Image-a-Nation

Making Pastel Panels

2009-09-22T12:24:00.001-06:00

Toy Digital: Is there a future in it?

2009-09-14T09:24:00.006-06:00

Plastic toy cameras have a storied history in fine art photography. The Holga, from China is a favorite of many. Lomos are great as well. I enjoy my Fisheye 2, and morn the loss of my Lomo that took four photos in a row. But, they are all film cameras, and film is film. I no longer use film in my "real" photographic work. But what about toy digital cameras? Is there potential there?

Here are some shots from my VuPoint DC-st-12:

All those colors might be fun, but I'm not sure they are my dog Gypsy's best colors.

Here is a "raw" in .cif format (what ever that is) and the same image with some quick enhancements:

And here is a crown of a mature Ponderosa Pine, slightly enhanced in iPhoto:

These images are pretty darned small. Wow, 0.1 megapixel! My next step will be to see if I can increase their size so I can get a reasonable print. Or, I could do something serious. . .

almost LIVE from my painting studio!

2009-09-10T08:52:00.001-06:00

2009-08-31T16:15:00.000-06:00

Studio Report

2009-08-28T10:00:00.005-06:00

From time to time, I will be making a video from my studio to show what I'm up to. Here is the first one. I know, the quality is lacking, but I'll make it better over time!

Studio Report

2009-08-28T10:00:00.004-06:00

From time to time, I will be making a video from my studio to show what I'm up to. Here is the first one. I know, the quality is lacking, but I'll make it better over time!

Studio Report

2009-08-28T10:00:00.003-06:00

From time to time, I will be making a video from my studio to show what I'm up to. Here is the first one. I know, the quality is lacking, but I'll make it better over time!

Old Trucks

2009-06-11T15:27:00.001-06:00

What is the fascination us guys have with old trucks? I don’t know, but I sure do have it. Have to paint more of these critters.

12x16. oil.

In a few days, I’ll be off to Europe for several weeks. Please check my blog again in late July. Thanks.

Steve

Big Night, Big City

2009-06-04T08:28:00.001-06:00

I painted this image from a photograph a friend’s daughter took in New York City. It was a nice change, painting a night scene. I enjoyed this painting so much, I am thinking of a series of Fort Collins night scenes. Got to stay up late though, and prowl the city with my camera at night to get references. Just an idea. . .

Oil, 16x12.

Cowboyin'

2009-05-28T17:22:00.000-06:00

Riding the range, somewhere in the west. The landscape changes, but the work is still the same. Fixin’ fence. Looking for that stray. Wondering where there is enough grass, when to move the herd. It’s the way it’s always been, and always will be.

Oil. 16”x10” unframed.

Just Another day in the South Seas

2009-05-21T08:55:00.001-06:00

I finished this pastel several weeks ago. Life gets busy, it’s hard to find time to get art photographed and on the ol’ blog. But, yes, this is what I saw snorkeling in the Morea Lagoon last Christmas eve. I have been working on another pastel, looking the opposite direction at the barrier reef. Not as successful as this one: it may be packed away in a dark closet, never to be seen. Can’t win them all, but I do like this one.

The Moose is Loose!

2009-05-07T08:58:00.001-06:00

Another Juried Show??

2009-04-15T10:08:00.002-06:00

Okay, here I am wondering. Wondering whether it makes since to fill out an application for another juried art show, or just go buy $25 in lottery tickets? If I get in, I’ll have to pay to ship my work down there and back. Have a small change at prize money. And, whopee, I’ll get to list the show on my resume. But I already have a lot of juried shows under my belt seem to make a difference. Unless I am applying for something that requires I submit a resume, and that is very rare, indeed.

One of the reasons I submit work to art shows is to give myself incentive to get something framed. Hey, if it gets in, I got to frame it, and that is my least favorite part of this job. And, hey someone likes the photo or painting to let it in, so that is an ego booster. But, most of all, I get the feeling I’m on the right track with my art.

But. . .what if I bought the lottery ticket with the million dollar prize?

