Earball Visions

We're Moving

2010-01-27T16:10:00.000-08:00

Friends and photography fans: I've got a new website and blog, and will be moving my images there as soon as I can get them all safely packed up and into the cyber-truck. Please point your browsers, bookmarks, and feed readers to:

The new blog: http://nwexposure.com/wp/
The new website: http://nwexposure.com

I'll continue to post images, and plan to give you a bit more behind-the-scenes insight into photography, photographic techniques and equipment, and the odd workings of my mind. Please visit, view, ponder, and comment. Thanks for visiting Earball Visions while it's been here...each comment has been helpful in this journey.

Sunrise(s) over Luxor

2010-01-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas, USA

View from the Orleans hotel west of The Strip -- the multiple suns are the result of reflections in the double paned windows. (f5.6, 1/1000 sec., 200mm, ISO 200)

Down the Rabbit Hole

2009-12-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

A little bit of Alice in Wonderland right in the back yard.
(f/5.6, 1/160, 200mm, post-processing swirl)

Frozen Fish Ladder

2009-12-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

Fish ladder with ice, Deschutes River. (f/25, 6 sec.)

Ice Is Stranger Than Fiction (part 1)

2009-12-13T21:44:00.000-08:00

Detail of ice at Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River in Olympia, USA
For part 2 (an overview of Tumwater Falls half frozen) click here.

Winter is an alien world

2009-12-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

A section of the Deschutes River swirls around islands of ice following unseasonably cold weather in Olympia, Washington. (f/22, 8/10 second, 200mm, on tripod)

Eagle Watches Mt. Rainier Sunrise

2009-12-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

Eagle perches on post watching sun rise behind Mount Rainier (Tahoma) in Olympia, Washington.

Flight

2009-12-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

Lone crow takes flight over gold-tinged waters of a Budd Inlet dawn in Olympia, Washington.

The Shadow

2009-11-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

A shadow trying to hid between a fence and a tree. Unsuccessfully.

Another Hungry Mouth...

2009-11-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

Seedpods found by my sweetie - the were closed when she brought them inside, then opened up like hungry mouths. Anyone know what they are? She said there was no tree nearby with similar seeds.

The World-Reflecting Mosque

2009-11-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (aka Jama Masjid) - the famous mosque in Old Delhi, India. February 2009.

Secure enough

2009-11-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

Not everyone needs a high-tech security system...

Fall, falling

2009-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Japanese maple leaves.

psychedelic cleanser

2009-11-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered soap bubbles as a macro photography subject, and I'm astounded at their colorful little world. This is ordinary dish soap doing its thing. What, you've been taking soap for granted all this time?

Things Are Looking Up

2009-11-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

An image from drier days in Olympia.

I Want a Pony!

2009-11-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

On second thought, maybe this requires too much care and feeding.

Fire at the Dome

2009-10-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Autumn in Olympia: the curious mix of gray skies and brilliant colors.

What, me scary?

2009-10-22T13:58:00.001-07:00

Nisqually River Delta & Wildlife Refuge, under cloud

2009-10-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Nisqually Wildlife Reserve where the Nisqually River empties into Puget Sound -- with a touch of HDR processing. One of the few natural river deltas left in Washington State.

Skeleton Family Watches the Big Game

2009-10-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

A little experiment with lighting and depth of field during the U-20 World Cup final (Viva Ghana!) and the first of several expected October appearances of members of the Skeleton family.

Crowsong

2009-10-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

Sculpture, sunset, song.

Orange Dawn

2009-10-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Capitol Lake reflects sunrise-illuminated steam from the Washington state capitol's steam plant.

Nature, abstracted

2009-10-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

This may help explain my somewhat skewed view of the world. This is an unretouched photo of a tree taken through the upstairs window of my 86-year-old home. The windows are old, warbly single-pane glass, but I didn't realize they were this bad! Actually, the effect is emphasized by the zoom lens, with a rather interesting, almost impressionistic effect. Which I like.

Morning Macro

2009-10-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Garden visitor on the morning of Sunday 4 October.

Sliding with the Bhattacharyas

2009-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Debashish Bhattacharya (slide ukulele) and Subhashis Bhattacharya (tabla) performing at Jazz Alley, Seattle 30 September 2009 -- a magical performance of traditional and not-so-traditional Indian music.

