Imagine That!

This morning, I had a meeting at the MS Society Lower Mainland Chapter offices to do some planning for a presentation I'm going to be making at an upcoming Peer Support Training event on crisis and suicide intervention. 

When I arrived, they had a surprise waiting for me:

They've just redesigned the information brochure for the Peer Support program and guess whose work is on the cover?! Yes, it's mine! The photo was originally taken for an article I wrote for someonelikeme.ca (the MS Society's website for younger people who either have MS or have a loved one with MS) about the value of support groups. 

I had no idea they were going to do this, but I'm pretty pleased about it and it was a really nice surprise. These brochures will go out to clients who have been newly diagnosed with MS to let them know what the Peer Support program has to offer. I couldn't be more pleased!

But that wasn't all....They also let me know that the interview I did a couple weeks ago with Tiina is now up on the website as well. It's here if you want to take a peek. Thank you Tiina for doing such a fantastic job!

After a rather rough start to the week, things are looking up!

Challenging the Myths: Disability & Art Opening

This morning, I'm backtracking to Thursday, May 17th, to the opening of the gallery show. This is the beautiful gallery at Leigh Square where the exhibit was held. The official opening coincided with the Rick Hansen Relay making a quick whistle stop in the square.

I love when galleries put a huge decal on the wall with the show info.  I don't really know why, I just do.

My artwork ended up being displayed in a large glass cabinet, as you first come in the door. Mine are the pieces framed in black. I'm not sure who the small painting belonged to. The gallery has a ton of windows, so there was alot of glass and light, which when combined did not make for great photos. Reflections were inevitable.

These are the work of William Skuse. He had alot of work in the show, all similar and yet different from one another. What I love about his work is the geometric patterns he comes up with, combined with the use of colour. He does his pieces using a humble set of markers. It reminds me of those giant posters they used to make in the 70's with wild pictures you'd colour in. I love that his work reminded me of this.

This is my favourite piece in the whole show. It belongs to Fred Collins. Sadly, this photo does not do it justice. Let me see if I can explain it a bit. What I believe he's done is start with a wash of water colours on water colour paper. Once it dried completely, I think he went over the base layer with a fine tip black marker, drawing meandering lines which were no more than 1/8 inch apart. The lines are very wabi-sabi and intersect randomly. Once he'd covered the entire piece with lines he want back and added bits of additional colour using markers. It clearly took some time to create this piece-it measures 22 x 29 inches and it's extremely intricate.

The show runs till June 10th, so there's still time to see it. There are 12 artists with a diversity of artistic talent being featured. If you missed the article in the Tri-City news, it's here.

I just wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to all my friends and family who took time out of their busy week to come and see the show. I appreciate the support. You guys are THE BEST!

EDIT: This just in!

Late last night, our local newspaper was left on my doorstep. I just this minute looked at it and imagine my surprise when I saw myself in the paper! (Bottom left!) Twice in less than a week! WOW!

In The News

Hello friends! Visiting the Sketchbook Project yesterday was wonderful! If you're local and haven't been, I really recommend going today, which is your last chance before it hits the road again. I'll have a full report tomorrow.

In the meantime, the next few days are going to be a whirl wind of crossing some very big things off my life list so I'm trying to slow myself down internally so I can take it all in. 

Something really cool happened today: I made the local paper! I'm going to be  looking for copies at the library later today, but in the meantime, you can view the article here. I did the interview last week and like any interview, you never know what will come of it. I was stunned to see how much they actually printed-it was far more than I expected. I think I owe the reporter, Sarah Payne a thank you card. I am just grateful to be able to help raise awareness about MS in my own small way and to challenge people to think differently about disability and what it looks like.

Tomorrow afternoon is the official opening of the gallery show. If you're local, I hope you come out, see the show, (which I think is going to be really interesting) and say hello. I'll be there!