After the Party. Motu Mahana. December 2008

2009-04-08T09:48:00.001-06:00

Taos Adobe #1

2009-03-26T10:18:00.001-06:00

All photographers have to do the cathedral in Taos, they say. So, I did mine in pastel. I really like this piece, and have had a lot of good comments on it. Although I love working in pastel, framing a pastel is not the least bit of fun. Now that this piece has been accepted into the Evergreen Art Open 3, I’ll have to stop messing around and get it framed!

I now have my photos from Tahiti all tagged and adjusted. They are ready to catalog. I spent last week in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and haven’t yet begun to upload my film cards. Work to do!

Tropical Foliage, Morea

2009-03-12T08:47:00.002-06:00

Sharks and a Ray

2009-03-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Morea Lagoon pastel is coming along. I am at that stage where I kinda hope I’m finished. But! That’s when taking the piece to critique is a very good idea. I know that large black blob in the lower center is a ray. And that’s what the photo I’m working from shows. But unless you were there with me when I took the picture, you may not know. So, my next challenge: Use my artistic license to make the ray look like what viewers connect with like they are able to connect with how the sharks are portrayed.

Don’t miss what’s under your feet!

2009-02-25T10:09:00.001-07:00

Raiatea, December 2008.

A Pastel Painting in Progress

2009-02-18T09:37:00.002-07:00

Still a long way to go!

Buy my art on T-shirts, canvas bags, mugs, and more!

2009-02-11T10:42:00.003-07:00

I've just opened a store on the web featuring my images on a lot of useful products. To visit the store, go to:

www.cafepress.com/sjaphoto09

2009-02-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Such Friendly Gentle Creatures

Last December I had the opportunity to swim with the rays. I hade been brought up to think of these as monstrous creatures. The rays were very friendly, and gracefully swam all around us. Why do we as a society want to find terror when none is there?

Seascapes on the way

2009-01-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

One of the real benefits of working in several media, I think, is when you have an image that does not work well in one media, you can use it as a reference for another. This photo I took last month in the lagoon off of Morea. It’s a pretty cruddy photograph. High speed film (my new digital camera had already flooded) in a cheep disposable camera. But I like the colors and I like the composition. I think it’ll make a nice pastel. I better get painting!

The Undersea World of Steve part 1

2009-01-19T14:42:00.002-07:00

This is a slide show from a snorkeling trip with my wife Debbie last month. Yes, I am playing with technology!

Can I dance my way into the AANC National Show?

2009-01-05T10:39:00.003-07:00

It’s that time of the year again. Got to fill out those juried show applications. One of the biggest and best such shows in my area is the Artist’s Association of Northern Colorado National Show. And, It’s a hard show to get it, I usually only get in once every three years. This year’s juror does like realism. But I don’t like to paint realism. Heck, if I want a photo, I’ll do a photo!! So I hope this lady can dance her way into the show, along with River of January, and another random selection.

My 2009 Mask for MOCA

2008-12-08T09:58:00.004-07:00

Where Were You in ’72?

I recently found an old photo of mine that spurred memories of 1972. That year I was playing around with high contrast photography, attending film festivals at the Lory Student Center, and studying a lot. My mask this year is a remembrance of one of those photographs. I bet this scene looks different now, 37 years later. I hope to remember to check it out the next time I’m on campus.

River of January

2008-12-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

It’s cold, we’re in shadow, and the sun will be going down all to soon. Why am I walking along this river? Well, here it is December, and we got to look forward to winter, don’t you know. Winter is beautiful, as long as we have some snow. I’ve always been fascinated with the big old cracks of running water in an icy river. And, mid winter is a time to enjoy those long shadows.

I’m already from the multi-brown shades of the Front Range of the late fall. Let’s have a lot of snow, and a warm spring!

This painting is oil on canvas, and is 14” by 18” without the frame.

Sponges I

2008-11-24T09:12:00.002-07:00

I've Been Driven to Abstraction!!

Out of the Past

2008-11-17T14:46:00.002-07:00

This image is several years old, but I am bringing it back as my first poster. The original image is of an old drill press that was outside on display near a restaurant in Fairbanks. Alaska. I was messing with the image, trying out some new digital masking techniques, and not getting where I was intending. But, that’s okay, because something serendipitous happened. I like the mistake much better than where ever I was going with the image, and I don’t even remember where that was!

