Spring

Not only has Spring finally arrived, but I feel like it is time to spring forth and come out of isolation. Who knew when lockdown began in March 2020 that it would be two years before we would feel comfortable going out in the world again. I, however, still plan to wear my mask when I’m in a group of people. So this post is a bit different from me. It’s not film photography. It’s not with my Sony or Canon camera either. Today I’m uploading some images I took yesterday with my new iPhone 13 Pro Max.

I’ve never been one to use an iPhone for serious photography, but when I saw some images posted with the latest Apple iPhone I decided to invest in the phone and give it a try. I’ve been impressed. My old phone was 7 years old so an upgrade was about due for me.

Here’s to a better Spring this year.

magnolia using the macro setting

cherry blossoms in portrait mode

Oregon grape blossoms in portrait mode

daffodils in portrait mode

Starting a new year

I’ve been quite absent the past 18 months. My photography and creativity came to a stand still with the pandemic of 2020-2021. I pretty much stayed at home during most of it. Like all of you, my State of Oregon, locked down for months. With the start of 2022 we are still under a mask mandate and for the most part people seem to be following the rules. There are always some who refuse and go about life as if nothing is going on. With you believe in the vaccine or not, I feel we all need to stay safe to keep our friends and family healthy. We can get through this.

So with the start of 2022 I have had to make a decision to either keep my WordPress account or let it go. I’ve decided to keep it for another 3 months, but if I don;’t get out to make new images or if I feel lacking in ideas for writing then I will close my account.

For now, let’s look at some snowy photos I made after Christmas 2021. We got snow. I love walking in it more than I like walking in the rain. Hope you enjoy my journey.

walking the dog

new growth trees versus old growth

the mighty oak

snowy seed heads

As we took a different trail we found these little guys hanging in the trees. All along this part of the trail there were Christmas ornaments of all types and sizes in the tree. Someone was very creative.

Although 2022 isn’t getting off to a good start here in the US, as far as Covid goes, I do hope we will see the end of it this year. Wishing you all a good happy and healthy 2022.

Running on empty?

With gas prices going higher and higher do you ever feel like you are running on empty? Living in Oregon, we have some of the highest gas prices in the US, but a friend of mine who is in LA right now just told me she paid $6.18/gallon. How much is it where you live?

Last month I made a road trip to the Boise, Idaho area, to celebrate my Dad’s 96th birthday. We are blessed that he is healthy both mentally and physically. This was the first travel we’ve done since March 2020, when we locked down. Can’t say I enjoyed staying at a hotel, but we took extra measures to stay safe.

On the way back home to the Willamette Valley we drove a less traveled route, as we often do. We discovered that hotels where we stayed a few years ago had now doubled their prices trying to make up for lost revenue. Plus sometimes finding an open and operating gas station was a challenge. These are some images I made of functioning and non functioning gas stations.

As we ease back to normalcy it looks like we could have a rough winter with the new Covid variants. I’m not looking forward to another winter like last year.

I’m sharing images I made on the road with my Hasselblad 500CM and Kodak Portra 160 and Ektar 100 film.

John Day, Oregon

Fox, Oregon

Dale, Oregon

Unity, Oregon

Unity, Oregon

John Day, Oregon

Silos, grain elevators and open roads

During the pandemic when it felt safe, because we were the only ones on the road, my husband and I traveled the back roads of central Oregon making images of silos and grain elevators. I made these images using my Wista 4×5 large format wooden view camera and Ilford film. I pressed the film at home using Ilfosol 3 developer. I’m planning on making contact prints from some of my images. Now that we are fully vaccinated we are ready to head out once again to find more of these industrial beauties.

lack of motivation

I know many of us have suffered in the past 15 months with all different forms of depression, illness, loneliness and lack of motivation. The last one hit me early on and I am still struggling to get back to the things I did before the Pandemic. My cameras have been idle for way too long and it’s time to get my creativity back. I was looking back at my archives and found some still life images I made months ago.

I set up a little studio in my dining room. Not ideal, but it works. I’ve enjoyed doing these still life photos but then I had to put everything away for a bit and now I haven’t set it up again. Motivation.

As we get vaccinated and our world opens up again I hope that everyone who has felt down will begin to live again. I lost one friend to covid and two family members to other causes during the past year. No funerals. Nothing.

Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of rum

cinnamon swirl bread

hand and flowers

Let’s celebrate summer and I am hoping everyone can heal their bodies and minds soon. I’ve missed being here.

