Saguaro Wanderings: March 2010

Monday, March 29, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#46)

For your consideration: two full frontal views, one disturbingly local, the other a modestly distant refuge from the chaos of modern society.

The first: utterly lacking in pretense . . . a bastion of the Second Amendment, disarmingly straightforward in its bunker mentality and pillbox aura. The radiating neon seems ironically at odds with the camouflage paint scheme . . . a bit off target with respect to concealment. I frequently amuse myself at the necessity of a reinforced door and crash-prevention pillars . . .

Presented as an antidote, the second photograph is a mildly abstract study in architectural form and texture: the north-facing wall of my primary sanctuary in the hills. Several times annually I rendezvous at this serene compound for reflection, renewal and the warm fellowship with many varied friends who happen to share a particular path in life which emphasizes love, tolerance, and an effort at enlightenment.

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GUNS, #7029

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Details: March 20, 2006; Canon 20D; f/4.5 @ 1/10 sec; ±0 EV; ISO 800; 34mm.

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Fireside Room Façade, #4928

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Details: October 11, 2009; Canon 20D; f/9 @ 30 secs; - 1⁄3 EV; ISO 100; 55mm.

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Seeing 2010 (#45)

For your consideration: two images taken five months apart, both at one of my favorite places (being in the foothills above San Juan Bautista).

The first is a sharply cropped portion of a larger photograph, originally in color. It is rare for me to significantly alter the boundaries of my original images - I tend to carefully compose in the camera viewfinder the scene structured as closely as possible to reflect my intended final rendering. Here, however, the removal of a considerable amount of extraneous material, combined with the monochromatic conversion, resulted in much greater focus and abstraction.

The second is a rare candid portrait of one my closest friends and spiritual mentors. Despite assurances that my photographic prowess does not include the power to capture my subjects' souls on film (nor CCD sensors), Victor is one of many who resist sitting for photographs. This is one of my better shots of him, and reflects his intensity, confidence and humility.

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Palm, #4913

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Details: October 10, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/500 sec; - 1⁄3 EV; ISO 400; 55mm.

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Victor, #3153

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Details: May 15 , 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/30 sec; -2⁄3 EV; ISO 400; 59mm.

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#44)

After a brief absence . . . for your consideration: a pair of images representing thematic opposites.

The first is an organic study of elegant, sweeping forms which lend a sense of undulation to the composition, a gentle motion arrested by the starkly static thrust of the pollen-dusted spike which appears to be simultaneously immobile while also jutting skyward.

In contrast the second offering, a scene constructed largely of wood, seems oddly inorganic due to the powerful dominance of swaths and vectors of paint. Similar to the first composition, here too a relatively small portion of the canvas demands attention: framed by potent lines and near the vortex of converging rays, a yawning mouth of indeterminate depth sits in wait of unsuspecting visitors.

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Spadix, #6836

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Details: March 20, 2010; Canon 20D; f/5.6 @ 1/2000 sec; - 2⁄3 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.

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Untitled, #5055

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Details: October 11, 2009; Canon 20D; f11 @ 1/160 sec; - 1⁄3 EV; ISO 200; 43mm.

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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#43)

For your consideration: a scene perhaps distantly evocative of Kafka, or Munch.

A few nights ago my nocturnal photography chum and I took a rare drive to the coast, hoping to find ample subject matter on the boardwalk with its associated amusements. To our surprise, the entire town was seemingly abandoned, eerie for a Friday night (and featuring unseasonably warm weather at that). Thus we were compelled to mine the local scenery for less obvious study material.

I happened to bring along a few props - virtually unprecedented accessories for me. After some exploring we discovered a raised pedestrian walkway, which presented intriguing lighting and considerable potential for geometrically formal compositions.

Thus, this offering. It seems that the greatest challenge in life is to successfully form a genuine partnership with another human being, especially in the realm of romance. Initially the goal is to present our Best Selves; if a connection is made and sustained eventually the masked personas are displaced by something more closely reflecting our true nature. For some, such revelations are occasioned by sporadic moments of enlightenment piercing dark inner corridors; in the beginning only superficial characteristics are apparent. As the journey unfolds, more will be revealed.

The Blind Date (Head Games), #6755

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Details: March 19, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 1/6 sec; -1 2⁄3 EV; ISO400; 100mm.

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Seeing 2010 (#42)

For your consideration: a pair, tableaux which depict nature's beauty and persistent vibrancy.

