The ImageRAG - Richard A. Gylgayton

Whirlwind Weekend in the Eastern Sierra

2011-10-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Click here for all the photos from this project, currently in the Incoming Gallery on ImageRAG.com.

Paul and I were in the Eastern Sierra for the weekend hoping to catch some fall color. We found that and Mother Nature threw some snow in as part of the bargain.

It was a quick trip, but we packed in as much photography as we could. This first batch of images was from Friday. We started early, but our arrival was delayed by road closures due to an early snow. No matter, as we just took our time.

A quick stop at Mono Lake, then a run up to Virginia Lakes where we saw our first snow close up. Took a nap in late after noon and then headed down Highway 395 just past Crowley Lake and set up the tripods for sunset pictures. Man, it was cold! I had left my gloves back at the motel so by the time the sun went down my fingers were tingling.

This was my first opportunity to learn the capabilities of the Nikkor 16-35mm f4 VR II. I don't use the word "awesome" very much, but in the case of this fantastic piece of glass it is an appropriate description. The lens handles beautifully and is sharp from corner to corner, even when wide open. The new VR II is ultra quiet, much less obtrusive than the VR on the 105mm Nikkor.

Wyoming Photos

2011-08-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to push up pictures from our trek to Iowa and Illinois. First up, landscapes from Curt Gowdy State Park. You didn't know Mr. Gowdy had a park named after him? Neither did I. It's a nice place with great trails. He was born in Green River, on the west side of the state. I remember his gravel voice calling baseball games when I was growing up.

You can check out the incoming images here.

Next up, Wyoming Territorial Prison.

Incoming stream update

2011-06-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

65 new photos uploaded to the Incoming stream. Check them out.

Bisy Backson

2010-09-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Exciting Developments

2010-08-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

It's been a wild week and I am behind on posting here...

Rome Day 2 is done and you can take a gander here. Day 3 (Ostia Antiqua is in process and viewable here).

My original plan called for me to write a post for each day, and I will do that, but the upgrade to Lightroom 3 (which went well) and a slight learning curve has put me behind.

And something exciting has happened. As you may know one of my regular photo projects has been of the open space closest to home, Acalanes Ridge. I was recently contacted for use of my photography of the ridge by both Save Acalanes Ridge and the Muir Heritage Land Trust for a fund raising push to buy 22 acres of private land to add to the open space. You can discover the details of the project by clicking here and here. And you can see the photographs in a new gallery on ImageRAG here.

In the 1960's (when I was in my pre-teens) I was always impressed by the work of photographers whose work captured the natural landscapes that needed to be protected from development; Ansel Adams and David Muench specifically. Having my own photographs used for the same purpose is a real privilege.

I'll be back with a post concerning Day 2 and 3 in Rome soon, so stay tuned.

Rome Day 2 and Lightroom 3

2010-08-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

I am working slowly through day 2 of our recent trip to Rome, but while I was gone the new version of Lightroom was released and some of my attention has been diverted into learning it, testing it and getting my databases ready for the upgrade. So my post-processing output has slowed up a little.

You can see day 2 (which was the day of the "Caesar Shuffle" as it grows at this link.

And for you photo geeks I'll have some thoughts on the new version of Lightroom as I become familiar with the new features.

Rome: Day One Commentary

2010-08-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

The photos for this commentary are located here.

Day 1 in Rome set the tone for the rest of the trip. Up early, a quick breakfast, hit the streets. Return after lunch, take a nap, and then an evening stroll, dinner, and a walk back to the apartment.

The first day we explored the Quirinale, the northwest hill of the city, by heading in a roundabout fashion to the Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps) and the Piazza Mignanelli. It was warm and humid as we expected, but we paced ourselves and drank a lot of water. We also tried to stay on the shady side of the street when possible. There were a lot of people about, but no crowding and aside from people trying to foist roses off on us (“only a euro”) things were calm and I had a lot of time to just simply look at the city. The view from the Spanish Steps is spectacular and it was my first experience of just how chock full Rome is of beautiful buildings, statuary and fountains. We strolled back to the apartment after buying some produce (you can’t touch it yourself by the way, you have to wait to be served) which was really fresh and ripe. We also made our way at some point to the small grocery store down the street where we provisioned up on baked goods, juice, milk, wine and beer.

Then the afternoon reposo as we were still pretty lagged from the flight in the day before. A snack, and back to walking in the late afternoon. It was still quite warm, but a breeze would filter up the streets now and then as the sun turned pinkish golden.

We went back up to the Spanish Steps. Things were far busier as people were coming out of the heat to sit in the shade of the piazzas. Waking up the Via del Babuino took us to the Piazza del Populo as the light turned to that magic color that pops in temporarily just before the sun finishes setting. There are two churches at the piazza, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto, and they both glowed, a beautiful sight.

The women were also glowing as we headed up the Via Del Corso past some iconic street art of shoes, dolls and the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Mausoleum of Augustus (Mausoleo di Augusto). I had an opportunity to take a shot of my fellow travelers as they looked into the mirrored windows of the Ara Pacis Augustae. The light was just about gone as I photographed the Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso. Everywhere you turn in Rome (in Italy for that matter) is a church.

We were hungry by this time and ended up in a nice place that was decorated with bizarre prints of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (the Italians seem to have a fascination for Marilyn Monroe, go figure) but the food was great. When we finished we had gelato somewhere along the Via del Parlamento, and then trekked homeward. Total walk for the day was about 18000 steps or about 8 miles.

Photo notes: The first day I only used the Canon G11 and I was really happy with the results. It’s a great walkaround camera. I wanted to walk with less gear on the first day since I knew I would have to get used to the heat and scope out the street energy. That little camera did everything I asked of it and more.

I am still uploading photos to the Day One gallery, so check back later for more updates.

Italy: First Day Gallery

2010-07-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

I've started the gargantuan task of post-processing from our trip. Day One is almost complete.

The link is here.

I'll have some commentary ready shortly. Please feel free to leave comments on the web site, and mark pictures that you like. (Stuff you like will appear as popular images on the home page).

British Museum on my Birthday...and then home

2010-07-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our last day in London was my birthday and since the weather had turned inclement we went around the corner to the British Museum. You could spend a whole week in that edifice and not repeat anything, and I don't think there is any possible organized way to view it. Go to a room and start to wander, you'll find something of interest. I explored Mesopotamia, Babylon, the King's Library, the Enlightenment, Mayan culture and the Pacific Northwest. And that was about 10% of the museum.

It was a good way to end a trip filled with museums, churches and history. We had spent the weekend with our friends Brian and Marion down in Exmouth exploring Dartmouth and environs. Candace, who had caught a cold, lost her purse, but someone turned it into the police after extracting the cash that was in it but leaving the credit cards and passport (horror upon horror if we'd lost that.) Our final weekend was more stressful than expected, but still wonderful as we reconnected with old friends: our English "cousins".

And then yesterday we came home. British Airways upgraded us to business class (I think because they had lost Candace's bag between Heathrow and Rome earlier in the month). We were greeted at our seats with cold champagne, Pinot Grigio, excellent food, real plates and cutlery, and a seat that folded out as a bed. I'm spoiled. I don't think I can ever go back to economy for long flights.

Here I am in my home office looking out at the California sunshine and thinking about the whole experience. It will take a while to sort it all out. We really traveled intensely and did as much as possible.

The photo total is about 7300, so with a 10% return there ought to be a couple of hundred excellent images. It will take weeks for me to go through it all, as I just kept walking and shooting. I'll go through the images chronologically I think, and continue posting as I put up galleries about what we did on a specific day and the experience of being there.

Speaking of walking. The total number of steps was a tad over 250,000 and the mileage was a about 103. Six months ago I could barely walk, and now I am a seasoned traveler. Life is good.

Racing to the finish

2010-07-25T01:46:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been a whirlwind: Churchill Museum and the War Rooms, National Portrait Gallery, a trip to Chichester to see the Cathedral, and a visit with old friends in Exmouth (where I write this) for the weekend. We return to London today and then home on Tuesday.

The ending of long journeys is always a mixed bag. On the one hand I look forward to returning home, and on the other I want to stay and see more. It will take weeks for me to sort out everything I have seen and experienced while adjusting back to my normal schedule of work and home life.

If the proof of a successful adventure is feeling full of experience to the point of exhaustion, then this has been a good journey.

Dear Old London

2010-07-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's been 29 years since I was last in London and the old place has changed a bit and yet remains the same. The streets are cleaner, but noisier. The air does not smell of diesel fumes anymore, and the buses are newer, but now they move faster. Rome has a reputation as a dangerous place to be a pedestrian, but the Italians will try to avoid hitting you if you have the right of way. (In Italy all traffic situations are opportunities for negotiations.) Here in London your life is in your hands, or better your feet. They run you over when you have the green and blow their horns at the same time while speeding up. There is a consistent, punctuated scream of emergency vehicles at all hours of the day. Perhaps they are carrying off dead pedestrians to be burned at the Battersea Power Station. I have no idea.

There is hardly a traditional Englishman to be found. The streets are filled with Italians, Spaniards and Germans. Its the height of the summer vacation season. There seem to be a lot of tourists from the Far East. And the biggest change is in the large number of people of color who now are part of the culture. We were at the Natural History Museum today and there were endless numbers of school groups with anywhere from 20 to 30 kids who were the sons and daughters of immigrants. London no longer seems to be as insular as it was. This is a fresh change and my gut tells me that England is doing a better job of adjusting to its new citizens (and vice versa) than other countries in Europe.

However it is still London. Museums up the yin yang and nary a Catholic Church to be found. After the overwhelming "churchiness" of Italy the secular character of London is a breath of new air. The Natural History museum contained statues not of saints, but of Charles Darwin and Thomas Henry Huxley. I wanted to get down and genuflect before them in gratitude.

