Seeing 2009 (#79)

Tonight's offering: a desert landscape of sorts, from a modernist perspective, offering contrasts between the notions of permanence and the ephemeral.

Some reflection reveals a symmetry between the monolithic façade, composed of a rigid, set and impersonal mosaic, echoed by the tiled pattern of ancestral frond stumps which forms the palm's trunk and provides it flexibility.

This image carries an elegant sense of movement: the palm rises skyward, seeming to burst as an organic firework display against a vault of ethereal wisps of clouds, which in turn appear to be rising from the glass and steel horizon, as steam might from a cool surface.

Palm, #7542

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: November 11, 2006; Canon 20D; f/7.1 @ 1/160 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 18mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#78)

After a spending a few days under the weather, a pair of delayed offerings in this post. 

The first, a scene from Chez Murriqeuz, the residence of my brother and his wife.  Heavy on form and perspective, this image carries a significant personal emotional tone for me:  the case has passed down from my father to my brother, and the instrument within sings sweet memories from my childhood of my dad's gentle serenades, and now produces amazing new chords from the wisdom of my beloved brother's artistry.

The second submission is a continuation of my fascination with Platonic form and shadow.  An asymmetric balance is produced from the interplay and apposition of physical objects and their abstracted projections; the otherwise supportive rope ominously hints at a noose, suggesting an inherent duality of potentials.  An alternative title could be A Short Trip, as the wall's proximity will make for an abrupt stop to the swing.

A Case Study in Musical Geometry, #7130

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: April 30, 2006; Canon 20D; f/4.5 @ 1/15 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 800; 34mm.

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Untitled, #4149

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: July 31, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/400 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 40mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#77)

Today's submission, for your consideration: a trio ponders a vast horizon, each perhaps a prisoner of their own gray thoughts. There may be a grim faith that beyond the impenetrable storm shines a bright future.

This composition echoes separations. The fence enforces a barrier between Man and Nature; the geometry of fence combined with the spacing of the observers suggests distances and barriers between ostensibly intimate relatives; the empty bench reinforces this loneliness, and hints at the situation at the end of a plank . . .

Sunset State Beach, #4752

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: September 19, 2009; Canon 20D; f/10 @ 1/500 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 22mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#76)

Yes, it's very late. Artistic license, if you must. I'll certainly be tired today, suffering for my art.

A scene at Sunset State Beach, evoking perhaps a touch of Nevil Shute.

On The Beach, #4708

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: September 19, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/400 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 25mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#75)

Tomorrow: a camping trip on the coast. Will have camera, tripod, and some reading material in tow. No postings likely until Sunday night, at the earliest.

Tonight's submission: one of my favorite subjects. A reviewer of one of the images in posting #74 suggested an alternative title for Hilo 1920 Theatre: "Impermanence." A superb notion, and similarly applicable here of course, as this representative leaf is well into its transition from summer greenery to its ultimate destiny . . . and is pointing the way with an ironic élan.

Leaf, #2234

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: February 24, 2009; Canon 20D; f/10 @ 1/250 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 200; 85mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#74)

Two images. Two locales. Two eras. Night and day.

* * *


Untitled, #2581

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: March 21, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 2 secs; -1 EV; ISO 400; 30mm.

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Hilo 1920 Theatre, #8316

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: August 30 , 2007; Canon 20D; f/14 @ 1/320 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 200; 26mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#73)

Two offerings. These demonstrate sharply contrasting uses of extreme lighting conditions, shadows, and simplicity of form as a means of producing abstracts. Ironically the vision in bright, natural light is that of sterility, while the scene of heavy darkness conveys an organic warmth.

* * *

Abstract Shades, #4674

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: September 15, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/400 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 48mm.

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The Incubation of Hope, #4552

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Detail February 24 , 2009; Canon 20D; f/16 @ 1 sec; -1 1/3 EV; ISO 400; 85mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#72)

(My apologies: an inadvertent keystroke may have caused subscribers to receive an erroneous post earlier.)

Two offerings, both from the wonderful visit my wife and I made to Cambria, last weekend.

The first was taken whilst I had perhaps a bit too much idle time on my hands - I was waiting outside while my beloved was scouring a store for trinkets and baubles - the texture and color of the side of a building, freshly painted, caught my eye. A key factor was the sharp patterns and shadows created by a brilliant sun hanging nearly directly overhead, contrasted with the splash of white.

The second image was taken in late afternoon at nearby Moonstone Beach. Acutely-angled sunlight is used to reveal complex and subtle contours in the sand, as well as to create nicely pronounced shadows. The scene reminds me of an arriving visitor from an alien world, creating shock waves in the wake of its impending landing.

* * *

Abstract Green and White, #4552

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: September 5, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/400 sec; -1 1/3 EV; ISO 100; 52mm.

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Cambrian Visitor, #4621

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

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Details: September 5, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/160 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 55mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#71)

This image was taken near sunset, during a stroll on Cambria's Moonstone Beach.

This composition presents mysteries to me: what is the source of that dramatic groove ripping through the sand? What caused the subtle circles? Even the foot: for some time I mistook it for a canine print . . .

