Grab a Cup of Coffee... It's a Long Story

Disclaimer: This is going to be one of those rambling posts~ of which I actually haven't done in quite some time... so If you came by to see some pretty pictures, you may as well just move on now... honest, I won't be offended! :) While I started this blog for a digital media class over a year ago... I have kept it going as I have found it fun to chronicle this Journey on the road of this chapter of life. Sometimes I actually entertain myself while writing posts, and I love checking in to read your comments & visit your blogs... some of you I feel I know through following your blogs (and one of you I have met!) You entertain me with your humor, contemplations, wisdom, encouraging words, art, adventures & photography! I also found keeping a blog was a fun way for family & friends to keep track of where I am & what I'm doing. So, here's what's new!


I'm sure you all figured now that I was finished with my assignment in New Mexico, that I was headed to San Diego to soak in the sun & warmth of my family! Well, yes... BUT! It has been a busy time! Here's how it went~ I finished my job on a friday... packed, cleaned & headed out the following monday. It took 2 full days to drive home... then I was inundated by the things I had put off or didn't have the time to do while working. 4 of my 6 days in San Diego were spent either at the dentist (fillings, root canals & such) or getting my car serviced (I did my last post from the dealership-free wifi & donuts!) or putting new tires on (need that good tread for winter driving!) Once that was taken care of, I did have a couple of days to visit with family, which is always nice! BUT! I did have some pressing issues to take care of. You see, I have decided to make a more permanent move to New Mexico... but most of my things are in storage in Southern Oregon. Well, actually my things are spread out in 3 states... I left some things at a friend's in Santa Fe, I have a closet full at my Mom's in San Diego... and a storage unit in Ashland. Yikes! So I made the drive to Ashland... another 2 days of driving... & put my things for sale on Craig's List. I listed every thing at a very good price~ so Goodbye Stuff! I really didn't have much of an attachment to my things, except of course for my art stuff & camping gear, so it was kinda fun selling it AND I made just enough money to cover my gas from San Diego to Ashland & back! Here's a pic of my storage about midway through the process~

It only took about 2 1/2 days to get rid of everything except what would fit in my little Corolla!

So~ I am all packed & ready to go! Except for one small detail...

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
38° F | 31° F	36° F | 31° F	36° F | 27° F	31° F | 18° F	31° F | 25° F
Snow 90% chance of precipitation	Snow Showers 70% chance of precipitation	Chance of Snow 50% chance of precipitation	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloud

Ashland doesn't generally get much snow here in the valley... but Siskiyou Pass on I-5 can get pretty nasty, and I don't care for driving in the snow! So, I'll be on the weather watch... looking for a window of opportunity, hoping I'll get back to Southern Cal in time for Thanksgiving! Until then, stay warm & stay tuned... perhaps they'll be a snowy post in the near future!

:)

Nature's Gifts

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has the power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."

~Eleonora Duse

The Spring quarter is officially over! Which means no more ceramics or printmaking posts for quite some time. I've enrolled for the fall quarter, but due to financial & other concerns (like is it the best use of my time & resources here on this planet? how will it benefit me in terms of making a living? do i really want to live here for 2 years? etc, etc.) that could all change by the time fall rolls around. SOOOOO! In the meantime, I am once again returning to my photography roots! (Ceramics & Photography being my two favorite artistic loves!) The skies were absolutely beautiful the other night & I was lucky enough to get a few good shots... so I thought I'd share. For those of you that know me... you know that in addition to my love of nature... I also LOVE a good quote! And there are so many wonderful, inspiring quotes out there... so it's highly likely that you will be seeing them paired with various photographs I'll be taking. I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful week, & thanks for stopping by!

:)

Chasing Rainbows

Sometimes its hard to get a good rainbow shot. But I never tire of trying, so when I see one I always try to head off in the right direction to capture it. Saw the tail end of one yesterday on my way home, but by the time I got turned around & headed in the right direction... it was gone. Dang it! This one was a bit more persistent, though a little faded by the time I got in the right place for a decent shot. Beautiful just the same... and within moments, gone.

Happy December!

Tomorrow's Dec. 1st, and this image looks like Christmas to me, so I figured what the heck, post it. I actually took this image in December a few years back in... you guessed it- Eastern Oregon. Beautiful country. This was the first time I ever lived where it gets so cold, your boogers freeze. I'm not kidding! I've determined they freeze around 5 degrees Fahrenheit... that's my best guess anyhow, though I would be open to scientific evidence that proves otherwise.