This poster will go on sale Saturday November 22nd, at the Poudre River Artists’ Warm For Winter sale at the Poudre River Arts Center. Other times and places will be announced as available.

Running into the Light

2008-11-10T09:30:00.003-07:00

This painting was from a photo I took in Canyon de Chelly National Monument during a photo workshop a couple of years ago. I took the shot with my long lens through a car window going over numerous ruts and bumps. Needless to say, the photograph was not of exhibition quality. But when in doubt, I de believe it is best to shoot. Usually you can get some great results. But if not, why not paint it?

Another Trick Pony

2008-11-03T10:34:00.001-07:00

This is a pastel of my old friend Cowboy Tom’s favorite horse. I got to cowboy with Tom and his buddy Harold for a couple of days way back when. I do think the horses enjoy their job moving stock more than the cowboys do. This was an amazing horse, well trained, and he and Tom were a team. But just like Tom, he had a temper that could show up at the worst time.

Grandview #1

2008-10-27T09:09:00.001-06:00

Cemeteries can be most interesting. Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins is no exception. When it was established, the are had a ‘grand view’ of the mountains, but no more. The city has long since grown up around it. Many of the town fathers are buried here. And, most importantly, the town mother, “Auntie” Stone is memorialized here.

Somehow, I think the drama of b&w infrared photography adds something to cemetery photos. This may be the start of a project!

Shows Coming Up

2008-09-15T09:02:00.001-06:00

Shows coming up

This painting, Feed Store, I plan to submit to AANC’s Capture the County show which opens October 3 and has been previously posted on this blog. It still needs to be framed. . .and I need to both print and frame some photos for PRAA’s Midnight, Mystery & Mayhem show, also opening on the Third. Nice to be thinking obout the shows and getting my art out-the-door. But it is expensive. There are entry fees, framing costs, and transportation to think about.

But, at least I have whine!

To bad this painting isn’t in Larimer County:

One from the archives

2008-09-08T09:11:00.002-06:00

It’s cold and damp outside. Our first (of hopefully very few) damp cold mornings, as fall is coming. I needed a flower for this morning’s blog. This is one from the archives. It’ll need some sharpening before printing.

Time to print

2008-08-25T09:14:00.003-06:00

I think I take to many photos. It’s taken a year to get last summer’s photos ready to print. There all these new data management issues resulting from gigabits of data, extra exposures for panoramas, HDRs, and good ol’ BLH (bracket like hell).

Well, printing that is, after I get the framing dine for Unbridled Beauty, which I mentioned in my last entry. And, framing takes me a lot of time. I think 90% of the time spent is brooding about it. Can’t make a mistake framing, it’ll show for ever.

Anyway, once I start printing, I’ll be working on two projects: The Wood, and Great Western Panoramas. This photo, a panorama, is of the woods in Yosemite National Park.

Horse Art

2008-08-18T10:33:00.003-06:00

The Unbridled Beauty show will be coming to the Poudre River Art Center next month, opening September 5. I am working on my pieces for the show. Once I get this photo printed (hopefully today), I’ll be down to getting my 3 entries framed.

Work, work, work! Well, framing is work. But, I best not get on a diatribe about the problems of plexiglass today!

Morning at the Feed Store

2008-08-11T09:26:00.000-06:00

I guess I chose this painting to show today because I normally get up with the sun—and today I didn’t. Morning is the best part of the day.

Point Reyes

2008-08-04T09:53:00.000-06:00

August is here, and this summer’s photographic adventures are almost over. I need to get printing my images from 2007, such as this one from the Point Reyes National Seashore.

With all the time required for camera and computer maintenance, filing and archiving files, doing the digital workflow right, calibrating the printer, and so on, I am starting to think painting is a significantly quicker way to create an image.

Taos Adobe #3

2008-07-28T08:58:00.000-06:00

One of the great things about visiting New Mexico is to watch the shadows dance across the adobe. I think pastel is a great medium to capture this feeling. I’m pleased to say this piece won second place in the Colorado Pastel Society’s 2008 Member Show.

The Far Yonder

2008-07-21T09:24:00.001-06:00

Wow! Finally an acceptance into a juried show. I did great getting into shows last year, 15 of 18 if I remember right. This year, 1 for 5! Why is getting into juried shows so streaky for me?

