Pix

More Lily Pads

2010-09-27T11:33:00.001-04:00

lily_pads_2_2010
Originally uploaded by postporterphotoworks

I am discovering all the things one can do with Photoshop. It's opening up a completely new way of creating for me!

Lily Pads & Textures

2010-09-27T07:04:00.001-04:00

lily_pads
Originally uploaded by postporterphotoworks

I've started working with adding textures to some old as well as new images I've been working on.

Photos Now Live on a Houseboat!

2010-07-29T07:59:00.000-04:00

I recently received an Etsy order for two of my seascapes. When I emailed the buyer and asked her how she found out about me she said she lived on a houseboat and was looking for abstract images of the ocean. I love the idea that these images have made their way back to the sea! Leslie blogs about houseboats and featured the photos she purchased here! Thanks Leslie!

Submissions to Shots Magazine

2010-07-19T14:31:00.002-04:00

Shots Magazine has a call for submissions on the subject children. Here are the two images I'm submitting.

Lessons of the Coyote

2010-07-12T08:41:00.000-04:00

What was once a coyote has turned into a red fox. We made a positive id of the animal after getting a better look at it. Boo is back outside. Actually we let her out before we knew it was a fox. What I learned is that even though the decision may be a difficult one, if you love something you must let it go. Even if it means having that someone or something in your life for a shorter time you can not hold it back from it's true nature.

Paradise Lost

2010-06-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

Everything has changed. All in the blink of an eye. We've had 4 sightings of a coyote in the neighborhood, twice in our backyard. Tom and I have had to make decisions. Both of our cats spend time outdoors, Spooky lives outside, he was feral when he showed up and Boo has been in and out for as long as we have had her. She is miserable. By trying to save her life I have taken her life away from her by keeping her inside. I'm miserable too. I have had to keep other cats inside for various reasons, moving to an apartment mainly, and never was bothered by it. For some reason this one is breaking my heart. I look outside and it all looks different. What was once a bucolic scene, a quiet but lively neighborhood with the sounds of birds, kids and dogs, is now a place for the hunter. I'm not worried about myself but the animals that I am a guardian too. We are hoping for the best for Spooky. He would never be able to live inside and having been feral and outside his entire life we hope he's got the sense and the senses to stay safe. Boo is the one we worry about. She's 100% sweet as sugar and to not have her come home one night would set my mind into a tailspin. The images that would come to me would be unbearable. I've been doing a lot of crying and trying to adjust to this new version of life. Seems silly doesn't it when there are people in the Gulf of Mexico who have lost everything and animals are dying daily. I suppose it's what's happening in your own little world that makes the greatest impact. A new neighbor brought chickens with them and there is now one left. Maybe when the chickens are all gone the coyote will leave and life will go back to the way it was. Or maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Motivation

2010-06-10T12:17:00.004-04:00

I've been having a really hard time getting motivated today. Stayed in bed till 8:30 (usually up around 6), wasted time playing stupid computer games and should have gotten my arse up and out with Anita. It's cloudy and cool today and I just have felt like curling up in bed with a good book. I did manage to do something I've been thinking about for awhile and that is revisiting a photo I took of my mom a couple of years ago. Mom has Alzheimer's and this was taken while she could still walk and communicate. She actually asked me to take this picture of her and I'm glad I did. I have not felt comfortable taking her picture since and I'm not sure why. Maybe I haven't wanted to intrude on her privacy, she can no longer communicate with us and so can not tell me if it's okay or not. But the more I have thought about it there are pictures of her I want for myself. Pictures of her hands, the hands that raised me, her shoulders, the ones I cried on as a kid. I'm realizing there are ways I could photograph her and still respect her dignity. This image was originally shot in color but I prefer it in black and white. In a previous version I had cropped in a bit closer an applied a "lensbaby" effect where everything was blurred except her face. This is a more true representation of the scene. Mom made the doll she is holding, when she asked me to photograph her she asked that it be with this doll. Must be something that she is particularly proud of.

Being True to Ones Self

2010-06-08T07:37:00.005-04:00

Recently a close photographer friend asked me if I had been blogging and I replied, "no". She is someone whose work and opinion I hold in high regard. It was because of her urging that I went to a daylong seminar given by the Greater Hartford Arts Council on marketing yourself as an artist. I attended two seminars, one regarding how to write your artist statement and the other on social networking. For a couple of weeks after I felt that I had obtained some good information but didn't really think too much about it. Then something happened. I started thinking about how I would write my artist statement and my world turned upside down. I had to think about why I was taking photographs. I had to start digging deep to discover that answer. What I realized and had sort of known for a long time was that I was highly influenced by other photographers work that I liked. If I saw a photo and wished I had taken it I would try to recreate it or learn their style. It was derivative not genuine. It was not about capturing something that resonated with my personal experience. Many of my current images are"pretty" but lacking in some sort of emotional pull. Yes, I want the photograph to be a beautiful thing but not necessarily of a beautiful thing. That is the challenge. My goal now is to be as true to myself as I can possibly be. Learn about myself and value my experience. Clear my head and let the images come from deep inside.

The Fall of Film?

