CloseUp Photography

Never Forget

2011-09-11T13:22:00.002-05:00

Hello!

2011-06-15T23:27:00.002-05:00

I have neglected my blog! I have not had a posting since April! Not a good thing, but I have been busy with building up my photography and we had an excellent art show at work in May!

I revamped my pages as well, removed a few tabs in addition to adding new photographs to my photography tab! Check out some of my new work!

I will be photographing a wedding on June 25th and will be busy shortly thereafter working on those images!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the summer season and is out enjoying the beautiful blue skies and lovely clouds that I have been seeing out lately!

If you are interested as well, I have added a page to Facebook (www.facebook.com/closeupbykym) Check it out when you have a moment, click like and pass the word on!

Have a wonderful evening!

~Peace~
Kym

A day around my hometown

2011-04-10T23:47:00.002-05:00

Just a few random images I took yesterday while wandering around my hometown!

Battle on the Homefront ©2011

~Peace~
Kym

Little Girl Softball T-Shirt Logo

2011-04-06T23:43:00.006-05:00

Just a little side project that I did this week! The sketch is something that I drew up last night for a little girls softball league. With the help from my good friend with his illustrator program, my sketch became a true illustrated outline to screen print onto a softball jersey!

I love designing! Have a wonderful rest of the week!

~Peace~
Kym

Open Window

2011-04-01T22:51:00.006-05:00

The cool spring breeze through the open window
is like a long forgotten soft caress across my left cheek.

I lay my head upon my hands and watch my daughter ride
her bike back and forth in the street below.

The soft wind carries her beyond her small world below the open
window as she stands up on her bike and pushes her pedals as fast as she can go.

I see the clouds billowing out, beckoning my dreams to climb upon them and rest.

The curiosity of our four legged companion reminds me that miracles come in small doses
as I unhook her from her leash to explore the world below that open window.

A smile slowly spreads across my face as I watch my world blooming below the open window.

I am reminded of how much I am blessed of the small stuff that makes the world below
my open window feel so sweet as a soft caress.

~Peace~
Kym

A Winter Love

2011-02-25T01:12:00.003-06:00

Even in the dreary days of winter, love still grows!

~Peace~
Kym

My day job

2011-02-19T14:22:00.002-06:00

I love that I get the opportunity to work with such beautiful individuals!

Did you see me in the video? Apparently I made the star attraction!

~Peace~
Kym

Winter of Blue

2011-02-08T23:14:00.003-06:00

Blue Winter by Robert Francis
(http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_francis/poems/15594.html)

Winter uses all the blues there are.
One shade of blue for water, one for ice,
Another blue for shadows over snow.
The clear or cloudy sky uses blue twice-
Both different blues. And hills row after row
Are colored blue according to how for.
You know the bluejay's double-blur device
Shows best when there are no green leaves to show.
And Sirius is a winterbluegreen star.

~Peace~
Kym

AIRPLANES and Russell Simmons Hip/Pop Challenge

2011-02-01T17:38:00.004-06:00

Last Friday night along with a few members of AIRPLANE, I found out that they were chosen for this challenge on MySpace by Russell Simmons himself.

The group has made it to Number FOUR so far after efforts by the entire group asking for Votes from everyone they know on their facebook and myspace pages!

If you have a moment, please visit the link by clicking on the image above and VOTE as many times as you can!

The curlyheaded, blonde young man is my oldest and I am quite proud of him and all the members of this group of fine, young musicians! I hope that they finally get the footing they deserve and see their dreams become reality!

~Peace~
Kym

Walter Clark~If I had to choose!

2011-01-29T21:28:00.006-06:00

The past month has been a bit of isolation for me due to the fact that I somehow contracted impetigo on my left eye and in my left ear! I have recovered quite nicely and starting to feel quite lovely again thanks to my wonderful Doc!

Today I went to the local grocery store to pick up a few meager items due to financial strain and while I was walking down the aisle trying to decide what I could afford and becoming more frustrated with my situation, I passed this older man whom was humming so sweetly and had this beautiful smile on his face. I stopped a few feet away from this gentleman to pick up a couple boxes and heard him again, but this time I really listened. His humming caused a sweet memory of my grandfather to float across my muddled brain. I proceeded to walk away, but stopped short, turned around and approached this man. I could not help myself, I just had to know what he was humming. I interrupted kindly and asked him what song he was humming. He smiled so sweetly at me, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Who knows, at my age of 88, it could be anything!" He then laughed and smiled at me. I told him that he just reminded me of my grandfather and I thanked him for giving me that memory again.

As I walked off, I started feeling a little lighter of all my burdens of the day, and had this huge smile plastered across my face. I continued to shop, and as I went by this gentleman again, he stopped me. He told me that he finally remembered what he was humming. He said that it was a song he had written. I was astonished by his answer, and asked him if he was a musician. He told me no, but that he did like to write songs and poetry. He told me that name of the song was "If I must choose", and then sang a few bars of the song (at which he told me to forgive him for he was no great singer, but what I disagree because I heard something beautiful, something being sung from the soul!). He also told me that it was his wife's favorite song. Needless to say, I made a new friend there in the store. We spent the next half hour talking about his wife, jobs, and children. I found out that he may have worked and known my great Uncle! How small of a world, eh?

He told me how he got his wife to accept his marriage proposal! She turned him down and told him that she would never marry him, even if he was the last man on earth! They then went there separate ways to work in two different states while corresponding by letters for a year. He told me that after a year of writing, he finally had enough and decided he did not want to do that anymore. So he sent her a letter that ended with "I am tired of writing everyday, either marry me or leave me alone!" Well, he said the letter took about a week to reach her and he was still receiving letters from her, so he continued responding. When he finally received a letter from her saying that she would marry him, he quit his job that day to go be with her! I love hearing stories like that! This fine gentleman talked to me with the sweetest smile and treated me so kindly. He made me feel like I was a million bucks!

So, the next time you are out and about and feeling like the whole world is against you, remember to stop and look around for you never know what you might miss! I am glad that I listened to this man's humming, for it made my spot in the world a little better place to be in! I hope that at 88, I am still singing and dancing along in life just like him! Thank you Walter Clark for your kindness, happiness, and just being you!

~Peace~
Kym

Picture Perfect?

2011-01-27T16:36:00.000-06:00

A thought for today is one that has been nagging at my soul for the last month or maybe even longer, but it surfaced again recently and now I am putting it out in cyberspace for someone to ponder and possibly help me end this tiring search for an answer.

Here goes: I have worked with several types of individuals for the past few years who feel that photography is about perfection and when you produce an image it should turn out perfectly as is or the shot is ruined. Why not fix or tweak that image to produce the shot that you wanted in the darkroom or digital darkroom? Do not just give up and say that the tools available out there are not for your use or that dodging or burning or layering or even using filters is wrong.

The same goes for painting and using various materials to adhere the paint to the surface, if it runs or too much paint is applied, then blot it off to make it look pristine. Why not keep those bubbles or specks that add that little bit of imperfection and enhance the art?

My mistakes make my art, my imperfections has had others comment that they are intrigued and want to know more of what I had done. I like to photograph, but there is tweaking involved and sometimes things do not turn out perfectly, an energy is produced and my soul is captured within my work for all eternity. I see the beauty of the little imperfections within life itself and love when I am privileged to capture that beauty that is so rare, especially in this society of perfection.

~Peace~
Kym

~Ferris Wheels~

2010-09-07T22:35:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I took a long drive in my new set of wheels! My new JEEP Liberty!

I packed up my gear, headed out of the area with the windows down....wind blowing the cobwebs out of my mind....with the radio and I belting out music as the jeep headed down that long stretch of a highway!

I ended up in an area where I had lived for a few years with my family between the ages of 7-9. As I drove around the bend of the road, the memories swept me away to a time of laughter. As warm tears slowly fell down my cheeks, I remembered the happiness we all felt living there in that small house at the end of the street. We were at the center of the universe there, my brothers and I....we were free to explore the world as WE saw it, free to run until the street lights came on, free of the worries of the little that my parents had and all that they struggled with....we felt FREE!

I pulled over and cried harder, knowing after all these years that the pain was still as fresh as the day that I was told that he was gone! DAMN! Where did the emotions come from? The street was so quiet, as I had remembered it...the houses still looked the same to me as I last saw them through my 9 year old eyes....I hated leaving that area....there is where a lot of good memories were left, untouched....where I longed to be again, laughing and enjoying life as I did all those years ago!

One day I will go back, take the nerve to knock on that door that I used to slam shut hard, racing out to the yard....to ask to see those areas where I spent many uncharted hours giving into my imagination......

As I drove back home, I passed by an area that had a Ferris wheel and other amusement rides...this is where I stopped and spent time snapping away! The results led me to believe that my grief yesterday was poured into the following images:

(Your not Alone Series © Kym McCrary 2010)

These images were printed out on watercolor paper to give them that soft, edgy feel to the emotions of the images....art is freedom...freedom from grief, freedom from emotions! Embrace it....always!

~Peace~
Kym

AIRPLANES

2010-08-26T21:58:00.005-05:00

I mentioned in my last posting about a band called AIRPLANES! My son plays bass for this group of talented musicians!

AIRPLANES have been very busy promoting their awesome music via the internet and playing in venues throughout St. Louis! I enjoyed listening to them recently at FUBAR in the city. Great show!

AIRPLANES have been quite busy networking themselves through myspace, facebook, twitter and youtube in addition to having their album Silver Lining available on iTunes!

Please check out their latest video below:

~Enjoy~
Kym

Lilith Fair St. Louis 2010

2010-07-18T21:17:00.006-05:00

Friday afternoon was an experience that I will hold in my heart forever!

Cheering her brother on....

Feeling the emotion of the song and the joy of playing at a large venue!

Dreams~whatever they may be.....may your road in life always lead you to those dreams you desire!

~Peace~
Kym

Lilith Fair in St. Louis

2010-07-13T17:26:00.005-05:00

This coming Friday, my son will be playing bass guitar for a band called AIRPLANES at the Lilith Fair at 2:55 p.m.

The band was interviewed by the St. Louis Post Dispatch this past Saturday and this is the video posted online by the newspaper:

He is the one on the left talking at first about their music.

I am excited to be able to see him perform on Friday!

Have a great evening!

~Peace~
Kym

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-04T12:15:00.003-05:00

This weekend our country celebrates the founding of our great Nation! Along with celebrations with fireworks, parades and festivals throughout the USA!

