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Here is another photograph of a skull, part of this exploration into skulls and specimens for me. This time, I incorporated a bird’s nest that I collected earlier this summer. Funny story about the nest. This very determined little bird tried to make his nest (yes, he was doing this for a very plump robin who needed to lay her eggs), and he persisted to place this right above our front door, on the keystone. Day after day the beginnings of his nest would fall off due to the wind because the ledge was just too small. Then, one morning we woke up to find he had finally completed it, and there she sat. But, later that day, they were gone and the nest was again, on the porch. I believe they finally decided to make their final nest under my neighbor’s deck, much to her dog’s delight! The hatchlings were eventually born and they sounded wonderful. In the meantime, I collected this beautiful nest and added it to my menagerie of specimens.

My new project will include photographing skulls of different types, in my efforts to honor these animals. In addition, sometimes I am going to be adding in other types of specimens whether it is flora, fauna, or other animal-made objects, like the nest. I’m hoping my combination of items will often tell a story, or create a wonderful juxtaposition, or some symbolism as in this case, birth and death.

As we come to a close in the semester at school this week, I think of the History of Photography class, and how much I enjoy talking about photographs, and how so many of those photographs inspire me. Yesterday, we watched a wonderful documentary in my Large Format and Lighting class, on a photographer whose work I have admired for a long time, Keith Carter. Here is a photographer that shoots film, and has a very unique eye for finding the unusual in the very common everyday! His work is inspiring, and he reminds us to stay actively engaged, stay creative, and keep pushing ahead when we are in a slump. Good advice as we head into winter break!

Have you ever used a plastic, toy camera? What fun to experiment with these, especially when we get so worked up with technology in today’s digital world. These little analog beauties give you the freedom to shoot out of focus, over or under-expose your film, and spend a shooting session not thinking about depth of field, f/stop and shutter speed combinations, or worrying about your white balance! Quite freeing really!

The images I’m sharing this week were taken recently with a Holga! This is a completely plastic camera, with a high-quality plastic lens (sarcasm!), and a free-for-all attitude. Mine, well the back is taped on with gaffer’s tape because they are known to pop off randomly while shooting. I like to take photos of my dogs with this camera. Why? I don’t know really because it’s next to impossible to get them in focus, partly because of the camera and partly because they don’t stop moving. But there is something about the movement and blur that energizes these images for me. They speak to the excitement and joy of riding in the car, and heading to the dog park!

 

This other image, the sunflower, was also made with my Holga towards the end of the sunflower season. I find that I love the unpredictability of these cameras. I also like my carefree attitude that has me forgetting to reset the “focus” to the appropriate icon that illustrates distance. You’ll find a handy outline drawing of a head/shoulders which means your subject is pretty close to you, then you have a little drawing of a small group of people, of course this means your subject is a little further away. Next you have a little drawing of a big group of people, this can only mean your subject is a big distance away, and then you have a drawing of a mountain peak, well, this means your subject is way, away…kind of like Pikes Peak! I just like the results. I’ll make sure my images are in focus when I’m shooting one of my fancy cameras!

Finally, a shameless plug for me…if you find yourself in the mood to explore this little analog world I enjoy so much, sign up for my vintage and toy camera class at Bemis School of Art next semester. It’s called Exploring the World of Vintage and Toy Cameras and it starts on January 26, 2016! We have a lot of fun, and we don’t critique each other on whether things are in focus or not!

This week, we give thanks. First, let me say thank you to my family and my friends. These are the people in my life, who have supported my photography, and these are the same people who continue to give encouragement, provide me great feedback, they are my biggest critics, and my biggest fans!

The shot I selected to share this week is a rookie shot. This was taken by a 20-year-old-first-year-photo-student-learning-to-use-chrome-film, so needless to say, not the quality I might like to see when I think of a stylized food shot. No, this shot was simply made at my grandmother’s Thanksgiving table 25 years ago. I shot this with my trusty Nikon FM SLR on Fuji chrome film. And, if my memory serves me, I was in a studio photography class where we were learning to shoot tabletop arrangements.

This shot brings back a lot of memories, and plenty of laughs! I love her Blue Willow china that always came out for special occasions. And, those oddly shaped green and red items? Well, they are a food group all of their own, if you live in the South! That food group is called congealed salad. The name is even appetizing isn’t it? Needless to say, I didn’t, and still don’t, partake in those food oddities!

Speaking of congealed salads, in the South they come out for every family gathering and special occasion. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll witness one style of said salads where fruit arrives in suspended animation!

Back to my original thoughts…giving thanks. I am thankful for all the wonderful things I have in my life. Family, friends, the ability to do what I love for a living, and for my students who provide me a great source of inspiration with their creativity, drive and fresh eyes! I am thankful for my dogs, the joy and happiness they bring, and their knack for giving me a soft place to land when stress becomes too much. I am thankful for my husband, Randy, and his support of my loony ideas, like this website that really doesn’t do much, other than give me a place to express myself!