I love this city, and having been here before its like seeing an old friend once again, a friend who was aging and in want of a face lift who has yet another lease on life. God bless the English, and especially their beer.

We are heading to the War Rooms tomorrow for a bit of history and perhaps a ride on the London Eye. The weather has been beautiful; much cooler than Italy, though still humid. At least I don't have salt stains in my clothes at the end of the day after walking down Shaftesbury Avenue.

Ravenna: Revelation

2010-07-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

Everywhere you go in Italy there is a palimpsest of history. In Ravenna it is made up of mosaics dating from the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, after his general, Belisarius, reconquered Italy.

There is not a crucifix or martyr to be seen in these churches. The sacred space is made of meditative space, not intense images of suffering. Ravenna has been off the beaten track for centuries, but remains a spot of Eastern Orthodoxy in the midst of Catholic Italy.

It was a very hot afternoon, and the basilicas were a respite from the heat. And when we exited, at 6PM, the city was filled with the ringing of bells. Beautiful!

Venice: Random Images I

2010-07-16T00:51:00.001-07:00

Venice speaks for itself. Currently I'm speechless.

Thoughts on the train

2010-07-15T01:19:00.001-07:00

Moving at 100 miles per hour through the Po river valley on the way to a day in Venice I am once again struck by the similarities of the Italian countryside to the western valleys of the California coast. From the comfort of the air conditioned cortezza (coach) I can see fields of corn, lines of vineyards, and fruit orchards.

In preparing for this trip I read several books on the history of the Italian post World War II period. You can still see some of the bombing damage in Bologna. The realization that this country emerged from that conflict (as well as decades of Fascism) as a powerful industrial nation with an economy that allowed a middle class to develop is evident everywhere.

The fast trains are extreme high tech. You can travel practically anywhere by rail. We have nothing like that in America. The clueless assumption that Italy is too disorganized politically to accomplish anything is simply American hubris. In fifty years Italy built a country out of nothing while we dither about building a single high speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Bologna: Walkaround

2010-07-14T01:56:00.000-07:00

We hit the sidewalks on Monday first thing. Our travel companions (Kim, Sean and our niece Meghan) have friends here and they have been our guides for the last couple of days which means we can cover a lot of ground without having to deal with a map and street signs.

Bologna is a medieval city and the sidewalks are mostly covered for protection from sun and rain. This makes covering ground much more comfortable when its warm (and its hot in Italy in the middle of the summer!).

This is also a city of towers left from the days when powerful families outdid each other by building in order to show off their wealth. There are a few structures left, and we climbed the highest, 2400 steps total up and down, very steep, very worn, But the view was worth it! I thought about how last fall I could not walk because of my back. What a change. In addition to being an adventure this trip is a life affirming experience for me.

We also did a quick walk about the University (Bologna is the site of the oldest university on Europe). Oh, and the Cathedral of St. Petronius and the Basilica of St. Stephen. Gelato and then a rest back at the apartment. In the evening we were treated to a fine meal by our hosts.

So much to see. These little posts barely catch the surface of the experience, but I'll catch up on all that when I return.

Bologna: Arrival

2010-07-12T00:41:00.001-07:00

The trains in Italy run on time, and First Class was very comfortable. Reclining seats and free snacks. Read the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle on the Kindle. The country side was like looking out the window at California, very much like the coastal regions of San Luis Obispo. Vineyards everywhere.

Bologna was quiet and hot late Sunday afternoon. A quick taxi ride to our apartment (pictured here). Calzone for dinner. Read all evening and had the best night's sleep I've had since arriving i Italy.

Today we explore. Kim and Sean have some friends here so we have guides. Bella!

Roma: Populi III and Farewell

2010-07-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

We travel to Bologna today. I will miss Rome. While crazy and chaotic, there is so much beauty, heart and soul present in everything. One knows by rote that the world is an awfully big place, but when you go out and see it, and live in it, then the planet reveals itself.

We each have our own perception of experience, and by default it is narrow; and we can easily fool ourselves into thinking that our normal life is broad and inclusive. And intellectually that is probably true. But walking the streets and viewing the light that falls from the same sun on a different part of the world reveals new patterns, and opens our perception to revelation and joy.

And, I suppose, if there is a meaning to anything, that's as close to one as we can get.

Updated Gallery

2010-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Ran some pictures from Rome up to ImageRAG. Upload speeds here in Italy seem to be slow for some reason, probably because everyone is enjoying life too much to care.

I feel that way myself.

Anyway the link is here: http://bit.ly/bdB15p

Roma: Populi II

2010-07-09T22:07:00.001-07:00

Rome is crowded, but there seems to be plenty of personal space, and the inevitable bump against someone is followed by "scusi" and sometimes a smile. We have avoided packed crowds (except at the Vatican, about which more later).

We are into the last couple of days before our travel day to Bologna and the next stage of the journey. The photo count is over two thousand and there is much meta-tagging and processing to be done, but there is plenty of time for that when I return home. In the meantime I am picking a few here and there and posting to express the little stories that rise up during the experience of travel.

Roma: Populi

2010-07-09T01:11:00.000-07:00

All those common notions about Rome and the Italians? The crowded piazzas filled with characters? The narrow streets and people dining al fresco? The accordionists and musicians and street players? The sense of fashion and the attention to beautiful detail?

They're all true. If you've been here you know. If not, then come over.

Serious Antiquity

2010-07-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

In Italy the sense of antiquity is palpable, and its everywhere. Streets, buildings, piazzi, you name it, Today we journeyed down to Ostia Antiqua, the old Roman port used during the empire. It was a thriving city of 60,000 souls and is now a huge archeological dig available for endless wandering. I tried to imagine it as a bustling community of haulers, slaves, families and upper-class power brokers; it was not hard.

I am taking many many images, but only posting a few as I want to savor the moments. We are staying in a beautiful apartment not far from the train station so we have quick access to the Metro (subway). We have been walking walking walking as much as 7-10 miles a day through streets of terra-cotta and umber. The light in the morning and the evening is soft and pink, and as the sun sets the color settles to blue and violet. Lights in the streets, many people walking and eating and chatting (in many languages, but mostly the melody of Italian).

Oh, and the minor problems of travel themselves like missed connections and lost/found luggage are just the little prices you pay for the sheet joy and freedom of travel.

Walking the Eternal City

2010-07-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

The night walks in Rome are the best. Tonight dinner al fresco in a narrow street. A stop at the Trevi fountain. Chocolate gelato.

Many, many photos at the Forum today. I am focusing on walking and taking pictures and posting a few things here. The massive uploads will have to wait until I have downtime, and for right now I want to walk, and look.

Rome is so open and comfortable. Hard to describe really. So many smiles and humor. There is a reason they call it the Eternal City , but I cannot describe it yet.

Bella Roma Tempo

2010-07-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

As my pal Brian like to say, "Lovely Weather we're having today..." This one's for you buddy.

Many pictures to post but too busy sightseeing. I'll try for a major update this afternoon when we get back from the Forum later today.

Roma!

2010-07-05T09:01:00.001-07:00

Pinch me, I’m dreaming. We arrived in Rome last evening.

The flight over was fine, much easier than I expected. I was concerned about my back, but weeks of walking 10000 steps per day and flying premium economy (more leg room, and more reclining space) made the difference there. I still can’t sleep on planes. We had a two hour layover at Heathrow for the Rome flight, and there was no way to rest there either. I dozed on that flight, more from exhaustion than anything else. The upshot of this is that by essentially staying awake through the whole trip I pretty much was synchronized with Rome time and am not experiencing much jet lag.

There were a couple of hassles. Our traveling companions’ flight from Phoenix was delayed, so they missed meeting us for the flight to Rome and got bumped to a later flight. We had arranged a taxi for all of us to the apartment, and because of the delay and a hassle with baggage we ended up meeting Kim and Sean at the carousel when they came to pick up their luggage. The taxi had been a special arrangement with our hosts here and we felt badly about causing them all the fuss to pick us up and then not showing up. I wanted to call, but I did not have the number, and for some reason I can’t get into my voicemail (I hope to have that sorted out soon) so we couldn’t let them know about the delay, instead we were no shows. Bummer. We’ll work that problem out.

British Airways created another no show: Candace’s bag. Somehow that got left back at Heathrow and we are still awaiting delivery here at the apartment. This is the SECOND time that BA has messed up with her luggage.

So we ended up in taxis from the airport, but separately as the cars here only hold 4 people. (I’ll talk about cars later; there are many varieties from manufacturers who no longer import to the USA, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and FIAT.) Our taxi driver was a beautiful young woman in a black summer dress who drove with one hand while chattering into her cell phone and listening to Italian pop music. The sun was setting and the air was warm and humid, so the windows were down. I could hear other folks chattering on their cell phones (telefonino in Italian) and revving their engines. It was like a ride in an amusement park, just hairy enough to be fun, and it pushed me into the Italian experience immediately.

As the sky darkened we arrived in the center of Rome, passing by the Coliseum and other ruins glowing in the streetlight, and disembarked at our digs, a wonderful apartment on the top floor of the Hotel Medici. As I opened the taxi door, there was the sound of a solo violin serenading diners at a restaurant across the cobbled street. Could it get any better?

The apartment is lovely (and air-conditioned!), very quiet and with all the amenities. I took a few snapshots from the terrace this morning (see above). Bella!

Slept long and deep in a comfy bed with my lovely wife and woke up this morning in….Roma! Bella!

I’ll have a gallery set up on ImageRAG shortly for photos. Stay tuned.

Exploration

2010-07-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

The cameras and lenses are packed, All the memory cards are formatted and clear. The batteries are charged. Laptop is prepped, software installed, a couple of 320 GB drives are formatted and ready for image reception.

My eyes are clear, my brain is prepped, I am ready to be in the moment and LOOK at what the world has to offer.