Let us not forget those who have so bravely fought and served this wonderful country so that we may enjoy the freedoms our Founding Fathers put their lives on the line for 224 years ago!

Have a Happy Fourth of July and May FREEDOM FOREVER FLY!

~Peace to all Nations~
Kym

Influences

2010-06-16T15:46:00.003-05:00

In the past year, I have been visiting the local library every few weeks with my muse. I have found some interesting art books as well as novels that were hard to put down. I came across a book called "Hubert's Freaks" by Gregory Gibson and was blown away by the story that I read about this Book Dealer who had come across a collection of Diane Arbus photographs.

While in the midst of cleaning up an area in preparation of my new studio, I came across this image below that I had taken during my first photography class a few years ago. I recall only seeing a few images at the time of Arbus' work during the photography class. I did not realize how much her work at the time had influenced how I first approached photography. The image below is of my mom, my younger sister and myself. I remember asking them to relax and just look at the camera without forcing any emotions or smiles. This scanned image is of a poorly printed mistake, but the image itself is very powerful and much influenced by the work that I saw of Diane Arbus back in that first photography class.

In the book, there was a quote that helped Diane Arbus find her niche in photography... "It was my teacher, Lisette Model, who finally made is clear to me that the more specific you are, the more general it'll be." (page 21 Hubert's Freaks by Gregory Gibson)

That lesson was repeated to me several times throughout my art classes and is something that I still am learning to use in my selections of ideas to photograph and to produce.....

~Peace~
Kym

Mike

2010-06-15T23:12:00.004-05:00

20 years has gone by so much faster than my mind could register!

How wonderful it would be to hug you again and hear your laughter...but this time I know that instead of grieving, I can look forward to the day that I will be granted those wishes again!

My wish for that to be is when I am long in my old age and have seen my children grown into old age as well and I have watched their babies grow up before my wish to be near you again comes true!

I take comfort in knowing that you are watching over all of us and that you are that shining star high above that guides me through the night to another day of happy tomorrow's!

I send my love and hugs to the heavens above and pray that you are safe until once again, I can hug you brother as I did before!

Love always~your sister~Kym

Saturday Farmers Market

2010-06-12T12:53:00.006-05:00

This morning I set off to explore the local Farmers Market with my muse!

My muse seemed quite amused with the crack in the pavement...

We got to listen to some beautiful music played by Lida and the Fiddle...

Several local farmers were selling locally grown beautiful vegetables...

A local nursery called Sunny Hill Farm was selling some beautiful perennials and I bought two beautiful plants to put in my garden today....

Big Bear's Bar-B-Que was offering samples of their brisket and it was so tasty!

We had a wonderful time at the market and soon after went to a small breakfast place. Along with our yummy breakfast sandwiches, we got this free waffle!

I love supporting local growers in our area as well as local artisans.

I loved this one artisan's jewelry line and discovered that she has an etsy site called Knightsparkle Jewelry please take a moment and visit her shop online. I found out that she makes her own glass beads, they are quite unique and beautiful!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

~Peace~
Kym

Friendship, Digital Cyanotype Photography and Fabric

2010-06-09T15:29:00.015-05:00

Today at work one of the artists that I work with drew a cartoon of me and I love it so much that I wanted to share it with the world:

Sometimes life just feels so right when others make you feel special no matter what!

I have been working on learning more about Cyanotype Photography Digitally:

As well as with cotton fabric already pre-soaked with the chemicals:

The above fabric swatches were set out in the sun from about 2:00 p.m. until the sun went down under a glass plate that was not coated with UV protection. Apparently the directions on the package were incorrect (stated 15 minutes in the sun or 30 on a cloudy day) which is why these two images are the best that have been produced out of 15 so far! I will be doing more research and practice with cyanotype photography using negatives and hopefully produce something much more tangible in the near future!

~Peace~
Kym

Gardening is my soul

2010-06-07T22:38:00.006-05:00

Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you
happy, satisfied, or even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic
well-being than any other single factor.
- Paul Hawken-

I spent most of the evening outside enjoying another passion of mine....Gardening!

The above image was taken with my cell phone of my grubby hand. I had spent at least two hours digging out pine needles, weeds and generally cleaning up my little garden plot! What a way to enjoy the outdoors and relieve stress all at the same time!

In addition, I came across a musician that I have become enthralled with his sound. Please enjoy the video below:

Have a beautiful evening!

~Peace~
Kym

Ciro-Flex

2010-06-05T20:44:00.006-05:00

Last year I came across a camera in a small shop located in the downtown area of my county. The owners of the shop were a young couple and as I was talking to them about their wares and such, I came across this camera sitting on a mantle in the back area and quickly made a snap decision to purchase this item.

I set this camera aside and really did not look at it until today. I would like to kick myself for doing so, because I discovered after doing some internet research that this camera takes 120 film quite well! Here is a link to a page that I discovered that my new-old TLR Ciro-Flex might be another toy to play with using film! I took the camera outside and played around with the all the bells and whistles to make sure that the camera and I could play together tomorrow!

I took a few images with my camera phone of my awesome purchase:

I discovered that there was this round magnify glass attached to the inside of the top of the camera and how I wish it had the original neck-strap to it, but I have an idea of what I can use to remedy that situation.

I have loaded the camera with Fomapan 120 400 B&W negative film in preparation for a photo shoot tomorrow around the area!

Have a great rest of the weekend and enjoy!

~Peace~
Kym

Natural Lighting

2010-06-02T20:21:00.006-05:00

I am intrigued by the use of natural light in photography. I love how the softness of the sun going down bathes objects and changes our views of the world around us.

Shot at 1/50 at F 5.0 400 ISO
Use of natural light from window
Focal Length 44.0 mm

With the abundance of rain in our area for the last month, the plants have been blooming quite rapidly! The flowers in the bowl were picked this afternoon after I noticed that my Yucca plants
outside had finally bloomed!

Here is am image of the plant outside taken after the sun had gone down:

Shot at 1/80 at F 4.5 400 ISO
Use of natural light outdoors
Focal Length 47.0 mm

Due to falling ill again from the H1N1 virus about a month ago, I am finally feeling 90% better after getting the proper medications and forced rest for a week.
Finally, I am back to wanting to do the things that I love as seen above. In addition, I have started working on ideas and cleaning the downstairs in preparation for the
art/photography studio that I have been promising myself and
my muse since last winter.

Please forgive the mess in the image below, but I wanted to show a rough idea of the two areas that I have to work with....

~Peace and Good will to all~
Kym

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T16:37:00.004-05:00

Freedom is never free!

Dance

2010-05-16T23:44:00.003-05:00

I love finding new songs:

Dance your heart out like no one is watching!

Have a good evening!

100th Post

2010-04-18T23:08:00.002-05:00

I love when I capture the joy on someone's face!

Happy 100th post!

~Peace Baby~

Eyes are the window to our souls!

2010-04-08T22:35:00.009-05:00

Today was a beautiful day for shooting with film!

I enjoyed the afternoon with the artists from the studio. I assisted them with trying out the "new" Holga Pinhole Camera, and I cannot wait to find out Saturday if the film turned out! I am a little nervous, but hoping for the best since the weather was amazing. The clouds that were drifting throughout the blue sky just made for a perfect day!

I will be testing out the Holga Pinhole this weekend with black and white film since the weather is promising to stay sunny all weekend!

In the meantime, I found some close-up images of my muse....her eyes just beckon one to look closer.....I love the giggles of laughter that are still ringing in my head....after the bed-time stories that we read which had sent her into fits of laughter....and caused her to beg me to re-read the same story over and over!

~Peace Baby~

Printmaking

2010-04-05T22:00:00.013-05:00

Experimenting with acrylic paint and dish-soap today for a printmaking class that I taught, I believe that I blew my lungs out making bubbles of paint to spill onto the Stonehenge paper.

The image below is the result of what I played around with, and this piece reminds me of a "Walk in the Park".

Walk in the Park" © 2010
click on image to see larger

This abstract print has a lot of energy and movement. It reminds me of the chaotic motion of spring. It is as if all the colors of spring exploded and mixed with the dark, rich soil of the earth onto the paper. I love the excitement of spring and the feeling that the warm days bring with it, a fresh new hope.

~Peace Baby~

Spring breeze

2010-04-03T12:26:00.008-05:00

As I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning working on some ideas for this blog, I noticed the breeze was just blowing like crazy through the window.

I captured this image with my cell phone:

I did adjust the image some in photoshop to enhance the sunlight and the movement of the breeze through the window.

The weather here is so beautiful and hard to believe that after so many years of cold Easter celebrations, this year we are being blessed with beautiful days and warmth!

I hope all will be celebrating tomorrow with family and loved ones and enjoying a day full of sunshine, warmth and happiness!

I am leaving you with a song I came across researching music for one of the artists that I work with at the studio:

Her voice sounds like the breeze coming through the window!

~Peace Baby~

The Moon

2010-04-01T00:03:00.003-05:00

Using the macro lens, I shot the rising moon yesterday after a friend called and told me to go outside and look at the moon!

I did some research on how to shoot the moon a few years ago and most of my images now turn out quite well. I did not do any editing to this image other than cropping out most of the black area.

The weather is getting warmer here and today our area hit 82 degrees! Soon, I will be out shooting again!

Have a great evening!

Lacking Inspiration?

2010-03-26T23:38:00.004-05:00

I have neglected my photography as of late and I do not know if it is because I lost a bit of inspiration and just put the camera away for awhile or if it is because I live, think and breathe art all day long at work?

I do know that the winter here in my area has been the bleakest, most sunless winter that I have experienced and could be the reason that I put the camera away for awhile.

I am in the process of re-decorating the downstairs and turning the area that was my oldest child's room into an art/photography studio for my muse and I to work our magic!

In the meantime...here is one of my favorite things to do.....playing with photobooth on the iMac!

When I have the studio up and running, I will post an image!

Have a great evening!

I'll Meet you There!

2010-01-20T22:37:00.010-06:00

Today you would have been 40!
Happy Birthday little brother where ever you may be!
Your in my heart and I am always thinking of you!

The image below was from a session that I did with you
and your friends around July 1988 at what was known
as the "Rasta Bowl!"!

I used the simple point and shoot film camera that our
parents purchased for me to start my dreams of becoming
a photographer!

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday and honor you on this day!

Love ya......your sister~Kym!