For me the scene evokes a contemplation on our origins: an unusually formed imprint from an ambiguous species; the stone seems to move through its sandy milieu, cutting a wake in its path much as does our tiny rock Earth as it perpetually swims against the solar wind; the vector which bisects the canvass (origin unclear even when I took this photograph) hints at upward trends - progress, perhaps. (We can hold out hope.)

Cambria (Beach Evolution), #4603

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: September 5, 2009; Canon 20D; f/9 @ 1/160 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 49mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#70)

Last weekend I had the immense, joyous pleasure of taking a mini-vacation with my wife. It was a very sweet time which be both enjoyed a great deal.

She suggested we visit Hearst Castle, as she'd never seen it. I, on the other hand, toured it with my parents in 1975; the estate's grandeur and scale left quite an impression on me so Julianna's notion was an easy sell!

Thanks to California's budget crisis I happened to have had a forced day off on Friday, so we set out around noon and began our journey with a leisurely drive south down coastal Highway 1, with simply perfect weather conditions to bless our journey. We enjoyed a fine lunch at a stop in Big Sur, and managed to arrive at our final destination, a B&B in Cambria, a bit after 6pm. After checking in and relaxing a bit we ambled a few blocks down the street for what was a sumptuous dinner (at Linn's . . . excellent!).

We took in Hearst Castle at 11.00 a.m. on Saturday, then spent the afternoon enjoying the shops in Cambria, playing cribbage, taking a nap and visiting a beach before another superb dining experience (this time at Robin's).

Much later in the evening, after my love fell asleep, I set out with camera, tripod and remote-control gear for Moonstone Beach, a drive of about, oh, five minutes or so. The temperature was just cool enough to keep me alert; overhead the full moon shone incredibly bright through the clear night air. My goal was to take some lengthy time exposures of surf crashing against the rocks and bluffs below a vantage point I reconnoitered during our late afternoon beach walk.

As it turned out my equipment proved defiant and difficult: despite considerable, determined and persistent effort I could not solve a problem with my remote control timing device, which ultimately prevented me from producing exposure times of up to 20 minutes, as I'd planned to do. Under spectacular conditions of simply exquisite weather and gorgeous lighting, I struggled with the interplay of technology frustrations and the sheer enjoyment of being utterly alone above a splendid ocean scene. In the end I came away with seven significantly underexposed images (compared to what I'd planned for, at least), and the consolation of knowing that the Pacific Ocean is not likely to evaporate any time soon . . . thus I'll have future opportunities to capture more such images with properly working equipment.

Even so, I've managed to coax a surprisingly acceptable result from one of the last photographs I recorded, a 2 minute, 51 second exposure taken at 1:26 a.m., which I present for your enjoyment and consideration:

Pacific Coast by Full Moon, Cambria, California, #4668

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: September 6, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 171 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 200; 33mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#69)

Julianna and I are escaping the valley (doubtless, along with the rest of the hoards) for the Labor Day weekend, celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary a few weeks in advance.

The plan is to drive down the Pacific coast to Cambria, near San Simeon and Hearst's Castle. She's never been; I once visited long long ago, c. 1975. Very much looking forward to it.

Since it will be a few days before I can post after this, two entries to tide over any visitors. Both were originally color images, converted to BW, however the shield was essentially a monochromatic scene as the surface was gray paint.

The gathering of palms, with their light-hearted visitor, evokes for me an odd sort of convention, entities huddled together to discuss how to contend with gathering clouds. I felt the scene to be at once ominous and strangely humorous ("which one of these things doesn't belong . . ?")

Untitled, #7042

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: March 25, 2006; Canon 20D; f/13 @ 1/400 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 100; 18mm.

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The second offering suggests a number of contradictory statements about privacy, security and safety: what is being protected? Who's the protector? Is the shield simply voyeuristic? Is someone hiding behind the shield?

Peep Hole, #4261

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 21, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/320 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 42mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#68)

Jamestown, California. An odd discovery.

The scene was a closed storefront on an overcast summer afternoon. The combination of flat, dull lighting, a large swath of concrete and a building painted a monochromatic, slightly weathered off-white yielded a tableau where only these two objects presented any significant color. Ah, and what a surprising plumage the boot does display!

The pole, in an earlier century, might have served as a horse tie; I was left wondering if the boot had escaped its intended mooring. Certainly dressed up as it was, one could sense that boot was made for walking . . .

The composition is relatively straight forward here. Ironically the pole's nearly uniform color deprives it of a sense of depth and weight; it seems to float in the image whereas the boot, designed to be on the move, seems the more fixed in place, huddling against the bench.

Das Boot, #4344

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 22, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/100 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 44mm.

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Seeing 2009 (#67)

This submission consists of several spaces of subtle symmetries and repetitions of form; the seemingly static scene carries considerable motion as well:

The marching "S" within the door leads the eyes upward from left to right, even as the beveled frame plummets downward . . . the twin orbs of light bulb and lantern cast oversize shadows diving towards the ground, paced by the electrical conduit. All the while the cord snakes its way out of the frame.

What lies within? Perhaps a beast is poised to emerge? The subject of a future post . . .

Abstract, #4421

(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 30, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/500 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 72mm.

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