Okay, enough with the Academy Awards speech, just remember to give thanks for all the blessings in your life and reach out to someone who might need a smile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week, I mentioned that I’ve grown very fond of using my digital camera to work through creative ideas, lighting, focal lengths, and positioning. I decided to continue working that way through another series of images I’m interested in making on film. These go back to one of my favorite subjects, dogs. And, some of these may eventually make my Dogs portfolio.

I am always interested in the tiniest of details, whether it is the lighting on the smallest object in a still life, or the tiniest hair in or out of place in a portrait. In my studio lighting classes, we focus on tabletop, still life and product work, and I teach my students to look for these tiny details. A speck of dust on their surface, a tiny hair on their beautiful glass vase, or the slightest edge where light falls off too abruptly in their background. All of these details are important, and I want to train their eyes to catch everything, every tiny detail.

This image is my sweet Olive’s paw, close up with a macro lens. I love the rough texture of the paw pads against her smooth white fur. She is a rescue and came to us with a whole host of health problems, and in our first six months together, major skin problems. You wouldn’t know that she led a rough, street life in Houston, Texas today. She’s quite the spoiled queen of the household. And, Olive, her name…my grandma’s (Nanny’s) name, something about her old soul led me there. She’s the olive in my martini of life!

We adopted her through the Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado. Olive, along with our sweet old Reggie who died last year, and our scrappy little pup, Maggie (you’ll meet her later!) all came from this wonderful organization. They like to call themselves a Dalmatian rescue, but we’ve only gotten one purebred from them, these other two, well, they are still spotted friends! Please consider a rescue the next time you find yourself in need of a four-legged companion. They have the capacity to love greater than any human I’ve met, and their love is unconditional. We are privileged to be able to share our lives with dogs.

What juxtaposition! I decided what a cool idea to shoot the cartridge on the LP playing in our listening room last evening. Now, I know I’d really like to shoot this on film, but, I decided that my digital camera is a great tool to work out all the details – exposure, focal length, lighting – then decide what I like, and pursue the image on film. So, my digital camera became my digital sketchpad. Seems that’s happened a lot lately, and stay tuned, because there is another “digital sketch” that I’ll be sharing that has a future on film!

It was about five years ago this fall, and I remember what I said to my husband, Randy, “I’d really like to hear some vinyl again.” And, what proceeded was Pandora’s box, opening as wide as possible! My husband, you have to realize, is an old audiophile, and a new one at that. We’ve hauled around McIntosh power amps, and giant JBL speakers for years, moving them from Atlanta to Colorado Springs. So I said let’s go get a turntable, and hook everything up! We hit the thrift stores, Independent Records, and other hot spots for vinyl – new and used! When I scored an old album that my “then-stupid-twenty-something-self” tossed (along with all my CDs) all those years ago, I cheered. And, at the same time, said I could just kick myself. Who tosses vinyl for MP3 files? I’ll stop here to agree with all the wonderful older friends I’ve had throughout my life, yes, wisdom does come with age!

We proceeded to pick up a turntable, and that night, I remember it was something amazing. I was changing the laundry over, and all of a sudden, Freeze Frame by the J. Geils Band came out of the speakers and the sound, well, all I can say is it was like shooting film and looking at that beautiful grain in those negatives fresh out of the wash. It had soul, it had character, and it sounded like music should sound. After all these years, I love to see a print come up in the developer in the darkroom! I get excited when my students see it for the first time, and I love their reaction! Just last week, I got to experience the awe and wonder with my large format group, after that first round of film was developed and we turned on the light, 10 students looked in their trays and the oohh’s and aahh’s were delightful! I never grow tired of that. And, like the magic of film, the magic of music delights every time I put an LP on the turntable. Some nights, it’s like Jimi is in the room, and other nights, I can hear the background sounds of the fellas in a blues band ribbing one another and clinking their glasses…bourbon, neat, I would guess!

As we pass the Halloween weekend mark, we hit November. Daylight savings time ends, and most of the leaves have fallen in the high country, although we still have some beautiful trees in our own city to enjoy for a while longer. What I love about autumn is the crispness in the air, the quality of sunlight, as it seems to have more contrast, and the clarity of the sky.

The sunlight is really interesting this time of year. The sun is lower in the atmosphere, and we tend towards more of the golden and red colors as it passes through the atmosphere. I mentioned earlier, in my The Changes in the Seasons post, that light has to travel a greater distance through the atmosphere and as the light scatters more, we do get that richer color.

When I get the chance to go up and make some fall color images, I always tend towards the trunks of aspen trees. The leaves are beautiful, and I do love the complimentary colors as the yellow leaves quake in front of beautiful bluebird skies. Yes, I used that old out-of-date ski bum term (per Urban Dictionary) that describes a great ski day! I tend to be a little out-of-date occasionally, and well, that’s how I describe an awesome (yes, that’s another dated term) ski day. Those I love have called me a fair-weather skier on more than one occasion!

Anyhow, back to trees, or more importantly, tree trunks! I find that gnarly old wood, twisted with time, and abused by an elk’s antlers, to be the most beautiful of subject matter when photographing nature. They twist and turn to the sky, and tell stories of a life lived, and the weather endured. So, more than anything, my favorite images of autumn usually center on tree trunks!