Alchemy

This is the starting point. Most people would delete this off their memory card. I only see potential. I love working with images I've taken of the nooks and crannies of our city and the impromptu collaboration with anonymous artists.

The Record Keeper

I am in love with the alchemy of what I do. It feels powerful. 

Fait Accompli

1. broken glass (C), 2. Only in Vancouver (C), 3. barnicles, 4. 1152 (C), 5. Deep Cove (C), 6. Silent Sentries (C), 7. November (C), 8. Skydiving (C), 9. Love you (C), 10. Antique Wooden Chest, 11. Stop (C), 12. 22, 13. East Van, 14. warehouse (C), 15. Hand , 16. Life Is Good, 17. Where Old Couches Go to Die (C), 18. walking , 19. warehouse wall 1 (C), 20. Metal (C), 21. Self-Portrait, 22. Funky Phone , 23. celebrating spring, 24. Fragile (C)

So this is the last week of Swan Dive. The month flew by so quickly. I managed to create 24 images (plus a few with family, not pictured here) in 27 days, which I think is pretty good. It would have been more, but I got really sick over the weekend (migraine, blurred vision, allergies & sinus pain-oh joy!) and spent the lion's share of the last 6 days in bed. 

I'm taking a bit of a break in May, which is chock full of events-Seth will be here for his book tour, then the Sketchbook Project is here, then the gallery show I'm in is opening and then I'll be doing the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay. Add in a civic holiday and regular life stuff and well...it's really busy!

June will be amazing because I'll be taking Vivienne's new course, Montage, which I hear sold out really quickly. I'm really excited about it because I will get to work on my video editing skills and learn how to combine stills with moving video. It's going to be an interesting way to share, once I learn how! I've made videos before-just quick ones with my Flip camera to share my journals and things like that, but making an artistic video is a whole different ballgame. I'm always up for a challenge and I look forward to the process.

Onward!

P.S. I have made 99 sales in my Etsy shop.
Whomever makes order #100 is going to get some extra goodies!
Ready? Set? GO!

Inspired!

April has flown by so quickly and we're now in the final week of Swan Dive. *Boggles* As always, my classmates have been hugely inspiring, so I wanted to share some of their amazing work. (You can click on the credits below to see the full size images.)

1. ledger, 2. Walk Away..., 3. still life with pears, 4. Spoon with texture, 5. close up, 6. Happy, 7. Pink, 8. Trees in mist, 9. SwanDiveTruck 4-1-12, 10. The knowing., 11. Gates with texture, 12. play, 13. color correction bluegrad, 14. SF Pier with Nasos3 texture, 15. Untitled, 16. Orchard as painting

Vivienne McMaster is offering a brand new class, Montage, which begins in June. It's about learning to create videos, by combining video footage, still images and words to tell your story. I like the idea of adding another layer to what I've already learned in the last year and a half about photography. It's another opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and I'm excited about it. I'm signing up! Vivienne is offering an early bird special price to those who sign up before the end of April, so now's a good time to go check it out!

The Art of Colour

Self-portrait

It's been a busy last few days. Swan Dive is humming along nicely. I worked on this self-portrait the other day and I think it's my new favourite. Vivienne taught us how to use a new tool that can erase any parts of a layer that you don't want covering up the original image. I used it on this image to take the layers off my eye, so the colour would be true. (Yes, my eyes really are that green.) I really think that one pop of colour makes the entire image.  

Here are some others I've done this way:

This is one of my favourite shots from Light Hunters: Getting through the Grey. It was the first time I took my camera out in the rain (I was super careful.) for a shoot. It was a horrible day weather-wise, but the first day of 2012 and I wanted to document it. I'm so glad I did.

I may go back and take another shot at this one because Dex's eyes are golden and I think it would be cool to also have them appear as they really are. The beauty of digital photography is that as you learn new post processing skills, you can go back and rework things. Maybe I'll do that today...