Winners!

2009-09-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

I received some nice recognition/publicity this week that I'm excited to share with you. The photo of Delhi 2 Dublin that I recently shared here was selected as a winner of the Bumbershoot photo contest (see results here).

Also, this photo of the historic marker and the old state capitol building in Olympia, Washington, appears as part of an article by Deborah Stephens in the fall edition of Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History. Some parts of the magazine are available online. So I just want to thank you all for your encouraging messages and comments about my photos. I'm pleased that they are reaching an ever-wider audience!

Bowl of Sunlight

2009-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Finished breakfast, noticed marvelous shadows of my cereal bowl on the wall, took photo.

Licorice Ferns

2009-09-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Clinging to the trunk of a Big Leaf Maple near McLane Creek in West Olympia.

Western Colors

2009-09-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

View north from Olympia over Puget Sound as the summer sun sets behind the Olympic Mountains.

Watching the Sun Rise

2009-09-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

She's either enjoying the sunrise, or trying to tell me to clean the windows. But I love how the golden early light outlines her and the window frame.

Sometimes you just get lucky

2009-09-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

Bumbershoot 2009 - The Canada-based Indo-Celtic group Delhi 2 Dublin is on stage and the crowd is bouncing with wild abandon. Tabla player and electronics guru Tarun jumps off the stage, bounces up onto the security wall where he sings for a bit, then leaps into the seething mass.
They caught him. And I did too, holding my camera above my head and hoping it was aimed in the right direction. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

Eartip

2009-09-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

some of Autumn's bounty...

Tug Twilight

2009-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

A mirror-like Budd Inlet reflects the Wallace Foss, one of many tugboats gathered in Olympia for the annual Harbor Days festival.

Source of Red Tide?

2009-09-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Water tower in Roy, Washington -- selective color, dramatic clouds

The History of Birds

2009-08-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tracks at low tide, Westport, Washington.

Miniature Sun

2009-08-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's still summer, right?

Roy Community Church

2009-08-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Roy Community Church, Roy Washington

Not-so-fresh fruit

2009-08-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

The most interesting things to photography are not always the newest, freshest, and shiniest...

Caught!

2009-08-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Seen sneaking around at Point Defiance Park, Tacoma Washington.

Antique Marina

2009-08-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Awoke this morning to a most enticing layer of fog. I followed it around town and down to the marina, where these flowers on Percival Landing stood in vivid contrast to the gloomy sky. For some reason, it seemed appropriate to give the photo an antique feel. A postcard image from the past?

Sneak Attack

2009-08-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to let you know that a number of new photo greeting cards -- including this image -- are now available at Childhood's End Gallery in downtown Olympia. They're at 222 West 4th Avenue -- please drop by and have a look at my photos and the rest of the work on display at this great local gallery!

Stillness

2009-08-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) near the shore of Captiol Lake in downtown Olympia, Washington, USA

...would smell as sweet

2009-08-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Rose macro - organically grown and photographed.

Stormy skies over the capitol

2009-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

State Capitol dome and Capitol Lake, Olympia WA USA.

Stream of Consciousness

2009-07-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ebb tide / sunrise / Budd Inlet.

Salish Sea Sunset

2009-07-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sunset over Budd Inlet (aka the Salish Sea) in Olympia WA.
Panoramic shot stitched from several separate images.

Oly Love

2009-07-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Downtown mural under stormy skies. Available as a card or print here.

Trash Dragon

2009-07-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

The kids at a local art center provided the found-objects dragon sculpture; nature provided the dramatic sky that made for a perfect nightmarish image. At least, it's not a creature I'd like to meet unexpectedly...

Budd Bay

2009-07-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Thick, moody fog is relatively rare in south Puget Sound. So this eerie morning was a perfect time to capture some of the pilings left from bygone shipping enterprises -- and the birds and plants that now find refuge atop their rotting remains.