When a high school student -- where I first stumbled into what would become my passion for creating images -- one of my photography teacher's first assignments was to take an entire roll of film (remember that?) on subjects within fifty feet of my front door. Thirty-six things to "see" which I would normally pass by in oblivion daily. It was a revelatory lesson.

Thus it came as little surprise to me when this afternoon I checked my watch and discovered that I'd just spent an incredibly quick sixty minutes photographing a few lilies and their surroundings, in front of a church downtown.

The first submission is the result of passing a considerable bit of time in intimate proximity to one of the most uniquely formed lilies I've ever encountered. I recall being startled when I realized Georgia O'Keefe's paintings represent far more than the superficial representation of plants . . . the organic form I was privileged to find today immediately evoked memories of a fabulous joint exhibit of her work along side Ansel Adams' at SF MoMA last year. I couldn't resist.

Those interested in nature photography per se have certainly seen their fill of insect images; I was less than keen on the critter itself, but its grandly exaggerated silhouette grabbed my attention. The ambiguous pose is a fringe benefit: is our tiny buggy friend struggling to find purchase so as to crest the leaf's edge? Or is that arm/leg dangling idly over the organic wall, a micro/macro demonstration of cool?

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Lily (remembering O'Keefe), #6827

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Details: March 20, 2010; Canon 20D; f/10 @ 1/1000 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.

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On the Edge, #6868

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Details: March 20, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/250 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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Friday, March 19, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#41)

For your consideration: a small study of form, shadow and depth, taken in the closing hours of the evening at the dining room table.

Having just finished watching Milk, I needed to lighten the mood. A quick trip to the store for sugar cubes, some flatware from the kitchen drawer, a simple light and my beloved macro lens gets you this:

Untitled (Tinely Levitation), #6705

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Details: March 18, 2010; Canon 20D; f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec; -1/3 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#40)

For your consideration: a frazzled model with the vacuous stare of a zombie . . . with models such as this ostensibly extolling the cool, chic look for the female representatives of our species it is small wonder visitations by UFO-borne aliens are silly rumors limited to overactive imaginations. I'd think twice before exploring a planet inhabited by such creatures as this, perhaps the ultimate genetic offshoots of Medusa.

(Big Hair) Mannequin, #5834

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Details: December 22, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/50 sec; -1 EV; ISO 400; 55mm.

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Seeing 2010 (#39)

For your consideration: a duet with which to contemplate abundant symmetries and contrasts.

The leaf was photographed in direct, brilliant afternoon sunlight; the weathered wood was shot at 2:17 in the morning under low-pressure sodium street lighting (and subsequently converted to black&white).

The upper image portrays graceful lines, complex and refined detail, and an unexpected beauty and abstractness derived from organic decay; the lower canvass conveys a hewn ruggedness and scalloped surfaces suggestive of a harsh environment. Both echo a sense of skyward thrusts; the Alviso offering in particular mimics a Himalayan mountain scene complete with crevasses, turbulent sky and snow-capped peak.

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Red Leaf Summit, #6641

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Details: March 10, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 1/160 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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Alviso Wall Summit , #6452

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Details: February 28, 2010; Canon 20D; f/22 @ 4 secs; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 100mm.

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Monday, March 15, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#38)

For your consideration: more exercising of the new lens, from within the comforting confines of my recent retreat's bedroom.

A study of matter suspended doubly in time: on "film" and locked within the confines of a plastic space. Evocative perhaps of our own universe's primal, embryonic moments after the Big Bang, when the essential substance of the unfathomable expansion to come was strewn chaotically, seemingly randomly in the void -- yet hinting at structures on the verge of creation. Or, the scene might depict a vast macro study of many universes floating in dimensions beyond our reach and comprehension, wherein our own is but one bubble among the collection.

In either case, what interests me is that the foundational element of the subject is the lack of substance: the presence of an invisible gas forces the formation of transparent, spherical walls at the moment of congealing, giving rise to an illusion -- pockets of nothingness.

Acrylic Bubbles (Globular Cluster), #6667

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Details: March 14, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1.3 secs; -1/3 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.

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Seeing 2010 (#37)

For your consideration . . .

Spend the past three days hunkered down relatively secluded at a Men's Retreat. The timing was impeccable, the weather miserably wet then surprisingly cold.

Not in much of a photographic mood for most of the time, but got a few small inspirations to play with the macro lens in my room at end of Saturday evening's activities. The room was cozy, simply furnished and toasty; the object at hand was borrowed from the dining room, the business end of a name card stand. The illumination source was a small book light.