Speaking of photography classes, Vivienne is having a sale on the Light Hunter's e-book. If you purchase it today, it's 50% off-only $15! The sale price changes tomorrow and Friday, so if you want the best deal, snap it up today! All the details are on her blog.  

Light Hunters was a great course-I learned so much about finding and using the natural light as a focal point in my photos. I can't say enough good things about her classes-they have completely changed my life! (So much so that I just took a giant step outside my comfort zone and submitted 4 of my images to be considered for a special gallery show next month! EEK! Now I just have to wait to see if I'm accepted.)

Vancouver's Hidden Gem

I'm now into my 2nd week of Swan Dive. I've already learned something new from taking this class a second time and I'm really enjoying meeting new classmates and reconnecting with familiar ones. Everyone dove right in and the work has been amazing already! This week, we're talkin' textures and I've been busy!

Our instructor, Vivienne lives in Vancouver and often shoots at a warehouse that is home to the motherload of all graffiti. I LOVE graffiti! Vivienne very kindly pointed me in the right direction and so on Saturday, my husband, Indy and I went to go check it out. I was not disappointed! This place is a hidden gem.

As I was wandering around, snapping photos, two guys pulled up in a truck and began unloading painting supplies. They are two of the artists who have been working on the building for some time. I'll have to go back in the summer and see  how the building has evolved.

 Warehouse


The warehouse itself is a really interesting building. The wood is weathered and aged and lots of the windows are broken. I could see the faded evidence of signage near the roof line from days gone by. I shot a ton of photos and it's likely you'll see more of them here, as time goes on.

My apparent gift for finding couches in bizarre settings is becoming a bit of a joke and I couldn't resist documenting them too. Perhaps this is going to become a new series?!?  This is #2 in a series I like to call Urban Couches.*laughs*

Only In Vancouver

This is #1, which was shot at the dog beach a couple weeks ago. The dogs (predictably) had had a go at it and I imagine the city has carted it off by now.

I've also been revisiting some photos I shot for previous classes, but never worked with. Sometimes there is wisdom in waiting to work on something until you know what you want to do with it, as is the case with this image. I shot this graffiti (the words) on the edge of Chinatown last summer and now I've layered with various textures.

An "art" installation on the grounds of the Vancouver Museum, also from last summer. No cloning here-this is what it actually looks like! 

November


This shot is a favourite from my visit to the salmon graveyard in the fall.
As always, click on the images if you want to view them larger.

EDIT:

Before & After

I am adding this before and after image so you can see the dramatic difference between the photograph I shot and the results post-processing can yield. THIS is my sweet spot of creativity and why I love Swan Dive so much!


Before I sign off, just a reminder that sign ups are in full swing for the Washi Tape exchange I'm hosting. Just 5 more days to join the fun!
Details are here.

Skydiving

Skydiving

When I was 16, I lived in Barcelona, Spain. One day, I visited the Monserrat  monastery,  high up in the mountains. (This photo gives you an idea how high up it was.)

On the day that I was there, the monastery sat well above the clouds. Standing there, looking down at them gave the illusion that the monastery was a peninsula, jutting out into the endless white fluffy ocean of clouds below. I kid you not when I say that the idea of diving off the cliffs into that ocean of clouds momentarily crossed my mind. (Of course I didn't actually do it-if I had, I wouldn't be telling this story to you now. But if I'd had a parachute...)

That place was magical and I think that some fragment of that memory was forever lodged in my brain and this is how it resurfaced, 25 years later.
Creativity is such a mystical thing.

Swan Dive Redux

Swan Dive began yesterday! YAY! This is my second time taking this class. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it all over again because there's still so much to learn. I'm going to work on making friends with Photoshop and learn to use some other post-processing programs. There's still time to join in, if you hurry!

The photos I was working with yesterday are from my trip to the Salmon Graveyard, last November. (You can click on them to see them larger.)

