Novembers Catch

Slow month November was/is. Only got out once at the beginning of the month to take pictures. Been pretty busy with other things but I will make up for it in December. Great month for bird photography. Looking forward to it. In the meantime I wanted to share what I did get. I'm not sure I'm too excited about them, but enjoyed working with them. Enjoy!

"Shingle Springs Water Pump"



"Apple Hill Vineyard"



"Time Past Building And a Pear Tree"



"Countryside Gas"

"Seasonal Fog"

It's that time of year when the winter weather creeps in and the fog is Sacramento's and Sacramento valleys way of letting us know that. This year it's been beaten down a couple of times but still manages to let us know as much as possible that it's here. Actually I sort of like it. It's been here a couple of times this week and I hope to see it more. I remember a time when Diane and I were here for our first winter in 1975 and we got our first taste of it. I have to say it was the worst fog we'd ever been in. Different than the fog we got in Southern California from the coast. This was what they called tule fog. It was late one night and we'd been out shopping. We came out of the store and the fog was as thick as pea soup. We started home and couldn't see 5 foot in front of us. The next thing we knew, we were lost. Seriously...we were lost. We lived in an area down the street from the American River, which made it worse. And, we couldn't figure out where we were. Scary moment. We did manage to get home, finally, and have respected it ever since. We've learned to maneuver through it now. And, it can be quite beautiful. Enjoy!

"Seasonal Fog"

"Proud Sandhill Crane"

Sandhill Cranes are one of the wonderful birds that although are here in the Sacramento area all year, are more plentiful this time of the year. I hope to see lots of them over the next couple of months. Thought I'd share one of them with you. Enjoy!

"Proud Sandhill Crane"

"Iron And Brick"

Just wanted to finish out the day or actually start a new day with this. Stay strong and what better way than with "Iron And Brick." Add some flowers to soften the hardness of it and the combination can be wonderful. Another words, we can be beautiful and kind, and still stay strong in our beliefs and goals. Enjoy!

"Iron and Brick"

"Last Days Of Fall"

As the last days of fall creep upon us, and the cold weather starts penetrating our bodies, I thought I'd share this image that expresses my feelings as I looked down my street today. I love fall and love all the colors it brings us. This is a digital or photographic art piece, but you can see all these colors right now by looking out your front door. Thinned perhaps, but that's what this image is saying. As I created it from one of my photographs, I closed my eyes and saw these colors. Can you see them? Enjoy!

"The Last Days Of Fall"

Photographic Art

I love photography. But, unlike some, I love it even more today with the added advantage of the digital darkroom. Some photographers think that photographic art isn't true photography. I am one photographer that says photographic art is what photography is all about. Years ago, in the chemical darkroom, mostly B&W but I did use cibachrome quite a bit, we used filters, we burned and dodged to get the image to look like what we thought made our image a photograph. I also used filters on the camera to create different effects. Then there was vasoline or a piece of cardboard to create a vignette. That, in my opinion is photographic art. What we have today is even better. Our cameras are better and our print output is better. So why not use it! I do, and I love it! Here is a picture I took in August. I loved the way the tree struggled to survive as the water levels dropped. That, is a true desire to live. Something we all, well, most of us, do everyday. I loved the scene and wanted to keep the memory and share it with others. The original picture is nice on its own, but has a lot going on and doesn't express the picture as I saw it. I used my vintage technique on it first to give the feeling of age and the struggle. I really liked the way it turned out but I have had mixed comments on the image. So, I tried to think of a way to get that same feeling and direct the eye right to the subject So, this is what I came up with. The struggle of survival.

"One Last Chance"
Original

"One Last Chance"
Vintage Technique

"One Last Chance"

A different take in that your eye goes to the subject. You can see the struggle to survive, but you can also see the beauty of its strength in the brilliant foliage. Enjoy!

Trying different things

I have been looking over my work, and I'm always trying to improve it, and have decided to compare some of the work I have done with the same image in a better way. Does that make sense? Anyways, here are a couple of images I have worked on and wanted your opinion. Please feel free to critique!

"Little Woman"
Original and Re-done




"Old West Photographer"
Original and Re-done



"Weekend Cottage"
Original and Re-done





"Packing Powder"
Original and Re-Done

Each has it own impact, but I have been liking a little more color in my images. It seems to take your eye to the subject, and then you look at the whole picture. There will more to come, but I wanted to share these with you now. Thanks!