Images

Yep, out walkin' by the cemetery again today. The early morning fog seemed to add to the eerie feeling one can get from cemeteries. Even the trees looked a little spooky to me... bare of leaves & the twisting branches that seemed to reach down towards you.

Week Six: Personal Image/Eastern Oregon

Ok, so finally being done with various DMF assignments, I am back to the weekly posts. I enjoy doing these posts. I took this image several years ago in Eastern Oregon with my little digital point & shoot, again amazed by how good of a shot you can get with these little digital wonders. Now, I will generally use my SLR when shooting landscapes, but the point & shoot will do in a pinch. In terms of writing about the images, we were encouraged to first write down all the visual elements in the scene, which in this case would be:

mountains

barn

earth

sky

snow

field

shadow

horizon line

color

shape

shadows/highlights.

I have a somewhat difficult time with this. Not identifying the elements, but the analyzation of it all. Generally I shoot an image based on what I see, how it makes me feel emotionally, and what I hope to capture or convey, which more often than not is something that is felt, rather than analyzed. Although in daily life I analyze the crap out of everything, the decisions I make often boil down to an emotional element of how I feel, even if logically or analytically it doesn't make sense. So, in terms of analyzing visual elements to tell a story... well to me, the story is often already in my head when I look at the image. It feels like the listing of elements is somehow redundant or confusing... in my mind anyhow. I guess when I'm writing about an image, I am thinking about how it makes me feel emotionally, or what I was experiencing at that moment in time, or it may even trigger a line of thought that is not actually based on the image itself, such as the post on Personal Images/Oregon Coast, where I mused about digital versus film. So, with all that being said... I will keep it simple. Eastern Oregon is absolutely beautiful and I was lucky enough to live there for a few months while working on a travel assignment. I took many pictures while I was living there, but this was one of my favorites. The beauty of this place will always occupy a special place in my heart.

DMF Assignment: Picturing the Other

I wasn't really sure at first what I was going to do for this assignment. However, once I figured out how to do a slideshow for the alphabet soup assignment, I thought it would be fun to do a slideshow for this one. And what better place to capture fun (and sometimes scary) images of "the other" than the Ashland Halloween Parade. There are so many people out & about... nobody's paying attention to you & your camera which makes you a little more inconspicuous... and offers a great opportunity to catch candid moments. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, though it took some time to sort through images,edit them and put it all together. I think the 4 second display is a bit long- 2 or 3 may have been better, but I wanted the music to fit appropriately and I'm still exploring with the media.

Week Five: Personal Images/Cannon Beach, Oregon

Thought I'd post a series of photos for my week 5 post. Geez, are we already going into week 5? That is crazy. Anyhow, these photos were taken a couple of years ago at Cannon Beach with my first digital camera- a little Canon point & shoot with only a 4 MP capability. I have to admit, I was quite resistant to the whole digital thing- being from the old school of 35mm film. I loved shooting black & white film & spending hours in the darkroom dodging, burning... watching the images slowly develop before my eyes. Digital photography seemed to be cheating somehow. I've learned you can take some pretty crappy photos, but with the use of digital manipulation, you can end up with a pretty decent shot... which seems almost unfair. I guess I felt it took away from "the art" of photography. Back in the old days, you could do some pretty cool stuff too, but you really had to start with a decently exposed & composed image. It seemed there was more technique & skill involved. That being said... I have now learned to really be able to appreciate the technology of digital images. One thing I have to admit enjoying is the instant gratification. In the past, it took some time to develop your images, and you never really knew if you captured the moment the way you wanted until much later. With digital, the ability to see the image immediately lets you know if you need to change the angle slightly, zoom in/out and so forth, allowing you to get exactly the image you want without going through rolls of film, hoping to have captured that one good shot. Also, you can simply delete the ones that are no good, versus having to go through & store tons of negatives. I was also amazed at how decent some of these shots were that I took with the low MP point & shoot. I went back & forth with my little digital camera and my old 35mm for about a year before I invested in a digital SLR, which I absolutely love. Sadly, I haven't used my film camera much since that purchase. It is stored safely away with my negatives & slides from the past... stored away, but not forgotten. Looking forward to sometime in the future where I can slip away into a darkroom somewhere & into the nostalgia of film & delayed gratification.