about the water
April 24, 2016
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7 Comments
Despite the fact that there were four straight days of record high temperatures in the greater Seattle area last week, the weather has returned to a wetter pattern. That means rain and a substantial amount of it today. Speaking of water, The Schmidt family trademarked a slogan "It's the Water" in 1902 for their newly named brewing company, Olympia...
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out of town, as it were
April 18, 2016
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4 Comments
It is always an adventure blogging remotely, as I am this week. While taking care of my sister in the Seattle area, I have been wandering around shooting the many and wonderful blooming plants, shrubs and trees in the area. Whether I will be able to download the relatively raw files here is another question. So here I go! Photographs are in all the...
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This and that in Taos
April 10, 2016
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5 Comments
When a last minute drive presents itself, I take my cameras, regardless of destination. This week, the drive was normal, just to Taos, but I had time to wander around and do some photography. It was a "this and that" day, one of meandering with my cameras. A part of the photographic process, whether it produces a profound image, classic shot, or st...
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blossoms
April 04, 2016
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2 Comments
On mornings such as this one, I find myself grasping for the proper words to describe the feel and smell of the air. After several weeks of wind and capricious weather, the last two days have been eerily still and wonderful. Walking out this morning, there was just enough moisture and warmth to allow all growing things to shed their essences and fi...
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They are back
March 28, 2016
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Short of the hummingbirds, which usually arrive in the middle of April, most of the summer birds that frequent the high mesa are here in force, along with the frenetic activity that comes with mating, nest building, and breeding. It almost seems that they awoke, looked around, and said to themselves "Today is the day." Despite the fact that the jun...
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noble wood
March 21, 2016
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4 Comments
Wood is one of the oldest building materials used by humans. It is extremely strong, and, in the right climate, it is durable. To a photographer, it is bliss. The structure of the wood grain in planks, the many ways it is used in buildings, and the way it ages all make it photogenic. Although wood tends to rot more quickly in moist climates, and wa...
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chaos
March 14, 2016
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3 Comments
From 1995 through 1997, I had the privilege of photographing some of the great minds on the planet who were either in residence or were visiting scientists at the Santa Fe Institute. Whether the field of expertise was economics, chemistry, biology, math or any number of other subjects, these individuals were working on chaos theory. There are sever...
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inkling of spring
March 07, 2016
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The vernal equinox is more than two weeks away, and yet, in many parts of the country, spring has definitely arrived. Summer in some cases. But there are inklings of its arrival here on the mesa. Both mountain and western bluebirds are in abundance, some of the seasonal sparrows have arrived, and tiny, ground-hugging flowers are emerging from crack...
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photography and writing
February 28, 2016
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4 Comments
I have notebooks, binders, and folders full of pithy writing, varying in length from short quotations to pages of significance. Looking through one of those notebooks today, I realized exactly how much I had, and how wonderful these words on paper are. There are several quotes that seemingly apply to the wild times in which we are living. For insta...
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compression and tension
February 22, 2016
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4 Comments
As you might have noticed, my blogs are sometimes responses to bits and pieces of information that are of interest to me, or verbalized ponderings from friends or relatives. This week, my sister said she was wondering about the concepts of compression and tension in bridges. She is reading up on the subject for a trip she is taking later on in the...
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transitions
February 15, 2016
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2 Comments
Last week held massive high drama, including the death of Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia and subsequent idealogical warfare, as well as the multi-ring circus of the debates. It leaves the American populace (myself included) deeply unsettled about the future. The new normal is extremely abnormal. We are in a time of massive transition. Times of...
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Carnival
February 07, 2016
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3 Comments
Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, and Carnival celebrations are going on around the world this week, ending as the day shifts from Tuesday to Wednesday and to the beginning of Lent in the Christian religion. It is a time of partying and insanity, when almost all restrictions and mores are tossed aside. The images included here are from a Car...
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Glass: its own world
February 01, 2016
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4 Comments
When a blog reader mentions a specific area of art or photography that she or he likes, I think about that and, if possible, try to do a specific blog on the subject. Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when my sister-in-law said that the "fantasty in ice" images from a previous blog reminded her of glass. As it happens, she loves glass in any...
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backdrops
January 25, 2016
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2 Comments
One of the hazards but also one of the great joys of being a photographer is an obsession with everything visual. I cannot open a magazine or book without my eyes settling on an advertisement or photograph - where it was taken, the set-up, the objects or people used, the light, the backdrop. It is fascinating. The number of people wondering around...
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fantasy in ice
January 18, 2016
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7 Comments
"Diopter: a unit of measurement of the optical power of a lens or curved mirror." Thank you, Wikipedia, and happy 15th birthday! If you do not have 20/20 vision, chances are you have heard an optometrist say "Is this better or this? Can you see better here or here? The last one or this one?" You get the idea. On many digital cameras, simplified dio...
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© Daryl A. Black