Antiquity awaits, as it always has. A few steps out of the door to Marty's car at 12:30 pm tomorrow, Lafayette BART, SFO, BA flight to Heathrow, then Rome, through timezones, ages, my own memories.

See you all on the bitstream, my friends....

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Itinerary: First Week

2010-06-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Image: Laptop Support in Ancient Rome

This may get moved about a little, but this is the basic list.

July 3/4 (Sat./Sun.) – BART to SFO, fly to Rome via London

July 5 (Mon.) – the “Caesar Shuffle” (coined by Mr. Steves) –Colosseum, Forum, Trajan’s Column, Captoline Museum and the Pantheon

July 6 (Tues.) – Baths of Diocletian and the National Museum (within easy walking distance of our apt.) Evening – Dolce Vita Stroll (also Mr. Steves)

July 7 (Wed.) – Ostia Antica (a 45 min. Metro/train ride)

July 8 (Thur.) – Vatican City

July 9 (Fri.) – Naples & Pompeii (take the Rome –Naples express train at 7:25 am and spend the day)

July 10 (Sat.) – Borghese Gallery and gardens

July 11 (Sun.) – Train to Bologna

The volcano is quiet and there are no British Airways strikes scheduled.

There are organized piles of photo gear, clothes and accessories ready to be packed. My head is spinning and I am trying to bring the Real Job to a temporary conclusion.

Stay tuned.

At the Barn

2010-06-06T16:33:00.001-07:00

Always lots of good things to see at the place where Candace boards her horse. Take a peek at: http://bit.ly/aRf3o2

Just for Fun

2010-06-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

A few images of the family from the past weekend. A good time was had by all.

Check them out here.

'Hurl Berl' online game targets Berlusconi - Telegraph

2010-06-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

'Hurl Berl' online game targets Berlusconi - Telegraph

Berlusconi makes me hurl. I'll have to try this out.

Anything can be a Subject

2010-06-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

I forget who said “theoretically it should be possible to make a photo out of anything.” Whoever it was it certainly is a basic truth. In my view the ordinary things that we take for granted can be rewarding subjects filled with meaning, color, and texture. They center the eye and the mind of the photographer in the present moment. And if the viewer can be transported into that moment as well, then the circle is complete.

In all the “walkaround” photography I have been doing the past few months I have been grateful for the ability to see and simply be ambulatory. It exposes (pun intended) the miraculous quality of being alive on this planet at this time. What could be better?

The other day my wife and I were shopping in our local market. I had my Canon G11 with me as we had just been out for a walk, and as we walked through the produce section I was struck by the patterns in neatly stacked piles of vegetables and fruit. I’m not sure if this will turn into a series or not, but there will likely be more. There’s a lot of grain in a pineapple after all, not to mention a cantelope.

You’ll find bigger versions of these images out on the incoming stream.

If Google told you to jump off a cliff, would you? - Google 24/7 - Fortune Tech

2010-05-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

From Utah. Figures.

Reboot and Refresh

2010-05-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

All my non-Facebook buddies have been wondering what's going on with my blog. I have been remiss in updating outside the Facebook wall, so I'll start again and use the blog as my central point of update notices to the ImageRAG galleries.

A couple of weeks ago my pals on the Server Team at the Real Job and I went out for a lunch at Gott's Roadside in the Ferry Building. Just about the best hamburger in San Francisco right now. I just popped a few few images into the Incoming gallery from that day.

Also in the that gallery you'll find recent images from Sea Ranch, UC Davis Picnic Day and a trip to the Gold Country and Yosemite in early April. (Sorry that this is a repeat for Facebook followers).

I am in the midst of preparations for our journey to Italy and England in July, and just about have all the photo gear strategy together for that. I'll be carrying a reduced kit and for those who are interested I'll be posting about that before I leave. I'll also be blogging the trip.

Feel free to comment on all of my work and use the thumbs-up icon for images you especially like. That will update the home page. And for those who'd like to follow on Facebook you can reach me at this link.

Advance guard of angry women lead Italians into European protests over austerity cuts - Telegraph

2010-05-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Should be an exciting visit when I'm there in July.

Flow: Walkaround

2010-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

If you read this blog regularly you may remember that last fall I had started a project I called Walkaround in which I was going to carry my camera with me all the time and grab images of ordinary stuff everyday and process them to make them look wild and crazy (in good taste!) Well, my back injury put that in the background, but since I have returned to work the project is in full swing.

I have been carrying my Samsung SL310W in my pocket at all times and have been snapping away while commuting, working, relaxing, walking and just generally living. This camera produces decent quality jpegs which I have been running through Lightroom and Topaz Adjust. The pictures are being posted on my Facebook account and after some initial exposure there I add them to the incoming stream on ImageRAG.

These images are a little over the top, and I like them that way. I usually try to keep the post-processing to a dull roar, mostly to enhance color and sharpness, but here I have been having some real fun and letting the presets fall as they may. Some of that is due to the fact that most of the time I shoot in RAW, and the SL310W only produces jpegs so I find myself wanting to hide artifacts in the jpegs with saturated colors, extreme vignetting and the like. I will say that I feel free to do whatever I want with these images, so it’s an exhilarating process.

However I have found the lack of RAW stifling, so I am awaiting delivery of a Canon G11. What’s this? A dedicated Nikon guy moving to the dark side? Not really. Nikon’s point and shoot line is nothing I am interested in. The only small camera they make that shoots RAW uses yet another version of their proprietary RAW file structure (NEF), which seemed stupid to me. Canon has been kicking Nikon’s butt in the small camera market for a long time. Hey Nikon, if you build it I’ll buy it, but in the meantime I’m going with Canon for this project.

The G11 has a lot going for it. An articulated LCD, strong build, and fall to the hand manual settings and exposure compensation dials. Yes, Canon’s RAW format is just as proprietary as anyone other manufacturer’s, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for the big camera companies to support DNG. Lightroom 2.6 will read the G11’s files, so I expect to incorporate this camera into all my photo projects with little trouble, and get the extra bits for post-processing fun.

And a small camera is lighter and less obvious, just the thing for this kind of imaging.

I’ll update as soon as I get my hands on the camera and get some images going. In the meantime check out the stream or visit me on Facebook. It’s a glorious world out there and I am having lots of fun looking at it with an artistic eye again.

Image: Between Storms

2010-01-30T17:31:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last few weeks getting used to being back at the Real Job (there's a lot to do, and some very exciting projects on my plate) and working on a Facebook page to add to the web presence for my photography. Thus the lack of posts here. But there is stuff in the hopper, including some posts on my workflow and the tools I use because several people have asked me how I do what I do. Every photographer does it differently, and there is no one right way, but I have a few "students" (and I use the term broadly) who are curious as to how to get started. So that should help them out. Stay tuned.

Today I just want to catch up with some of the new images I've been making. For the first time in a long time there has been normal January weather here in the Bay Area, which means one storm after another, frequently very powerful, and cold temperatures. This does not make good weather for photography. (My brother has been mentioning this up on his blog and I have to agree with him. This weather can be frustrating, but we really need the rain).

While storms themselves are no fun to shoot in, the time between storms is very dramatic: big puffy clouds, blue sky, and bare trees. When that happens on a weekend I head up to Acalanes Ridge (which is really close to my house). The view up there is one of the best in the area, a full 360 degree circle in all directions, with Mt. Diablo dominating the eastern landscape.

Candace and I were up there last weekend and we did some walking through the mud and cow patties (this is another area that is being overgrazed by livestock, but that's another story for another time). I took the 10.5 Nikon fisheye and the Tamron 18-270 (I'll talk about these lenses in another post) and reveled in the wind and the sky. It was really chilly and invigorating and it was the first time I had walked up a long. hill since I got back on my feet. That felt great, a real accomplishment.

I have to get my walking act back together as we are heading to Italy and Great Britain this summer and I'll be doing a lot of walking and image making then, so I have to get my stamina back. I'm very excited about that trip.

These images will be up on the incoming stream at ImageRAG for awhile so check them out. I'm also posting a lot of non-photography information on my Facebook account (this blog now links there). I've been connecting with friends I have not seen in years. Great fun!

Image: And a New Year

2010-01-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

I took a long break from my computer and photography during the holidays. (Well, I'm fibbing a little as I did spend a few days playing through Torchlight, which was a hell of a lot of fun). But for the most part I spent time with family and friends, and had my nose in books the rest of the time. And there were a few days at the Real Job, where life was very quiet and peaceful. (Which is rare).

We did have a few visitors. Our pals Terry and Dave came by for Christmas dinner, for which I cooked my first standing rib roast, which I was told was delicious. (I thought it was.) Then on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) our pals Jainen and Eileen drove up (with their sons) from Santa Cruz for a reunion. For that we prepared a big turkey and the usual trimmings, and as a result we had leftovers up the yin yang, which made subsequent dinner choices and cleanup very easy.

I took a few photos on that Saturday. Jainen had brought a banjo-guitar hybrid with him and sat in the stairwell plunking out tunes. The rest of the group sat around the dinner table and played board games. It was a quiet day, with loads of good food and fun. The rest of those shots are in the Incoming gallery on ImageRAG.

On New Year's Day I barbecued ribs in cold and wet weather and started the year off with a blast. Now that I am back in good health I am looking forward to both work and art. YAY!!

Image: The New Me

2009-12-23T14:48:00.001-08:00

On Saturday December 19 Candace, Briony and I took a walk at Heather Farms. Here are some photos, including one of me showing off my new, sleeker look.

Image: Hot Chili, Hot Colors

2009-12-23T13:29:00.001-08:00

Time is speeding back up now that I have things to do again. Kind of nice actually. Christmas is just a couple of days away though and I am looking forward to the break.

The Chili Cook-off was fun, though short. I decided to use the 10.5 and grab people shots in unique ways. The results are posted here.

