoped to capture with my  camera. The issue was always the intruding signs into my scene. I decided to no longer fight the elements of this composition, and to go with what was   already there. 

MORE WWII AIRCRAFT AT THE ACV TOWER

A BT-13 at ACV (I think), c. 1990

This is a scan from a 2.25 by 1.75 negative. I am starting to think that I have the process of using the Epson software somewhat understood. This is a poor copy because of file size limitations for the Blogspot, and because this is a grainy photograph.

I do have numerous photographs of the old WWII buildings at the airport, and I am happy with the knowledge that I can now digitize them.

STILL LEARNING THE SCANNING PROCESS

P 51 Mustang at ACV, c. 1994 (4" by 5" color slide converted to black and white).

Happy New Year! May it be a really good one for you.

SCANNING LEGACY FOUR BY FIVE NEGATIVES

North Domes, Domeland Wilderness, CA c. 1977

I finally am able to scan my collection of negatives. I am learning the process, and have a long way to go before I think I will have it mastered. Meanwhile, this is one of my first scans with the Epson V750. The amount of detail is remarkable. I can magnify right into the film grain, and ultimately I will be able to make more adjustments than I did on this 155MB jpeg.

Domeland, is to me, a very special and sacred place. I was fortunate enough to visit the area many times over the course of two years or so back in the mid 1970s. There was still a road right up to where I took this photograph, and so I was able to bring in my old Korona view camera and a heavy-duty tripod. Nowadays, the entire area is designated as a wilderness area, and the road is returning to its natural state. I think the only way I would be able to get back in there would be on foot.

I could not print these back then because I did not have a four by five enlarger. I did work with some images after I set up my darkroom in this house, but mostly I had moved on. 

INTERPRETATION ON REALITY

What My Mind Thinks it Saw, 2012

The version of this image that I posted yesterday, most accurately portrays what the sunset looked like (reality). This interpretation represents what my imagination thinks I could see. I know that there are photographers that think that the actual scene needs to be represented as done in National Geographic, but I like the freedom to "light up" my images as my imagination sees fit. I would like to know what others think.

BACK TO THE BEACH

Reflective Waters Kissing the Surf, 2012

I took this about two hours ago near Manila. Lisa was there horseback riding, and she called me to let me know that it was very nice there. I went, and I am pleased with with I found. It is likely that I will do more work to this image before I print it,  but this is my first version. I just love the reflected colors of the sky.

FORGOTTEN IMAGES

Toadstool Rock, Dry Lagoon, 2012

I oftentimes create an image, and then I sort of shove it aside, coming back to it after allowing my initial vision time to develop. This is a good example of that issue. This photograph was taken back in March.

Earlier this morning I was contemplating and reviewing this year's production of photographs. I looked at a number of images before getting to this one. I actually had rated this only two stars, but now that I spent some time with it I will bump it up several notches on the zero to five scale.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

On The Beach, Christmas Eve with Lisa, Amigo and Jazz

 

 

This is why I love having a pocket camera that I can take everywhere and every time. Merry Christmas to all.