2010-05-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

A fellow photographer friend, who also shoots film, recently posted a link on Facebook to the SFMOMA Blog that got my attention. Apparently Kodak is planning to stop production of their low speed black & white motion picture film, Plus-X, in both Negative and Reversal forms. The author of the blog post makes some very good points as to why film should always remain an option for serious photographers. I would encourage anyone who appreciates good photography to sign the petition!

http://blog.sfmoma.org/2010/05/celluloid-lovers-alert-save-plus-x-2/

I would also suggest taking a look at the work of Nick Brandt, a photographer still using medium format film while shooting in the wilds of Africa. His techniques are not very practical but his results are nothing short of stunning.

An Artist I found on Etsy!

2010-05-03T13:34:00.013-04:00

I like this woman's work a lot and wanted to share it. She is originally from Russia now living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her name is Helen Janow Miqueo and she has developed an interesting technique called Unique Acrylic Pouring Technique™. In Helen's own words, "it animates my explorations of Abstract
Expressionism. This technique comes to life when the acrylic paint is mixed with water and, literally, poured onto the canvas, creating free-flowing shapes and forms." You can watch her video demonstration on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kuliantxo
Helen's Etsy shop can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/hjmart

Holga Show at Photomedia Center

2009-12-23T08:18:00.002-05:00

My image "Teeth" was chosen to be included in the current Holga Show at the Photomedia Center in Erie, PA. It will also become part of their permanent collection!

Exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art

2009-08-28T22:51:00.002-04:00

Went to see this exhibit, thank goodness, before it closes on Sept. 6! If you are in the area of New Britain, CT go check it out before it's gone. The Christopher Hyland Collection of Photography, By Way of These Eyes: The Sublime, Exotic and Familiar. "Expanding across various genres such as nudes, landscapes and self-portraits, the Hyland Collection includes work by artists Herb Ritts, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sally Mann, Edward Weston, John Dugdale and Edward Steichen, among many others. The photography reflects life and speaks to the issues, themes, and social events that Hyland feels are noteworthy to society; it will display and represent aspects of culture and showcase how individuals behave in their differing lives. "

It was truly inspiring.

http://www.nbmaa.org/

More new images!

2009-08-28T22:47:00.003-04:00

Some new images uploaded to our Flickr page. More taken with the Holga and 5x magnifying glass!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/postporterphotoworks/

Two Friends & Favorite Artists

2009-08-03T07:49:00.007-04:00

Through the magic of Facebook I've reconnected with two women friends from my days at the Dutch Boy Paint Factory lofts in Oakland. While there Tom and I collected amazing work by both of them. They are gifted women making incredible things and if I had all the money in the world I would support them, buy everything they have created and continue to buy more! Please take a look at their sites and support them if you can!

Zhenne Wood

Chandra Garsson

Holgapalooza!

2009-07-31T16:10:00.004-04:00

Holgapolooza is an annual photo contest and celebration of the Holga camera.

Each year from July to September, photographers from around the world are encouraged to participate in an international contest featuring Holga photography hosted by Light Leaks Magazine and Toycamera.com.

I'm entering this year with these images. Wish me luck!

Bleeding Heart

2009-06-05T09:25:00.005-04:00

Here's another from my first rolls shoot with the new magnifying glass. This is a small Bleeding Heart we have in the garden. It's leaves are frillier than our other Bleeding Hearts and it's much more dainty!

Wood Lily Under the Magnifying Glass

2009-06-03T07:13:00.007-04:00

Here's four new images of a Wood Lily that grows in the garden in the early spring. Flowers are gone now. I had to replace my old magnifying glass that I was using with my Holga to get close up shots because I did a stupid thing! It got tape goo on it and I tried to clean it off. Never clean a plastic lens with a scrubby from the kitchen! So I had to go in search of a new magnifier. My old one was a 3x and I wanted to try to get even closer. I found a 5x at Rite Aid and these are some of the first shot's with it. Looking forward to using it more this summer in the garden. Would love some comments on your favorite as I'm trying to decide which one or two to offer on Etsy!

The Beginning

2009-04-14T08:56:00.007-04:00

I wasn't sure how to start this blog but then I received this link to an incredible website. http://www.dayswithmyfather.com/#/0 You have to position your mouse at the bottom of the picture to click to the next slide. I have never been comfortable photographing people unless they specifically asked me to. I've never been comfortable photographing my family in particular. I always felt like the camera between us was somehow an invasion of privacy. It might capture things I didn't want to see. This site blew me away. I found it extremely intimate, powerful and above all, dignified.
I happened to be on my way to visiting my family when I received this link and decided that maybe I would make a few pictures of the "things" that surround my family these days. Mom is about to be 83, she is immobile due to advanced artheritis in both her hip and knee. She is not a candidate for surgery as she is also in an advanced state of Alzheimer's Disease. Rehab after surgery just is not an option and because of that surgery could make the situation worse. So she is moved around with two different lift assists. One to get her in and out of her chairs and one to get her to bed. This is the one the aides use to get her into bed.

It's strange being surrounded by different contraptions, lift assists, hospital beds, wheel chairs, etc. We are truly lucky, though, that we are able to have help so that Mom can stay at home.