 A couple months ago, Vivienne asked if I would be willing to do an interview about the work I did Swan Dive and it's posted in our virtual classroom today. What I liked about doing the interview was that it gave me the chance to really think about what I learned over the last year and how I have integrated that learning into my artistic practice. It was a good way to take stock of where I am after 14 months of continual classes and helped me see the progress I've made. (Which has been significant-I only started shooting with a DSLR 10 months ago!) 

A few years ago, when Artful Blogging first came out, I would leaf through a copy, see all the gorgeous photographic blog banners and eyecandy and think "Beautiful, but my blog will never have photographs like that." Little did I know that just a few years later, the opportunity to learn how to create what I consider visual poetry would present itself. It just goes to show that we never know what we're capable of-once upon a time, I was not a photographer.

The Post O'Many Links

Tools of the Trade

Reading: 

As I mentioned in my last post, I finally got my copy of Seth Apter's The Art of Mixed Media and read it cover to cover. Good stuff people!

 I also just finished Jonathan Kellerman's latest novel, Victims. If you like crime/psychological serials, this is my favourite. I've read everything he's written. His stories are delicious.

On a side note, Seth Apter & Jonathan Kellerman share some curious connections: they are both Psychologists, both authors and both artists. They also both hail from New York. Spooky! Seth, do you also play guitar?

Watching: 

I rented The Way from iTunes on a recommendation from my friend Michelle. I think it's one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. The story is rich and multifaceted, the scenery is breathtaking and I was misty eyed through the entire thing. It's the kind of story that sticks with you long after it's over. Oh and if that's not enough to entice you, it stars Martin Sheen and was directed by his son, Emilio Estevez.

Listening:

Weighty Ghost by Canadian band, Wintersleep. Love this!

Also getting frequent play in the studio are the following tunes: 

20 Years by the Civil Wars, 

Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morissette, 

and Amos Lee's new album As the Crow Flies.

Anticipating:

The entire month of May-it's going to be chock full of cool things: 

-Seth Apter will be here in Vancouver for his book tour for The Pulse of Mixed Media on May 3rd. I can't wait to finally meet him!

-The following weekend, May 12 & 13th, The Sketchbook Project is coming to Vancouver. I have a Sketchbook in the project. Looking forward to seeing sketchbooks from around the world.

-Around the 18th of May, (still waiting on the final details) I'll have the honour of carrying the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay medal, as a Difference Maker. That's going to be really exciting! 

Dreaming:

Mulling over ideas about photos I want to take for round two of Swan Dive, which begins tomorrow. (YAY!)

Doing:

-I'm getting ready for my first city council meeting this week, as a newly minted member of the Access-Ability Advisory Committee. Should be interesting!

-Working on lots of writing and HTML for the Papergirl Vancouver project. I participated as a contributing artist last year and decided it was such a great event that I wanted to support it this year by getting involved with the organizing committee. I'll have more info about how YOU can participate soon!

Creating:

Mainly I've been working on photography, which has stolen my heart over the last year. I've now been shooting for the last 14 months and will likely shoot straight through to the end of 2012. (By that I mean I'll keep taking classes and will be actively taking photos every week and working on them.) This is the first time I've worked so consistently in one medium, ever and it's really gratifying to have so much to show for it.

WHEW! That was alot of links!

How It Is

Way back at the beginning of the year, I signed on for a couple of photo collaborative projects. The two I was interested in weren't happening till the end of the year-one in October and in late December.

The theme of the one that's due at the end of this month is Portals and Gateways. I love old doors, so I really wanted to do this one. The thing is, I had no idea it was going to turn out to be as much work as it was.

So the idea is that each person makes 26 pages, using a 5x7 photo of a door. I shot this one a couple weeks ago, in Chinatown. I love this door. I love the chipping red paint of the walls that flank it, I love the creepy metal grate over the window and most of all, I love the style of the numbers.

