little surprises
April 17, 2017
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While California and Arizona are having epic wildflower blooms in all their eye-popping array of color, spring has a much slower reveal in the piñon/juniper forests of New Mexico. Occasionally, there will be glimpses of color, but in many cases, I will only notice a bloom when it appears at my feet. Much too frequently, I have stepped on flowers wh...
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creatures of convenience
April 10, 2017
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All creatures on this earth, including humans, are very practical. Our mission is, first and foremost survival, and all that entails. In order for birds to successfully breed, they need a nest. This week, we have watched chunks of wood flying from a hole in a piñon tree as nuthatches decorate the room, while robins yank mats of thyme from their roo...
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Gifts - chocolate and flowers
April 02, 2017
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Again, I ask your indulgence this spring season, as I follow my photographic obsession with flowers and food. In this case, both subjects were birthday gifts that just happened to become photography subjects. Regardless of where or when things enter my field of vision, they often become part of my practice of photography.
A single iris and a box o...
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a touch of white
March 27, 2017
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Not just a few times have I addressed the color white in this blog. It fascinates me. On the southwest corner of St. Francis and Cordova Road in Santa Fe, an explosion of white is happening right now on what are probably flowering fruit trees. Huge puffs of white hang on every branch. I don't know the variety of tree and don't have a clue who did t...
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welcoming spring
March 20, 2017
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Today is the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere. The beginning of spring. Some of you are still dealing with mountains of snow while others are seeing a very toasty summer in their future. Here on the mesa, much of the snow has disappeared, while grass is beginning to appear as are some very early wildflowers. But I thought featuring spring'...
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signs of spring
March 13, 2017
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I literally am unable to count how many times this month people have said to me variations of these questions or declaratives - "Is it spring yet?" "When is spring going to get here?" "I cannot wait for spring!" "I am so tired of winter." The equinox arrives next Monday, March 20, although meteorological spring (designated as March, April, and May)...
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art and advertising
March 06, 2017
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There are numerous serious, consequential, and frankly, dire things going on in this wonderful and wild world of ours, and the last thing I want to do is write a whiny blog post. That would be the height of absurdity. However, there is a subject with which artists and craftspeople have struggled since the beginning of time in those endeavors. A dir...
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photographic time travel
February 27, 2017
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My photography work this week (other than some fun shots at an anniversary celebration) has involved scanning family photographs from my husband, Fred's, family. In addition to black and white and color prints from the 1950s-1990s, there is an amazing variety of carte de visite (visiting card) and cabinet card photographs that, given their age, are...
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nature in the stock tank
February 20, 2017
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This has definitely been a week of change in nature. The days are becoming longer by minutes rather than seconds, birds are talking of spring, snow fell but so did rain, and the ice in our stock tank changed from a solid block to water with just pieces of ice floating in it. It became, once again, a place of photographic study. The morning and afte...
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the charm of the dirt road
February 13, 2017
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One of the most iconic elements of art in northern New Mexico is a meandering, lovely, gentle dirt road, lined with grass and wildflowers, and perhaps an old adobe house tucked in the background, beckoning the viewer to join in the scene. Dirt roads are indeed enticing, and many people insist on having dirt roads rather than pavement. Such a road i...
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wheels keep turning
February 06, 2017
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What a magnificent invention the wheel is! It has made life easier, brought many things closer, and enabled humans to travel farther and faster. As early as 6,000 B. C., brilliant individuals were creating wheels throughout the area we now know as the Middle East. The materials, colors, and embellishments have changed greatly throughout the millenn...
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The Year of the Rooster
January 30, 2017
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The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (春節 in traditional Chinese characters) began on Saturday, 28 January, and will last for fifteen days. 2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster, and millions of people around the globe are celebrating. According to the website "Your Chinese Astrologer", people born under this sign are beautiful, kind-hearted, hard...
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shaping
January 23, 2017
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Nature has a way of dealing with things. When water flows over a rock for millennia, it is shaped and smoothed and tumbled into certain shapes, revealing its deepest characteristics.
Wind, snow, frost, and footsteps also contribute to the shaping of materials. Although snow is more transient and different in its crystal structure than sand, th...
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studying winter
January 16, 2017
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At this time of year, particularly during a winter such as this when rain and snow and ice are frequent occurrences, my mind often turns to the Eskimos and their expansive vocabulary for snow. When a person spends serious time with a snow shovel or walking in the snow, it doesn't take long to realize why that is the case. Temperature, moisture cont...
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black and white and in between
January 10, 2017
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Being in the printing and advertising business, my father always had an odd assortment of cameras at his office and at home, including the first Polaroids, Brownies, and twin lens models. He was very open about me using them. Mostly for play, but this certainly piqued my interest at a relatively early age. My own first camera was a Kodak Instamatic...
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© Daryl A. Black