Coil, #6677

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Details: March 14, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 20 secs; -1 EV; ISO 200; 100mm.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#36)

Received some extraordinarily disturbing news. This submission accurately depicts the psychic terrain.

(No, no further disclosure is forthcoming; don't bother.)

Cranial Chaos, #5270

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Details: October 22, 2009; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 8 secs; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 24mm.

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#35)

For your consideration: a pair of macro abstracts, at once quite different and yet each deriving its substance and viscerally organic nature from the energy of unexpected and unusual intimacy.

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Red Leaf Abstract (Oasis), #6626

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Details: March 10, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 1/60 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 100; 100mm.

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Tentacles, #5529

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Details: March 10, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 1/125 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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Monday, March 8, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#34)

A submission in honor of what would have been my mother's sixty-ninth birthday.

As I wrote in a prior post, I was in a position to shepherd my mother's last days on this planet. Doing so meant, in the end, giving a medical directive to remove her from life support.

This was neither a simple nor easy decision. Seeking guidance, I trekked out into the Sonoran desert of my home, just west of Gates Pass, and spent time in prayer and meditation at a spot known to me, various friends and a few family members simply as the rock.

Ironic that quite a few years ago this same locale was an escape from reality, where many hours were passed in a haze, watching sunsets by day and peering into the unfathomable depth of the black night sky (pondering of course the profundity of existence and life itself, as college students are apt to do).

Visiting this spot in need of spiritual clarity and emotional fortitude would've been incomprehensible in those days. Doing so last November was both painful and a relief: although when walking out to this boulder I knew not what wisdom (if any) would come to me, a sense of safety, comfort and, ultimately, the chance for healing was assured. And so it was.

The strange journey of grief is now underway; as yet the navigational markers are obscure and elusive. Snippets of insight come, usually unbidden and surreptitiously. I have the considerable support of my wife, family, and many close friends, for which I am deeply grateful.

My mother was a deeply troubled soul. She is at last at peace, and perfectly healed as well. For this I am also thankful. At some future date I shall return to this spot to spread her ashes.

In Memoriam: Johanna Lynn Petersen, March 8, 1941 - November 5, 2009.

The Rock, #5529

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Details: November 4, 2009; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/800 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 25mm.

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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#33)

Tonight I spent an enormous amount of time constructing a new panorama, one of San Francisco Bay at night, but after consideration and close inspection I was dissatisfied: the "post-ready" version lacked critical sharpness which exists in the originals . . . thus I'll revisit my work flow and try again.

Meanwhile, this submission is an image recorded at the end of that (long) San Francisco expedition; indeed it is the next to last photograph taken that evening. Those familiar with the city will immediately recognize it as the landmark Coit Tower.

A rare bit of overt manipulation here on my part: conversion of all but the edifice itself to black-and-white, in order to yield a contraction between the welcoming warmth of the structure and the ominous, swaying wind-whipped tree -- the tower itself seems to be leaning just out the branches' assaults. An apparently threatening sky adds to the drama, and lends an acute sense of safety and yearning offered by the inviting lighted window -- so close, and yet achingly beyond reach.

The Tower, #6582

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Details: March 2, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 30 secs; -1 EV; ISO 200; 21mm.

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#32)

An experimental offering:

Alviso is a quirky incorporated area at the north end of San Jose. One of its more whimsical facets is the grandiosely named South Bay Yacht Harbor. The harbor is actually the extreme fringe of a slough which itself is an outcast of sorts from San Francisco Bay.

On a lark my friend Jerry and I recently made the trek to this odd outpost for some nocturnal photography. The photograph below is a panorama comprised of nine images stitched together. As the photograph shows, there are either three or five vessels moored in the Yacht Harbor, depending upon one's definition of what actually constitutes the harbor here.

This is only my second genuine effort at creating panoramic imagery. The view spans roughly 160 degrees; left-to-right corresponds to south-to-north (thus the general direction photographed is west).

Unfortunately due to technical limitations of this blog milieu, which I've not yet been able to transcend, the full-sized image can't be viewed by clicking on the small version below (although an expanded version will appear). In order to see the true full-sized version (3366x768) click here. (Once the full image loads it may be helpful to press the F11 function key to maximize your screen's viewable area. Press F11 again, then your browser's Back button, to return to this blog.)

South Bay Yacht Harbor, Alviso, 2:00am, #6457-6456

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Details: February 28, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 20 secs; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 22mm.

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Friday, March 5, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#31)

For your consideration . . .