When stuck at home

Having been stuck at home for nearly a year and not getting out with my film cameras to do much shooting/image making, I started to work on Still Life Images at home. Not having a real studio at home I’ve taken over the dining room. You don’t need a big amount of space to do still life. It would be nice, but it isn’t necessary. I also started taking some online workshops through 2 Lil Owls. She uses a spare bedroom as her make-shift studio and it works.

This one was taken with a Lensbaby Velvet 56 at 5.6

This one was taken with a Lensbaby Velvet 56 at 2.8

This one is illustrating a passage in the book ‘A Starless Sea’. I used the Lensbaby Sol 45.

The third image is from an online workshop I’m taking through Denise Love’s 2Lil Owls studio. She has some amazing workshops and also sells many beautiful textures to use on images through Photoshop.

So just because I can’t get out and travel and use my many film cameras, I can still practice my photography during this pandemic.

Winter 2021

I’ve lived in the Portland area for 50+ years and during that time I have lived through several ice and snow storms, but nothing as destructive as the one we had this past week. Thousands of people are still without power after 6 days. My neighborhood with its 1400 trees has seen many of those gorgeous trees completely destroyed or so badly damaged that they will need to be removed. Luckily we have come through the worst of it. Now the clean up begins.

These images were taken just outside my front door. I’ve lost 6 trees on my property alone but at least none have landed on my house. I am going to embrace the increase in sunshine and plan a new garden space.

help is on the way

Pride and Prejudice

During this pandemic I’ve been taking some online photography workshops. The one I just finished is by 2 Lil Owls and the topic is ‘Illustrated’. For this workshop I read four books suggested by the instructor, the first one being Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice. I read the book in high school and again after college, but I wasn’t prepared for what a slow read it was this time.

When looking for passages to illustrate I discovered that her novels don’t really describe the scenes in great detail . P and P is more about conversation and correspondence. I just happened to purchase a ‘Jane Austen writing box’ on Etsy about a year ago and decided I wanted it in my image. The other props I already owned: the silver filigree dipping pen was an heirloom passed down to me, the ink stand was purchased in Oxford in 2018, and the blotter was from my local paper store ‘Oblation Papers and Press’.

I don’t have a great window to do still life work so I had to rely on artificial light. I used a wand light for this image. The image was taken with my Sony a6500 and the Lensbaby Sol lens. I seldom use a digital camera any more so I enjoyed getting acquainted with this one again. There’s a huge learning curve with the Lensbaby lenses and I have found that using a tripod really helps.

I look forward to illustrating other books in the workshop.

October Project Box Camera

This month I decided to use the Kodak Brownie Bull’s Eye camera, designed by Arthur Crapsey who designed many cameras for Kodak. The camera was made from moulded plastic in the 1950’s and sold for $13.

I decided to walk around my neighborhood and make images of my neighbor’s front porches. During the early days of pandemic lockdown many photographers made images of their neighbors sitting on their front steps and porches. Seven months of self isolation and is this the result?

I used Kodak Tri-X 400 speed black and white film, developed at home in Ilfosol 3 and scanned on an Epson V850.

Happy Halloween everyone.

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enjoying the sunshine

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During these strange times

My state of Oregon is on fire. The sky is red and the smoke is getting into our lungs. We are on Level One evacuation orders and our bags are packed. Besides three days of clothes, documents, medications and water, I’ve packed my most prized cameras: a Leica MP and a Hasselblad 500CM. I can’t take everything. I’d need a U-Haul truck. Everyone says “take your photo albums”. I’d need a second truck for those. Luckily many photos are in the cloud. Others are in my brain. In strange times like this I realize what is really important: life. I have many friends who have had to leave their homes and don’t know if they have homes to go back to. In the 50 years I’ve lived in Oregon I have never seen a fire season like this. At last count, 5 towns have been leveled. Deaths have not been computed yet as rescuers can’t even get to some areas. Rain is in the forecast for next Monday and I’ve never wished for rain more. It might not be enough, but it will help.

Last week, before all these fires kicked up into high gear I made one last trip to north central Oregon to make more images with my Wista 4×5 field camera of silos and grain elevators. When the fires end I wonder if some of these will be gone. I like to document the structures that are in my life now, for tomorrow they may be gone. I won’t be able to get out to make any more pictures for awhile. For now I wait and pray. large format

Maybe I should add the Wista to my suitcase.

All these images were made using Ilford film and a 135mm lens.

Hope none of you ever have to live through a devastating fire. Stay safe. Make images of your surroundings.