I have also started an Incoming Gallery on ImageRAG. This is a place where current photos will come in for a short time. Some will go to other galleries, some will evaporate. You can catch that gallery here.

Weather forecast looks dry for the next few days so I am hoping to get out this weekend and make some images. My back feels stronger each day (I am keeping up the exercises diligently) though I am experiencing a little pain in my right leg that feels like overworked muscles. There is also an occasional tingling on the sole of my right foot.

Other than that I'm in good shape.

Update: Back at the Real Job

2009-12-17T14:23:00.001-08:00

It is wonderful to be back at work.

What I missed most was the camaraderie and the fun times. It's also nice to have something to do besides laying down and taking care of my back.

Yesterday there were many folks who dropped by my desk to tell me how much they missed me and how wonderful it was to have me back in the saddle. Sometimes the Real Job is like family.

I am having much less pain and discomfort today than I did yesterday. I hope that continues. And the sun was out this morning! Not a cloud in the sky as it peeked over the shoulder of Mt. Diablo.

Tomorrow is the chili cook-off here at the Real Job and I plan on taking some photos of people cooking, eating and judging the food. Let the competition begin!

Update: How Did I Get Here?

2009-12-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

While I was laying on my back dealing with the agonizing pain of a slipped disc last October, I wondered whether I would ever be healthy again. I suppose those are normal thoughts for anyone who is dealing with a debilitating illness. I kept wondering what it would be like when I was healed. I tried to imagine what it would be like behind the wheel of my car again, or riding BART to the Real Job, or heading out on a Saturday morning to make pictures someplace.

It was too hard to imagine. It seemed all too far away and like someone else's life. My life at that time was a narrow universe of looking out of the window at the juniper tree in my neighbor's yard and reading while flat on my back, eating while laying on my side, and sleeping fitfully waiting for the drugs to kick in so that I could get some kind of rest.

And then yesterday I went to see my physical therapist. And during our visit I realized that I had been driving my car the last ten days, that I did make pictures last week, and that in a day or so I would be riding BART to the Real Job. And as I was driving home with Briony after buying bagels at Noah's, I saw myself in the place that I had trouble imagining weeks ago; I had my life back, I was myself again, with still a bit of healing to do, but it was my life, the one that I had thought I'd lost.

And now 30 pounds lighter and fifty books later I'll get up tomorrow morning and head back to work. As I write this everything seems new and fresh, but familiar. And with Christmas only 9 days away, I feel like I have received the greatest gift of all.

The events of the last eleven weeks have been life-changing. And yet I feel like the same person with the same creative goals and the same enthusiasm for life that I have always had.

Love your life, folks. We only get one chance to be who we are. We are ephemeral, and when compared to the rest of the universe we are barely a flash. It's a gift that we are given every single day. Let's not waste it.

Image: More Fishy Business

2009-12-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

It has been rainy and cold here in the Bay Area for several days. Kind of a drag as far as photo opportunity goes. So here are a couple more experiments with the 10.5mm Nikkor fisheye taken earlier in the week when the sun was out..

Image: Something Fishy Going On

2009-12-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

The 10.5mm Nikkor DX Fisheye up on Acalanes Ridge. Just Plain Fun.

Image: More of Old Man Winter

2009-12-08T09:37:00.001-08:00

A couple more from yesterday. The horizontal image is from Acalanes Ridge, a bit north from the freeway view. There were a lot of folks out snapping pictures, like the gentleman in the vertical image.

Temps are supposed to get down in the teens tonight. Currently its about 28 degrees in the patio. Brrrr! I imagine this snow will stick around for awhile.

Image: Snow on Mt. Diablo

2009-12-07T15:20:00.001-08:00

It's rare, but when it happens it's beautiful.

Update: Going back to work

2009-12-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Got the clearance yesterday from my spine doctor that I can return to the Real Job on December 16. I still have some healing to do and a lot of physical therapy (learned some more exercises from my therapist today). And these will continue even after I head back to the land of Information Technology and Craziness. The challenge will be to keep the latter to a minimum.

Today a couple of recent photos (made yesterday) near the facility where my spine specialist is located. I did not eat the tamales, but they smelled wonderful and the sign kind of explains everything.

Life is good. I am on my feet and the camera is back in my hand. YAY!!

Update: Baby, I can drive my car

2009-12-02T10:33:00.001-08:00

Posts have been infrequent because I have been feeling thoughtful. That means I have been ruminating rather than writing. A few photos here and there, as above; pictures from before the back injury that I am catching up on.

I have been spending time walking and building up stamina. I even am driving again, in baby steps, a trip to the market now and then. I also drove Candace over to the barn the other night so she could exercise her horse (Toya). It feels good to be mobile again.

"Beep beep'm beep beep yeah...."

Visit to the spine doctor tomorrow to see if I'm ready to return to work.

Images and Update: My Backyard

2009-11-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

I felt well enough last Saturday to try my hand at my long neglected camera and went out into the backyard. It was a fresh and beautiful morning and though my back started to hurt after about 20 minutes I got a number of pictures in the can. At this time of year the yard is covered with leaves from the crepe myrtle, the maple and the fruitless mulberry, presenting colors of orange and yellow. Everything was moist and bright. It felt wonderful to look through the viewfinder again. Today's images are from that 45 minute exploration.

The epidural has really taken hold, reducing my pain to that of a nagging backache. I am controlling it with ibuprofen, ice and the occasional vicodin when the pain reaches the discomfort level that cannot be easily ignored. I am walking without being bent over, and my chair time is increasing. I have high hopes that when I next see my spinal specialist he will clear me so I can at least begin working from home.

And here, all of a sudden, it is Thanksgiving time. I think I have a lot to be thankful for, which I will elucidate in my next post. We will be spending the day at my pal Stevan's house cooking and talking.

Today I shaved off the beard that grew while I was unable to stand without pain when all this started in late September. The recognition that with a beard (which is mostly gray) that I resembled my father was enough to make me make it go away. It was also getting uncomfortable.

I have been listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen the last couple of days. The Boss's music always uplifts me and make me feel that I can defeat any little problem that comes along.

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
and these badlands start treating us good.

Update: Post Epidural II

2009-11-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

The second epidural went well. It's been 24 hours and I am starting to feel some real relief. My hope is that this will get me the rest of the way to being able to return to the Real Job as well as allowing me do some new picture making.

As I write this the wind is blowing the leaves from the Japanese maples outside my window and there is a bit of rain to make it feel like a real November afternoon. I realized this morning that we are less than a week from Thanksgiving and that the rest of the holiday season is fast approaching. I have been in such a time warp! The last time I drove my car and moved myself from place to place was September 23rd! Not only that but it's Briony's 21st birthday in three days. Both my daughters are official adults. Amazing.

Two years ago I was taking as many pictures as I could of Mountain View Cemetery. That was a tough time for the family as we had lost Candace's mother and were soon to lose her brother. That project was balm to my soul, and gave me a sense of perspective. Over the last week I have exploring those images again and posting them to the new web site. It seems appropriate that as I reach the final stages of recovery from an injury that makes me appreciate my own mortality that I review these photos with new eyes and new post-processing techniques.

Today's image was taken on one of the later trips to Mountain View. I was very much struck at how the place is a living memorial. At the holiday time there are many poinsettias and pine wreaths placed on recent graves. It's important for us to understand that each day is a gift and that we must live it as deeply as we can without allowing the incongruous and unimportant matters of the day bring us down. That's one of the things photography does for me. It keeps me stable and in a place where I can live in the present.

Update: Holding Pattern

2009-11-17T10:12:00.001-08:00

If there is anything I have learned in the last 7 weeks it is the lesson of patience. Frankly I never realized what a reservoir I have, when I pay attention to it anyway. Day after day passes and there is measurable progress in recovery of my back. Each day I feel a little more like myself.

Yesterday I had my first physical therapy, which went well. And in two days there is the second epidural. My hopes are high. There is not much else to say so I will move on.

My web site migration has now hit the point where I am working with images from my Mountain View Cemetery project from 2007-2008. I'll post about this in greater detail as I move forward through the migration. You can see the new gallery here, and there will be more posted as time moves on. There are also images in the Gone Into the World of Light gallery. (Those are the portfolio shots).

Today's image is of one of the fountains along the main drive into the heart of the cemetery.

Image: Got to have Pals

2009-11-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

One of the things I have been missing during my convalescence has been my buddies at the Real Job, one of the best group of IT pros I have had the honor to work with. Yesterday I realized there were some pictures I had taken with my little Samsung point and shoot last June when we were celebrating Bob Petrini's birthday. So I did some work on them with Lightroom and and PhotoTools and posted a gallery. It felt good and I got some positive responses from the guys.

Good news on the medical front. I managed through luck and timing to get my second epidural moved up three weeks to next Thursday. Keeping my fingers crossed that this second one pushes that damn nerve back into the disc once and for all.

Still reading a great deal and am now listening to the entire Shostakovitch String Quartet cycle for the first time in a while. Such glorious music! It's keeping me sane.

Update: Up and Down

2009-11-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

I had a phone consult with the spine doctor today and he wants me to have a second epidural. I am OK with that as it would eliminate the last of the pain. However he couldn't get it scheduled until December 9, a entire month away. I'm not OK with that so now I'll have to start nagging and creating a fuss to see if I can get in there earlier.

This fact kind of brought the bottom out of my day, but I shall recoup tonight and hit the phones in the morning, I hate complaining to folks on the other side of the connection but if I don't advocate myself I'll be in the situation for even longer and I think that will truly drive me crazy.

It seems that this blog, which is supposed to be about photography has become a blog about one man's struggle with herniated discs! On the other hand it allows me to get the information out to family and friends, and eventually when all this is over I'll be back to regular post about photography, vision and seeing.

I finally got the Portland/Seattle gallery migrated. You can find it here. I also moved some things over to the family gallery.