Anyway, this oil is called: The Far Yonder. It’ll be in the Louisville Fine Arts Show Which opens on August 30.

What would Steinbeck think?

2008-01-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite works of fiction are Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by John Stienbeck. I had the opportunity to visit Cannery Row this past summer. Looks pretty darn touristy, now. But the Aquarium is pretty hard to beat.

Oh, what a cold has me.

2008-01-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

Wow, I have a bad cold. My head feels as clear as the view at midday. . . the one day I've spent at the Golden Gate Bridge.

A cataloging I will go, a cataloging I will go. . .

2007-12-12T15:31:00.001-07:00

I think someone needs to sit down and write a county song about cataloging digital photographs. I’m about half way through the images I have captures in 2007. But from time to time I must go back and catalog last year’s work. What was I doing in Nebraska in June of 2006?

digital IR

2007-12-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Digital IR

Digital for color and straight B&W is great, but what if you have a hankering for some good ol’ fashioned HIE (Kodak High Speed Infrared Film)? I tried to keep the B&W film processing going just for HIE, but I was less and less pleased with my results.

With the help of lifepixel.com, the age of digital IR is here. The adventure begins again.

Digital Photo Classes at CoCOA!

2007-08-22T10:03:00.000-06:00

Beginner's Class: The Nuts and Bolts of Digital Photography
Dates and class schedule:
• Sept 4 Class Intro, the beginnings of digital vocabulary, and connecting your camera to your computer to upload photos, getting familiar with your camera.
• Sept 18 Working with image files, e-mailing photos, resolution, backing up your photos, long term storage, software and operating systems
• Oct 2 Organizing your photos and printing
• Oct 16 Digital Editing
• Oct 30 More digital editing
• Nov 13 Making postcards and Business cards
• Nov 27 Presenting you photos to the world!
Class Description This is a beginning class for those who would like to get more from their digital camera. We will start at the beginning and work as a group to learn the basics of photography in our digital age. Hopefully by the end of the class, you will be able to find your photos on your computer, know the basics of making them look a whole lot better, and have ideas on unique ways you can show your photos. We will move together as a group, spending more time where needed, and less where it's not. The above class schedule shows the approximate dates we will get to each subject.
Requirements: All demos assignments and so on will be presented in Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. You will probably be okay with Elements 4.0. But all image editing software is different, and the instructor most probably will not be able to help with other software such a photo-paint, and so on. You will need access to your own computer. A laptop computer that will run Elements that you can bring to class will be a big benefit.
Intermediate Class: Creative Digital Photography
Date and schedule:
Sept 11 Class Intro and Digital Exposure and sensor cleaning
Sept 25 RAW
Oct 9 White Balance
Oct 23 Digital Workflow
Nov 6 DAM! Digital Asset Management
Dec 4 Presenting Photography in the digital age
Dec 18 Color management
Class Description There was a time, not to long ago, when Digital made for simpler lives for us photographers. That period was short lived, and now gone. There is so much to know these days. And some things you think you can ignore... you might want to think again. Each of these classes is meant to be a quick but through introduction to a broad topic. Hopefully each class will raise a lot of questions about the subject, and make you want to learn more.
Class requirements: You will need your digital slr and a laptop computer with Adobe Photoshop CS2 (or later) that you can bring to class.
Special Class: Photography for people who paint
Date: Tuesday December 11, 6 to 9 pm
This is a special class for people who paint...and own a digital camera. I will be covering photography techniques you can use to improve your painting, such as: making digital submissions, perspective correction, moving and deleting objects, cleaning up skin tones, and much more!
Class Information
Pricing: I am keeping the costs of these classes as low as possible. One of the main reason they are lower than other like classes as you will have to bring your own equipment. You may pay by the month, or for the entire class and receive a small discount. Payment is due at class, before the class begins. The fee for either class is: $200, or $30 per session ($35 for drop ins).

Call Steve at 970.221.0363 or email steve.sjaphoto@gmail.com to register. There is a maximum of 10 and a minimum for 4 for each class.

Question of the Day

2007-04-16T09:59:00.000-06:00

What do you do about a two-headed snow space alien?

