• horizons,  landscape,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    Tooting My Horn

    I mentioned a while back that I was working on a project. Well over a year and a half ago I began creating a Blurb book within Lightroom. My focus was on horizons because I have come to see the attraction and draw they have with me. My initial intent was to make a book for my children with a select few of my images and with my own words. After almost a year of labor and feeling like I was done, I read what I’d written and heard a familiar voice inside telling it was sh*t and I was a fool for trying such a project. So I set it aside and stopped working on it. Do you ever hear that voice and listen to the lie?

    When the pandemic hit and lockdown arrived I found myself looking at what I’d written and my perspective was in a very different place. After three months I began to rewrite and my writing began to transform into what I’ve come to know as a poetic journal style of writing. A new energy began and words I’d not written before appeared. I made several revisions, deleted some writings and images while adding new writings and images. My wonderful neighbor, Kristin who teaches creative writing and poetry at CSU, did three proofreadings for me. 

    I am not promoting this for you to buy because print on demand is expensive. I’m doing it to toot my horn. This is something I’d never imagined I would or could do and an uncomfortable risk. Please click on the image for a preview of the book, for free. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

    I mentioned a while back that I was working on a project. Well over a year and a half ago I began creating a Blurb book within Lightroom. My focus was on horizons because I have come to see the attraction and draw they have with me. My initial intent was to make a book for my children with a select few of my images and with my own words. After almost a year of labor and feeling like I was done, I read what I’d written and heard a familiar voice inside telling it was sh*t and I was a fool for trying such a project. So I set it aside and stopped working on it. Do you ever hear that voice and listen to the lie?

    When the pandemic hit and lockdown arrived I found myself looking at what I’d written and my perspective was in a very different place. After three months I began to rewrite and my writing began to transform into what I’ve come to know as a poetic journal style of writing. A new energy began and words I’d not written before appeared. I made several revisions, deleted some writings and images while adding new writings and images. My wonderful neighbor, Kristin who teaches creative writing and poetry at CSU, did three proofreadings for me. 

    I am not promoting this for you to buy because print on demand is expensive. I’m doing it to toot my horn. This is something I’d never imagined I would or could do and an uncomfortable risk. Please click on the image for a preview of the book, for free. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

  • Creativity,  Dewdrops,  landscape,  leaves,  Metro Parks,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes

    Growth in my Photography

    Morning dew on the leaves at Inniswood Gardens

    “I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” 

    Rainer Maria Rilke

    While living in the Westerville, Ohio area I was exposed to nature areas that were so different from my home state of Colorado. I was enthralled with all the green, the insects , the soft diffused light and the amount of rain. I was not used to all the rain and for sure had to adjust to the overcast skies. I cans still in my memory recall the distinct fragrance these forested areas offered, telling me how alive they were.

    At the time I was traveling 3-4 days then home for 3-4 days. These extended days off gave me the opportunity to explore the Metro Parks in around the Westerville area. I found two  parks within about 10 minutes of my apartment so I ventured into those worlds on regular basis. One was Inniswood Gardens and the other was Blendon Woods. And, the days I was traveling were opportunities to explore new cities, peoples, cultures and almost unlimited photo opportunities. It was during this time I feel I began to grow emotionally and spiritually which in turn allowed my view of the world to grow. And, this emotional and spiritual growth was the seed to the growth of my photography. 

  • Art,  Creativity,  fog,  landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  snow,  trees

    It is a Creative Art

    In the Silence

    “Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.”  Ansel Adams

    This past couple of days I have been digging through my archives looking for some image that may spark some creativity within me. I happened to pick the year 2010. This is the first one and taken east of Westerville, Ohio in February. I looks like I started taking images early in the day around my apartment and then ventured outside in the fog and snow. Fog is not as prevalent out here in Colorado as it was in Ohio, so my archive images of fog are pretty much all from this area. I brought out more details in the trees with Lightroom that gives it a different feel for me. I have more from this time period that all are more on the creative and artistic side. Our snow storm was short and sweet but has left us with a few days of cold to deal with. Enjoy your weekend.

  • coffee shops,  lifestyles,  Photography,  rants,  Software

    Here Comes the Snow

    Now sitting at a coffee shop looking to the mountains in the west. They are now being shrouded by clouds as a storm moves into the Colorado Front Range. There will be more snow and plenty of cold over the next few days.

    Spent almost 6 hours with Adobe support yesterday trying to get Lightroom Classic installed and running. I had to let them have control of this new computer on a couple of occasions. Amazing, this technology and how far behind I am. They had to go into my keychain, which I knew nothing about, and delete some Adobe files that were dated back to 2009. Whew! It was a test of my patience and think theirs. Now have Lightroom working and used it for the above image. See, I’m already a better photographer. And, it was a raw file rather than a jpeg.

