Seeing 2011 (#134)

For your consideration: an homage to Paul Klee, who's abstractions I first encountered during an outing to the Art Institute of Chicago (many years back). I deeply appreciated the minimalist constructions capacity to convey such intense emotions and energy — seemingly in inverse proportion to the canvas's space allotments for his spare subjects.

This photograph was taken during an early morning stroll — meditative in nature — around the pond on the grounds of the St. Francis Retreat Center. I find the pointed, arced, thrusting vectors here, cast against an utterly serene backdrop of languid water, a splendid summary of my life's script over the past few weeks.

Ultimately this evokes imagery of large-beaked birds, poised to pounce.

Twittering Machine, Redux, #0406

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: June 3, 2011; Canon 20D; f/9@ 1/320 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO400; Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 146mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#133)

Note: the original image for this post has been re-processed and replaced due to severe pixelation in the original rendering of the photograph. While to my eye the small version on this entry also has some disturbing pixelation, the new full-sized version does not.

* * *

For your consideration: a brief sketch of objects in high places which in their own right imply occupants past and present, all engaged in high-wire acts with uncertain destinations.

To date I've visited twenty-six of the United States' fifty; like many once and future business travelers my haunts tended towards the right and left coasts. Middle America served largely as an impassive, passing tapestry of scenery seen through narrow portals of blessedly hardened glass at 30,000 feet. On parade far below, spanning the horizons for much of each flight: the "overflight" States.

I knew of rumors of inhabitants in such places, but despite ribbons of roadways and tapestries of city blocks strewn hither and yon, actual animate evidence of such beings was as lacking as the absentee sources of tennies tossed over telephone line.

Overflight Soles, #2803

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: May 26, 2011; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/100 sec; —1 EV; ISO 200; Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 13mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#132)

For your consideration: a sign of both the importance of as well as the imperfect nature of mutual support in the face of challenging and disabling conditions.

When genuine commitment is present, no amount of fractured scarring, nor lack of apparent terra firma, is enough to render asunder the intimate and deeply attached bonds shared between those united in a cause of common welfare.

An unexpected symbol of the sweet song of unity, espied on an entrance door to the Music building on campus.

Fractured Duality, #2508-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/250 sec; —1 EV; ISO 400; Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 135mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#131)

For your consideration: an entry from the Mannequin Series, this being a crowd of somewhat stiff party goers (or so it would seem) uncertain about what to do with their hands . . .

Mingling, #0931-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/9 @ 1/40 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 1250; Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 16mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#130)

For your consideration: a pointed moment in the day's waning residue of sunlight, on the grounds of the Pacifica Graduate Institute, visited this past weekend.

It was an exploratory journey — academic potentials for my sweet wife, compositional and luminosity research for the photographer. We both emerged rewarded.

Fin de la Journée, #1213-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 20, 2011; Canon 7D; f/5.6 @ 1/1000 sec; —1 1/3 EV; ISO 500; Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS @ 80mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#129)

For your consideration: an image taken under brilliant afternoon daylight conditions, rendering accentuated planes and sharply defined crevasses and boundaries. Future versions will be offered illustrating the marked alterations arising from radical different illumination.

Taken as a desperate hedge against an agonizing anguish messily churning within the soul of late.

Susan Sontag posited that the camera often functions as a shield against reality for the photographer. In these times the inner weight seems too much to even lift the lens, yet the muse manages to seep through in brief instants, bringing microscopic relief. Thus posts will be considerably more sporadic until this scorched psychic terrain is navigated.

Untitled, #1211-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 20, 2011; Canon 7D; f/11 @ 1/500 sec; —1 1/3 EV; ISO 500; Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS @ 85mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#128)

For your consideration: a calming, hopeful end to a turbulent week fraught with shifting currents and uncertain outcomes.

Returning to work after a full month absence imposed immediate pressure to not simply catch up, but indeed to grapple with a myriad of newly loose threads and looming deadlines with now critically compressed time-frames. Mix in an equal measure of messy, difficult tribulations and the mental atmosphere took on tones caustic and dim.

In much need of a brief, known refuge I grabbed camera, lens, tripod and hunkered down behind the viewfinder, seeking indeterminate destinations. Lo, (lacking much capacity of original thinking at the time) my landing became a well-trod venue . . . albeit resplendent with unusual architecture, considerable statuary, and wonderfully tended landscaping.