And today's image is of the retro elevator at the Space Needle in the Seattle Center. I love the style of that elevator. It has more ups and downs than I do, so what do I have to grouse about?

Update: My Sunday Feeling

2009-11-08T16:54:00.001-08:00

My Sunday feeling is coming on over me,
Now that the night is over.
Got to clear my head so I can see.
Till I get to put together,
that old feeling won't let me be.

Jethro Tull, My Sunday Feeling

That song was written about coming out of a hangover but I think it's also appropriate to my case. My daughter and her most excellent boyfriend came down from UC Davis and are visiting with us. A visit that has really perked me up.

I think this recovery is now close to the finish, but it is hard to gauge. I seem to be able to walk with less pain and in doing so can stand up straight for a while, though I am using a cane. (I'd like to think it makes me look distinguished.) I can also now stand up in the shower and sit down for longer periods of time, including sitting at the dining table. This is all to the good.

However by late afternoon I start to ache and by bedtime the pain is assertive. The quality of the pain is not the sheer agony I experienced six weeks ago, so there has been significant progress. But it still hurts.

This morning (Sunday) I awoke in good spirits and it has been an excellent day, which is why I quoted the song lyric. My personal Sunday Feeling has been gentle and optimistic. I spent the day reading some of Shostakovich's letters to his friend Isaak Glikman written during the dark days of 1942 when Leningrad was blockaded and Shostakovich was composing his great Seventh Symphony. That made me realize once again how human spirit can triumph despite adversity. I am no genius like Shostakovich, but the lesson was appropriate.

Today's image is of leaves from the crepe myrtle on our front patio. The picture is from a couple years back. That tree is in bright color again now, vibrant and bright, just like the human spirit.

Update: The Real Me

2009-11-04T15:30:00.001-08:00

Each day I am able to sit for longer with less pain. But I am nowhere near being able to commute to the Real Job yet. In the meantime I am slowly building up my strength.

What does it mean to say I feel like myself? For weeks now I have been emotionally up and down; not the solid rock I usually am. Then starting yesterday I was me again. Part of it was a good visit with my GP and the other part was a class in back care where I had to depend upon myself to get around (as the Wifely Wife had to go teach). It was those moments of independence that got me back on track.

The few days before that I was having withdrawal symptoms from the pain medication I had stopped taking on doctor's orders. An awful experience that I will not dwell on here. It was the change from that to the Real Me that seems to be renewing my energy.

Today's image, entitled Retrogressive, is a shot of the Experience Music Project and the Monorail in Seattle, WA. I am working on a batch of photos taken in April 2008 while visiting there as part of the migration from the old website. I hope you enjoy it.

Update: Light at the End of the Tunnel

2009-10-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

48 hours after the epidural I am happy to say that it seems to have worked, I am still in discomfort but can now:

Walk upright with the help of a cane
Sit upright for short periods of time (5 to ten minutes)
Sleep through the night without being awakened by pain
Stand on my toes and heels (the doctor thought that was a big improvement)

I have been moving about a lot, up and down the stairs, and even made my own lunch today. I moved the laptop back to the office yesterday, but it was still a bit early for that. Today I have it back in the library and am reclining with it again. However I am getting up every hour or so and am roaming through the house so as to begin building up my strength. My muscles are weak from all the laying about. I am also beginning to cut back on some of the stronger pain killers and returning to regular doses of ibuprofen to help with the inflammation.

I am not blissed out or anything, but I am extremely relieved. For the first time in five weeks it looks as if I am seeing my way back to being normal again. I have physical therapy scheduled for next week and that's when I'll see specifically when I can return to the Real Job. And when I can return to picture making in the field.

Today's image is from Fort Ross Historic Park. I have completed the migration of that gallery and you can see the images here. This park is currently threatened by our idiot governor with closure due to the state budget crisis. Go see it while you still can.

Next migration is all the images from a trip to Seattle in April of 2008. Should have those up in the next couple of days.

Update: Post Epidural

2009-10-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

The epidural procedure took place this morning. It went well. If it works I should feel a substantial reduction in pain over the next few days. In that case I can start sitting up and doing core exercises to get my strength back and perhaps get back to work. At this point I don't know the time frame, but I'll have a clearer idea Thursday.

The procedure itself was not so bad. I could feel the needle but it was not a big deal. I had to sit down for the shot and the position the doctor had me in (which gave him more room for inserting the needle between the discs) was not comfortable at all. There was a lot of post-procedural pain, some of the worst I've had, and it took a while for me to get it under control and head home. Since I got back I have been feeling more comfortable. I'm trying not to have any expectations about this, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't.

Both the doctor and the nurse had good attitudes that put me at my ease. They had a total of 14 epidurals to perform today!

The Sea Ranch Marathon is finished. All the pictures are uploaded. I still need to cull them as there are too many to manage. A few will go into the portfolios, the rest will stay where they are. Such a beautiful coastline! I need to get back up there when I am on my feet again.

Still migrating the old galleries. Currently working on photos taken at Fort Ross Historic Park.

Each day goes by and I feel a little better and I do a little more creative art. Somehow healing and making pictures are linked. It's all spirit stuff.

Update: Visit with the Spine Doctor

2009-10-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

So I had my consultation with the spinal specialist this morning and it went very well. As a matter of fact I am feeling more positive than I have in a month because it looks as if my condition is improving. Light at the end of the tunnel. The physician was a very nice young man from Russia (I did have a little bit of trouble understanding him) with a subdued manner. He told me that everything that we have done has been correct.

I am scheduled to return next Tuesday for an epidural which will provide substantial relief from the pain. As of today I can stand up for a few minutes before the pain forces me to return to a prone position. I have been moving around quite a bit today between the couch in the library and the chair in my office. I started printing some of the images from this current Sea Ranch update marathon which in and of itself felt good. I love making prints and still feel that the print is the actual objective in photography. A big enlargement, mounted in a frame and displayed on a wall, that's what imaging is all about!

Once the epidural takes place then we'll start some physical therapy and hopefully I'll be able to sit and stand for much longer periods of time, and even, I hope, go out and make some images!

I cannot even begin to express how much I miss taking pictures, and when I am back to normal I plan on doing some real shooting in some new places here in the beautiful Bay Area.

I came across an image of an inukok in the Sea Ranch photos. This one is pretty incongruous and I have posted it in this entry. Click here for my earlier post about these little piles of rock you will see now and then on the Northern California Shoreline.

Update: Post MRI

2009-10-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was scanned by an MRI device last Friday, a painful experience. You would think from all the talk and publicity that an MRI machine is the perfect example of a modern major medical device, all slick and quiet and Star Trekkian. In fact the machines are obnoxiously annoying. Imagine the worst electronic music you've ever heard played at a deafening volume at random moments while you are held captive in a narrow, claustrophobic container while being coached by a medical technician to remain perfectly still. I almost didn't make it all the way through, shaking as I was from the back pain caused by the medical tech being a little rough in lifting my right leg onto a pillow. (He meant well....but that started the pain all over just as I was entering the machine.) I hung in there however, but just barely.

I never want to take another ride in one of those things ever again.

The scan confirmed the diagnosis: a slipped disk all the way at the bottom of my back. So I have been referred to the spine doctors (who I meet on Friday) and am scheduled for an epidural next Tuesday. So a whole new week with managing pain through drugs, and I can't take any anti-inflammatories until after the epidural. (Cue the tiny violins).

In the meantime I forge onward....through the past. Again I am reliving the photographs that I took at Sea Ranch, this time the more recent (2008) expedition. Some of these are heading right up to the web site as is, others are undergoing retro-fitting with new post-processing techniques. So I do feel as if I am getting some creative work done.

I also signed up for an account at Kelby Training and have set myself some goals to learning and mastering some Photoshop tools that I have been avoiding because I thought they were too complicated (specifically adjustment layers and masking). When explained through the excellent video lessons available at the Kelby site, I have realized that once again I was speaking out of ignorance and that there is indeed a spot for more complex Photoshop techniques in a workflow that is anchored with Lightroom.

My next goal is automating some of the processing that I do with all of these software packages. Batch processing is something I am more familiar with than layers, so I expect to have some fun in automating some of the less exciting steps.

The picture above is a typical example of a black & white to color adjustment. It's not something you would use every day, and it does float dangerously close to cliche, but in my philosophy anything is fair game if used judiciously.

Also spent some time today configuring Google Analytics on this blog and at ImageRAG. I'm very curious to see what traffic patterns will appear.

Oh, and I am also designing a business card and a brochure. All part of my master plan for World Domination.

Workflow: Traveling in Time

2009-10-17T10:27:00.001-07:00

So in the midst of moving images from my old web site in preparation for retiring it, I find myself re-living a vacation taken in summer of 2007, our first long visit to Sea Ranch. (We had been in Gualala many times over the years but had never rented a place in Sea Ranch itself.)

I am going through the entire gallery as I was never really satisfied with what I was doing in regards to post-processing back then, I was still pretty much figuring out a workflow using Capture NX and Photoshop. This was before I added Alien Skin software's Exposure and Exposure 2 to my bag of tricks. I used some scripts I had hanging around to get more or less a Velvia look, but the pictures were over-saturated.

Eventually I gave up on NX. Not that I had a problem with the results. Even after an upgrade to version 2 the program was buggy and its batch mode non-existent. Nikon makes great cameras and lenses and accessories. But they are not a software company. (I know, I know...Nik Software makes NX, and I am a Nik user, but I somehow get the feeling that Nikon has interfered with the process of making NX a reasonably decent RAW processor. And you can count me as one of those Nikon people who feels that NX should be free.)

These days, using Lightroom 2.5 and some other tools I am nudging these images to the look I wanted back then. It will take a couple of days. (And then there are all the images from Sea Ranch in 2008 !) But I am enjoying myself and it keeps me from thinking about my back injury.

