Patterns in Pale

Just three more days and the first month of the new year will be kaput; amazing to me, simply amazing.

Since the finale of Project 365, I've felt a little adrift, without sense of direction or photographic purpose.

Hey! Good News! I finally sold my first photograph from my Etsy shop! I've been uploading inventory to that shop for over a year, and other than an acrylic painting that sold to a kind fellow in The Netherlands to give to his wife to hang in the kitchen, no photographs have been purchased through the Etsy venue. UNTIL NOW! I'm thrilled. I just shipped it off to Australia. (What? Don't people in the US of A want my photographs? One wonders!)

My photographs continue to be featured in Etsy Treasuries. Here are the latest:

 

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjMwOTE1M3wxOTYwMzM5NTk5/i-should-be-sleeping

Treasury: I Should be Sleeping

Curator: Natalie Eberly of TheSilkMoon

Photo: Cannot Sleep a Wink

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTM0MzY2OXwxOTYzMTQ3MzM0/getting-sleepy

Treasury: Getting Sleepy

Curator: Macedoine

Photo: Cannot Sleep a Wink ... yup, two different curators included the same photograph to their treasuries on the same day!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTI1NzE4OTh8MTkyMDI5MjgxOQ/year-of-the-dragon?index=0

Photo: Garden of Good Luck

Curator: Kath Burrows from MagpiesHaunt

Treasury: Year of the Dragon

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTU3NzY0OHwxODE5Mjg1NTg2/awake

Treasury: Awake

Photograph: Morning Tea ... I love this pleasant photo/good patterns

Curator: Jessica Esther Hoflick at CitrusTea

But for today's upload I'm sharing a few photographs that are pale in hue, but which I found to have interesting textures:



Birch Bark/Detail
I was drawn to the "scribbling" on the outer
layer, with the pristine inner layer
recently exposed.




Unedited iPhoto of a fence of
welded metal wheels.




I love the abstraction of this photograph
of froth left over from my eggnog
Filmgrain effect




I think I may have shared this one
with you before earlier this month. It's a close up of an
abandoned wasp nest. I loved looking into the egg chambers.



Busy or Disorganized?

I was busy all day long. But as I reflect back on yesterday, January 10th, was I really that busy making progress or was I busy trying to dodge and work around clutter and disorganization? Moving this to get at that takes time and effort.

At dinner last night--it makes stuffing our faces with greasy pepperoni pizza sound so civilized--we discussed societies that make a point of cleaning up and repairing their homes and yards and business affairs before the end of the year so as to start the new year with a fresh energy. We Americans generally talk about new year's resolutions and getting organized, but elsewhere it seems to be more of a deliberate setting up of a state of readiness, of openness to new opportunities. It's more than just organizing one's closet. I remember when I lived in Japan how all had to be done before the strike of midnight ushering in the new year.

We're already in 2012 and I didn't make it a point to be ready, open, energized. It's already nigh unto noon, but I'll do a Celtic Cross spread, make a list this afternoon, and get on it posthaste!

On the topic of disorganization, when I was at the thrift shop the other evening, another example of disorganization came to my attention. I had a good chuckle over this bevy of Barbies and hope you'll see it the same way. (I did say I was going to photograph more people this year. Do naked Barbies akimbo count?)



Discombobulation of Barbies
(iphoto)

All those Barbies, so blue-eyed congenial under duress. But the elephant is neat and tidy.

Kitchen Counter Pachyderm


Well, off to do my 2012 tarot and see what potential is ahead for me ... once I get organized, of course.

Project 365: getting oh so close ...

The other night I was trying to take a photo of myself to send to the maker of the felted scarf I was wearing.  I make jewelry and I seldom get to see how the pieces look on the wearer, so I wanted Anneke to see how lovely her gifted scarf looked worn.

I clicked my ol' iPhone camera a few times and I looked at one of the images that was blurred. It was like there were two sets of eyes or eye glasses. It struck me that I liked that image the best. I've included it unedited here. I've since played with different effect filters, but they all seemed to shortchange the dual reality of the image.

Ironic that later that same evening I watched a documentary on PBS about American photographer Francesca Woodman (Apr 3, 1958-Jan 19, 1981.) Many of her 800 mostly black and white images were of nude models or of herself. I learned that those photographs where she had staged a scene, weren't self-portraits, but she stated she knew exactly what she was trying to convey. She had a good deal of photography background for her young age, and although her images were ahead of their time, she used a medium format camera and most of her prints are 8" x 10", which "works to produce an intimate experience between viewer and photograph."

In many of Woodman's photographs the women are blurred, due to movement and long exposure times, and appear to be merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. Some are somewhat unsettling, all provoke a response.

Francesca Woodman's body of work has an identifiable look about it. She was driven to tell a story, to stage the photograph to illustrate a point of view. I, on the other hand, simply capture a moment ... a snapshot.

I realized--yet again--that I am a snap shooter, not a conveyor of a story. It's not to late to change, if I wanted to illustrate a viewpoint. I regret that my photographs don't provoke an emotional response, other than, "Oh, isn't that lovely." Hmmm, maybe something to explore in 2012.