The great irony here is that I arrived fully 45 minutes beyond what I saw as desirable lighting — the Sun had sank below the city's tree-line horizon, casting most of my potentially interesting subjects in muddled and gray-blue lighting unsuited to my style — yet moments later the sky (seemingly suddenly) took on hues and vibrancy I rarely see beyond the borders of my Arizona deserts. Thus, dear reader, I was presented (and pass on to you) an exquisitely surprising tableau positively awash in optimistic, soothing peace and noble, even regal confidence that heavy darkness always has uplifting illumination light as its defining companion.

Goddess Sunset, #1040-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: August 12, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/40 sec; —2 EV; ISO 400; Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 135mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#127)

For your consideration: a tenuous assist, reminiscent of a dwarfish drawbridge.

Regardless of the scale, I suspect the engineers of these filament fastenings managed the attachment process with far more aplomb than would be possible from their human counterparts on a proportional terrain.

Let's offer a rousing applause, shall we?

Concrete Suspension, #0824

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: March 30, 2011; Canon 20D; f/11 @ 1/125 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 400; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#126)

For your consideration: a multi-faceted study of role playing.

All humans are prone to adopting the actor's calling — it is, afterall, a deeply ingrained, even unconscious survival technique. For most the role adopted at home as husband, wife, sibling, roommate, is rather different than the front employed for political battles, turf wars, and wheel greasing in the cubicle farms and restaurants where we toil.

So too do we take on yet other nuanced behaviors seemingly mandated by societal expectations in a myriad of variegated public settings . . . queuing up for movies, enduring entrapment in traffic jams, riding elevators (how vital it is to focus intensely on the indicated progress floor-by-floor!).

Presented then, unexpectedly arranged and discovered in a cavernous warehouse of discarded artifacts, is a splendid diorama of higher ego, guarded mask, and perhaps — just possibly — a glimpse of an authentic Self beneath it all. Small wonder it is challenging to keep it all together.

Defensive Psychosis, #0995-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/5 @ 1/197 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 100; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#125)

For your consideration: one of my favorite couples.

The weather that day was on the side of very warm; the obvious affection shared in this image is beyond warm and resides instead deeply within the magical realm of abiding love.

The world needs a bit more of this.

Kevin & Amy Ahern, #0876-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 23, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/166 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 640; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#124)

For your consideration: a repose caught in early morning sunlight — an inviting oasis to one who's mind has been awash and befogged in swirling and turbulent eddies of late.

Ironically this scene (a spontaneous impulse to experiment with a new wide-angle lens) was captured in a blissfully becalmed period well before atmospherics shifted to the red.

A Gratitude: all things change, including weather systems ensnared within the highly pressurized confines of the cranium.

I was delightfully surprised at how well this composition turned out; the rich details in the fabrics, geometric playfulness and depth, and soothing lighting combined to create an unexpectedly rich tableau of form and function.

Odd how it reminds me of Pee Wee's Playhouse . . .

Study in Red, Gray and Gold, #0921-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/2.8 @ 1/128 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 500; Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 15mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#123)

For your consideration: a nostalgic reflection on global air power of yore . . . The sky has no limits, but the ceiling does.

Spotted overhead in an unearthly recycling center in Berkeley, CA.

High Flyer, #0962-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/5 @ 1/512 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 500; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#122)

For your consideration: the first entry in quite some time to be added to the collection of images embodied as the Mannequin Series.

A delightful discovery within an amazing revelation: a vast warehouse of utterly dissociated relics donated as discards past their perceived utility.

Pity, that, but to my favor.

Mingling, #0936-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 24, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/16 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 800; Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 14mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#121)

For your consideration: a relatively rare submission featuring (highly) selective desaturation; this was done primarily as a practice exercise for certain features in Lightroom. It also served as a major exercise in patience, as my ancient PC can barely handle the strain imposed by the 7D's image sizes (min. 25 MB in RAW format) on the limited video RAM available. New workstation, here we come.

A parallel motive for extensively playing with the color scheme was to play down a bit the otherwise intensely chaotic background to the main performance.

Taken on the grounds of Santa Clara's Kaiser medical complex.

Butterfly Nourishment, #0548-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 18, 2011; Canon 7D; f/8 @ 1/664 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 1600; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#120)

(Note: this posting is an update to correct an error from the original text, which incorrectly stated a wingspan of seven feet for ancient dragonflies.)

For your consideration: a seemingly-annual visitor to the intimate confines of the man-made pond at my semi-secret meditation spot.

Last year I photographed either this returnee or an identical (recent) ancestor in the same general location; the differences this year are the vast leap of crispness and high-ISO shooting capabilities of the 7D which permit faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures, yielding (in theory) sharper images with greater depth-of-field. For macro work especially, these are two vital components.