You can follow my progress in this gallery.

What's been up?

2009-10-16T21:27:00.001-07:00

While my back injury has kept me indoors and away from my camera I have been very busy updating ImageRAG.com. I have started migrating older galleries from my original gallery site. In some cases I have brought the pictures over "as is" since the galleries were recent. But in some cases I have been re-processing images using techniques that I have acquired more recently and refreshing the galleries.

I have also been taking some training classes over the internet and have been sharpening up my Photoshop skills. Since I have all this spare time I am trying to put it to good use.

And my back seems to be improving. I am finding it easier to manage the pain. I am actually walking (though somewhat uncomfortably) up and down the stairs. There is more flexibility in my legs and I am sleeping more comfortably.

I underwent an MRI scan this morning. It was a challenge. I was in pain and as a result felt a little weak. The experience of an MRi is loud, noisy, uncomfortable and claustrophobic. At one point I almost lost it. But then I bore down and tried to find my courage. Thus I did not make a fool of myself. I hope that they got the data they need so we can determine once and for all the root cause of the back pain and figure out how to mitigate it. I really want to be normal again and especially want to get out and get some pictures in the can.

Update: Feeling a lot better.

2009-10-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who have sent me emails and tweets with Get Well wishes. I'm going to spend a couple of minutes here and update you all as to my condition.

While I have been pretty much on my back for 17 days now, I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, though its still dim and far away. Up to this point all I have been able to do is manage the pain with drugs and reduce the inflammation with ice and anti-inflammatories. I have a great doctor who has treated my case aggressively and I'll be getting an MRI scan this week so we can specifically see what the problem is and then initiate a more proactive approach.

There has been progress! When this first started I could not walk at all and was literally crawling on my hands and knees when I needed to get to the bathroom. I can now walk to where I need to go, though the pressure on the irritated nerve is powerful. I have more flexibility in standing up and sitting down and the pain dissipates pretty quickly. I am taking some hard core pain killers which are efficacious and yet I feel pretty clear headed most of the time even though I have some pretty powerful opiates floating through my system.

The challenge has been in simply accepting that this has happened to me. I am past the fear I was feeling early on. The pain management is key. Now that I have a handle on that I think some significant movement can be made. Hopefully I'll hear from the MRI people tomorrow and get that scheduled. The sooner the better.

And there is always a bright side. I have lost about 18 pounds since this started. More to come there I am sure.

In the meantime I have kept busy updating the ImageRAG web site, listening to music, and reading a great deal. My attitude has been good the last couple of days and I have high hopes that the next few days will see a shift to significant improvement. I want to be normal again!

Walking is something we take for granted. Having it taken away even for a short time, has been a real life lesson.

Back Problems

2009-10-03T10:40:00.001-07:00

I have been flat on my back recovering from a slipped disc. Ouch! It's taken me a few days to orient myself to working while laying down so I haven't been posting much but I have been making images and posting them to my web galleries.

So while I have not been adding pictures to my work flow I have plenty of time to work with images that need to be completed.

Check my Twitter feed for updates to the galleries. Feed is listed on the right side of this page or click here.

Image: Organic Caddy

2009-09-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have been tweaking my post-processing workflow the last few days with a Photoshop plug-in called Topaz Adjust. It's an affordable tool that really can help makes photos pop, if used judiciously, and it's pretty easy to give an image that "HDR" look without having to take all the individual exposures and work them through a tool like Photomatix. Just the thing for image making when walking around without a tripod, as I did last weekend when strolling through Old Town Monterey with John.

The image in the post is a perfect example. The car was parked in front of the sign and said "take a picture of me." The sign makes the image humorous, and adds something to an image a classic piece of Detroit Iron. (I can hear the Old Man scoffing in the background, he hated Cadillac's, even though he owned one for a while.)

Even with that little bit of humor in the picture I didn't think the image was anything special. With a little tweaking in Topaz I was able to make it gleam just enough to make a difference without loading on an oppresive effect. I like it and I hope you do also.

I manipulated a number of other images with this tool and you can check them out at the ImageRAG web site.

Oh, the best thing about this tool? It's inexpensive. You can download a 30 day version (although mine only worked for ten before I ended up purchasing it) on the Topaz Lab site.

Image: Inukok (Rock Piles)

2009-09-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

I spent last Sunday in Pacific Grove and Monterey visiting with my old amigo John. We did some walkaround at Monterey Old Town and also did a little stroll at Asilomar State Beach close to Spanish Bay. John pointed out a number of rock piles that are built up by people walking on the beach, somewhat like the stone piles I learned to make in the Boy Scouts when marking a trail. I have seen these on other beaches in Northern California, but just assumed that they were the infrequent creations of folks walking alone the beach now and than.

That's true, but on this section of beach there are a lot of them. John said he has seen up to one hundred or so now and then! There were only a few on the day I visited but you could see the evidence of others that had been knocked down by either wind, surf or (most likely) other people.

John spent a number of years teaching up in the tundra of Alaska and learned about Eskimo myths and stories. These pile of rock are known as inukok, a Yupik and Ihalmiut Eskimo term, so that's what I am naming them. I'm looking forward to seeing them again and perhaps there will be even more on my next visit.

You can see the rest at this link.

All my portfolios can be viewed at ImageRAG.com.

Passionate Photography

2009-09-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

One of my colleagues at the Real Job, Ivan, pointed me to the website of Todd Heisler, a Pulitzer Prize Winner in 2006.

This is photography that looks deeply into the present moment with passion and a clear eye; images to get excited about that teach a lot about really being there at the moment.

There is a lot of respect in these images. And there is objectivity within the emotional response produced by some of them.

Working Hard on the Web Site

2009-09-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. The new web site is coming along nicely. I have the banner and most of the base customization done and have started arranging the portfolio galleries. I'm trying to get the domain name straightened out which is always painful...and slow.

The Walk Around project is ongoing, I just have not post-processed much yet.

Stay tuned.

Working on the new web site

2009-09-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Lack of posts here is due to me building up my SmugMug portfolio gallery. Not yet completely ready for prime time, but you can view the general look here.

It still needs a good looking banner at the top and an organized menu. I'll need to build different portfolios from the general portfolio.

I've also been working on a little project for the Real Job and that's taken a bit of my time as well. Stay tuned.

My Flashy Brother

2009-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

My brother Paul shows a cool flash technique on his blog today and it includes an excellent photo of him with a great big smile on his face. Check it out here.

Image: Tubas, Tubas, Tubas

2009-08-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

One of the most ungainly instruments on the planet, the tuba is just plain fun to look at in parades and marches.The thing was invented by Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht and Carl Moritz on September 12, 1835, which may account for its bizarre appearance (oh those Prussians).

There are only two other instruments that are as ungainly, the double-bass and the contra-bassoon. All acoustic instruments that produce tones in the lower registers are large and somewhat strange looking.

Ralph Vaughan Williams composed a concerto for the tuba that is one of his most popular works, so the instrument is capable of much more than just oom-pah-pah. And Anton Bruckner always went to the Wagner horns when he wanted to make a dramatic point in his symphonies.

And they are a great subject for image making.

Image: That Wacky Stanford Band

2009-08-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

One of the events at the annual UC Davis picnic is a massive "Battle of the Bands." Participants in April included the UC Davis, Humboldt, Berkeley and Stanford marching bands.

The Stanford Band has a well-deserved reputation for being outrageous and irreverent and you can read all about them in this excellent Wikipedia article. While they are known for their on-field antics, the real character of this group is that they ROCK. And they are the loudest thing I have ever heard without amplification next to the San Francisco Symphony in super-fortissimo during a Mahler, Shostakovich or Bruckner symphony. (I have broad tastes.) The band's arrangements of popular tunes are pretty exciting, and they are as colorful as they are loud.

There are no uniforms, just a hilarious mish-mash of clothing that looks like it came right out of the Salvation Army store. Except for the dancers.

Years ago I attended one of many Frank Zappa concerts (I loved Frank's music and miss him terribly) this one at the Stanford gymnasium, which also happened to be on the same day as the Big Game (held at Stanford that year.) Before Frank came on stage the band ran around the aisles playing as loudly as they could. It went on for fifteen minutes, a mixture of insanity, hilarity, and ear ringing. (If memory serves Stanford had won that year.) After they left Frank came on, and the first words our of his mouth were:

"I know I'm back in California, you people are so.....laid....back," his voice was dripping with the famous Zappa sarcasm that ran like a river through all his lyrics.

You have to have a bunch of noise run through your body and mind now and then. It shakes the cobwebs loose.

Image: Trombones and Helmets

2009-08-26T21:28:00.001-07:00

My daughter, Briony, is an undergraduate at UC Davis and this year we got a chance to attend the annual UC Davis Picnic with her. This is a huge campus-wide, open house party with a big parade, exhibits, food, a Battle of the Marching Bands, and food food food.

I've been digging through some of the images I captured that day and will be updating them here. This is part of the Walk Around project, and we sure did a lot of it that day. Much fun!

Image: Camp JFK (Big Brother)

2009-08-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have been carrying my Samsung SL310W point and shoot with me this week in order to get started on my picture a day walkaround project. The images are not quite as pristine as those I get from my D200, and it doesn't allow me to shoot in RAW, but it will do in a pinch and has the advantage of fitting into my jacket pocket.

The image above is something I have had my eye on for a couple of years and each time I see it I realize that I forgot my camera...again. (Not this time!) This graffiti/painting/poster is on one of the uprights holding up the I280 off ramp at 6th Street in the City, just a block or so away from the Real Job.

I am always struck by the amount of anonymous art that gets posted in the South of Market area, and I am not referring to squiggles of incomprehensible graffiti tagging, but rather to art that was created with meaning.

Is this a tribute to JFK? I think so, but the stern and haunted look in the eyes makes it look a bit Big Brother-ish (which is why I left the chain link fence in the image crop).