Hornblower

2009-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

One of the formidable guards at the cemetery of Saint Martin's University, Lacey, Washington, USA

Golden Sunset

2009-06-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Puget Sound, Washington State

Olympia Mud Race

2009-06-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

One of the stranger photo-ops of the year, the annual Olympia Mud Race pits all clothing-optional comers in a dramatic, sloppy low-tide slog across Mud Bay's mudflats. The race is traditionally held just before The Evergreen State College's graduation. And the winner gets, well, the same thing as everyone else...muddy! See a slideshow here.

Oud Woman

2009-06-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

From the 20 May 2009 concert by Eliyahu Sills & Qadim Ensemble at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, USA.

First fruits of spring

2009-06-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), one of the first fruits of spring. Captured in the wild at dawn.

What Flowers Do at Night

2009-06-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

Abandonment Issues

2009-05-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

Abandoned -- or at least very neglected -- building in Tacoma, Washington.

Call to Prayer

2009-05-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sidi Goma are black Indians from Gujarat. Their roots are in Africa, their spirituality is in Islam, and they were in Tacoma last week for a performance at the Giant Magnet festival. They opened with a traditional call to prayer, and ended with some feisty dancing that seemed far more African than Indian. They can seriously dance their spirituality!

Damp Days

2009-05-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

So far, spring has been cold and wet. So cold and wet as to discourage photography outdoors. But it doesn't stop me from bringing the outdoors indoors, for some fun with my little macro studio. And those rain droplets on the tiny leaves of this flower stem remind that there's pure beauty in all that precipitation!

There Was a Crooked Barn...

2009-04-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the subject does the work for the photographer. I was fascinated by this old barn, which seems to be collapsing in slow (very slow) motion.

Oympia's Procession of the Species (slideshow)

2009-04-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Red Huckleberry

2009-04-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

a small sign of spring...

Spring Snow, Customer Service

2009-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Once in a while -- even in these tough economic times -- I am pleasantly surprised by some act of great customer service from a company. This was the case recently with Pentax. I had a Pentax Optio WP camera that had started including unwanted vertical lines in every photo. Very fine lines, but still annoyingly obvious. So I wrote to Pentax explaining the problem and also mentioning that I did not have the receipt for the camera and thus no proof of warranty.

Randall Schumacher at Pentax replied and suggested I send the camera in "for examination." He said they would assess the problem and that they would fix it if the camera was still under warranty or give me a free repair estimate if it was not. So I boxed it up and sent it off.

About a month later, the camera came back. Fixed. And it is taking photos like the recent one above (of Indian Plum blossoms under a March 15 snowfall). It probably was a small fix for the Pentax techs, but it returned to my use a perfectly good camera (and my only waterproof one!). My hat is off to Mr. Schumacher and his pals at Pentax for performing customer service beyond their legal requirement. That's the way to inspire customer loyalty!

Morning Meditation

2009-03-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's always nice coming home from a journey -- returning to the familiar sights, sounds, smells, foods, people. But travel changes how we look at all these things too, the experiences lingering just under the surface, ready to re-emerge as a memory or a comparison or an observation. Yesterday I showed some photos of my recent India journey to some family & friends, and found it amazing how many observations I had about the culture. Not just the facts of where I was and what I did, but how things are done there, and the depth and quality of the cultural differences.

Travel changes me. Travel changes my thought, and my eyes, and the way I look at people. I expect it will continue to change and enhance the way I take photographs as well.

This image is from my last morning in Delhi, walking around the ancient buildings dotting Lodi Garden. This building is a combined tomb and mosque, where people were both praying (Muslim) and doing morning yoga exercises (Hindu). With joggers running on nearby paths.

Red Carpet of Faith

2009-03-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Mosque, Old Delhi, India

Focus

2009-02-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting a lot of new photos here recently, only because I've been too busy taking new ones! I'm currently enjoying the International Festival of Sacred Arts in Delhi, India, with a stunning array of music and dance, along with films, workshops, visual arts, talks, and yes...photographic opportunities! This is a Buddhist mandala under construction. The colors you see are all just colored sand, intricately laid and layered by Buddhist monks using thin metal cones. The monks will work on it throughout the festival, then wipe the sand into a pile and dump it in a nearby river. It's a meditation, and a statement about the impermanence of all things. And it's beautiful.

Live, from far away...

