OLD THINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Parked Northwest "Steam Shovel"

I am drawn to this sort of equipment. I always liked many of the color schemes that traditionally were used during the industrial age. 

BIG CITY LIGHT INVADES THE DESERT NIGHT

Light Pollution from the "Greater" LA Basin Invades the Night Sky at Joshua Tree National Park

I admit to going over the top with the saturation of this image, but what the heck - I like it. I am so grateful that I live far away from this type of pollution. It is sort of beautiful in a weird way.

BLOG MOVED

Geezer Selfie, or "dagnabbit, I've been holding the camera in my face for fifty some years.

Please note that I am doing most of my blogging on the WordPress site. A link is provided on the right . Thanks

A GREAT BUT MODEST RUN

Things That Go Bump in the Night

I think this little blog has just about run its course. Very few people find it, and I only get numbers greater then ten hit if I promote it on Face Book. I started a replacement blog and I am satisfied with how things are going there. You may find it at: http://thomasbethune.wordpress.com/

WINDSWEPT BUT STILL STANDING

HOLDING OFF THE ELEMENTS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, A STRUCTURE IN THE GHOST TOWN OF BODIE STILL SURVIVES THE ELEMENTS

I am still working on the photographs from my recent trip to the east-side of the Sierra Nevada. In the not-to-distant past, I would have already printed many of these images. I am holding off on printing until I work each candidate on several different occasions. I make copies of each variation and review up to three or four iterations of each composition. I then review each in the print module of Light Room, and rate accordingly (I start out with one star for the initial pick, and I eventually will give the preferred images a second star and so on until I select the best variant of that image and give it a higher rating yet).

 I reworked this image this morning, lightening up the dark wood on the end of this building. Yesterday, I worked the sky, and the day prior, I did a small amount of cropping. It is now up to a four star rating.

On the Brink

Tourists Looking Toward Yosemite Valley from Olmsted Point

MORE BODIE

Lessons in Oxidation

The Ever Evolving Color Scheme Reminds Me That Beauty is Truly in the Eye of the Beholder

STANDING PROUD: AWAITING THE IMPENDING STORM

Bodie Relic, May 2014
I am working my Bodie photographs from my recent trip to the east-side of the Sierra Nevada, Mono Lake, and Yosemite.

"LISTENING" TO THE LIGHT

Interior Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, May 31, 2014
I was enchanted by the the effect of the blue and red streamers that hang from the ceiling of this immense space.

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.