P.S. Listen to this song...it sure has helped me through the years!

The art of typewriting

2010-01-11T21:55:00.007-06:00

The art of typewriting a letter has fallen to the die-hards who still refuse to use a computer. There are those rare few who still use a manual typewriter instead of a computer, an ancient contraption that most of today's generation probably do not know existed.

I found an article in the local newspaper about a shop that caters to those who refuse to give up on those ancient contraptions that hammer out words faster than lighting (depending upon the fingers speed) without the benefit of spell-check!

I love typewriters! My father gave me a Royal typewriter that is quite old. I need to do a bit more research on it to find out the age. In July, I obtained another typewriter, a Smith-Corona. I am sure that the age on that one has to be from the 1950's. Both typewriters are manuals and use ribbons. I remember an electric typewriter that my Mom used to have that I loved to play on when I was younger. I remember the ball twirling around and around as I pounded upon the keys!

Enjoy the article and have a great evening!

Motion

2010-01-11T06:18:00.002-06:00

(click on image for larger view)

I love capturing the movement within a photograph, especially when it conveys the emotion of the subject such as the above image.

Have a happy Monday!

Interesting news story about 240 year old Tree

2010-01-09T22:38:00.005-06:00

Who doesn't love trees?

They are the center of our childhood days that allowed us to climb higher and farther, away from the troubles of those long summer days!

I came across this article of a tree that was at least 240 years old. This magnificent piece of history had been cared for by a gentleman who is 101! This poor tree has seen its days, and is slated for removal due to a devastating disease that the gentleman had tried to keep at bay for this tree since 1956.

I normally would not promote a news story, but I became more intrigued by the article considering that the tree is going to be recycled in a unique way. I cannot wait to read more about the by-products which will be produced by local artists in the area that this tree has resided. Enjoy the article and tell me what you think!

Hope everyone is enjoying winter and have a safe evening!

On sick leave!

2010-01-05T17:31:00.002-06:00

(Courtesy of CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/images.html)

The above image is what I have! This past weekend, I developed severe symptoms that left me spending most of my time in the area of the house that I only like to use when necessary or to get ready to go somewhere!

I went to the doctor on Monday and found out that I, along with millions of others, have the dreaded H1N1 Flu or formerly known as the Swine Flu!

I am feeling better now that I have been able to keep food down for the last two days, but I have no energy and feel SO wore out. The doctor banned me from returning to work for 5 days and this is tacked on to the vacation that I recently took over the holiday break. So, I have been off of work since December 23rd and I cannot wait to return. Enough about that mess!

Last night I watched the special on the local PBS station called "This Emotional Life". I was engaged the whole two hours and really learned some things about the relationships that I have in my life. Please check out the first episode on PBS online and if you can watch the second part tonight.

One of the quotes at the end of the segment was this:

"Whether we like it or not our happiness is in each others hands!"

I always thought that I was the one responsible for my own happiness, that it was the choices that I made or make that give me the pain or pleasure in my life. This is an area that I want to explore further, because from the quote, I gather that others in my life are as responsible for my happiness as well as me.

What do you think about the quote?

January 1, 2010

2010-01-01T22:04:00.008-06:00

Happy New Year 2010!

Here I am with my Dad sitting around the table after we stuffed ourselves (along with my mom, Cousin Larry and his wife Judi) to the gourd with black eyed peas, ribs, salad, cabbage and mashed potatoes! My stomach will be so happy to be back on track starting tomorrow!

It was quite a feast and an awesome way to start the new year (I found out as I was leaving that I had invited myself to this feast in which it was not planned for my being there since it was only supposed to be the "adults")!

A few weeks ago, my little one and I were playing with these unique colored tubes of lights that I had found about 8 years ago for Christmas. I had been researching some on light painting for work and when I pulled these lights out of the Christmas ornament box, I quickly set up the camera so that her and I could snap some images of us playing with the lights!

I am putting the original up along with one that I tweaked some on photoshop to give it a unique twist!

(original-click on image to see larger)

(tweaked-click on image to see larger)

The above images were one of my favorites out of all the ones that we did, especially since my little one was the one doing the twirling! She brought out the angelic side of herself in the image!

I wish everyone a prosperous New Year and a year of good health, lasting memories and much time spent with the ones who mean the most to you!

Kym

Ring in the New Year-Out with the Old: In with the New!

2009-12-31T18:42:00.005-06:00

I am spending New Years Eve alone! Yes, I chose to stay in my cozy, warm townhouse and watch movies tonight with myself as the only company! Every year for the past three or more years, I would go to a childhood friends sister's house and ring the New Year in with those that I had grown up with in North County. This year, I was told that plans had changed and that there was to be no party! I had thought of going out, but with the weather going back and forth and the fact that I had a minor car accident on Christmas Day, I thought it would be best if I rang the New Year in at home. My children had places reserved for them (one with the father) and the other is old enough to decide for themselve how to celebrate!

As I was looking out the window earlier, I noticed that the Moon was full and there lies another reason that I feel being at home was the safest place to be! No wonder everyone was a bit "wild" at the stores earlier when I went out to buy myself dinner and a bottle of wine! I wanted to drink a small glass while watching Julie/Julia and I am glad that I did. I remember watching some of Julia Child's cooking shows when I was younger and always was fascinated at how she handled the food!

I am planning on making some changes to the blog in the new year and writing more about things besides my photography! I love to research and I hope to use that knowledge to write more on the things that interest me in the art world and share them here!

I had received my last fortune of the year 2009 and I find it fitting with the goals that I have planned in my head for the year 2010:

"You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course"

I would love to see where this takes me in the coming year, especially since I am so easily distracted from the course on anything that I do!

I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year and may you enjoy the coming year and all your wishes and dreams come true!

Happy New Year 2010!

Kym

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-12-28T12:29:00.006-06:00

Another year older and I still feel like I am in my 20's!

So far, I have received many wishes from friends and family and this wonderful card from my little one:

(Taken with my cell phone)

The last few days, I have basically been holed up in the house with the little one and have been using her art supplies that Santa brought (bad mom!) her....I tried to draw some things with the watercolor pencils and here are the sketches that I did (do not laugh too hard at my attempts to draw!):

This "unmend" image was tweaked some in photoshop and I used the Polaroid application to take a "snapshot" of the image.

Have a great holiday and I am off to enjoy the rest of my day with family and friends!

Cheers!

Holiday Cheers 2009

2009-12-21T23:13:00.007-06:00

I cannot believe that it has been a year and a month since I started this blog.

I have slacked off on this blog since July and that was due to actually having a personal life outside these walls of our cozy split level!

I have been working on several projects all within the last few months, a collage sketch, several jewelry designs, and more images of light photography. Only one I will be able to show here since the others are still in process and not ready for showing:

I wish each and every one of you a wonderful Holiday spent with lots of happy memories!

Thank you to all who still follow this blog, I am hoping to pick up in the new year with new and daily/weekly postings about my photography and art!

I will leave you with the Christmas Image of my family and I.....Have a safe and wonderful Christmas!

Kym

Photobooth Fun

2009-11-18T21:41:00.004-06:00

Having a bit too much fun with the photobooth application!

This was done in the comic book filter, so I thought I would play a little and add that dramatic feel that I always saw in the comics of my youth!

If anyone dares to write a short story on the above image, I would definitely post the most creative story with the image in a future posting!

Have a great night!

BubbleBubble*

2009-11-17T22:55:00.003-06:00

One of the values that I have fully instilled in my children is that READING is essential!

I read many a good book(s) to my oldest and now I am passing that tradition onto my youngest as well! We have to record the books for her class that I read or what she reads to me in order for her to reach goals of receiving a pawprint for every 10 books that are read (she is now on 2 pawprints)!

Tonight's selection came from her older brother's collection that he had passed onto her a few years ago.....the chosen book "Bubble Bubble" by Mercer Mayer is a cherished classic!

"Bubble Bubble" reminded me of a photo session that I had done with my muse last October shortly after Halloween!

This is one of the aspects of photography that I love to be a part of.......the spectator capturing the joys of everyday life!

The above image is one of my favorites, especially due to the method of which I obtained the shot!

I just wanted to share a few moments of what I experienced reading the book and the images that I had remembered capturing.....the loving fun spirit of a child enjoying a simple pleasure of blowing bubbles on a crisp, fall day!

Old Negatives

2009-10-19T17:49:00.006-05:00

My Great-Aunt passed away this July and left my mother's family with quite a history of her life. This woman still drove her own car up her death at the ripe age of 88 (one month shy of 89). Aunt Velva was quite the character and always kept her appearance up, complete with a head bright red styled hair!

The day that we laid her to rest alongside her third husband, the family went to her house and proceeded to go through her life. I was along for the occasion, and came across several boxes of 2.5x4 negatives and decided to see what the scans of these negatives would produce.

Several such images struck a chord in my mind the photos reminded me of Elliott Erwitt's style of photography:

(click on image for larger view)

The photo is a little out of focus on the man in the image, but the image speaks volumes to me....the shadows of the person taking the image, the way the man is kneeling and concentrating on what is in his hand, the automobile, the lake all tells quite a story behind just a simple snapshot!

I have major plans for this image along with the other negatives that I have been entrusted!

Here is another image of a couple that are unknown to me at this time, but I believe this to be my Aunt's first husband!

(click on image for larger view)

This image is just a simple snapshot of a couple, but the style and the background speak so much of how images were handled back in the days of film! I think that my Aunt in some way was quite the photographer herself!

Enjoy these images, but do not copy them, these are a part of our family history!

Have a great evening!

Art Show

2009-10-02T22:10:00.006-05:00

The Studio where I work at is having another Art Show on October 9, 2009. Please see the link below to view for more information:

http://www.rhd-mo.org/PRESS_RELEASE.html

We have been preparing our artist for this show for the last few months and this would explain my lack of posting.

Please be patient with me as I get through this next week and give all my efforts to the artists that I work with.....their art is important and I am excited to be a part of their art!

In the meantime, I will leave you with another TTVF image that is part of a series that I call "Alien Anya"

Have a great evening!

I did not go away...was just out playing!

2009-09-04T23:44:00.005-05:00

Wow...it is hard to believe that it has been at least a month since I last posted...shame---shame!

I have been out playing and enjoying the beautiful weather as well as taking care of family and hanging out with my friends!

Here is some images that I have been working on:

(click on image to see larger)

(click on image to see larger)

I still need to work on these images, but these are in the stages of getting tweaked!