2009-02-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

It was a magical night, January 16. That was the day Tuvan group Tyva Kyzy returned to Olympia for a one-night show at the Minnaert Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to taking in a great show of traditional music from Central Asia (Tuva is nestled between Siberia and Mongolia), I also had an opportunity to do some live concert photography. And with these amazing musicians and their beautiful costumes, it was a true pleasure. More of my photos of Tyva Kyzy here.

Flag of an imaginary nation

2009-01-27T11:02:00.001-08:00

This isn't the first time I've found a flag in an unusual place. Since I found a Flickr group called flags of imaginary nations, I've kept an eye out for such things. This is the side of an apartment building near my home. The space where two wall textures meet was a perfect subject for this "flag." If some bricklayers' union wants to use this, I'm open to offers...

Victim of the Storm

2009-01-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Seen during the great Christmas snowstorm of 2008. Now the snow has nearly all gone, the usual rains have returned, and it seems odd that we made such a big fuss about a few inches (okay, a couple of feet) of the white stuff.

Happy New Year!

Door to another world

2008-11-26T17:08:00.001-08:00

This amazing door adorns the home of friends. It's as old as it looks, imported from India to its new locale on the moist Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. The wood and old nails and hardware give it amazing personality, no?

Autumn from the Inside Out

2008-10-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Walking along a nature trail recently, I found myself looking out over a river through multicolored maple leaves. It's been a great year for fall color, with surprisingly little rain and no hard freezes yet, both of which tend to mute colors or strip the leaves from the trees. And that means good shooting for photographers! I love the layered look of this photo, as the eye follows the branch out toward the light and the multicolored leaves.

Where Blue Angels Get Their Wings

2008-10-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

When the weather turns wet and blustery, it's time to come indoors and play in the macro studio with what few flowers remain, and other fun objects. More macro studio shots coming soon...

Macro Family

2008-10-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

Test product shot for a local artisan (can you guess who?). Experimenting with depth of field using a macro diopter. I'm pretty happy with this for a quick experiment; I'll post more of these when we do the final shoot, along with a link to the artist's website. Consider this a sneak preview.

Red Waves, Blue Waves

2008-10-03T16:58:00.001-07:00

I've been seeing light recently, even as the sun wanes in the sky with the autumnal cycle. On separate occasions in the past week, I've found light reflecting off water in interesting ways, and only after posting these did I realize the similarity. Sunlight - water - bold colored wall. Colorful balm as the gray clouds set in for the start of our rainy season here in the Pacific Northwest.

It' ain't easy bein' green

2008-09-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Pacific Chorus Frog is the official amphibian of Washington State! This critter was found when picking blueberries. The scale of the blueberry leaf should give you a sense of his diminutive stature. Usually they are heard more often than seen, but I managed to track this one down for a brief photo sessions. A few more photos of this frog can be seen here.

Moonrise

2008-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Taken from my front porch. Sometimes a great scene just comes and finds you where you're at.

lightpainting

2008-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

You've undoubtedly seen the speeded-up TV ads in which people paint with light, creating all manner of objects and movements. The same thing can be done with still photography -- all it takes is a dark location (a closet, or a location away from city lights), a long exposure, and some creativity. This is a 15-second exposure done indoors, with creative canine stylings by L. Hardison. I'm looking forward to doing some outdoor light painting as well, 'cause it's just so much fun.

Magic Watercolors

2008-09-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite spots to catch great water reflections is at the very southern tip of Puget Sound -- the place where Budd Inlet meets the Deschutes River (well, the outflow from Capitol Lake). Depending on the weather, the time, the seasons, a whole variety watery effects can emerge. This is an afternoon reflection I caught while lots of other people were milling around the same area watching the migrating salmon take their last breaths of saltwater before heading upstream to spawn.

A 3-hour tour?

2008-08-25T17:10:00.001-07:00

No, it's not the wreck of the SS Minnow. This is a 1970 photo of the SS Catala, an equally ill-fated ship that, after a long life as a steamship, served as a floating hotel in Seattle, a floating restaurant in California, and finally again a floating hotel ("boatel") near Ocean Shores, Washington. This was her last port of call, as a freak 1965 storm grounded her and the ship's carcass was largely swallowed up by the sands. Recently some of her metal has been emerging from the sand along with -- less romantically -- some reamining oil. Scan from a recently rediscovered slide, retouched in Photoshop.