An Old Photographer’s Joke

2007-04-09T08:54:00.000-06:00

“Hey, how was your trip?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t got my pictures back from the lab!”

I’ve been back from Death Valley National Park for several weeks now, but am only beginning to look at my photographs. Yes, 90% of what I shot was digital. But I shot 11 Giggle bytes of digital. I have been implementing my DAM system, so that these new photos will be calalogable and findable. If you don’t know DAM, I suggest visiting the web site:

Http://theDAMbook.com

There was a time, a short time, where it seemed digital was making the photographer’s life easier. I think that’s over. So many photos coming in. Same few prints going out. And, we have to make them perfect now, because we can.

Anyway, here is my first Death Valley photograph. I like this one, and hope it goes places.

Tahiti Dreamin’

2007-03-26T11:42:00.000-06:00

One of the big disadvantages of shooting digital instead of slides is. . .you don’t have those slides to work with. When I was shooting mostly 35 mm slide film (which was not that long ago), I found it nice and easy to make Polaroid transfers. I’ve always enjoyed the texture and mood the Polaroids gave me. Tahiti Dreamin’ is one of the last transfers I did about a year ago. I look at this image and hope Polaroid 669 is still available, and want to go out and shoot some slides! This image was just accepted at the Alternatives show at the FLASH/Working With Artists Gallery in Lakewood. The show opens April 6th.

Botanical Illumination

2007-03-19T11:13:00.000-06:00

There was a time before photography. Really! I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was. What do you do, then, if you are a botanist, and have found a new plant to tell the world about? You need an illustrator. Thus, the amazing world of Botanical Illustration was born, and it is still flourishing today. In fact, one of the very few educational programs in the world is located here in Colorado at the Denver Botanic Gardens (botanicgardens.org).

Why is the art of Botanical Illustration still flourishing today? A drawing can sometimes (if I were not a photographer I would have said oftentimes) do a better job than a photo in representing a plant. The plant is reproduced in it’s entirety without random effects of light and potential damage from obtaining the specimen. And, the drawings are always beautiful!

Currently, I am taking a class at the Botanic Gardens on Botanical Illumination. This technique, first perfected by the folks who would copy manuscripts by hand, adds metallic ink (mostly gold) to illustrations. The result is beautiful art with bright effects.

The above drawing is far from complete—I still need to add the color and gold lettering. But art is not made in a day. I hope to post the finished work soon.

I’m just back from Death Valley National Park will loads of new photos. It’s only mid-March, and the daily high temperatures are already breaking the 100 degree mark. Does this foretell what will happen to this summer’s temperatures here at the eastern edge of the Rockies?

A Visit to the Santa Fe Workshops

2007-03-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune to spend last week at the Santa Fe Workshops in the magical city of Santa Fe. The class I tackled was entitled: Digital Photography: From RAW Files to Archive. And, it was a DAM useful class!!

With digital photography, I find it easy to take to many photographs. I took about 5000 last year. But how do you organize these 5000 files in such a way in such a way I can find the image I need? How can I find a file for an image I took 5 years ago? This is a DAM problem!

DAM stands for Digital Asset Management, and with a nifty program called iView Media Pro, one can learn how to catalog files into useful sets, have the files ready for immediate use, and make them easy to backup and archive. The workshop instructor was Peter Krough, and he is the guru of DAM. His book, The DAM Book, is essential reading for the serious photographer. We, as photographers, have no excuse not to be organized anymore. All I need now is time to implement Peter’s DAM principles into my own digital workflow!

Nice to be in the NCAA national show again!

2007-02-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

My pastel, Gauguin’s bamboo, has been accepted into the Northern Colorado Artist’s Association (NCAA) national show! The show runs from April 7 to through May 11th, 2007, at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins. This is usually a very nice show, and overly hard to get into (for me it’s the 2nd time in 5 years). Now, I need to get busy building a nice frame!

Trying to keep those shadows clean in pastel

2007-02-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Currently I am working on this painting in pastel. I do very much enjoy working with old adobe walls, and have several well regarded black and white prints of such walls in my portfolio. This one is a bit of a challenge I am finding, as the shadows are very important, and I am not sure how to do this with this medium. I do not want the walls to begin to look dirty (if they are not doing so already). I guess I need to work with sharper edges. Best get back to work!