I am going to try and keep up with the posting, but we have another art show coming up at work in the first part of October and we are going to be busy!

Have a great evening!

New Art

2009-07-30T16:29:00.007-05:00

Hello All...I am sorry that it has been a few weeks since I last posted, but there is too much going on and time has just flown by so quickly that I have not had a chance to post or work on anything until today.

So, here is a scan of a collage painting that I have started working on:

"One Hundred Differences"

I incorporated images from a magazine onto the canvas along with acrylic and glue in the above image, but I feel that there is something more that I can add, so I will post the final image after I complete this project.

In addition, I have shot some more images, but need to upload them and edit before I can post anything new.

At work I have been trying photo transfer pieces with the artists and so far have only had two successful pieces come through. I have discovered that the only thing that works well so far for photo transfers are the slick thicker magazines such as National Geographic and W magazine.

Have a great afternoon.

Photobooth

2009-07-07T15:26:00.004-05:00

My little one and I visited the local "City Museum" and had a bit of fun in an original photo booth. The cost of the image was $3.00, but it was worth the price we paid. We could not tell when it was going to start taking pictures and the first image is a classic. I will post more digital images that I shot of the museum in another posting.

Have a great afternoon.....

Found some images from school

2009-06-30T17:03:00.004-05:00

I came across some rejected images that I had done in photography classes at college. One of the images was a transparency image of an old abandoned house I had come across on one of my photography outings.

I decided to put that on the scanner along with a piece of sketch paper that I had soaked in coffee and let dry.

Here is the result:

I love photoshop CS4 so much.....there is so much that one can do with scan, photographs, etc...

Have a great afternoon!

Kym

Tungsten

2009-06-28T16:45:00.006-05:00

I am sorry for the delay in posting recently. I have been quite busy with training at work, preparing my daughter for her dance recital and changing my photography habits. I love my digital camera, but I have switched back to film and looking forward to having the film developed and seeing what magical wonders color film has in store for me.

I have also become hooked onto photoshop CS4 at work and feeling like the photoshop elements on my computer at home sucks! I can do so much more with CS4 and thinking that maybe I need to have a bakesale, fundraiser, carwash, garage sale, or something to come up with the extra funds to buy a new iMac with my favorite software such as CS4 that includes all the lovely software such as photoshop, illustrator, premiere, etc. Until I hit the lotto or my savings account finally starts accumulating some extra funds, I guess I will have to keep dreaming of the day that I can call an iMac all my own....sigh!

I want to thank of you who have recently read my blog about my brother and the emotions that I experienced with his passing so many years ago. I wanted to add more about those days, but had to stop for the time, I will go back and finish soon. Just hugs and appreciation to all of those who read, stopped by and even commented or emailed me. It really helps to know that I have new friends out there supporting me. I would like to turn my experience into a book that will help others that have lost a sibling.

Have a great weekend, today we FINALLY got a break in the heat wave that hit our area and the sweet cool breezes are back for June!

Above is a flower image that I shot a few months ago on a dreary cloudy day with the tungsten white balance. Hope you enjoy!

Kym

National Geographic Contest

2009-06-13T23:10:00.004-05:00

I have entered the National Geographic photography contest under the animals category for my bird image (click here to see the image) from the posting on May 14, 2009. Please go click on the pictures to go to the website to vote for my image. I would love to earn the right to have a photograph published in a National Geographic magazine.

June 13, 1990

2009-06-13T10:35:00.003-05:00

Nineteen years has passed since that fateful day! The next few days that followed were a whirlwind and still hard to believe that we somehow got through and moved on in our lives. That was the first time that I ever saw my father, the toughest man that I ever knew, break down to a point of almost never coming back. I remember watching him walking across the funeral parlor with his two brothers beside him and the next thing, my father collapsed and was being carried by his brothers to a chair as my father sobbed, his body shaking terribly. That which does not kill us only makes us stronger, but...why did we have to experience this...as we were starting to live our adult lives!

I watched, one by one, as my brother's friends trickled in and out of the funeral home...glued to the chair along with my brother's friend Jay! We kept saying to each other, that we were waiting for Mike to jump out of the casket and yell....HA HA...it is all a joke! But Mike never did!

One of my brother's friends...Donnie...I saw him across the room, sitting in a chair, his head in his hands...crying...I went to him and laid my hand on his shoulder and asked him if I could do anything for him...Donnie got angry and told me that it was supposed to be him that died, not Mike...he was the one who survived cancer and the brush with death, and now he has to mourn the loss of a man whom he was such great friends with, he told me it was too much for him to handle! My heart ached for all of those who so loved Mike...how could I comfort them all, and myself as well! I think that is when the steel wall went up and my grief was stamped down into the furthest regions of my heart, since I knew that I had to be there for all of them!

Another friend walked into the parlor and said, we used to sneak in here for drinks of water and now....it is real, we are in here for him....

I will talk more about the rest of the funeral in later posts....I am off to visit his grave and spend the day celebrating my brother!

Hugs to all....

Kym

A memory

2009-06-12T21:22:00.006-05:00

When I was called home that fateful day, I remember waking up that morning when anticipation, not a good anticipation, but a feeling that something was not quite right in the world and that the axis had shifted a little to the right. I went to the training class and right before we left the room to do some team project, I remember mentioning to the teacher that when the red phone rang to please come and get me right away. I recall that the teacher looked at me strangely, but told me that she would. I was out in the hallway for only 10 minutes when the teacher came out of the classroom, looked at me and said that I needed to go to the administrative offices right away. When I asked why, the teacher's face drained of all color and told me that there was an emergency at home. The next few hours felt like I was slowly wading through mud with the waiting for the secretary to change my plane tickets, the silent ride to the airport, the waiting at the terminal for my flight to the constant phone calls to everyone to find out what was going on. No one would answer the phones, except my boss, who sounded like someone trying to hard to keep a terrible secret. When I arrived in my hometown, my older brother and his wife were waiting outside the doors of the terminal for me. I ran up to my brother, hugged him and said "won't you be glad when this is all over with Mike?" For a mere second, I saw my brother almost lose it, but he sucked whatever he was feeling in, looked at me and said something like yeah, me too! Little did I know at the time what I was going to be told. As we left the terminal, my brother headed towards our destination, or so I thought. When he ended taking the exit towards our house, I frantically started questioning why (while we were driving from the airport, my sister-in-law was constantly talking about anything, and all I could think to myself was shut the hell up! She later told me, she did not know what to say, so she just starting talking to keep me from questioning the route home and to keep my brother from wrecking the car) we were not going straight to the hospital and my sister-in-law starting really trying to change the subject on me! I started to get agitated, and I could see that my brother was trying his best to hold himself together. When we arrived at the house a few minutes later (we only lived about 10 minutes from the airport) I jumped out of the car and ran into the house, especially after I saw all these cars out in front of the house. As I came in the back door, there were all these people in the kitchen surrounding my parents, who looked like they had been crying all day. My mom turned towards me with this awful look on her face, as if I had done something so terribly wrong to her. I felt like someone just punched me in the stomach, and I started to shake my head...NO...my father came towards me....sobbing, just sobbing, and said "I am so sorry, but your brother is gone....and he grabbed me in a tight hug as I beat on his chest, saying NO! NO! NO!....I would not let him hold me, I pushed him away and ran out of the house screaming....all the way down the street, crying....my dad's friend George, my Aunt Karen and one of my little brother's friend followed me out the door...My Aunt tried to stop me, my brother's friend tried to reason with me, but it was George, who gently touched my arm and said....come here, stop running and let us help you through this...Big, burly, old school, city Police Officer George....was the one who helped me back into the house and comforted me.

I am crying as I type this, so bear with me, please.

We went to the funeral home to drop off his clothes, the same funeral parlor that we used to sit behind on those warm days when we were out skate boarding (one of his friends told me that they used to sneak in that funeral home to get drinks of water when they skated the parking lot) and then I went to pick up my son from my friends house. He was only a year and a half old, and at this point just starting to get to really know and love his Uncle. I hugged him, and would not let him out of my site the rest of the day. The next day, my mom, sister-in-law and I went to the cemetery where a family plot was given to us to use to bury my brother at, but the director wanted a substantial deposit that my parents did not have. We had a portion of it, but the director was giving my mom such a hard time, and would not back down until I lost it, leaned over the desk and screamed in his face "What the hell do you think we are going to do, have the freaking funeral, put in him the ground and then dig him up later that night so that we don't have to pay for the rest of the burial fees?" I then tried to storm out of the office only to find that the door would not push out, but had to be pulled open to leave and almost took the whole glass door out with my bare hands. I stood there watching the glass door quiver, waiting for it to explode, and when it settled down, I pulled the door open with such force that I almost took it off its hinges. Needless to say that it was not my best hour, but it did make the guy have some compassion for my parents and let my mom pay what she had until the insurance money came in. We left the cemetery and took care of other minor errands such as finding me a dress, locating a piece of jewelry for my siblings and I to share as one last memento with our brother and to grief into my pillow later that night, exhausted from all the activity surrounding us. The next day, my mom asked me to run my little brother's class ring up to the funeral parlor for them to put on his finger. I went by myself, and when I got to the back door, I could not open it to go into the place. I had to talk myself into doing that, and when I did, I ran into the place and almost knocked one of the directors down because I was so afraid of being in that place. I practically threw the ring at the guy and told him that it was for my brother and left as fast as I could.....I have to end this here, cannot say anymore right now, too spent...thanks for reading so far....

When we were little, one of my brother's and I favorite things to do at our Grandma Mac's house was to color with the crayons from the big, old candy container and to use tissues to soften the crayon marks on the coloring pages! We would spend hours coloring so perfectly right inside the lines, and then almost waste a box of tissues scrubbing away at the crayon marks! We were quite the trio when we wanted to be! I miss those days!

Kym

Remembering Mike, Jacqui and D-Day

2009-06-06T10:56:00.004-05:00

Today will be 19 years since the accident that eventually led to my brothers death.

Today is also another day of remembrance for Jacqui (my younger sister's best friend and my friend Missy's little sister) who passed away 9 years ago today of meningitis. Jacqui is dearly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing such a beautiful and sweet girl. Please think of her, her daughter Ana, and her family as they remember her dearly today!

Today will also be 65 years since many of this nations young men bravely and valiantly stormed Normandy...many young lives were lost that day....so I would like to also remember those who gave their lives and for those who served and still serve this country so that we may continue our freedom.