Sunrise on the Isthmus

2008-08-22T17:34:00.001-07:00

Sunrise over mirror-calm Capitol Lake and Puget Sound, Olympia USA.

Classic Lines

2008-08-13T12:06:00.001-07:00

Walking along the Portland, OR, waterfront recently I ran across a classic boat show. Beautifully restored speedboats and cruisers lined the docks, looking like they'd just been launched yesterday with their gleaming chrome and perfect woodwork. Pinstripes like those in this picture seemed to be a common design element of the period, and I had fun shooting this picture and others including this. Groovy, no?

A tiny beach mystery

2008-08-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

It was a cloudy day on the Washington coast, the breeze blowing the sound of the waves up the wide expanse of beach. Past the part of the beach that you can drive cars on(!) it was relatively quiet between the surf and the red cliffs. Lost in conversation or my own thoughts, I never would have noticed this unusual scene if my companion hadn't pointed it out. A single ladybug (ladybird, if you wish), was slowly walking along the sand. If you look closely, you can even see the trail it's leaving behind it. What brought it there? Was it in love with a sea turtle? Did it need a break from the rat-race of chasing aphids in the garden? It didn't say.

reluctance vs. determination

2008-08-04T12:38:00.001-07:00

A little experiment with Photoshop focus blurring. I went to the county fair over the weekend, a place awash with kids and critters and great for photographers. Some of my favorites are the photos I took (and which I'll post soon) of the bird show put on by a raptor rescue and rehabilitation center. The llamas were also great, awash in sunlight and, in this case, being coaxed onto a stand by a young handler. The background of the shot was busy and distracting, however, so I did some experimentation with layers and focus/blurring to come up with this dreamy image.

Seasonally ambiguous

2008-07-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

Ski lifts? Thick fog? Could this dark atmosphere really be what July looks like? It was, on a recent hike in the Cascade Mountains. The mystery of season seems enhanced by the lonely chairlift, creating an otherworldly season that's not winter, but not really summer either.

Carnival Love

2008-07-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not much for the cotton candy and garlic fries, but I love the people watching that carnivals, fairs, and festivals provide. Got down to Olympia's annual Lakefair last night, and had a great time. So did this guy, apparently.

iPhone, here I come...

2008-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

I love technology, but I'm not an early adapter. And while I love Apple stuff, I have neither an iPod nor an iPhone. Yeah, I'm a walking, photo-taking contradiction. But those of you who do have an iPhone or an iPod Touch may find some of my photos showing up in your pocket. Not only are some of my photos being used by the Washington State Tourism folks, others have recently been added to Schmap Portland Guide -- tailored for iThings as well as ordinary old computers. Among them are the two images above -- one of the Sassparilla Jug Band performing at the Portland (Oregon) Farmers Market, one of the Portland Cello Project performing at at Portland's Mission Theater. Click on the image for more of my pics from Portland.

Summer Nights

2008-07-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Took a stroll about an hour after sunset along Olympia's Percival Landing, and the calm waters and waning light over the Olympics were simply enticing. A reminder that the night is a great time for photography.

On the march...

2008-07-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

A macro shot of the residents in my wormbin. Interesting photographs are where you find them!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T19:44:00.001-07:00

Lakefair fireworks over Capitol Lake and the state capitol dome, July 2007.

A gift...

2008-07-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

As if the early morning light wasn't gift enough, just as I was framing up this picture, some tiny insect made a tiny splash on the mirror-perfect surface of the lake, and I caught the concentric circles. All that, and there's no wrapping paper to throw away...

Runes

2008-07-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Runes? Hieroglyphs? The shadows cast by an ancient tree aligned with the summer solstice? Naw... just some fascinating early-morning shadows on the steps of the magnificent state capitol building in Olympia, Washington.

Iron Constellation

2008-06-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

During the recent Fremont Fair in Seattle, pedestrians had the rare chance to take over the Fremont bridge, a wonderful piece of ironwork with great photographic interest. The Fremont Bridge was opened on Friday June 15, 1917 at a cost of $410,000. The first of four city bascules to cross the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Fremont Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is also a designated city landmark.

One of my favorite comments about this photo is: "Like an iron map of constellations, with two flying saucers."

