Birds, Birds and more Birds.

Spring has sprung and I haven't been doing any painting lately. (Soon I hope) Bella and I have been doing a lot of walking in the morning and I have lucked into quite a few Hawk pictures. I think I'm getting an even better lens this weekend so they should get even better. 

I thought I would share some of my favorites and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them turn into paintings sometime soon :)

Hawk Eyes

 

 

 

More after the break...

Reno Animal Ark

I went on a trip to the Animal Ark with some friends from the Reno Photo Club this past Saturday. I was actually pretty cool. I'm looking forward to going back when it's warmer to photograph their Raptors. Here are some of my favorite shots.

Great Horned Owl

To see more read on after the break.

2017 Reno Cattle Drive

I am so fortunate that the Reno Cattle Drive goes right by our apartment complex, right through my favorite field for walking the dog and photographing nature. This year I hiked up to the top of the hill so I could follow them down toward town. I had a nice canyon to photograph in without power lines or buildings which was what I was looking for. Here are some of my favorite images from this year. 

Cattle Drive 22 BW

All of these photographs are available as Fine Art prints on my website. 

Check it out when you have some free time.

Photographing Nevada field while walking with Bella

I'm really enjoying watching the seasonal changes in the field next to where I live as I take Bella on her daily walks. It seems I can spot each new wildflower as it starts to bloom and I can see the changes as the plants dry up in the heat as we near Summer.

This is a continuation of my previous post "Photographing Spring in the High desert with Bella" In that post I shared some of my macro photographs as well deciding to start a new series of Rock Trolls, I have been pursuing both of those projects and thought I would share some of my favorites.

Bella enjoys a nice cigar after one of our walks.

If you are interested in my work be sure to check out my website 

where you can order Fine Art Prints 

I am also one of the selected artists for the Reno Art Fest on the River, Aug. 19-20 2017

If you're around town stop by and check out my work.

Spring has Sprung, time to get the camera out

Finally we are having some beautiful Spring weather here in Nevada and I have been taking the camera out and shooting again. This means some fresh photos to sell and more images to create art out of. I went to the May Arboretum yesterday to see if any wildflowers were blooming and got a some nice images, here are a few.

Pussy Willow Catkins 1

Pussy Willow Catkins 3

Pussy Willow Catkins 2

These are Pussy Willow Catkins. There were only a couple blooming and I need some images to compete in the Nature division of the Reno Photo Club so I captured these. One nice thing about competing is I have to look up the plant so I can title it properly. I had never heard of a "Catkin" before so I learned something new. You CAN teach an old dog a new trick!

The life of a Photograph

Each of my photographs are like a child to me. I cherish each one and the potential for art that it brings. Several of my favorite captures have appeared in different works. Jesse is a good example. Originally captured in Jan 2011 for 30 day challenge on Worth 1000. 

The Devil's Back

I did this photographic still life of a red bell pepper a while back and have always enjoyed the way it looks like a human back and being red I decided to title it  "Devil's Back" 

Devil's Back

I have been getting comments online like "I would rather see Jesus's back" I replied that you couldn't have one without the other. Another comment was that it looked like a red bell pepper and I said that it was a bell pepper, the devil was not available to pose that day. That can lead into a discussion of opposites or paradoxes and the existence of Yin and Yang. One of things that fascinate me in my artwork is the perception of things and the power that a simple title can influence that perception. I have always loved this old quotation from Paul Nouge' about the freedom of the eye.

"The eye, which sees that which is no longer, the star;
on the screen, the image which has disappeared;
which does not see that which is too fast, the bullet, that smile;
which does not see that which is too slow, grass which is growing, old age;
which recognizes a woman and it’s another, a cat and it’s a shoe, his love and it’s emptiness
- the freedom of the eye should have put us on our guard long ago."

To me these are ideas that are wonderful to pursue in my artwork. Making people think is one of the highest accomplishments of any artwork to me.

As always my work is available as high quality Fine Art Prints on my website.

While you are there sign up for my email list as well.

The Pink House and Tussle Magazine

The Pink House is one of my favorite photographs. It sits in the middle of the salt marsh in Newbury, Ma. and I drove by that house every day on the Plum Island Turnpike for the 2 years I lived on Plum Island. It is an enchanted, abandoned old house that sits all alone in the middle of the marsh. I always wondered about the story of the house but never knew anything while I lived there.

The Pink House

The Pink house was built in 1922 and the reason was very interesting according to an article in the NY Times by KATE BOLICK on DEC. 11, 2015. Click on the link to read the entire article. The gist of the reason it was built is,  "In 1925, a wife agreed to divorce her husband on the condition he build her an exact duplicate of the home they shared in town.

Because she didn’t specify where the house should go, he built it where it would cause her the most unhappiness: by itself, far from everything, no fresh running water (only salt). There’s a term for this: “spite house.” "

Now that I know the story it only endears the house to me even more. I think I would call it the Pink Resentment house now. 

Re-Processing old images

I have been going back to my original files and re-processing some of them. The newer tools are already so much better I can get much better results now. (Or maybe I have just learned more)

I have always liked this sunrise image from my time living on Plum Island and thought I would enhance it with a few extras.

High Tide Sunrise

 

 

Dreams are getting closer

It has been a fabulous week. I have ordered new business cards from Moo, some new hard wood spindle blanks to make wands with and a sparkling new Epson Artisan wide format printer. Now I will be able to do my own fine art prints at home. I'm as excited as you can get for someone my age. Now the process begins of waiting for things to arrive, I hate that! I always want it RIGHT NOW, I guess I will be getting a lesson in patience. 

 I also ordered a couple rolls of art paper and a sample pack of art paper as well. Now I will have to learn about ICC printer profiles.

Panoramas

I really like shooting HDR panoramas for some reason. I find myself doing it even if I don't really think the picture needs the format. It just gives me more pixels to work with and I can print much larger. Here are a few of my favorites.

Plum Island Sunrise

Mass Ascension