Please take a moment and hold each of these loving individuals and their families in your prayers and thoughts!

Kym

Family Time

2009-06-02T22:35:00.003-05:00

When Mike was moved out of ICU and into a room to recover...we spent the next few days talking with him, watching all his friends and GIRLS trickle in and out of the rooms. Between working, preparing for a trip for work, taking care of my son and going to the hospital.....little did I know that my world was about to change quite drastically. I was about to unwillingly join this club called bereaved sibling.

I remember that the family was there to visit with Mike. My parents, our older brother and our little sister. Just the six of us together....we walked out into the corridor with Mike and sat out in the lobby, Mike pushing his IV pole with him. Our little sister had purchased some band-aid bubble gum that came in the metal tin (like the old band-aids used to come in...) and Mike had asked her what in the world did she have....when she explained it to him, in his own warped sense of humor (the whole family has the same sense of humor), he pulled off one of his bandages and handed it to her and said something like "Chew on this...." I think that was the last good conversation and hearty laugh that the family had together before a crack in the foundation set us spinning in splintered directions of too many misplaced years of grief....

I miss you more than ever, especially now that my son has grown as has surpassed the age that you were when you moved on....he is like you in so many ways....his sense of humor, he reminds me so much of you....very charismatic....he loved you as well....I remember that he would scream and dance when you came over to see us....Uncle Mike! We miss you and love you.....thanks for always having my back brother! One day.....one fine day, many, many years from now...I will see your bright, smiling face!

The Impact

2009-06-01T22:10:00.002-05:00

The morning after my brother's accident and the days that followed were a bit of a blur.....spending time with my family in the ICU waiting room, my brother finally coming out of his coma and talking to us, pleading with my job not to send me to Virginia for business, fighting with the nurses and demanding that doctors show up and tell us my brother's prognosis...talking to my brother, laughing with him, all of the family at the hospital rallying around Mike!

Mike, that sweet, lovable, gotcha grin, even in all the pain, he still could break your heart! Oh, how I miss him, miss his friendship, his view on the world, miss him being there as the one person who always had my back! That final conversation will never leave my heart, no matter how many times I talk about, it is the one thing that I think held me together all these years....that I was able to tell him that I loved him as well, that he knew he was loved by us all, that we could not live without him.......

I will post more later.....
Sweet Dreams.....

Remembering Michael Shawn 1970-1990

2009-06-01T00:31:00.004-05:00

I know that this blog is about art, creativity and photography, but for the next few weeks, I want to share some stories of my little brother whom I lost on June 13, 1990.

On June 6, 1990, he choose to enter a van driven by a "friend" whom was intoxicated and possibly on drugs as well. From what I have been told about the accident, he supposedly fell out of the van as they turned a very sharp corner and ended up hitting the bumper of a parked car face forward. He was clinically dead on the scene until the police arrived and brought him back. My parents were awoken by two Police Officers around 3 a.m. to inform them that my brother was in the emergency room fighting for his life. I remember having this vivid dream right before my father woke me up to tell me that they were going to the hospital. In the dream, I witnessed my brother being killed in a car wreck, and when I was woke up by the sound of my dad's mournful voice, I asked him if Mike was still alive, since the dream seemed so real at the time. The next few days were horrible, the waiting and the agony of my parent's frustration and fear of waiting for my brother to come out of his coma were too much to bare for me, but I held on the best that I could without falling apart myself.

Today is June 1st, the start of the cycle of remembering, the cycle of trying to help my parents cope with the memories that still haunt them.....the moods that darken my dreams and make it hard to sleep. There really is no true help out there for loss of siblings, there are more discussion websites and a few books, but the main focus of help in tragedies of loss are for the parents. I did not realize how much my brother's death had shaped my future until I started to really open up more about my feelings in the last few years. I will say this, if you know someone who has lost a sibling, whether it was when they were young, teenagers, young adult or adult....and one day they open up to you and let it slip that they had lost a sibling....listen to them, do not say your sorry....just listen to them talk, that is probably all they want to do, just get the feelings out of their head and the pain off of their chest. A chance to bring them back to life, if only in memory.

Art did help me cope in ways that I still do not understand, but it helped me confront myself about the pain that I held down deep in my heart and refused to let go of, until now. All I want to do is to remember him without the pain. The tears will always flow, but not as hard. So, for the next few weeks, I will share stories, pictures of our childhood and what I went through during his last week before he left this world behind.

I love you Mike....I remember you always! Thank you for telling me that you loved me, those last words you ever spoke to me the night before you died are still carried in my heart and I can still hear you say them to me....Love ya, Kym......

Camera on me....

2009-05-25T01:00:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note, today I finished up some images that we had missed of a previous photoshoot done earlier this month. I had my dog with me and asked my friend to "turn the camera on me..." and here is two of my favorite images of my dog and I.

B&W Digital

2009-05-23T12:46:00.002-05:00

I normally do not shoot black and white with my digital because I have found that I am not to keen on how the image looks compared to film. However, occasionally, I come across a shot that I have done that really stands out in B&W digitally and I feel compelled to keep the image. I love viewing the world at odd angles, considering not everything is always viewed straight on and in front of us, it is nice to look down or sideways at our lives:

Self Portrait

2009-05-16T23:22:00.003-05:00

Here is another piece of a self-portrait series that I recently started working on:

(Click on image for larger view)

"The Masked Crusader"

A few semesters ago, I did a series of self-portraits that I ended up putting into an art show. I felt lost for awhile during my twenties and thirties due to unforeseen tragedies that tore my world upside down and the self-portrait series that I had done helped me understand a few things about who I was in this world. I decided to work on this series again, except I wanted to try and take a look at how I view myself from the inside.....that place of which no one really knows what I think about myself on a daily basis. I wanted to have a little twist on it and show that I can make fun of myself at the same time confronting the issues that most people deal with, battling your inner critic. Comments and critiques are very much welcome! Have a great evening!

Signs of Spring

2009-05-14T23:09:00.002-05:00

"Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world." ~ Virgil A. Kraft

Yesterday as I was letting my dog outside, I kept hearing a loud chirping sound and discovered that a baby bird was out taking flying lessons. I crept quite close to it and watched in wonder as this newly gift of spring cried out for its parents. The bird stuck around long enough for me to be able to capture a few images of this sweet gift of spring.

Absence from posting

2009-05-07T21:07:00.004-05:00

This past week and weekend, I was a bit busy working for the art show that happened last night (it went very well and the artists sold a lot of their works). Unfortunately, on Tuesday, I was taken to the ER with chest pains and admitted into the hospital for testing (I think I now know where the vampires work!) Anyway, I am fine, no problems with the heart, but will be following up with the doctor on Monday to see why my esophagus is having spasms.

I did sneak in a photoshoot with a friend of mine and her family this past Sunday in between working at the studio. The day was a bit humid and cloudy, but the images turned out nicely and we had some fun finding several locations to take the images.

I would post them, but my friend has not seen them yet and I still need a release from her to post the family pictures online.

I just wanted to pop in and say hello and should be back to posting in the next few days!

More Photobooth.....and a picture of my life

2009-04-30T23:20:00.007-05:00

I now have a favorite toy, Photobooth on the iMac. I finished another "self-portrait" of me as a fish! It reminds of the movie "Big Fish"....the magical quality behind the lines tells such a story....tell me what you think:

(click on image to see larger)

Last week the little one's daisy scout troop had fun visiting the local firehouse. I was nominated by my own mini-me to don the fire suit and pretend to be a fireman! The camera was turned on me as I got to put on the extra layers of materials and the 40-lb oxygen tanks:

(Click on image to see larger)

Have a great evening!

Childhood Memories

2009-04-25T21:57:00.003-05:00

Trying new things in photoshop and came across the photo corners application. Here is my childhood friend that I used to climb in and dream the days away (besides being able to see all that was going on the neighborhood backyards!) when I could reach the branches and climb into its arms easily.

Photobooth images

2009-04-22T22:28:00.005-05:00

I was having some fun in photobooth and then changed the image in various layers and the final image is shown below:

(click on image to see larger)

I am going to spend the next few days backing up my computer....have a great evening!

More Candid Photography---Portrait Photography

2009-04-20T23:17:00.005-05:00

Here are some more journalistic style images that I shot last summer at the Fourth of July parade that strolls by on the street by my backyard (it is wonderful that every year, all I have to do is grab the coffee cup, a chair and walk right outside to see the parade). Click on the images to see a larger view:

See her expression!

This woman looks so serene and quite beautiful!

This is surreal...as if they had never seen a horse!

The actions of everyone in this image tells a story!

In addition, I wanted to show some portrait work I had done of my nephew and my daughter (both are naturally photogenic--not trying to brag--but they take some wonderful images--and easy to work with):

Portrait work is quite amazing, especially when you can get the subject to relax and enjoy the time spent in front of the camera.

I will have more artwork back up soon, just working on some samples at the moment in preparation for the art-show that will be coming up soon!

If you have any critique or comments about any of the images, feel free to comment! Have a great evening!

Journalistic Style---Candid Photography

2009-04-19T11:35:00.005-05:00

I came across this website through another photographer's blog (which by the way, you should check out her website...she has this style that reminds me of Diane Arbus). Anyway, after I read through several areas of the website, my interest in photojournalism surfaced and I remember how much I love going out into the public, especially when there are events going on, and just shooting images of the general public.

Last fall I had found out early on a Sunday morning that a political rally for a presidential candidate was going to be at the ballpark stadium down the road from where I lived. I quickly packed up my gear, my wits and decided that this would be an interesting opportunity to take images of an event that only seems to happen in the city that is an hour from my town.

I was amazed that I got as close to the stage as I did and I captured some images that I never thought I would be allowed to capture. One of the images I sent on-line to our local paper and they published it in the reader's section of the Sunday newspaper a week later!

I worked for a year and a half for a local company as one of the candid/sports photographers (in addition studio/underclass work) for various local school yearbooks. It was not very glamorous, but I had developed a style and a love for this type of photography. One of these days, I will eventually have my degree in photography along with a master's (probably when my daughter graduates from college...LOL!). I am enjoying the challenges and experiences that come along on my new career path working as an artist/photographer for a local non-for profit studio.

Here are some of my "journalistic" styles of photography (click on images to see a larger view):

There is something to capturing the electric emotions of people, and I love be able to capture those emotions!