 The door is cut to open, the back of the door covered with paper, so you're not looking at a blank white space. Behind the door is another photo, with a quote pertaining to the theme.

I chose to use a layered photo I made from two images also shot in Chinatown-the graffiti number 32 I found in an back lane and a pair of runners tossed over a wire in another back lane.

The quote reads:

"The story of my life is about back doors, side entrances and secret elevators."

It seemed perfect for this project.

On the back we were supposed to put one more image with our contact info. I chose a second door I shot that day in Chinatown. This image has be altered. To the right of the door was (in reality) a window, which made the whole image look off kilter and not very pretty. I finessed it by cloning the brick on the left hand side and putting it up in place of the window. You'd never guess that this isn't how the building really looks in real life, would you? I'm becoming my own architect through the magic of digital editing! All three of these images were work I did in Swan Dive. I've got mad skillz now!

Anyway, it all seems simple enough, except that in order to fabricate 26 of these 5x7 pieces, it required an insane amount of careful cutting, gluing, double sided taping and meticulous matching up of edges. Challenging for anyone, but ridiculously so for me.

You see my hands have deteriorated once again, due to nerve damage in my spinal cord from MS, so doing anything that requires fine motor skills has become extremely difficult once more. It's been hard for a long time now, by by and large since I first lost feeling in my hands 4 years ago, my brain has adapted to the changes. Now, with what seems to be fresh damage, I feel like I am back at square one again.

Yesterday night, I sat for hours applying double sided tape and then trying to find the edges of the paper to peel it off. Then I had to ever-so-carefully line everything up and stick it down. It took forever and it became the project that almost broke me. It was NOT fun. It was like torture and I could not wait to be done. I sat here verging on tears and madness. Imagine trying to peel double sided tape with oven mitts on and you get some vague idea how frustrating it was.

In any case, because I am me and giving up is not in my DNA, I grit my teeth and by sheer force of will, got the job done. I sent them off this afternoon. I'm hoping the payoff is worth it.

Some people do art as a passtime, then there are the diehards.

I may be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.

Swan Dive Wrap Up

1. Ladybug, 2. Rise Up, 3. Apparition, 4. Twilight, 5. In This Moment, 6. Picket Fence, 7. Broken Mirror, 8. rebel, 9. Once, 10. Autumn Afternoon, 11. Song of the Sea, 12. Perspective, 13. Alone With Yourself, 14. Urban landscape, 15. 1000 fishes, 16. By My Hand, 17. Heart of Winter, 18. Indiana Jones, 19. Meditation, 20. The Vigil

Hello! Hello! I have meant to write a wrap-up post about Swan Dive for a few days now. That got sidelined for a couple days as I was suffering (the operative word being suffering) from silent migraines for a couple days. They seem to have settled down today, so here I am.

Anyway, Swan Dive wrapped up about a week ago. I feel like I learned so much about post processing in this class. I had no idea all the wonderful ways I could manipulate my photos to make them into something special. It's like equivalent of mixed media but in digital form.

At the beginning of class, I felt a bit of a pull towards being a purist (meaning I felt like a good photo should speak for itself, with very little editing except for perhaps cropping and colour correction) but I felt that in order to get the most out of this class, I needed to push past that. Fortunately, by the second week, I began to see the merit of experimenting. As the weeks wore on, I became a convert. The potential to be creative and to transform images, using the same aesthetic I use for mixed media work was what got me hooked. I realized that my creative voice translates well to this medium.

As I've said before, I am continually surprising myself. I feel like this is the year I've grown the most as an artist. I feel like I've really immersed myself in taking risks, putting myself out there and making an effort to capture and create work that really reflects who I am and what I love. The pay off for showing up for myself and doing the work has been huge-it's been so deeply satisfying.

The images I've share in the mosaic above are almost all the ones I created in this class. (There were alot and not all would fit!) If you want to see them larger, just click on the photo names to see the originals. 

