Sponges I

I've Been Driven to Abstraction!!

Out of the Past

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.

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. . .

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

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!

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

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

An Old Photographer’s Joke

“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.