Have a great Sunday!

Random images (50th Posting)

2009-04-18T22:34:00.004-05:00

I do not know if this is a magic number, but this is my 50th post since starting the blog back in November of 2008. So, here are some random images that I pulled out of my files....Enjoy!

Polaroid Image of two curious creatures...

Positive image of a flooded, abandoned house...

Have a great evening!

TtV Photography Images and Critique

2009-04-16T21:41:00.006-05:00

On the last post, I uploaded several images, and asked for comments. I only received three (I was hoping to start a healthy critique, but somehow that never seems to happen) comments!

Here are two of the comments that were said of the following image "white is too white...i can't see any 'soul' in that pic..." and "I like how you are drawn into the yellow vortex of the flower. The petals are guiding you to the sweet spot." Another comment that I had asked of a fellow photographer was "There is no detail and I do not like the way the flower is cut off."

(click on image to enlarge)

"Purity of Insanity..."

I had asked for opinions based upon just the image, I did not put a title to the image. I am wondering now, if I added the title, would the critiques change? I remember sitting in several critiques of art classes and initially reacting to images without seeing the title. My immediate reaction was changed once I "understood" what the image represented to the artist who produced the work. So, I am once again putting out to whoever would like to discuss the image, to leave a comment or critique now that you know what I titled the image.

On another note, I am in the process of deciding what prints that I would like to produce for the art show that we are involved in at work. We were told this past week that in addition to the artists that we work with showcasing their work, the studio is reserving a room to showcase the works of the studio staff. I am still fascinated by TtV photography, so I picked a few out that I think might be of interest.

(click on image to enlarge)

"Take me to the River..."

(click on image to enlarge)

"The Wolf Huffed and He Puffed...."

(click on image to enlarge)

"Love swallows you up"

I have a few others that I might add to the collection, but I have already blogged about them in older posts, so I did not want to repeat myself.

Have a great evening!

Inspiration, Spirit and Artistic Drive......Vote for the Band!

2009-04-14T21:47:00.016-05:00

I was reading a magazine article the other night about this artist and her advice struck me in such a manner that I had to immediately underline it and embed it within my soul!

"Don't fret about getting photography 'right'. Accept advice but never let anyone tell you what to do or that you are doing something wrong. Certainly it's important to master a good sense of composition and acquire technical skills, but photography is an art, not a science and certain peoples motives for giving you directions can be due to their own insecurities or a desire to overpower." As quoted by Natalie "Miss Aniela" Dybisz for After Capture magazine.

I used to fret about my photography and getting images 'just right' to the point that I drove myself crazy! It took a couple of semesters to understand that we all find our true niche in art by opening ourselves up to the world through exploring, experimenting, and by the mistakes that we make! More or less, it is okay to just go out there and try it!

Here is an image of this flower that I found in my parent's backyard on Easter. I played around with the white balance to the point that the resulting image really intrigued me. I upped the color temperature of the white balance and it produced such a high contrast that it blew out most of the details of the flower, but the image is startling....let me know what you think?

(click on image to enlarge)

While photographing in my backyard last weekend, I had also come across some discarded trash along the outer edge of the wooded area near the road. The sun was enhancing the colors on this empty pack of cigarette papers, so I snapped the image. I added several layers and here is the result:

(click on image to enlarge)

I found this wonderful video by one of my favorite Irish punk bands "Flogging Molly". The video has such a wonderful artistic flair to it...I love the bits and pieces that the little stick man picks up along his journey:

I have updated this page to include a new item that I just found out about....the band that my son plays bass for has been added to the voting list of bands wanting to play for the Vans Warped Tour 2009. Please take a moment and click on the link below, listen to their music, sign-up, become a fan and register your vote for The Omaha Nights to earn the right to play the stage in front of thousands of fans! Please click on the image below and vote, vote, vote!

Have a wonderful evening and thanks for stopping by!

Music weaves a rhythm through my soul.....(New Artist Blog Unveil)

2009-04-11T10:21:00.009-05:00

I came across this band through a comment posted by a friend on facebook. I was intrigued by her comment, so I looked up the name and fell in love with their sound. It is a beautiful mixture of irish punk, gypsy soul and lots of fun. The music flows through you and makes your feet want to get up and dance a jig around the room.

Start Wearing Purple

Here is a Shadow Shot Sunday image that I actually took in February in Pawtucket, RI:

(click on image for larger view)

"As the rise of the sun....a shadow emerges..."

Remember to check out the new posting by my friend and fellow artist HK Bakery Daughter and be sure to leave her a comment!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the time with family and friends on this Easter holiday!

New Artist Blog of Introduction

2009-04-10T17:37:00.005-05:00

A few days ago, I had mentioned that an artist that I work with was starting a new blog about her art. Today she worked on her blog and has officially posted with an introduction of herself and a few images.

Please take a moment to visit her blog:

http://hkbakerydaughter.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading and hope that everyone has a Happy Easter and gets to spend time with their friends and families!

Sketching Masks II

2009-04-08T06:35:00.003-05:00

Here is another version of the sketch of a mask that I had done last week. I used arcylics and black tempra on a piece of scrap canvas. I have no formal training other in painting other than the design classes that I have taken at the college I have been attending.

This painted sketch is still not completed, and I have a few other masks that I have decided to try and sketch out on canvas as well.

(Click on image for larger view)

Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions and have a wonderful day!

Sketching and New Artist Emerging

2009-04-06T18:26:00.007-05:00

I found a sketch of a mask in a magazine that intrigued me. I decided to sketch my version of it in my journal last week while waiting for the little one's dance class to end. I took the sketch to work, enhanced the sketch a little more with the pencil and scanned it in so that I could play with it in photoshop. I added some light layering to the image (I love that the scanner picked up some of the writing on the other side of the drawing). Here is the completed sketch that I now consider an artwork that I want to incorporate as a logo on the blog (tell me what you think of the sketch):

In addition to the above sketch, this past Thursday while I was at work assisting an artist on some sketches, I decided to re-sketch the mask again. I applied the second version on a piece of canvas, and colored it in with earth tones in acrylic. I am still working on it as I write this, but when I get that piece completed, I will scan it in and upload for your critique as well!

I have an announcement (do you hear the trumpets sounding....)!

Today, I assisted a fellow artist in starting their own photography/art blog (cheers, clapping....hooray!). We are hoping that within a week or so, we will have the blog ready to roll. I am asking those who currently follow my blog to please stay tuned......I would like each and every one of you to click onto the blog when it is ready.... please take a moment to read, make comments and follow if you like!

I will add more details and a link when we have everything in place! Thanks so much for all that have dared to follow me so far, and for all the nice, appreciated comments left on this blog!

Have happy dreams and a wonderful evening!

Shadow Shot Sunday #3 and Thoughts of the images...

2009-04-05T17:11:00.010-05:00

I am a bit late in uploading my Shadow Shot Sunday Images. This is my third set and I love creating these images. Yesterday was very sunny, and warm enough that I spent time outdoors with Mini-me and the four-legged nut (if you ever met this dog, you would understand...he has a "thing" for rocks).

I found shadows everywhere, but only took the ones that really caught my eye. I loved that a dried leave was putting on a shadow puppet show for us, so I snapped the shot before the sun moved away. I caught some small flowers showcasing themselves on my front steps (one of my favorites). Of course, I had to include the dog, and my little one as they were enjoying the warmth of the sun! The other shadows are from my glider, the back gave a shadow that was somewhat Victorian in shape. The outline of a chair laying upon the table reminded me of a steering wheel design. The swing set gave a nice angular shot upon the newly green grass in the backyard:

Please enjoy these shadow shots as much as I enjoyed discovering and capturing them! Mother Nature puts on quite a show with those shadows, all one has to do is just seek them out!

Printmaking

2009-04-01T17:41:00.007-05:00

I am excited! I came across an ad on craigslist.com about an opening this coming weekend, and the art show includes work from a print-making professor that I had a class with about a year ago! Her work is amazing! I had her for a design class as well, she is very knowledgeable, an inspiring artist and a wonderful teacher!

I am not the best at drawing, so printmaking was quite a challenge for me in the drawing part of the class, but I did get an honorable mention for a linoleum reduction print in the 2008 Spring Art Show held at the college (see image below):

Here is the woodcut that I had worked on for several weeks. My hands ached from all that carving I had to do to this piece, but it was not as amazing as some of the other woodcuts that had been done in the class. One talented student had caught the eye of several professors for his piece and I think he sold a few prints and had a t-shirt made as well!

I am going to try and attend her show this coming Friday if I can....I need to work on setting up my schedule for next semester or I may end being forced to take another semester off! In addition, here is another link of some very talented print makers in my area:
http://outlawprints.blogspot.com/

Have a great evening!

New Project inspired by my Muse

2009-03-31T19:32:00.006-05:00

I am working on a series of shots that I decided to turn into a project that was inspired by my *muse* who insists that we kiss each others eyes every night before slumber so that we have sweet dreams!

The top four images are the same with different layering techniques, and I love each one of them. I will probably make all of them one large image!

The second one was adjusted to a solarization layer (I love doing this technique in the darkroom and equally as well in my digital darkroom) an I love the atmosphere that it gave to the image!

Sweet dreams to all and have a wonderful evening!

Finally I got some sun for Shadow Shot Sunday #2

2009-03-29T14:23:00.005-05:00

I was disappointed this morning when I got up and found snow on the ground (wet, mushy stuff) along with a gloomy day staring back at me. I was hoping to get some shots in today, since the forecasters kept saying that we would have a sunny day ahead to melt the snow!

While cleaning the house, I happened to look out the front window and saw some shadows! So, I ran outside and found Mr. Sunshine boldly smiling through the baby blue sky, and fluffy white clouds with such joy, that he gave me several shadows to shoot just for this posting.

I call this one "Will the postman ever ring?"

It was such a beautiful shadow that I snapped the image in monochrome as well, so let me know which one you like:

Here is one more shot that caught my eye, some leaves floating in a pool of water in my front yard:

Have a great rest of the Sunday, I am going to enjoy the sunshine and spend time with my little one!

Earth Hour and Some Fun Images

2009-03-28T20:16:00.006-05:00

As I am preparing to turn my lights off for Earth Hour, I wanted to share some images of myself having a bit of fun with the copier at work. My co-worker has this project going of everyone doing self-portraits of objects or their hands, face, etc. I loved what was going on, so I took the time out and did a few of myself (not posted here). This past Friday, I was in a slap-happy mood after going to the circus with everyone. While waiting for one of the artist's bus to arrive, I photo-copied myself on the copier. I was told by the artist I was waiting with, that I was a silly and I got some laughs as well.