Anyway, I heartily recommend you do a little research into the photography of Francesca Woodman, who accomplished so much in her 22 years of living. A book Francesca Woodman, was published this year, and I'm sure PBS will repeat their documentary. I understand Francesca's work is garnering critical acclaim and interest.

To return to the subject of Project 365 and today's photograph upload, here I am ...



"Reality Shift"
(unedited iPhoto)



Day 362 ... I know, I know I already uploaded 362

BUT ... I'm uploading photographs right now, which happens to STILL be Day 362. However, by the time I finally launch, it may be Day 363. The choice is yours.

I took a photograph of a utility pole seemingly right smack daub in the middle of the branches of a tree. The branches look like arcing electricity; well, sort of. So, I decided I would play around the photograph and changed it to B&W, and then applied a Negative effect. I rather like how it enhances the electrical charge. I wish I knew how to introduce selective areas of color, but I'm not that sophisticated ... yet.

I also had a rather drab photograph of some icy leaves, so while I was in a negative frame of mind--so to speak--I added the negative effect, without changing it to B&W first. I like how it looks uber icy!

Hence, I'm uploading a bucket load of negativity tonight!



Arc
(Manipulated iPhoto)




Frozen Botanical
(Manipulated iPhoto)



Day 321 of Project 365

Snow is forecast again for tomorrow, there's already a dusting of snow on the back deck. All but the very last of the leaves have fallen from branches. I have a potted Japanese Maple that we've brought into the foyer, and it still has one or two green leaves, but the rest have turned amber and red, and fallen. The colors were splendid, but now the landscape is turning dull, monochromatic. Even the people out and about for the most part are cloaked in darker hues. But there IS color out there, one just has to be open to it.

I was wandering around a farm a couple of weeks ago and stumbled on the scene of a pair of green metal lawnchairs just outside of a red barn. It was shot with my iPhone, and I did add a film grain effect. Me, like! Just beyond the barn was some sort of mechanical device, and the distressed metal shute called out to me, "Kay! Here I am ready for you to chronicle!" So, I did!

I suspect more of my photographing will take place indoors. Hmmm, there's always something to pique the imagination!

Celebrity portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz was interviewed the other night on television regarding her new book, Pilgrimage, and when asked about what kind of camera to buy replied that the iPhone is "the snapshot camera of today." She went on to comment that it has revolutionalized our lives in that we can carry about our photo albums with us, and can still avail ourselves of the other functions and apps. Where's the need to carry a separate point and shoot camera? Yea verily!


Love how the setting sun plays with the shadows
iPhoto no filter




Green Chairs, Red Barn
iPhoto w/film grain effect




Metal Shute
iPhoto no filter



Textures ... before and after

The other day while browsing through one of those shops that carry all manner of wonderful and exotic imports, I took a couple of iPhotos of some fabrics. The bright colors delighted my eye, and when I uploaded them to my computer I wondered "what if ..." So much fun!

Here are the two "what ifs" and their original iPhotos:



Pastel Soft Dark Effect



Original iPhoto




Pastel Soft Dark Effect

 

Original iPhoto



Never Too Old for Blocks ...

... especially when the blocks have cool textures and configurations!

Out driving by Airway Heights I noticed this wall of cinder blocks. Not sure about the purpose of the different colors. The wall seemed rather helter skelter blocked together, but there may have been artistic method to the madness. Who knows? Who cares? I just had fun capturing the images.

I realize I missed yesterday's upload, so today there are two, which brings us to

Day 267 of 365



Cinder Blocks IIII
iPhoto




Gold Square
iPhoto



Playing Around ... Again

I took a photograph of some pine cones that had fallen onto a boulder someone had painted pink. Go figure. Anyway, I liked the grouping of the pine cones and the pine needles as they fell across the boulder. I even liked the peculiarity of the pink boulder.

However, all I had with me was my iPhone camera. Of course I shot the subject matter, but in the woods I was hiking and I had Suki with me, so the shot was taken on the fly.

I got back to my computer and uploaded the iPhoto, cropped it to eliminate some distracting light spots. Alas, in cropping the image I had to deal with pixelation.  We're not talking masterpiece here, folks. We're talking lets have some fun with this image. I still liked the composition and subject. So, I threw on a Crisscross Simple effect, which maintained the repetition detail of the pine cones but altered the pixelation.

No masterpiece, but a heck of a lot of fun was had today!

September 20, 2011 (Oh, did I mention today is my birthday? Woo Hoo!)



Pine Cones Pink Boulder
Crisscross Simple Effect Filter




Pine Cones Pink Boulder
iPhoto cropped without effect application



Homage to the unknown fountain maker

Today's upload is an edited digital photograph based on some brass fountain art I saw in Sandpoint, ID. I couldn't find the name of the fountain's creator, and I've monkeyed around with the image so much that I wonder if the creator would even recognize it.

But, I must give credit that the original water effect was created by someone and I appreciate their efforts.

Here's my take on it. I've changed shapes around and added color, and applied another effect filter.

Day 252 of  Project 365



Brassy Homage
iPhoto with Accented Edges effect