63 posts tagged “photography”
Last night was Halloween. Today was All Saints Day. She and I set off for the Carlisle Reservation of Lorain Metro Parks for a hike in the woods. What should we encounter but the quiet settings for the System's Halloween Fair which draws thousands of family visitors each year. Among all of the oddities seen along the trail oddest, to my eye, was a swampy area, called Pumpkin Lagoon, populated by dozens of Jack-O-Lanterns all hovering above the still waters! It would have been spooky by night; by day it was simply surreal. The only photos I shot this day were of the carved pumpkin heads in that swamp. Do not take lightly the sight recorded, however... I don't remember seeing that black shape in the background and I don't think it's in any of my other photos! What's that!!
Slightly past peak were the colors in North Central Ohio at Malabar Farm State Park. The entire area was gorgeous, nonetheless, decorating even the forest floor with a confetti-throw of leaves. We decided to follow a one-mile trail that headed uphill, through dense neighboring woods, for a loop back to the Farm. The trail had many wonderful sights to see and was fairly well marked until somewhat short of the half-way point. Seeing no trail blazes we continued on what appeared to be trampled leaves, began our turn back, and paralleled a road though still walking in damp leaf litter within the woods. In no danger of becoming lost we easily found our way back to the Farm's homestead. Then it was off on a cross-country trip over state roads (not freeways) towards home. The scenery was absolutely beautiful with groves of trees on low hills rising like islands out of a sea of brown soybean and corn fields. It was a fine rolling journey back under sunny skies.
It was a most excellent Sunday's sojourn experiencing the best fall colors.
It's a shame when you're not feeling well and the day is absolutely beautiful; such days are often wasted on the sufferer. A head cold tightened its grip on me last night robbing me of long, quality rest and making the workday difficult to endure. The day wasn't a total waste, however. For several weeks I've been watching the light and the leaf colors changing along a stretch of the West Branch of the Rocky River I cross on my daily commute. Daily the view has become increasingly beautiful both by morning and evening light. Tonight was my first real opportunity to stop and shoot a few photos. I got several good ones but, if the weather holds, the views should only improve. I hope to stop a few more times before winter stomps its heavy foot down and the trees drop the last of their leaves. Above: The broad, shallow Rocky River flows along its shale banks and cliffs as it winds its way towards Lake Erie. The late day October sun falls upon the treetops while the waters lie in shade.
I've never self-published a photo calendar before so this first effort is kind of exciting. I chose Lulu.com which does printing on demand... I didn't have to contract to print a bunch of stock that won't sell. On the other hand, quality of reproduction is a little uneven with two images that had subtle tones looking a little off-hue, even unsharp. So I'm not wildly enthusiastic. Most other images look fine to very good -- especially the sunflower and the dragonfly. The process allowed me to add special events or "holidays," so I researched and added a bunch of astronomical occasions but nothing too geeky. I suppose as self-promotion this isn't the kindest review but I want it to be honest. Click here and enjoy the preview! {This is a re-post without a somewhat clumsy embedded object.}
This was my weekend to work. I was able to keep busy so the time at the office was well spent but leaves me with little to write about. Mom is back home from hospital and doing very well. She doesn't believe in this blogging stuff so I leave out any details. The little photo show looks nice at the library. Few comments except kind words from staff there. The new pictures are pretty and I won't stop shooting lovely nature scenes, but the gritty old B&W stuff from the '70s, well, those are art. Digging out those old photos really stirred me up, reminding me of days long passed as a youth involved in an artistic community. {sigh} I've got to recapture some of that feeling and take an old approach with my new work though I'll not quit the nature scene. For now, though, back to the weekly grind... at least it pays the bills!
The tangles in the Web (DNS tangles mentioned earlier) are now straightened and the new domain name, web site, and URL forwarding are all working as advertised. Some promotional postcards have shipped, my sample calendar has shipped, and I've time off to put it all together into a little gallery show. Lots of work, expensive, but fun! I'll be working on the final bits tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon I participate in a high-level meeting regarding a possible development for the Observatory -- I know very little about what will be discussed. Hmmm. So, on a couple of fronts, we're moving right along!
It was rainy and cloudy all day Saturday and all night. We got a decent amount of rain and it was needed. She and I went out for the weekly provisions and rambled around a bit. Lunch out was fancier than usual for us... a pleasant visit to Camille's Sidewalk Cafe in Rocky River. She had a veggie roll-up ("Too much lettuce," said She.) and I enjoyed the veggie panini sandwich. We did not sit at sidewalk tables! Inside, however, was cheerily busy, bright, and clean. Back at home, though She wasn't feeling her best, it was time for yet another harvest of basil and another big batch of pesto. We've now socked away a whole winter's supply of the tasty green mixture good for pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, even crackers! A bit of summer on a cracker will be a fine thing a few months from now!
I've continued work on the show and supporting materials and online stuff. I bought a new domain name, set up hosting, created a subdomain pointing to my online gallery space. Something's tangled up in the DNS but we'll get it straightened. It was a busy evening. I finally dug out and stripped the old, framed black & white photos from their stretch-wrap cocoons. There's some good stuff there, amongst the framed work and I'll want to make a final selection of, perhaps, four of them to show alongside the new stuff. Ah, memories!
Today we had a quiet morning at home with waffle breakfast. After lunch we headed out and strolled around Olmsted Falls, visiting David Fortier River Park. I got some nice photos there under changeable skies and a thick canopy of trees. That wide-angle zoom lens, however, continues to perplex me. Am I expecting too much of it? Am I being too critical when examining the details at outrageously high magnifications? It doesn't stack up to the clarity of my "L" series telephoto on the same camera body, evidenced in photos shot in the same park and conditions this afternoon. {Sigh!} I'll probably wind up sending it back to Canon Factory Repair, as invited earlier. Thing is, I don't want and don't believe I should have to pay anything more to achieve the results I rightfully expected when I first bought that lens.
Busy week coming up with a mix of work, art, and a high-level meeting concerning the Observatory. Stay tuned!
I received the completed order yesterday (Thursday) afternoon in three big boxes delivered by FedEx. It was only Monday night when I uploaded the eight photographs I settled on for printing! The order was mostly 8 X 10 color prints but included matting, and framing with glass cover. Amazing speed, the work is beautiful, and it cost about a third of what the local framing shop was going to charge! I have nothing against the local franchise frame shop --they were the first place I went when planning my show-- but the much lower cost of my online supplier made the show possible in its "larger" end form. I've a only few little tasks yet to complete:
- Select "old" work to display with the new
- Figure out pricing - same for show and online sales
- Make a tag for each picture -- title, price/NFS, etc.
- Make a small sign with maybe a little bio
Preparing for the show had the side benefit of finally getting me to print and frame some of my work. I'm hoping I'll do that a little more often going forward, even without a deadline pushing me along. The photo of my "favorite sunflower" is resting on our mantle until it is packed for transport to the show. It's every bit as beautiful as the online version, maybe even better... stunning, actually!
I stayed up a bit late last night tweaking and uploading my eight final photo choices to the online printing and framing company (they did a very good job on the test image I'd sent). Even at their very modest rates for work done, it's expensive when you multiply by eight. The finished and framed pieces should arrive in plenty of time for the October 1 hanging. Tonight or tomorrow I'll choose some of my framed work from my first show, done long ago, to hang with the new stuff. This process has been interesting to me if to nobody else!
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