I call this one "Workin' 9 to 5":

In addition, I scanned in, and did some chalk layering to an illustration that my daughter had done for her mama:

Have a great evening and I am off to enjoy the Earth Hour!

Spring Break

2009-03-23T06:10:00.004-05:00

I love that spring has arrived and cannot wait to fully dig into my garden that I somehow neglected last year. With the warmer weather now arriving, I was able to go outside and shoot some more of my TTV shots. My daughter has been the subject of many photos and somehow I always manage to capture an eerie side of life with her as the starring role. This particular image brought to mind that classic story of aliens beaming her up:

The angle of which she is frozen in time, the chair knocked over in front of her, the high contrast of the sky gives this image a feel of something is going on that we are not quite ready to see.

Tell me what your thoughts are on this image, do you see what I see?

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-03-22T01:15:00.009-05:00

I have always loved shadows and when I stumbled across this blog "Hey Harriet" I was fascinated and thrilled that I could find a way to share my images with others.

Here is my new Shadow Shot Sunday image for this week:

I caught this underneath my glider while hanging out in the backyard with my daughter. The various shapes that the sun filled the concrete with reminded me of the head of a Roc Em Soc Em robot that my brothers had when we were little. I love this image and could not wait to share it with the Shadow Shot Sunday. Please follow the link above that I posted to see interesting images that other talented individuals have had posted.

Have a great evening....

Photography Project comments

2009-03-21T17:18:00.007-05:00

I worked on portraits in one of my photography classes and had recruited one of my fellow classmates to participate in a series of images. He was quite the animated person that shows up in the following image:

He was fun to work with and this inspired me to work as a portrait photographer for about a year and a half.

The series that I had worked on failed. I had come across this image today while looking for some other images. I think I would like to revive this project and see if I can make the series work again. I have to do a bit of research first before I plan this out again. I had a hard time locating models last time, but I have a few guys that I work with that may be willing to help me out! There was not much to setting up the session, so the cost should be minimal and I hope that everyone donates their time.

When I look at this image, there is so much that I see, but I am going to put this out for others to give me some ideas of what they see when they look at this image....so, comment back to me your thoughts!

Have a great afternoon!

Hanging on forever

2009-03-20T20:49:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I took my daughter to the park on a particular warm day. As she merrily played with all the other children whose parents had flocked to the same park, I snapped images of the trees surrounding the area. I am always amazed at how the trees survive the harsh conditions that mother nature puts them under, it makes one reflect on how much one survives in their trials that one is put under daily, weekly, monthly....

I saw this little, dried leaf still hanging on after all that it went through last fall, and was intrigued by its tenacity to still hang on even though its life was long gone. Spring is fast approaching, and this little dried leaf would soon be replaced by a fresh green sprig, yet somehow it still clung to the branch that gave it life.

I am looking forward to the warm weather and this photograph reminds me that I should embrace the season and slow down a bit instead of rushing through my life, so enjoy the photograph and have a great evening!

Sharing my work and Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-03-15T21:40:00.007-05:00

I am seriously thinking about taking another Drawing class at the local community college this summer. I had taken a class about a year ago, and I really enjoyed the fact that I learned something, especially the ability to draw. I do not consider my work something worthy of hanging in a museum, but I was surprised that I can do more than stick figures!

Here is an example of a few pieces that I had saved from that class:

The last one was not finished, and you can see in all of them my mistakes, but I was impressed that I was able to even do these pieces. I have this philosophy that we are all capable of learning something new all the time and that we only limit ourselves to the talents that we are comfortable handling. This is why I always push myself to research, read, and learn. I love to pass on the things that I find or learn; I just hope that others do not find this trait to be obnoxious.

In addition to the work above, there is this challenge that I had read on another blog: " Tea and Honey Bread " and it led me to another blog that does a "Shadow Shot Sunday" so I wanted to add some of my work inspired by those blogs especially since I love shadows as well....

This was the late afternoon sun shining through a window in my parent's house, I love the way the window cast the high contrast light upon the wall with an interesting slant and illuminating the light switch.

Have a great evening!

Starving Artist Session in the Kitchen

2009-03-14T13:42:00.006-05:00

The term "starving artist" came to mind this morning when I had to decide what to do for my father's birthday that we are celebrating along with our heritage this afternoon at my parent's house.

I asked the other occupants residing in this house with me if they would like to paint some pictures in honor of their Paw-Paw since we were broke after paying the cell-phone gods to keep us connected to the outside world!

Here is the results of each of our artistic skills:

"Paw-Paw's Rose Garden" by Anya (my daughter)

"Apple of his eye" by Kym (my painting for my dad)

"Explosion" by Courtney (my son's girlfriend)

(My son was still working on his painting as I uploaded these images...)

We used a mixture of arcylics, white gesso, washable paints, pencil and tempra paints to produce these presents for my dad. Please enjoy them and have a wonderful Saturday afternoon. I cannot wait to enjoy the tasty meal of cornbeef and cabbage that my mom so lovingly makes every year in honor of my dad's birthday and St. Patrick's day!

Happiness only a child can produce

2009-03-09T23:47:00.007-05:00

I was snapping pictures tonight of my little one's dance class. There was one picture in particular that I fell in love with right away.

I wanted to share the serenity of the scene that I captured of my daughter walking across the floor in her tap shoes while being distracted by the chaotic scene that was out of sight of the camera in her dance class.

I find this image to be very beautiful and I just wanted to share it, so please enjoy and have a great evening!

What is wrong with this picture?

2009-03-08T23:32:00.004-05:00

On the layover in Atlanta during my flight back from Rhode Island, there was two couples having a bit of fun at the terminal where we were waiting to board our flight. I could not resist taking out my camera and asking them if I could snap the following image of one the gentleman that was obliging in a dare from the rest of his group:

Can you tell me what is wrong with this picture? It made for a good laugh and I took a moment to go over to their group and found out that this gentleman is a Psycho-therapist....I love his sense of of humor.

Have a great evening!

Trip to Rhode Island

2009-03-07T23:08:00.011-06:00

About a week or so ago, I flew to Rhode Island for work. I had not been on a plane since a week before September 11, 2001. I had a fear of flying before that tragic day, and I did not know if I would ever be able to get on a plane again. Fast forward to my new job 8 years later, and here I am boarding a plane with quiet apprehension.

I took my camera with me, but only snapped a few photographs. I really did not have much time to take pictures, but what I did get I was impressed with. I snapped an image as we were preparing for descent into Ohio on the first leg of our trip. I call this image "Overcome the Fear".

I do have to admit that when we first boarded the plane, I did have a small panic attack, and had to talk myself out of the urge to jump out of my seat, and run off the plane. I could not believe how small the plane was (a jet) and it felt like the thing was closing in on me as I sat there waiting for the steward to close the door. I did make it through both plane rides, (there and back) but it was harrowing at some points. I think that my fear is not as big as it used to be, and I could get on another plane at some point in time to visit other cities in the future.

Rhode Island is quite a place to visit, you have to learn to become a aggressive driver for one thing, and that you should be moving before the light turns green or the oncoming traffic will turn in front of you before you can get through the intersection. We were not there long enough to do much sight-seeing, but as we drove around trying to find our location, we came across at least 12 Dunkin Donuts and several Honey-Do Donut shops. The people are friendly and we found this little corner eatery, Exchange Street Cafe, that had awesome food. It was little cost for a lot of food. I talked to the cashier and she told me that the owner was from Poland and that she was from RI. As we left, I took a picture of the sign and loved that I had caught this awesome sunspot bouncing off the sign.

There was another restaurant that we saw and I had to stop and take the picture of the sign due to the nature of the words used to sell their specialties (though we never ate there, we were told that it was the best in the world):

I cropped the red sign out to show you what I thought was so funny (I love how we use many different words to describe various foods throughout this country.):

I had a great trip, and did have several days of jet lag to deal with after I got back home, but then who would after spending at least 10-12 hours of flying and layovers in two days? I will definitely go back to Rhode Island for vacation just to explore more of the area and to see more of the local art scene.

Have a great evening!

Scanning negatives

2009-03-04T22:34:00.004-06:00

In my last post I had talked about scanning in some positive negatives that I had found from my last photography class involving the process of Cyanotype photographs.

I had scanned in the "positive and negative" enlarged negatives of an image from my graveyard series. This image still gives me the chills of that day that I visited one of the oldest catholic cemetery's within our city.

The day was a bit chilly that morning, but proceeded to warm up a bit as I walked around the front area of this large cemetery. I happened upon a police car and was thoroughly warned about the dangers of being alone within that part of the city, especially with my equipment. I assured the police officer that I would be fine and would keep close to my car at all times. Little did I know that I would be encountering something that was not of this world. I started out shooting images of the various wonderful statues and intriguing monuments of those who had passed on from this life dating back as far as the 1800's.

The image that appears on this page ended up in my portfolio due to the size of the pillar. The angel is hard to see after all the scanning and mess that I had made of the positive/negative, but the barren trees make up for it by adding a little creepiness, which had become my signature.

To finish my story...I had come upon the indoor mausoleum and decided to go inside and take a look. I got some interesting shots on the first floor due to the natural lighting through the stained glass windows. As I went to the second floor, I came upon this little circular area with a few benches and in the ceiling was this beautiful, carved setting that mere words could not describe. As I set up for the shot, had my camera on the tripod and all of my equipment hanging on me, I proceeded to push the button on my camera.

What happened next is really hard to describe, but the sound I heard was not of this earth, and I could not see anything through my lens. The only thing I could do at that moment, was to grab my tripod and high tail it out of there. When I burst through the back doors to the outside, my ears stopped ringing and it was hard to catch my breath, needless to say, I was quite frightened and visibly shaking from what I had experienced inside that mausoleum. Out of nowhere, this man appears near the doors that I had just come out of, he looked at me, but did not say anything. So, I asked him to go inside and see if there was anyone inside the place for me. He returned a few minutes later, shook his head and disappeared around the corner.

I went to the front office and ended up telling the whole story to the men that were working that day and they had a good chuckle at me, but it shook me up. Something was trying to tell me to stay out of there and give them their peace!