The photography classes I had scheduled starting this month have been canceled. I did not get enough folks to sign up. I plan to try again in the fall, and will hope to get after promoting the classes sooner. . . .

Wildflower Hearts Photography Show is up and looks great!

2007-02-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Tom Frederick (www.tomasrobertfrederick.com) and I have our photography show up. It’s like a breath of spring in this long cold winter we’re having. Please come by and see the show and get a preview of spring!

Wow! A chance to finally work on a photograph!

2007-01-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Amongst the madness of getting ready The Wild Flower Hearts Photography show (please see an earlier post), filling out applications for juried shows, starting to plan for classes, and all the other stuff you have to do to keep on truckin’ in this crazy world, I finally had a chance to work on a photo.

This photo is almost done. It was taken at the Mission San Diego last June. I am primarily working in black-and-white these days, and the final print is toned while printed with the quadtone rip (quadtonerip.com). I need to figure out how to reproduce the beautiful tones the rip produces for viewing on the screen.

How Photography and the Internet can Help Tell a Story

2007-01-22T10:29:00.001-07:00

Our big media outlets these days are constantly full of stories and pictures from the mess in Iraq. I still can’t get out of my mind the photos of the people of New Orleans after Katrina, wondering when and where “their” government was. These were big stories, but there are plenty of smaller stories as well, many deserving to be brought forth before the general public’s eyes.

One big story, much closer to my home is the struggle of members of the Navajo Nation in North East Arizona and North West New Mexico against their tribal government and the big coal companies. With the blessings of the tribal government, “big coal” wants to strip mine a seam of coal from Ship Rock to Gallup. Yes, the big companies say the new coal plant will be the cleanest ever. But does that statement cover not only CO2 pollution and heavy metal pollution which comes from burning coal as well? And, what right do we, as electricity consumers, to demand this large segment of the Navajo reservation be dug up, sacred sites be sacrificed, the Dine continuing their traditional lifestyles loose their homes, just so we can burn electricity?

I urge you to visit the website http://www.questionofpower.org to meet the people who have been devastated by the existing power plants, and learn what may happen if a third is built. My friend Carlan Tapp is using his photographic artistry to bring the lives and voices of the affected people to you. The photographs are beautiful, but the story is not. I hope we can turn this story around!

There is more information at the Living on Earth website, at: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00002&segmentID=6

Wildflower Hearts Photography Show in February.

2007-01-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Back in late September, Tom Frederick (www.thomasrobertfrederick.com) and I had the idea of doing a show together. February sounded good, a long way off. I thought it wouldn’t be that much work for me, as most of what I’d put in the show I’d already printed and framed. But there is always work to do, plans to make. Do the invitations. Reprint the one I sold. And decided if I want to get one of those hip new stretched canvas glitches—I mean zheee---clays that might be a hot seller. And, we’ll have to hand the show to, do our demos, and sit the gallery for a month. Guess I better get to work, as I need to get files ready for the canvas thingies. Hope they’re not just a gimmick!

New Digital Photo Classes coming February!

2007-01-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

I’ve started a new web site called fortcollinsphotoclasses.org where I have listed my class offering this winter and spring. More classes may be offered if requested, so please check the web site periodically. Your comments on what classes you would like to see are always welcome.

Well, it’s been snowy around Fort Collins. We’re having a winter like the ones we used to have when I first came here back in the 1970s. Nice to see snow (I used my snow shovel once last year) again, but the upcoming below zero weather is, well, something I no long look forward to. The price of getting old, I guess.

I got to get the promotion done for the classes, and my upcoming joint show, Wild Flower Hearts done, so I can get back to doing some art!

The Bear that Ate Fort Collins

2006-12-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Photography is such an exact science. Excuse, me, it’s supposed to be art. Wait a minute, and we must have everything exact and it all must be clean. The chemistry must be mixed just right, and that takes science! And, the bigger the sensor the better. Megapixel creep is great. My lens weighs more than, your lens, it must be better…..!!

Hurmph! At times like these I like to reach for a plastic toy camera. My latest, the Lomo Fisheye (www.lomography.com) cost $35. After all, isn’t a photographer out to create an image that will capture they eye’s attention? Does the photo always have to be razor sharp? All the colors true to life? Science must be balanced by art.