Image: Sign? What sign?

2009-08-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Just around the corner from the JFK Big Brother (above) image is this little gem. Obviously someone did not read the sign.

The new camera bag arrived, so now I'm ready for the walk around project to get moving.

Image: Alien Invasion at Venice Beach

2009-08-18T20:39:00.001-07:00

I took a long, strange trip once where I was abducted by aliens and forced into slavery selling funnel cakes on the beaches of Southern California. When my job was finished I was forced to go to Catholic High School. I escaped, and came back with this image.

Sometime solarization filters (the Sabatierr Effect) can do the job. The aliens from Planet X taught me everything I know about photography.

They also taught me about Gas Music from Jupiter, but that's another story.

Little Brother Runs Off to Yellowstone!

2009-08-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

My dear brother Paul did a quick trip to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Idaho last week and is posting images to his blog here. Go check it out.

Family matters have tied me up the last few days but I'll have something up shortly. I have been working with some images I took at Venice Beach last April. Colorful fun coming soon.

Camera Bags and Shoes

2009-08-14T12:38:00.001-07:00

I was joking with a work pal yesterday about how camera bags are to photographers as shoes and handbags are to women. (If you’re a woman who is also a photographer then you get both sides of the story, I guess.) Whenever the Wifely Wife’s dear departed Mater was depressed she would head out to the local store and grab at least one pair of shoes. It was a family joke, really. We used to refer to her shoe storage area as the “Imelda Marcos” closet.

The reason for this comment was that I just bought my third camera bag/backpack in three years, not primarily because I was depressed and needed a materialistic lift, but because I am in a bit of an artistic funk. The other night while mulling things over (a bad habit that I’ve had for many years) I realized that I have not actually used my camera since the Yellowstone trip. Partly this is because I had so many images to process from that trip, and partly because there has been a lot of Family Stuff going on and I have not had the time to get out on weekends. Thus I have been a bit in the dumps because I have not had the time to go out and Pay Attention and look at the world through the camera.

It seems that if I don't do that regularly I become complacent at best and grouchy at worst.

So I decided I needed a new project, and came across the idea of taking a least one photograph every day of something/anything. But since I am at the Real Job 5 days a week I need to bring some gear with me. I currently own both a LowePro Nova shoulder bag and a CompuTrekker backpack, but since I need to carry a camera and a couple of lenses with me I decided to pick up a smaller backpack that I could use to replace the non-photographic backpack that I use to carry my work laptop, books, notepad and lunch. I also wanted something that did not look “photographic" and that I could use on my commute.

I really like my LowePro bags and they have served me so well that I usually don’t look at anything else. I chose the CompuDaypack this time, in the slate gray color (the orange and the green are ostentatious). It looks like it will be just the thing I need to get some more images in the can whenever I need to.

Also, here in the Bay Area those of us who use BART to commute to and from the City are going to be going insane next week because the ATU union (train and station operators) has decided to strike and the other unions who operate BART are going to honor the strike. I’ll keep my real feelings about this to myself (grrr grrr) as I want this blog to be about photography and not a rant about politics. But every bad turn has a good side to it, so I am replacing my BART commute with the Oakland/Alameda ferry during the strike. That will get me out in morning light very early and allow me to get some images from the surface of the Bay. Just the sort of things that fits into the parameters of this “one picture every day” project. I’m sure I’ll take more than one picture, as pixels are always free, but I’ll think of the project in those terms.

By the way the shoes pictured above are obviously not for women, but they would probably do in a pinch. Also, the article on Imelda Marcos I linked to also has a hilarious comment in it about Teddy Roosevelt's penchant for blowing animals away, so I guess I have come full circle in these last two posts.

Image: The Roosevelt Arch, Yellowstone North Entrance

2009-08-11T16:22:00.001-07:00

The Roosevelt Arch is located near the North Entrance to Yellowstone in Gardiner, MT. The reason it's called the Roosevelt Arch is because Teddy dedicated it, not because it was dedicated to him, though he was instrumental in the designation of Yellowstone as a National Park. (Everything you could possibly want to know about this structure is located at this link.)

It's an imposing structure but there is something dramatic and noble about it. Above the arch the phrase "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People" is carved. True words! And I imagine Teddy might have had something to do with that.

You have to drive through it to get to the entrance and its a popular spot for snapshots and family photos. People even get married there. The locals host parties and barbecues in the summer. It's a democratic symbol for sure.

Teddy spent some vacation time in Yellowstone watching bighorn sheep and elk. I guess he didn't shoot any of them. I'm currently reading one of his books, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, and in reading that I get the impression that in his ranch days he shot just about every creature that was moving! Perhaps I should not have had expectations for a book with that title, but I thought I'd experience some descriptions of what it was like to really live in and around a ranch in the late 19th century, but mostly it consists of "we saw some geese and I crawled on my hands and knees and sprayed them with buckshot and then we ate them." Perhaps that IS all they did, but I doubt it.

Kind of a limited subject in my opinion, but at least he didn't blow anything away in Yellowstone.

It felt good to stand in a place where Teddy had once stood and say "Bully!" while shooting photos. Perhaps I'll write a book entitled Photo Trips of an Image Man.

Image: View from the Cabin's Back Porch, again.

2009-08-10T10:53:00.001-07:00

One more example of the amazing view from the back porch at Stermitz Ranch. This is a HDR image so it's a tad over the top, but trust me, the skies in Montana are this dramatic. This was after a small rain storm had passed through just as the sun was heading down over the hills.

Incidentally, HDR is a great technique for landscapes, especially in a situation like this where there are such extremes in the dynamic range of the available light. I try to keep my HDR images as subtle as possible. There are loads of overdone and exuberant High Dynamic Range images all over the web to look at. After a while they all start looking the same to me.

Using a powerful technique like this makes it easy to create an image that's out of the ordinary. But I still want the image to look realistic in the sense that it captures what I actually saw with my biological eye, or gets as close to it as possible.

Eye Reality, not Eye Candy. That's more my style.

Image: View from the Cabin's Back Porch

2009-08-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Pictured here is the view from the cabin at Stermitz Ranch. This was on July 4, the morning of our last full day in Montana. To say that the view here was spectacular would be an understatement.

Each day the view was different. At times the sky was filled with glowering clouds that threatened rain and at other moments it was filled with blue sky and sun. It was always dramatic, always an ongoing show.

Our world is so caught up in the "do stuff" mode. And with the profound challenges that are taking place now in our country it seems we get even fewer opportunities to just sit and watch the clouds go by and observe the changes in the weather, all of which take place whether we are paying attention or not.

You don't need to go to Montana to sit and watch nature as it moves and changes, you can do that anyplace. But it's much easier from the back porch of a cabin in Paradise Valley.

Image: The Cabin at Stermitz Ranch

2009-08-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

Today I am posting two images of the cabin at the Stermitz Ranch, the place I mentioned in yesterday's post. These two photos show the grandeur of the location. So quiet!

That's Dr. Sean Elliott sitting on the back porch, a good man and a brother in my heart (but not by blood; he's married to Kim, the Wifely Wife's sister). Sean is the go to guy for pediatric infectious disease at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He plays a mean guitar and is a master of the barbecue. Handy to have both of those talents around when vacationing in Montana.

Image: Kim and Hillary

2009-08-03T12:20:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post I took a little break from post-processing my images from our Yellowstone trip by posting a gallery of shots from Las Vegas. Yesterday I went back into Yellowstone mode.

Rather than camping or staying in the park we decided to find a house to rent and some web searching sent us to the Stermitz Ranch north of Gardiner MT in the Paradise Valley. It's a real find. It was this location that turned my vacation into a spiritual retreat where I was able to re-encounter the wonder of the Wild Heart. Stermitz Ranch is way up a dirt road, so it's a bit of a drive to get back to the north entrance of Yellowstone. However that little inconvenience is more than balanced by the fact that the ranch is so quiet and so out of the way.

The only sound of civilization was the ringing in my ears I had brought with me. No television. No internet. No cell phone. Just the way I wanted it.

I saw bald eagles, heard the yipping of coyotes, and heard bird calls that I had never heard before. One of the kids observed bears ambling up the hill next to the cabin. There was a huge meadow as our backyard and a paddock for the horses right next to the cabin.

I'll be posting a gallery of images from the ranch in a week or so, but over the next couple of days I'll put up some specific images.

Today: an image of my Wifely Wife's sister, Kim, and the mule that lived in the paddock. The mule's name is Hillary, which I guess is some kind of Montana joke. I refuse to believe it's a coincidence! (And I did think it was funny).

"Ale to the Chief"

2009-07-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

This is the best image I've seen from yesterday's "Beer Summit." I don't care if the thing was a photo-op or not, this is just such a fine photo of three guys burying the hatchet.

Image: Red Hat Buddha

2009-07-31T08:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a tough week at the Real Job and we had a an incident regarding my wife and her horse (which I will detail in a future post) that really stressed us out over the last few days.

So I thought I'd post this image of the Buddha we keep by our front door as a way to try and bring a little calm and mindfulness into the day. At Christmas time we put the little red hat on him to make the cultures of East and West merge together.

The Buddha said that all things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.

Photography is the graphic representation of that truth, and the practice of photography is one way to realize the efficacy of that truth.

And Gautama does look cool in that red hat. You have to admit it.

Gallery: Las Vegas, 2006

2009-07-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Bright light city gonna set my soul Gonna set my soul on fire Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn, So get those stakes up higher There's a thousand pretty women waitin' out there And they're all livin' devil may care And I'm just the devil with love to spare Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas

Thanks, Elvis.

As I mentioned in my previous post this gallery is made up of images that I took in November of 2006 while in Las Vegas where I attended a Microsoft Exchange Connections conference. I had never spent any length of time there before, other than a short visit when I was a wee tad during one of my family’s Marathon Summer Drives from 1963 through 1965.