    I can feel the difference in this keyboard. There will be an adjusting period. Don’t suppose this new laptop will make me a better typist? I may type faster which means I can misspell more words faster. 🙂

  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-E1,  Fujifilm X-T10,  landscape,  mountains,  Photography,  sunsets

    A Better Photographer

    Sunset over the Colorado Front Range

    Well Fujifilm did it again. Yesterday they announced the new Fujifilm X-T30. Of course this is the perfect camera for me and in a price range I can afford. And, we know it will make me a better photographer. 🙂 So, in my mind is a debate on whether to sell one of my grandchildren, my car or my condo, rob a bank, take out a second mortgage, buy another lottery ticket, and other insane ideas.

    But, getting back to reality and sanity, I have to admit my Fujifilm X-E1 and my X-T10 are good cameras, functioning well, take excellent images (in spite of my sometimes ineptitude) and are paid for. So, the need to upgrade to this camera is not as much a priority as other pressing priorities in my photography and life. The truth is my next purchase needs to be upgrading my laptop. I’ve been talking about this for some time. It is 10 years old. This past week my laptop shutdown and rebooted and seems to runs slower each week. But the primary justification for a upgrading my laptop is knowing it will make me a better photographer by improving my post-processing skills. 🙂

    So my insanity tells me to be a better photographer, with an empty wallet, I really should just buy both. Sigh! GAS

  • Art/Design,  Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-T10,  winter scenes

    I’m Impressed

    An Unshoveled SIdewalk
    An Unshoveled Sidewalk

    I was impressed with the focusing ability and speed for the Fujifilm X-T10 combined with the Fujifilm 35mm 2.0 lens. I saw this low contrast scene with the light shadows on the snow and wanted an image. I turned the camera on with my index finger and increased the exposure with my thumb while I raised the camera to my eye. In my mind I was thinking I’d have to manually focus this scene because of the lack of contrast but this pair immediately snapped on focus. Yes, I am impressed. Stay warm

  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-E1,  Photography,  Vision

    Strange Characters

    Strange Characters
    Strange Characters

    The X-E1 is my first camera with an EVF (electronic viewfinder). My first impression was: slow. (Notice I said was.) DPReview uses the word “laggy” in their review. I’ll call it slow. At first this bothered me as I’m use to having a DSLR camera in my hand where I can pull the camera up to my eye as I turn it on. Once it’s at my eye I can shoot immediately. This is not true of the EVF or LCD on the X-E1. I must wait a second or two for them to settle in. As I’ve gained more familiarity with the camera I’ve come to appreciate this. It has shown me a trait of looking through the viewfinder too quickly. Now, when I’m turning on the camera and raising it up to my eye I’m taking more time. This allows me to continue to look at the whole scene and not just what the viewfinder allows. So, even though the EVF is slower than an optical viewfinder it may help me be a better observer and to anticipate a scene about to appear.

    I’ve been using a G12 for a couple of years now for my travels. It has an optical viewfinder but I use the LCD 99% of the time.This was mainly due to the usefulness of the information I was able to use on the LCD that was not in the viewfinder. The electronic viewfinder on this X-E1 will display the same shooting information as it shows on the LCD. Cool! I’ve also come to check out the exposure compensation meter on the lower left corner of the viewfinder as moving the exposure compensation dial on top is quite easy to move.

    Who are those strange characters in the above image? Using your imaginations you can see some of our blogging friends, or yourself, hiding behind the goggles. 🙂

     

  • Avian,  Essays,  Photography

    I’m an Art Photographer

    Canada Geese Lifting Off

    “Here’s what I think: I think an art photographer is a photographer with an opinion. An opinion about which of their photographs can truly stand as one of theirs, and about how the photograph ought to look.”

    Mike Johnson

    In a previous post last week I admitted to being a photographer. Don’t’ laugh. I’m one who thinks there is an artist within each of us, buried, hidden and waiting to come out. Whether we feed the artist within or keep it contained is our choice. Many of us are reluctant to place the adjective, art, in front of photographer.

    In my photography I shoot from the gut, not necessarily attempting to express some opinion or idea at the time I press the shutter. I’m more intent on seeing what’s in front of me, using my intuition and experience to see the light, find a composition, select a specific depth of field or select a perspective according to what feels right. After saying that, I would suggest all of these make up my “opinion”, but subconsciously. This opinion may come to my consciousness at a later time. I look at my photography from the perspective of an artist, “my art.” I look to the voice within me to lead me forward, opening my eyes, to come up with ideas for images and projects. Don’t all of us desire for our images to have some impact on viewers, inspiring them to step outside in nature rather than living life through a TV, a computer, a tablet, or smart phone? But, that’s another opinion for another time.

    The above image was not an attempt at creating an artistic image. It was a moment when I was not totally prepared for the immediate takeoff and was a series of quick shots. Only after post processing did I see something I liked. Just my opinion or mere ramblings. 🙂

  • clouds,  quotes

    Evening Clouds

    “You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”

    Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

    Being in nature is a form of prayer. With my camera in hand I’m always looking for something to place in the viewfinder. To do that I must observe and stay present then I cannot help but see the wonder of nature and reflect on it’s creation. I’m thankful to be there and when giving thanks we’re offering a prayer in nature.