• landscape,  natural areas,  Photography,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Frames of Reference

    June 6, 2023
    Final image of what my eyes saw

    To be human is to continually mistake our frames of reference for reality itself. We so readily forget that our vantage point is but a speck on the immense plane of possible perspectives. We so readily forget that there are infinitely many kinds of beautiful lives.

    Maria Popova

    Yesterday, I had lunch with someone who’s frame of reference of themselves is different from how others see them. They are frustrated and also hurt because others to not see them as they do. I’m also aware that people who have had the same experience in the past, such as a car accident, will remember it differently due to their frame of reference. The reality each of us experiences is definitely not the same. The same is true of the reality my eyes see and what my camera sensor can see.

    As I watched the sunrise this morning I was fascinated with the dewdrops clinging atop each blade of grass glowing in the sunlight. When looking at the scene on my LCD or through my viewfinder I could barely see those dewdrops. This is because my Fujifilm X-T3 has a dynamic range of around 9-10 stops of light while the human eye can see up to 24 stops of light. However, I know the sensor is able to capture a bit more detail than the limited range of the viewfinder or LCD are showing me and know that my editing software will be able to increase the dynamic range, drawing some of the details out of the shadows. This allows us to see the glow of those dewdrops closer to what my eyes see. So, I press my shutter button with confidence. This reminds me how our frames of reference for reality differ. 

    Straight out of the camera

    The second image is what the LCD showed me and the top image is what my software was able to pull out of the data captured by the sensor. If you click on each image you will get a larger view. And if you click on that image it will give you the full size image. You will also notice a couple of dust spots in the second image that were removed in the final image.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Light is our paint brush

    May 19, 2023

    The greatest tool at our command is the very thing that is photography. Light. Light is our paint brush and it is a most willing tool in the hands of the one who studies it with a sufficient care.

    Laura Gilpin

    Sometimes it all comes together and sometimes it don’t. Maybe the latte art is almost perfect and maybe the latte taste is almost perfect. But maybe the two coming together is what makes it perfect. It is overcast this morning with low clouds and high humidity so a latte is the main focus for this Friday.

    In reference to the quote, I do know after a fews years exploring photography, taking a lot of lousy photos, even disgusting photos, that light is so important to my photography. I know that today would be a great day for portraits with all this diffused light. Sure not a morning for a bright shiny sunrise.

    Have a celebration of life for a friend tomorrow who died a week ago at way too young of an age. She had a difficult life and I will miss her. May you have a wonderful weekend and find some good light to paint with! 🤗

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  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Photography,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Our Buddha Nature

    May 10, 2023
    Sunrise this past Sunday morning

    haiku is not a poem,
    it is not literature;
    it is a hand beckoning,
    a door half-opened,
    a mirror wiped clean.

    It is a way of returning to nature,
    to our moon nature,
    our cherry blossom nature,
    our falling leaf nature,
    in short,
    to our Buddha nature.

    R. H. Blyth

    I normally crop all my landscapes in 16 x 9 but this image is cropped in 16 x 10. It’s a subtle difference. So, fair warning as I may be on a new kick for awhile.

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  • clouds,  Humor,  landscape,  musings,  natural areas,  Photography,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area

    May 6, 2023

    I’ve read where we should never place the subject in the middle of an image because placing the subjects off-center yields a stronger, more natural-looking composition and allows us to make creative use of negative space. Well I do did will break that composition rule technique. I’ve also read that we should not should on ourselves, so I suppose I should stop that.

    The top image is predawn light over Dixon Reservoir taken at 5:49 am and the second image was taken seven minutes later at 5:56 am about 40 feet from the first one. Again, showing us how nature continuously creates. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  • quotes

    Built to make mistakes…

    March 20, 2023
    Rolland Moore Park – 2014

    Mistakes are at the very base of human thought, embedded there, feeding the structure like root nodules. If we were not provided with the knack of being wrong, we could never get anything useful done. We think our way along by choosing between right and wrong alternatives, and the wrong choices have to be made as frequently as the right ones. We get along in life this way. We are built to make mistakes, coded for error.

    Lewis Thomas

    I’ve written about the subject of making mistakes in the past so I apologize for once more rambling on about them. Or is that a mistake? Seems that somewhere in my youth I learned that mistakes were bad and I began avoiding them at any cost. School was one place where we were measured by how many mistakes we made. There have been multiple times in my life I failed to try or finish due to my fear of making mistakes. I do not remember being taught that mistakes were essential at improving. Having said that though, I will also admit I was a decent shot in basketball but only because I tried again and again each time I missed a shot. I also did not jump on a bicycle and ride the first time. I had to crash and burn more than once. Rather silly when I look back at it where I considered mistakes were not allowed and where they were. I believe Thomas is spot on when he states that we are built to make mistakes, in all areas of our lives. My growth towards any perfection or accomplishing goals requires me to make mistakes, lots and lots of them. My photography pruves that. So due my attempts at haiku. So does my attempts ar creating good blogging content. Hope you had a wonderful day!

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  • quotes,  shadows,  street photography

    A Look at Shadows

    January 16, 2023

    “The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.”

    Carl Jung

    The sun shines brightly this morning casting shadows all around me. I watch the tree’s shadows stretching across the street outside the window of the coffee shop. Shadows fall upon these pages as I journal. And, on the wall next to me I see my ever present shadow. Quite handsome I must say. And, as with many photographers, shadows are a subject of interest for me. I share many images of shadows on this blog.

    Additionally in my practice of self-examination along with prayer and meditation I’ve come to know those dark aspects of my personality as present and real, what Jung is referring to as our shadow side. Discovering the dark aspects of my shadow side reminds me of the enjoyable task of learning more about myself and eliminating or reducing those that are negative and harmful. I’m grateful for shadows as a subject to photograph but also because they remind me there is yet more to know about myself. Time to post this as the setting sun is casting long shadows across my front yard. The end of another day.

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