Vivienne just sent out her newsletter and there's a new Light Hunters: Getting Through the Grey starting in early December. Here's the scoop:

"A second Light Hunters adventure is running this winter, called Light Hunters: Getting through the Grey which is inspired by my pacific northwest rainy winters!  Each Monday for the months of December, January and February you will find an inspiring post in your inbox packed full of inspiration and learning to keep you creating and taking photographs in a season when you might normally find yourself feeling uninspired."

 Winters on the west coast of Canada are typically wet and grey which is good if you're a duck, but not so good if you're wanting to get out and shoot. (Photos, that is, not ducks!) I am going to sign up for Getting Through the Grey. It looks like I will be ending this year the way it begun-learning, growing, documenting and creating. Sounds good to me!

From My Fellow Swans

This morning, I wanted to share with you the beautiful artistry that has developed in Swan Dive. This is a small sampling of the pieces that I've "favourited" over the last 4 weeks. (I highly recommend clicking on the credits below to view each of them in all their full sized glory.)

1. fairy (#1 of 8), 2. Wedding Lights, 3. Deb gets layered, 4. give thanks, 5. July 7, 2011-The Old Red Barn, 6. warm hearts, 7. 3. Growth, 8. island, 9. , 10. What we think we become, 11. Kate walking, 12. field of leaves

One of the best things about taking Vivienne's photography classes is meeting  other artists and getting to see their work. What I love about this is that as we are posting our work to share with one another, we are also spurring each other on. There's this communal energy that develops, whereby the bar keeps getting raised and ultimately, it pushes each of us to do our best work.

That's not to say we won't post things that aren't perfect-we do-but we're learning from one another and supporting everyone's learning process through our own. It's kind of like that famous quote by Marianne Williamson that says in part "as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." It's a beautiful thing. I am so grateful to my classmates for their generosity of spirit.

With My Little Eye

 Yesterday my husband, Indy and I went and poked around the edges of Chinatown. It's an area of Vancouver that was established in 1887, making it 124 years old and one of the oldest and most interesting parts of the city. I saw several buildings that were built in the 1920's. I love old architecture!

Anyway, the whole point of going down there was to see what I could see and capture the best of it with my Rebel.

Urban Landscape

I think of everything I shot yesterday, this turned out to be the coolest. It's two photos, which I layered together and then finessed. If you saw the original photo of the runners, it was nothing to write home about, but when I saw them hanging there, in the lane, I instantly knew I needed to shoot them. The "32" was a piece of graffiti I found in another laneway.

1000 Fishes 

The Chinese grocers (of which there are many!) have bins and bins and bins of all manner of foodstuffs. There are mushrooms, fish, nuts and seeds. There were also bins that I didn't even have a clue what in them, (things from the sea, I think...) but I liked the piles of dried fish. I find them interesting. So much texture for the eye!

Perspective

This is a portion of a photo I have. In it, my Gramps, who is about 3 years old and his older brother who is 4 are dressed in matching thick sweaters, short pants and wool socks. My most favourite part of the photo is my Grandad's little shoes and the rough worn floorboards of the porch. I digitally cropped it to enhance this perspective and worked some texture magic, making a favourite photo, even more special.

One week left of Swan Dive. It's sure gone by quickly-time does indeed fly when you're having fun!

Synergy

The Company You Keep

I'm now 3 weeks into Swan Dive and I am still learning so much. This week, we're tackling layering of photos and cloning. The bottom left and right are each created from two photos I took, layered together and then added some texture to. The large image at the top is cloning, plus some text. (The original, with only one set of my feet is my most favourite self portrait from Wading In. The text is part of a favourite poem, The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.)

I decided to make this collage from work I've done this week when I realized these images were thematic. It's an extension of myself, really. It's weird to find your soul leaping out at you like this. (Weird in a good way, though.) I feel as if I've been granted magical powers or something-like I've got the key to unlock a secret room of my artistic self I never knew existed. My classmates are also creating the magic-every day there is amazing work being done. It really is quite remarkable.