Sometimes the world strikes a pose

2008-06-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

I was walking along looking at the sunrise and other things this morning, when I saw these three crows. When one of them stuck out a wing, I knew I had an interesting photo! Seems like he's giving directions to the others. "Really, I saw a gigantic juicy roadkill right over there! With a spilled container of french fries right next to it!"

Is a photo of a piece of art a piece of art?

2008-06-25T16:26:00.001-07:00

I've been retained to sell some artwork on eBay, and it's been interesting learning to photograph objects with wildly different characteristics to best capture their personality (and, yes, make the best impression to get the best price). I've been shooting in my macro studio, and finding that highly reflective glass objects are very difficult. Here's one that I have just listed on eBay -- I used several lights to minimize any one major reflection, and even stuck a tiny LED behind the vase to show the transparency of the art. I'll post photos of some of the other objects soon, including some very interesting masks.

Photo Fun in Fremont

2008-06-23T11:11:00.001-07:00

The Fremont Parade and Fair in Seattle last weekend provided a prime photographic outing. Sure, the parade is known largely for the procession of naked bicyclists, but there's a lot more to it, including this marionette man, samba drummers, and even a group of chefs and women dressed as 10 foot tall pink layer cakes. See more of my Fremont photos here.

The Clouds of June

2008-06-19T14:31:00.001-07:00

The cold, cloudy weather we've been having this spring may not be great for gardening, but there have been some great afternoons for photography. The above photo was taken last week in downtown Olympia on part of 5th Avenue that was closed for a street party, part of a celebration/fundraiser for KAOS radio (celebrating its 35th year on the air). It was also my first chance to photograph the Capitol Theater since the marquee was removed, exposing those little round stained glass windows that were hidden beneath.

Below is another cloudy shot, a bit more post processed. And I'm also spending more time experimenting with indoor studio shots in this weather, so despite what the wimpy tomatoes may say, it's not all bad. Still, I'm ready for a little more warmth and sunshine...

Monochrome Jazz

2008-06-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

Jake's Bistro in Steilacoom is a pleasant little place and they have great food, but their stage lighting leaves something to be desired. I took a number of shots in the dim red light, and wasn't pleased with the result. But a little work in Photoshop to desaturate the image, and this shot of singer LaVon Hardison became something much more interesting. A little grainy, but full of the energy and style she exudes in her performances. I suppose the black & white also evokes a time past in some now-forgotten jazz dive...but I don't miss the thick layer of smoke that would have overlaid that scene.

Can't miss it...

2008-05-26T11:56:00.001-07:00

Our iconic city landmark, caught in the afternoon sun.

Lost Surprises

2008-05-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

I was experimenting with my new $2.09 macro studio last night (about which, more soon), and one of the subjects I used for test shots was this old German film camera. It's one my dad gave me, and I used for several years before getting a more "modern" film camera.

It brought back memories of photographic surprises. I wasn't a prolific photographer, and sometimes a roll of film would stay in the camera for months before I finally finished it and had it developed. So when the images came back, they often contained surprises I'd forgotten about.

With digital photography's instant feedback, such surprises are few these days. Not that I'm complaining...just a little nostalgic for that lost element of being truly surprised and delighted by something a second time.

...Make Lemonade

2008-05-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Before you say anything...yes, I know that lemonade is made from lemons. But this equally yellow flower brought to mind that saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." The lemons in my back lawn are dandelions. I don't really mind them and I don't work on making my lawn picture-perfect. Or rather, I guess I consider the oddities of my lawn the very things that do make the yard picture-perfect. The weeds, the moss, the white petals falling from the Gravenstein tree. Because really, who wants to look at photos of a uniform green lawn?

Borrowing Art

2008-05-20T16:01:00.001-07:00

I've been having an ongoing conversation about the ethics of photographing other people's art. Clearly it's one thing to take a photo of a public piece of art and identify it as such, while it would be clearly less ethical to take unauthorized photos in a museum or private gallery or home, even if the photographer gives the artist credit.

I'll stay away from that dicey territory here. Although I don't know the name of the Tacoma artist who did the work above, I appreciate their vision in turning an ordinary fire standpipe into a piece of colorful folk art. For a wider view of this, click here.