Week 43 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 294

 It is all about the light. Cameras, whether they are film or digital, capture the light. 

One morning, while delaying arriving at my dentist appointment, I stopped at Eagle Rock Lake to capture the colors of the cotton woods. Yellow is one of those colors which captures light very well. And with sunlight streaming through the leaves they seem to glow.

Day 295

 What amazed me once back home and remembering I had taken all those photographs before have the truck not start, five teeth pulled, and lower face totally numbed is that fall photographs look awesome in black and white.

Day 296

 And the light streaming through the leaves and the trees and across the pond's surface is even more striking without the color.

Day 297

 As a landscape photographer who always eagerly awaits the fall colors I surprised myself during the post processing. It seemed like a sacrilege to remove the color. But photography is about the light. And that is so evident, as Ansel Adams proved, in the black and white versions.

Day 298

Day 299

Day 300

Week 42 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 287

Too much to do this morning. And I thought I had gotten it all done. And mostly. I just had my weekly photography blog to put words to. I uploaded the photos, finished a group email I was responsible for. Tried to start the pickup so I could drive it to the mechanic. And when it wouldn't start went on a pleasant walk with my friend who was going to drive me home after we dropped off the pickup.

One more attempt to start it and then plan B. To make a long story shorter the pickup is now where it needs to be awaiting repairs. And I got home in time to meet the owner of one of the dogs I am sitting.

I patted myself on my back and promptly forgot about this blog.

Day 288

It goes without saying that this photos are more serene than my morning was. So perhaps it is good to have this remaining task to restore my soul. Photographs have that power. Art is a gift in your house whether it is a photograph or a painting or a sculpture.

Day 289

I mentioned the walk through many of these aspens this morning. Before the winds rose it was silent and peaceful.

Day 290

Day 291

Day 292

Day 293

Now my day is truly complete. All remaining items are for tomorrow. I can retire to my couch with my cat and be peaceful.

Week 41 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 280

 When my sister was here we revisited Valle Vidal. We discovered this new burn area. Ponderosa pines don't have fall colors. Our guess is it was a prescribed burn of undergrowth which got a bit too hot. 

But made for a great photo shoot. No photoshopping involved.

Sometimes you just get lucky.

Day 281

Like with the clouds during the extended monsoon season. My camera has  dawn/dusk and sunset settings. But beyond that only cropping once on the computer.

Day 282

Day 283

 And sometimes the luck is just being in the right space with just the right light and a few well placed clouds. It is pretty difficult to take a bad photograph in New Mexico.

Day 284

Day 285

Day 286

Week 40 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 273

 Kasha-Katuwe National Monument in New Mexico is southwest of Santa Fe near Cochiti. Kasha-Katuwe means white cliffs in the pueblo language of Keresan. They were created by layers of volcanic rock and ash deposited by a pyroclastic flow from a volcano in the Jemez Volcanic field 6 to 7 million years ago.

My sister and I, both avid photographers, took the slot trail to the top. Not your causal stroll by any means. The view from the top is fantastic but I loved the canyon bottom and the slots and the trees which seem to go to amazing heights to reach the sun. I posted more pictures of this amazing place in a previous post on this blog. But then some of the photographs were of course used in my 365 day challenge.

Day 274

Day 275

Day 276

Day 277

Day 278

Day 279

The Studio September 2017

The Prussian Blue Wall

Taking photographs of my studio has been a challenge. All the walls are not the same height and the light can work for or against me. I have come to know there are certain times of the day when I will get less glare from the sun through the windows, etc. This week the process was helped along by rain dimming the sunlight.

And in the case of the photograph below which sits in the corner surrounded by windows it is best to record it before the sun comes up. In the winter this is where I sit to have coffee or read or just bask in the warmth of the sun drenching the plants. As I told many people who stopped by on the studio tour this room was suppose to be a greenhouse which provided passive solar heating to the house. It is that but it is also my gallery and studio.

Tea corner

The meeting of the arts

The west corner is where the arts meet. Painting and photography and my original bead jewelry meet with my collection of still life stuff; the collectibles I use to stage photographic challenges in the cold winter months when I don't want to go outside with the camera. Crystal vases, bones, rocks, crosses all get dusted and staged. Decluttering is not something which serves an artist well. Never get rid of all your props. 

The portable wall separating the work area

Art is messy and requires furniture to tools to support it. The portable wall runs beside the large flat file where I store mat board and paper. It serves as a work table for matting and framing my photographs as well as a large surface for doing drawings for my larger paintings. The grey mound in the lower left is my compound miter saw for making frames.

The East Corner

Over the drawing and work table

This wall gets most of the new paintings. And as it is across from the studio door I realize its impact on visitors. But it can be the messiest area because the work table and flat files are arrayed under it and around the corner. Ending at the easel and the director chair where the studio cat often sits.

North wall with north light

There are also paintings over the doors and windows on the east but I did not include them in this review of the studio because I did not rearrange it.

Week 39 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 266

 I am a couple weeks ahead on my supply of daily photographs. Having my sister in town with her camera helped with that. And I knew I was going to be very busy getting my studio ready for the first ever Angel Fire Studio Tour so I stockpiled as it were.

And now I sit here before my computer in my totally spruced up downstairs enjoying the peace before the second day of the tour and the photographs I have taken. And excited, as any photographer would be, that next week I can take the camera out and get more photographs. And do it with no guilt because my time is free and open. 

These photos were taken close to home and hint at the fall to come. Next week is Tent Rocks which I visited with my sister. The folder for the week after is a miscellaneous one which I reserve to move to later in year if something awesome comes up to take its place. Sort of breaking the one photograph each day challenge rules, if there are rules.

But seldom does a day go by which I don't pick up my camera and record something in my life like dawn or a flower or a cute cat pose. And in this last week I basically used my camera to record my studio and its art so I could post daily on social media to build up the excitement of the tour. Later I will do a blog post of the studio photographs.

I have always taken photographs, but as I have mentioned before, the camera was an adjunct to the painting. I invested in better cameras to take better pictures of my paintings or better pictures for a future painting or to not have to hire a professional to take photographs for contest entries or webpages or advertisements. Somewhere in that process photography came into its own in my artistic life.

And with that I will stop typing and let you enjoy the coming of fall into my mountain paradise. As recorded on the trusty Nikon.

Day 267

Day 268

Day 269

Day 270

Day 271

Day 272