I did stay at the cemetery for the remainder of the day and found where my great-uncle had been buried and found some others interesting gravesites as well. There is a story as to how my great-uncle had died, but it is quite a story and involves the mob, but that is for another day.

Have a great evening!

P.S. The title of the image is "Within my darkest hour, I shall cry out to you".

Mixed Art of childhood

2009-02-26T22:38:00.005-06:00

I was having a bit of fun finding various images that I had left over from my last photography class, and I felt that it would be fun to mix my work with my daughter's drawings.

I scanned in several pieces of my images as well as my daughter's artwork, asked for her permission to use her artwork to mix into my images, and blog about the piece we had done.

The image was shot on a Holga, and that negative was then printed 0nto a larger positive in order use for a cyano project. I scanned the positive at a high resolution, in addition to my daughter's artwork and then cropped and pasted her drawing onto the image.

The drawings are probably hard to see in the image, but they are there if you look hard enough for them. The image name is "Penguins do fly said I" based upon my childhood and my daughter's imagination:

Have a great evening!

Exciting News!!

2009-02-22T00:33:00.004-06:00

Please take a look at what the local newspaper printed and posted a video about the new art studio that I have the pleasure of working at:

Blank Canvas Studio Intro via St. Louis Post Dispatch

Have a great evening...I will be heading to Rhode Island for a few days to experience their art studio and to learn a little about Final Cut.

Television Photography

2009-02-17T23:03:00.007-06:00

As I was looking through some of the TTV photography that I had done in the past month, I was intrigued by one photo of my four-legged furry child. I cropped it down to make the black part of the camera to look like an old fashioned television set...does anyone remember the brand "Zenith"?

I love TTV photography and looking forward to producing more of this type of images when it gets warmer and my new job settles down a bit. Oh, did I mention that the studio in which I work was visited by the local newspaper, it seems that the editor came across our video on youtube.com and called up the journal in our county and asked them to check us out. From my understanding, the paper was impressed by our work that they took photographs, videos and will be publishing a story about us in the local paper this week as well as posting a video in their online paper.

Stayed tuned for links and have a wonderful evening.

Happy President's Day

2009-02-16T16:36:00.005-06:00

Just a little fun for the day:

http://www.realholidays.com.au/nudedude/index.html

I am enjoying my day off from work, stay tuned though, I just found out our local major newspaper is coming to our Studio in the morning to either check us out or to do a story about our new art studio.

Have a great afternoon!

Here is an image of an item on my antique hunt this weekend. I added some layering to the image in photoshop just to protect my find (copyright CloseUp Photography 2009):

Look for these two young men in the future in some of my art....

Fun things

2009-02-16T01:11:00.006-06:00

My son and his friends showed up one night in creative moods and took over the kitchen table to produce their version of sunglasses. Earlier in the week, my son had come across some kaleidoscopes that I was planning on using in an art project. They loved this little plastic toy so much that they decided to make themselves some sunglasses using these little toys. My son decided to use bright color pipe cleaners, kaleidoscopes and hot glue to see his world a thousand tiny different ways! Everyone had fun and here are the results of their efforts!

Lacking in blog

2009-02-15T01:07:00.006-06:00

I know that I have been slacking off on the blog, but my new job has opened its doors and we have been extremely busy for the past few weeks. I am excited to have an opportunity to start pursuing my own side projects now that my nights are free.

Below is a sample piece that I started last night using gesso and a matte print of a distorted image that I had found in my digital photography library (when I have the piece finished, I will upload it on the blog and request your critiques):

.

Today I spent several hours in a few local "antique" shops scouring over old books, photographs, and suitcases (I love old suitcases) searching for that one item which would jump out at me and scream "take me home"!

I did come across an old game called "Perquackey" that I purchased for $3.00. When I got it home and had a chance to sit down and open the box, I discovered that the sand timer was missing as well as the original can to hold the word dice. The can that was in the box was from a "Yahtzee" game. I was a bit disappointed that pieces were missing from the game, but I think I can find a new sand timer to use and the instructions are printed inside the lid of the game.

To end this evening, here is a another project that I have started and will have to perfect with time and practice---Light Painting Photography!

Have a great evening!

Does anyone remember?

2009-02-02T01:06:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note before I head off to dreamland.....Does anyone remember The Muppet Show? I grew up watching those on the big console television with my brothers.

Here is a link to a video of Mac Davis playing on the show that I happened across, hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLxNbEuOO20

I wonder what paths Jim Henson would have created if had not passed away at such a young age.

Have a great evening!

More Random Images

2009-01-28T20:32:00.003-06:00

I thought that I should work on some older images that I have not touched since I shot them earlier in the season. I usually do not like to point and shot with my camera, I find that life is a more artistic when you look up and around or generally just at an odd angle, or even with extra enhancement such as toys to give your image that extra edge. Natural light is the best and makes for some interesting perspective on the mundane world around us.

Enjoy these images and feel free to leave a critique or comment, I welcome all critiques of my work, it helps strengthen my perspective on the world around me!

Have a great evening!

Winter Blahs!

2009-01-27T19:41:00.019-06:00

The weather in my hometown has been quite interesting, we received a few inches of snow the other day and it arrived at least a day earlier than what the weather guru's had reported on the evening news! It is now going on the second day that my child's school has been called off, so we now can expect to finish out the school year going into June. With the lovely weather and my new job, photography has taken a back seat. I would love to photograph the outdoors with this wintery mix, but I really do not care to be outside for very long. I decided to go back through some photographs that I had captured this past fall of the Bicycle Tour that came through my backyard (literally...the upgraded road butts up to my backyard, and there was a sidewalk added as well. I now can stand safely near the main road and capture some of the major attractions right outside my backyard). I did a little tweaking to this picture (cropped out the negative space and tweaked the colors to pop out a little more), and I was quite pleased with how this image turned out.

The story behind this image is that I happened to work that day at the photography studio with my last employer shooting senior portraits, it was a bit hot and I had been outdoors for most of the day, so I was quite drained from work. As I pulled onto my street, I had remember seeing small signs stuck in the ground around the neighborhood advertising that the Cycle Tour was going to come through the area. I happened to arrive home about 10 minutes before the cyclists were scheduled to ride through, so I grabbed my equipment, went out back and joined the few spectators that were awaiting their arrival. The local police department blocked off the area streets and that gave me and a few others the freedom to stand as close as we could to the cyclists path. I love being able to have the freedom to capture things such as this image, especially right outside my own backyard!

Have a great evening....I will just be watching the snow fall...dreaming of a warm summer day!

Photograph everything and then sort it out Later!

2009-01-13T20:18:00.016-06:00

My new philosophy is to photograph everything that makes you move and then sort it out later!

Here are some more shots of various scenes that I have come upon in my travels around town, my favorite is the distorted view of the full moon that my daughter and I chased the other night shortly after it had started to rise in the northeast corner of our world!

The other images were just random shots that caught my eye, please feel free to comment, and and critique away. I always welcome feedback, that is what makes us drive ourselves forward to become better at what we love!

I would love to shoot film again, but I want to wait until I have that darkroom built in my own place, I would not want to waste film!

Have a great evening!

Having fun

2009-01-10T15:41:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was the second day of my new job that I am in love with, especially since I will be working as a photographer for the non-profit studio. We are participating in a project called Blank Canvas. We were paired into teams of our expertise, given a stipend and told to make it happen! While out shooting pictures for our project, I also got to shoot some images of my own.

I am hooked on TTV, and I think I have a new partner in crime for this style of photography! The other photographer that I work with loved TTV and said that it was quite addicting!

I love railroad tracks, I spent many summers walking down them to the local swimming pool with my brother and friends (yes I know that it is a dangerous activity, but when I was a kid we did a lot of things that would make the parents of today hair stand on end!). There was a set on the waterfront that we went to yesterday, so I set down the viewfinder to take a few shots (we were directly facing the sun) and it made for some interesting shots!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Music

2009-01-07T09:16:00.005-06:00

I know that this blog is about photography and art, but I find music to be a large part of art as well. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were playing around on the internet and decided to look her first name up and see what we could come up with. What we found was this singer who has an awesome sound, and today as I was scrolling through some of the blogs that I follow, I came across this singer again. I watched the video and thought I would share it with everyone, so enjoy:

http://www.spinner.com/2008/12/19/anya-marina-move-you-video-of-the-day

CloseUp Photography

Never Forget

Hello!

A day around my hometown

Little Girl Softball T-Shirt Logo

Open Window

A Winter Love

My day job

Winter of Blue

AIRPLANES and Russell Simmons Hip/Pop Challenge

Walter Clark~If I had to choose!

Picture Perfect?

~Ferris Wheels~

AIRPLANES

Lilith Fair St. Louis 2010

Lilith Fair in St. Louis

Happy Birthday America!

Influences

Mike

Saturday Farmers Market

Friendship, Digital Cyanotype Photography and Fabric

Gardening is my soul

Ciro-Flex

Natural Lighting

Memorial Day

Dance

100th Post

Eyes are the window to our souls!

Printmaking

Spring breeze

The Moon

Lacking Inspiration?

I'll Meet you There!

The art of typewriting

Motion

Interesting news story about 240 year old Tree

On sick leave!

January 1, 2010

Ring in the New Year-Out with the Old: In with the New!

Happy Birthday to me!

Holiday Cheers 2009

Photobooth Fun

*Bubble*Bubble*

Old Negatives

Art Show

I did not go away...was just out playing!

New Art

Photobooth

Found some images from school

Tungsten

National Geographic Contest

June 13, 1990

A memory

Remembering Mike, Jacqui and D-Day

Family Time

The Impact

Remembering Michael Shawn 1970-1990

Camera on me....

B&W Digital

Self Portrait

Signs of Spring

Absence from posting

More Photobooth.....and a picture of my life

Childhood Memories

Photobooth images

More Candid Photography---Portrait Photography

Journalistic Style---Candid Photography

Random images (50th Posting)

TtV Photography Images and Critique

Inspiration, Spirit and Artistic Drive......Vote for the Band!

Music weaves a rhythm through my soul.....(New Artist Blog Unveil)

New Artist Blog of Introduction

Sketching Masks II

Sketching and New Artist Emerging

Shadow Shot Sunday #3 and Thoughts of the images...

Printmaking

New Project inspired by my *Muse*

Finally I got some sun for Shadow Shot Sunday #2

Earth Hour and Some Fun Images

Spring Break

BubbleBubble*

New Project inspired by my Muse