At the beginning of 2011, I chose my word for the year.

 

Synergy: the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

My intention for 2011 was to be open to opportunities where I could combine my energy with others to produce a greater effect, whether through art or altruism to make use of the gifts I possess.

I knew that if I stayed focused and kept my eyes open, synergy will show up all over the place and it has! Wading In, Light Hunters and Swan Dive have been a humming hive of creative synergy. In fact, Wading In showed up in my life as a gift a mere 19 days after I set my intention for 2011! If that isn't affirming, I don't know what is! It's shown up in other ways too, but that's a story for another time.

Textures & Layers

Once

I've been working hard in the last week with textures. (Which I am sure you can tell by the number of image posts I've made lately.) I'm really loving this particular aspect of Swan Dive. It's the digital version of what I do on paper-the layering, blending, finding balance...all the things I love. I create entirely by instinct-I experiment with different elements until the piece feels right. If I don't like a choice I've made, I just hit the "undo" button and there's no harm done! Gotta love that!

I worked on Once last night. I created it from a vintage cabinet card in my vast collection and then pieced together five layers to create this image. I am especially pleased with how it came out. Today's Monday, so we've got a new technique to explore in class this week, but I'm finding it hard to move on. I want to dabble more in texture which is so satisfying.

Speaking of class, I wanted to let you know that Vivienne is having a giveaway on her blog. She's generously offering up TWO free spaces in her Wading In class, which starts soon. I can't say enough good things about the classes or Vivienne herself. If you'd like to read about my experience of Wading In, you can check out my Muse Interview.

To enter to win a spot in Wading In, click here.

The draw takes place at 8 a.m. PST on September 22nd, so hurry!

For A Rainy Day

 Broken Mirror

It's raining here on the west coast. Not necessarily a bad thing-it means whiling away the hours in the studio. This past week in Swan Dive, we've been working on textures. I like the way they can transform an image.

Picket Fence 

This fence runs down one side of my front drive. I love the yaw in it and the way the weather has aged it. You'd never guess it was in my yard-it looks like it could be at a beach somewhere. I am deeply in love with Bokeh!

Autumn Afternoon

I never get tired of taking photos of my beautiful boy. I actually got him to sit still for a moment so I could shoot this. He still thinks the camera's going to steal his soul, but he did what I asked because he loves me. I love the spirit of Labs-they are such noble dogs.

It's supposed to clear up later this afternoon. I hope so, because I want to get out with my Rebel and shoot! This is the time of year when I want to be outside all the time. The colour and light change from moment to moment and I don't miss a single second.

In This Moment

In This Moment

This is the beauty of today, on the west coast of Canada.

Truly, this is the season that stirs my soul and makes me glad to be alive.

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

 seeking the successive autumns.

 ~George Eliot

I wish you quiet moments in the weeks to come, to sit and watch the leaves change and to soak up the goodness of the season.

Reinventing the Wheel

Twilight

What I've learned this week in Swan Dive is that I can take the worst image and turn it into something worth keeping. This tree shot was utterly pathetic. I loved this tree because of how big it was and how the bare branches were reaching skyward. (It's a winter tree-the original photo was shot in January.) When I got home and uploaded it, I discovered that the photo was a hot mess. The colours were way off (over exposure anyone?) and since I'd shot it with a failing digital camera, there were not one but two smudges on the lense that ruined the photo-one at the top and one in the middle of the branches. ARGH!

Just to prove my point, here's a peek behind the curtain:

Normally, this would be one I'd delete.

Fast forward to yesterday when I was combing through photos, looking for images to work with. I spotted this one and figured I had nothing to lose. Fifteen minutes of concentrated effort and I salvaged it!

 Indiana Jones

I am also amused by taking photos that were perfectly fine and finding new ways to reinterpret them. The possibilities are endless.