Visions of a near-death experience? Or, perhaps a Wormhole of the cosmological species?

The scene depicts a paradox: the instantaneous capture of what seems to be a rapid passage of time. The mood is ominous -- a long tube at high velocity, marked by a stark white bolt above which strikes towards an undefined red object far removed . . . an ember? A warning sign? Whatever the reality turns out to be, a swift collision with a revelation seems imminent.

Tunnel Vision, #6572

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Details: March 2, 2010; Canon 20D; f/13 @ 1/5 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 18mm.

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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#30)

For your consideration: two starkly different canvases, one depicting grandeur and elegance on an epic scale, rich with color and complexity, the other a monochromatic close study of graceful simplicity and abundant texture.

The first image is one of many to come from a recent evening photographic excursion with my dear friend Jerry, the second nocturnal outing this past week (the first being a late night exploration of the surreal scenery in Alviso). It was a dark and stormy night featuring: gusting winds, a low sweeping cover of broken clouds, and just-past-full moon which occasionally broke through. This photograph was taken from the Marin Headlands' overlook at Battery Spencer.

(When a senior in high school, circa 1977, I took what has become an award-winning black and white photograph in the bunkers at this location using my Minolta XE-7. Times have changed . . .)

The second offering was taken during a visit to my friend Ben's family's cabin in Twain Harte; a lengthy discussion was underway and I had at my disposal: my hat, a table, and my camera. Voilà.

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Golden Gate, #6520

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Details: March 2, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 25 secs; - 1/3 EV; ISO 200; 21mm.

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Untitled, #6096

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Details: January 30, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 8 secs; -2/3 EV; ISO 200; 55mm.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#29)

Two offerings for you consideration, two examples of Macro photography illustrating a powerful contrast both in hue and form and chaos versus parallelism.

The first, taken around midnight, is an extreme closeup of quite weathered paint on the side of a building in Alviso. Photographed under low-pressure sodium street lighting (which gave a distinct and highly-saturated yellow-orange cast), this version has been converted to black & white in order to place emphasis on form and texture as opposed to surreal coloration. The setting for this scene was fascinating: two buildings, side by side and architecturally sharing the same simplistic design, were also apparently of approximately the same age . . . yet one of the structure's paint job was in nearly pristine condition while its neighbor's coating suggested that perhaps the unit had been recently returned from a lengthy stint in a time machine. It was this striking contradiction in their surface conditions which drew my attention to the buildings.

The second entry is a simple study of the elegant, graceful and surprisingly complex patterns which are ubiquitous in the nature which daily surrounds us, if we'd only slow down long enough notice. This leaf, humbling living out its brief existence just beyond my residence's stair case, caught my eye by its privileged and lucky position in a ray of sun just before sunset. I dashed upstairs to grab my camera and tripod (necessary for most extreme macro work) and just barely managed to set up and capture this before the direct lighting illuminating the veins vanished.

This latter image displays one of my favorite compositional themes, that being the irony of how a relatively tiny portion of the canvas can grab attention so as to become the main subject of an image . . . in this case, the scar, the arc of which also nicely echoes and reinforces the many similar trajectories of the leaf's arteries and broader outlines. The background leaf provides a solid anchor and balance to the scene, establishing depth and repeating the overall symmetries throughout.

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Untitled, #6430

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Details: February 28, 2010; Canon 20D; f/8 @ 1/3 sec; -1 1/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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Scarred Leaf, #6617

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Details: March 2, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/5 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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Monday, March 1, 2010

Seeing 2010 (#28)

For your consideration . . .

While out for lunch I spotted a shiny object in a crosswalk when crossing a street; it tuned out to be an orphaned watch face. Perfect subject to test the resolution of the new macro! The item's actual diameter is just under 1.75", thus this submission is a considerable magnification.

I'm quickly (re)learning that macro work can be extraordinarily time consuming, with respect to setting up the camera and arranging the subject; distance determines magnification, light management can be problematic, and then there are the issues of focus and depth-of-field. Ah, but the results of such efforts are often quite rewarding.

This submission is a simple of study of subtle texture combined with a bit of incongruity. To lend a bit more abstractness to the scene I photographed the object on a sheet of aluminum foil, the result of which is to transform the watch face's edge into a sweeping arc hinting at a dynamic passage of time. I considered entitling Numbers Even & Odd . . .

Untitled, #6404

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Details: February 27, 2010; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 4 sec; -2/3 EV; ISO 400; 100mm.

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