Acquiring this degree of magnification required remaining precariously perched on a small boulder for long periods while remaining essentially motionless: this flighty creature made repeated reconnaissance sorties in its local airspace, buzzing my vicinity to test the threat level I posed. Wanting a shot like this required sitting as still as possible for much longer than I would have liked, but perseverance has its rewards.

While observing my observer between shots I had the time to gratefully consider my good fortune to have been born in the 20th Century: had this critter's prehistoric kin survived their own journey into Modern Times I would be as deeply entrenched in a safe haven as I could squeeze my pudgy body — this subject's ancestors, have wingspans of up to two-plus feet across.

Dragonfly, #0821-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 23, 2011; Canon 7D; f/18 @ 1/256 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 500; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#119)

For your consideration: the miracle of birth taking shape by means of a multitudinous uprising of lilies from their protective husk.

Due to a considerable range of lighting tones I utilized spot metering, emphasizing the brighter areas on the sheath harboring the buds; I did not want to risk grossly overexposing this delicate surface which would've obliterated the fine textural details. Similarly, I left untouched the distant background highlights, as the ill-defined contrast provides the canvas a sense of depth.

Emergence, #0779-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 21, 2011; Canon 7D; f/9 @ 1/200 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 250; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#118)

For your consideration: another 7D Shakedown Cruise offering . . . this a simple study of minute detail with moderate ISO and shallow depth employed for direct late afternoon sunlight.

Impermanence, transition, and a bit more than meets the eye: the obvious states of solid and liquid are duly represented, but the essential by-product of evaporation — gaseous matter — must be inferred.

Of most interest to me is the pooled water's magnification of the wood grain, which illustrates two of my favorite notions: that visual evidence is often the weakest (here we have a prime example of distortion), and that if we only pause to look closely remarkable beauty and complexity is awaiting our discovery.

Life for us fallible humans tends to be this way: I can make snap judgments based on illusionary initial impressions, leading to incorrect conclusions, decisions and behavior. Upon reflection, however, clarity and truths can be revealed and, when necessary, atonement proffered and with it a return to grace.

Meltdown, #0643-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 20, 2011; Canon 7D; f/11 @ 1/330 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 640; Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#117)

For your consideration: a new angle on construction . . . according to at least one source this streaming tapestry is designed to convey an accurate sense how impending additions to the existing architecture are supposed to look.

It appears to me that the budget is stretched thin.

In the parking lot across the street from where I have frequent appointments an interesting array of these oddly wayward demarcations are hoisted to and fro . . . Today I finally had the synchronicity of remembering to bring my camera (along with the wide-angle lens) and the lusciously, intensely angled light of the late afternoon sun. It was effortless to take 44 exposures
over the course of 25 minutes; look for an expanded series on my main photo repository site soon.

No Trespassing / Orange Network, #0735-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 21, 2011; Canon 7D; f/11 @ 1/256 sec; —2/3 EV; ISO 125; Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#116)

For your consideration: a purely experimental shot, testing the boundaries of high ISO (1000) resolution combined with high contrast lighting and spot metering.

Frolicking fish, frozen in place by means of both shutter and bronze casting, in their fixed spotlight at a local car wash.

Fountain, #0561-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 18, 2011; Canon 7D; f/5.6 @ 1/3165 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 1000; Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 188mm

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com

Seeing 2011 (#115)

For your consideration: another offering from the vaguely defined journey I'm entitling the "7D Shakedown Cruise"; these images are the result of my early trial and error in becoming familiar with the myriad of sophisticated controls featured in my beautiful new camera body.

Early results confirm what I've read and have also suspected: with advanced and greatly enhanced sensor quality and native image rendering come a double-edged sword: photographs emphasizing fine detail are either exquisitely rendered to such delight as to be breathtaking . . . or, if my focus point is off to the slightest degree — well, another, considerably dampened flavor of breath-taking follows. Thus it has come to pass so far that very few of my preliminary shots have been satisfactory . . . and I'm well aware the weak link is on my side of the camera.

This particular entry is presented simply as a small cozy patch of terra firma which struck me as sublimely pretty, an easily overlooked oasis amidst the frenzy of silicon valley. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder to take a deep breath, look around yourself, and discover your own local treasure hidden in plain sight.

Flower and Bud, #0584-7D

© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: July 19, 2011; Canon 7D; f/7 @ 1/100 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 800; Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8 USM

________

Visit my full photographic repository at jwmurray.smugmug.com