Organizing for classes in early 2007

2006-12-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

I started a class this past fall in basic digital photography, and it was well received by 3 enthusiastic participants. But to make this class thing a financially worthwhile pursuit (is there such a thing in the art business??) I need more folks to take the classes. But it’s a lot of work, and like any endeavor, it takes a while to build a following. Got to keep on keeping on!

For next year, I am planning a series of short courses with prerequisites, either an earlier class, or state what knowledge you need to get the most out of the class. So what would people like to see in a range of digital photo classes? I guess I’ll go visit with the Stephen J Allen Photography marketing department. I’ve got all the possibilities diagramed, now all I’ve got to do, with help of the marketing department, is get out may digital decision device. . .and call heads or tails!

2006-11-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Is CB EZ?

I’m not sure we’ll ever know. Or, if it matters. But the question will remain in the soft rocks of the old Fort, which is right off of I-25 north of Fort Collins, Colorado. Until someone comes by and changes it, that is. The old Fort has quite a history, as an outlaw hideout, an interstate rest stop, and now for a place to party and shoot fireworks.

The old Fort is now filled with graffiti deeply carved into the rocks and trash. It’s a shame that such a treasure cannot be preserved.

Mask. Done.

2006-11-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here is my Mask for MOCA in its final form. I know, I know, there is a hot spot from the on-camera strobe on the face of the mask. Couldn’t find my up-side-down tripod--- still suffering from the great Studio Tour Clean Up, I guess.

Anyway, please come see the show. I think it’s a great idea to have a hundred –or-so artists work on the same “canvas.” Information on Masks at MOCA can be found at this link:

http://fcmoca.org/events.html

Now, my dear three little Fates, can I do some photography? Please? Please. . . .

back from the dead?

2006-11-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Okay. When blogging, you’re supposed to keep it up. Blog about what you’re doing. I just started this, and there was the studio tour. Lots of clean up to do. Then I started a class called the Nuts and Bolts of Digital Photography. All good stuff. There have been several highlights this year.

But then in early October, I broke my arm. Argh. What a year 2006 has been. A broken arm was not the worst of it by far, but I don’t want to get into it right now. With too much to do, and the bad luck runs in waves – no more like Tsunamis! When my luck changes back, life will be easy. In other words, I’ll have lots of time to create art.

What am I working on now? Here is my Mask for MOCA, in progress. MOCA is the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Mask show, coming in February is their big fundraiser. But I still have to have this done by this Friday, 11/18/2006!

2006-08-21T12:10:00.000-06:00

The Leaf.

This past March, when hiking near Sedona, I found this leaf right in the middle of the trail. If I had been looking off, I would have scrunched it. If my dog had been with me, she would have scrunched it. Would have previous hikers on the trail carefully stepped over it, or missed it by accident? In any case, the leaf was waiting for me to find it.

Right now, the finished exhibition print is at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, waiting to be hung in the Studio Tour Preview show, which opens September 1st. I hope this was the right print to choose, and it will draw folks into my studio during the Tour, on the 16th and 17th of September.

I guess what draws me most to this photo is the gradual change in tone on the leaf as it curls outward, against the consistent tonal value of the soil. The structure of the leaf is also intrigues me. What do you think?

2006-08-16T10:32:00.000-06:00

My latest painting, Dirty Sams In a New Face, was created with pastels. I began this painting with a group of other artists from the Colorado Coalition of Artists, during our Old Town Paint Out, in July 2006. Old Town is the heart of Fort Collins, and the buildings there have been lovingly restored in the last 25 years or so. However, I still remember a great 3.2 bar from my college days at Colorado State back in the early seventies. Sometimes, I'm not sure change is good. . .

I did very much enjoy working in pastel. I seem to love bright colors, and pastels give that easily... and they are easy to mix, right there on the paper after application. You can create a mess though with all that pastel dust, but that may be part of the fun?

This was one of the easiest paintings (and most fun) paintings I've ever done. Creating the piece was a lot of work, but enjoying old memories with new friends created a most enjoyable experience. Should I say it...?? It almost just painted itself!