I had the evenings free, and not being a gambler, and also not wanting to endure the second-hand smoke in the casinos, I spent all my time outdoors on the streets. The night was cooler, and there is always something colorful going on. On the final day my pal Brian Selke and I walked the entire length of the Strip from the Luxor (where we had stayed) to the Stratosphere.

It was enjoyable. But the sad fact is, in my opinion, that there is very little content in Vegas, other than one hotel after another each trying to outdo the other with flashy ornamentation and casinos. Underneath the glitz it’s a woebegone place based on some of the basest instincts of mankind. And despite the fine restaurants and celebrity chefs, people go there for the gambling, the liquor and the prostitutes.

In that fact, not much has changed since the days of Frank and Sammy and the boys. Vegas is out for the “family” dollar these days, but the darker side is still evident.

I tried to bring out some of the glitz and glamour of the place in these images. Plus some humor. Next time I go, whenever that is, I’ll try and get outside the city, perhaps to Hoover Dam or some other place.

Will Las Vegas be able to sustain itself in a world where water resources will get increasingly scarce? I read today that the city is trying to arrange a deal with the state of Utah to pump water out of the Snake River. Sounds like another eco-disaster in the making.

About Face! Las Vegas coming up.

2009-07-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have taken a bit of a break from working through the Yellowstone images. One of the challenges with workflow is that looking at details of multiple images of similar subjects can produce uniformity. The details are missed because the eye and mind grow fatigued.

If Paying Attention is what photography is all about (and I think it is) then becoming less attentive is to be avoided.

When this happens I generally take a day’s break from post-processing and spend some time with older images, that have either been finished or that still need to be edited. Or, I just read a book.

Today’s post is a teaser image of some work I did almost three years ago when I first got my D200. I was in Las Vegas for 5 days in November of 2006 attending a conference and I spent my free time taking as many pictures as I could. I have the original versions of these images up on my old gallery page (soon to be excised), but the new Las Vegas gallery I’ll be posting shortly are the best of those images reworked with more recent software tools.

These images are about as far away from Yellowstone as you can get. I’ll have the full gallery up in my next post.

Image: The Gas-Powered Flatland

2009-07-24T11:54:00.001-07:00

Heard this morning that John Dawkins, leader and singer of the New Riders of the Purple Sage, passed away. I always loved their first album. There's a song on it called The Last Lonely Eagle that made me think of the image in this post.

If you go down to the gas-powered flatland
where most of the people just think
that they’re free,
remember the peace that you had
on the mountain
come back to the love that you had here with me.

Image: Paradise Valley, Get your Greek Sushi

2009-07-23T21:36:00.001-07:00

The Lighthouse Express is a restaurant in Corwin Springs, Montana. That's in Paradise Valley, a few miles up from the north entrance to Yellowstone near Gardiner. This is where we met our hosts from the Stermitz Ranch, that is, the place we stayed while we explored Yellowstone.

I'll have images of the ranch and more details about our wonderful stay there soon, but in the meantime notice that there is no one lined up for the Greek Sushi. This little shack is located across the highway from the restaurant. I was never sure that the actual restaurant was open, but the shack certainly was not.

I felt right at home the whole time we were there, though I never tasted the sushi, Greek or otherwise. Maybe next time? Because, man oh man, I am going back to Yellowstone as soon as I can.

Image: Somewhere in Nevada, Moving On

2009-07-22T22:10:00.001-07:00

A moving van full of someone's earthly goods moving east on Interstate 80 as we traveled to Yellowstone. Going from one place to another, carrying our possessions, looking for that path to the mythical American Dream, that's the way of things in this country, especially now with times being so tough for so many people.

There are always lots of folks searching for that dream, but it seems to me that the dream is here, right now, and it's staring us in the face everyday. All we have to do is open our eyes.

Taken with my little Samsung point and shoot. There is something to be said for quick jpegs and far-out Lightroom presets.

Administrivia: Open for Comments

2009-07-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

By request from some of my readers I have opened the blog for comments. You'll need to do the "word" type-in thing and I'm moderating the posts, but feel free to let me know how the photos make you feel. That's what I'm really curious about. But whatever you have to say, please go ahead and say it.

Woodstock concert's undercover lovers, Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, 40 years after summer of love

2009-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

I have a thing for iconic images. I was not at Woodstock, missed that. But I had the album, and I always really liked this picture. It's very nice to see that this couple is still together four decades later.

And unlike so many images from that time (the burning monk in Vietnam, Eddie Adam's photo of the Viet Cong suspect being shot in the head, Robert Kennedy lying in a pool of his own blood) this one reverberates with quiet.

The link is here.

Yellowstone Project Gallery Update 4

2009-07-20T06:43:00.001-07:00

Another update of the working Yellowstone project. Included here are some images in the Lamar Valley taken during a hike around Trout Lake where we paused due to two bears foraging on the slope north of the lake. (They were too far away for decent pictures and I had not brought the 300mm with me on this particular walk.) Here we met Ranger Charles Lynch who rounded up the wayward humans around the lake's perimeter while we waited for the bears to amble on their way.

At this time I am posting everything that is post-processed. Eventually some of these images will be culled in the final gallery.

Yellowstone Family Gallery Update 3

2009-07-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

Added some new pictures of the family side of the trip and you can see them here.

I'll have an update of the other pictures up tomorrow morning.

Yellowstone Silliness: Park cracks down on egg cookers

2009-07-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

Powell Tribune - Park cracks down on egg cookers

Please refer to the last line in my previous post.

Yellowstone: Record June Visitation

2009-07-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

A report from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle regarding visitation numbers for June.

Funny thing. Because of where we stayed and the times we set for entering the park, and because we got on the trails, it really did not feel excessively crowded during our visit.

Which is not to say we did not experience a number of stupid people. There seems to be a metaphysical zone in Yellowstone that enhances the stupidity of people who are already dumber than dirt.

Yellowstone Gallery Update 3

2009-07-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

The ongoing gallery has been updated with photos from the Norris Geyser Basin. This area is the hottest thermal area in the park and is an expanse of bare trees, colorful pools and mysterious plumes of steam. The smell of sulpher is everywhere and can be pretty overwhelming. The day I was there was somewhat overcast and gloomy, which added to the drama.

I have arranged the photos according to edit date so those of you who have been dropping by regularly will see the newest edits first. Once these are complete I'll be making final choices and arranging the images more aesthetically.

Yellowstone Gallery in Progress

2009-07-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have updated the gallery I started while on the road. That will be the temporary home of this project until I have completed all the post-processing. Once that is finished I'll set up the final galleries.

The trip was more than a vacation or photography project. It ended up being a spiritual retreat. I'll have more to say on that as my thoughts coalesce.

In the meantime working with the images is allowing me to stay close to the experience. I have also been reading books on wolves and the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone.

One must nourish the Wild Heart when away from the Big Country.

Gallery: A few pictures from Montana and Yellowstone

2009-07-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting in a air-conditioned hotel room in Elko NV where we are staying on our way back from our epic Yellowstone trip.

So much to say! It was an amazing adventure and it will take me some time to find all the words I'll need. But since I have some Internet access I have thrown up a small gallery of images. There will be many more coming over the next week or so.

Heading to Yellowstone

2009-06-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

We put the rubber to the road tomorrow for a long trip to Yellowstone National Park. I'm not sure of what Internet access will be like so I may not be posting during this time. But check back, because if I can find a link someplace in Montana I'll definitely update the blog.

I have not been to Yellowstone since 1965 when I was 12 years old, so this will be an interesting trip as far as memories are concerned.

Kodachrome, Rest in Peace (and a cold, dark place)

2009-06-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Kodak is no longer manufacturing Kodachrome. This event is one of those markers of the passing of an age, I suppose. And we all know it would happen sooner or later.

I used to shoot a lot of Kodachrome. So did my brother and my father. When properly stored, Kodachrome transparencies are timeless. Some of my father’s images taken in the fifties look as good now as they did back then. And colors just popped like candy, especially reds.

I have memories of those little yellow boxes arriving in the mail after our family vacations and the excitement of the Old Man setting up the projector so we could view them and relive the trip over and over. There was something about the gap between the time of exposure and the viewing of the image that was like waiting for Christmas or your birthday.

I much prefer the ability to see my images right away, but looking back on it, that time gap created some mystery because you never really knew the results until the slides got back from the lab. And aside from the mystery it also allowed for some objective distance. These days I have to purposely slow myself down when working through a batch of images in order to develop that objectivity.

I have not shot film in several years and probably never will again, even though I still have all my film cameras. My brother recently sold his Nikon F6, which he had retained even after his move to digital. And with the software tools available now applying a “Kodachrome look” to images is a snap. So I hold no romantic nostalgia over the passing of one of Kodak’s best film stocks.

But I loved waiting for those little yellow boxes. I’ll miss that.

Image: Winery Plumbing

2009-06-25T08:14:00.001-07:00

Concannon Winery in Livermore, CA. This used to be a family owned place, but it's corporate now and it shows. I used to go here 20 years ago when for the Syrah. Now you have to enter your age just to get into their web site!

I prefer the places with the family farm atmosphere that most wineries used to have before drinking wine became the upscale thing it is today. Artisans, yes. Factories, no.

Image: Fence and Flowers

2009-06-20T08:28:00.001-07:00

Another one from the Open Space at the end of Bacon Way in Lafayette (see Eucalyptus Row in an earlier post).

There is a line of fences here that are falling over and wearing down so the opportunities for detail and contrast in the weathered wood are evident. This is the time of year in the Bay Area where the hills have completely dried out and have entered summer dormancy so splashes of color stand out.

This was taken with the Nikkor 35mm f2 AF (not the new AFS DX version). This has become one of my favorite walk-around lenses.