fade to black
June 06, 2016
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4 Comments
The expression "fade to black" has been in English usage for at least a century. The heavy metal band Metallica used it for a song title, while others seem to think it fits committing suicide or the end of life. In movies, directors would say "fade to black" to indicate the end of a movie or scene. In photography, fade to black is a beginning, a wa...
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Memorial Day
May 29, 2016
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Some think of Memorial Day as the official opening of summer, others know it only as a three day weekend and holiday from the work week. It was established in 1868 as Decoration Day (according to Wikipedia) by "the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois...as a time for the nation to decorate the g...
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eye of the photographer
May 23, 2016
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The complete title of an upcoming show is "Eye of the Photographer: Four Guys...Two Galleries...One Outstanding Exhibition". Opening this Saturday, the show runs through the 4th of July. The opening reception is a benefit for the Taos Center for the Arts. It will be housed in two galleries - Wilder Nightingale and David Anthony Fine Art - both on K...
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the green of spring
May 16, 2016
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Poets and writers have expressed their love for and the joy of spring in words flowery and rich, reflecting the time of new beginnings and hope. Spring can also be a mammoth photographic subject. There is so much happening. In the mountain west of the United States, spring takes its sweet time arriving, methodical in revealing its details. However,...
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San Francisco de Asis mission church
May 08, 2016
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On Friday morning in Taos, I met with Stacey Otte-Demangate, Executive Director of the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang, California. She and her husband were on an exploratory trip of northern New Mexico art and galleries. We discussed myriad things - which artists and photographers might have work that would highlight the mission of th...
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in northwest gardens
May 02, 2016
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At this time of year in the Pacific Northwest, as well as coastal California and Oregon, so many flowers, shrubs, and trees are in bloom and producing pollen that sidewalks, houses, and vehicles are covered with the magic gold dust. I had never seen rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom before in such masses. They were everywhere, in almost every gard...
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about the water
April 24, 2016
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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© Daryl A. Black