DMF Week 8:Other/Photographer David Jensen

I used to buy this guy's photo cards when I was living in Eastern Oregon. I don't think the pictures I'm posting will do him justice, as he places them on his website at a small resolution with his copyright over them so people don't steal his images. I don't blame him. If the barn looks familiar, it's because I took a picture of the same barn & posted it a couple blogs ago. The other picture, an old schoolhouse, which used to be a land mark in Eastern Oregon, blew down in a storm in 1991. Confirmation of catching the moment in time as previously discussed. For more of David's work check out his website: http://www.djensenphotography.com/index.html

DMF: Week 7: Other/ My Aunt Bev's Painting

I can't remember when my aunt Beverly first started painting, but I imagine she started fairly young, perhaps not long after my mom did her first painting as a child. I do remember her taking a painting class some time back in the 90's. I asked her to email some pictures of her work, and she sent me this one... a painting of Zabriskie Point In Death Valley. I think it is beautiful! I love her work, and she has been long considered the artist in the family. She has this unique style of painting that makes you feel as if you are right there in the scene. I've always been drawn to more realistic art forms... I am just not much of an abstractionist. While I can appreciate Mondrian's flat colors & shapes or Pollock's action painting... that style just doesn't appeal to me. I can look at those types of paintings and think... "hmmm... interesting," but that's about it. I don't feel much about it. In contrast, when I look at my aunt's paintings, I feel drawn in... to the detail, the shadows & highlights, the depth, and the story behind the painting. Thanks Bev, for sending your painting... your work is amazing, and I am honored to feature it in this here blog o' mine.

Week Six: Other/My Mom the Artist

This painting hangs on the wall at my grandmother's house. I've always liked this painting. It was painted by my mom when she was somewhere between 12 & 14 years old. I think that in itself is amazing. I myself have never painted anything... (well finger paints in kindergarten, does that count?) There is a sense of feeling in this painting. It was based upon an old house that she used to walk by as a child, that she remembers as being empty, abandoned... and that comes across well in this painting. She believes it has long since been torn down, thus she captured as a child a moment in time that no longer exists. My mom, like me, has always been attracted to things that are old, that have a sense of history... things that are in stark contrast to our modern society of prefabrication... where everything looks the same. You know what I'm talking about- how you can go into most cities in the U.S. and they all have begun to look alike. Mom & I call it anytown U.S.A. We discuss how capturing a moment in time, whether it be through photography or other mediums is important, because it may soon be gone, never to be captured again. I wonder sometimes, if my mom hadn't started a family so early in life (she started a family just a few short years after this was painted,) if she would have pursued her artistic talents, in terms of painting or other mediums. Having to raise children at such a young age, I muse at all the personal interests she must have given up in order to do so. Yet, she never complained about this... and has managed to express her creativity throughout her life. Her life is a work of art. If you've ever eaten a meal that my mom has prepared... well let me tell you, that in itself is a work of art... she'll often spend all day in the kitchen preparing a meal, a labor of love that only a true artist knows. Her cactus garden, tended lovingly, also work of art... her photographs lining the walls... even the way she hangs stockings at Christmas is a work of art (I usually take a picture!) So, mom, this post is dedicated to you... thanks for sending a copy of your painting, and thanks for being the brilliant, inspiring, artistic woman that you are.

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 Photoshop Collage Project

Ok, here it is, my first ever photoshop collage. How do I feel about it? Well... I'm not so sure. If I look at it from the perspective that it is my first real photoshop project ever (except for using photo shop to lighten/darken/enhance overall images) I guess I did an o.k. job. If I compare it to other's work, then, well, it kinda looks like crap. But lets say I don't compare... then I think it's actually pretty cool. Especially given the fact that I didn't even own a computer until this year, and before that, really only used one to check emails, update resumes & such. I actually just recently learned how to cut & paste. So, this is all new to me. I used six different images to create this project, all from various hiking trips mainly in the Sangre de Christos mountain range. My background was my friend taking a nap near Wheeler Peak in Taos. I decided to cut out his head for whatever reason & put the head of Zozobra (a 50 foot puppet- more on that later) in it's place. I then put in several images of critters I've encountered on hikes... kind of encroaching on this sleeping hiker... like they are curious about what the hell he's doing there. It feels a little dreamscapey to me. Anyhow there it is. I think once I get past the frustrations of layering & using the tools it'll get much better... 'cause it was actually kinda fun!

Week Three: Other/ My Nephew's Photo Shop Project

For this week's "other" I chose an image my 16 year old nephew sent to me- a project he worked on in his high school graphic design class. (Graphic Design in high school- how cool is that?!) I chose this image for a few reasons. One is just that I thought it was cute! Another is just a commentary on how much things have changed in a relatively short period of time due to our technical advances. When I was in high school we took typing for God sakes! Oh yeah, and home ec (do they still even teach that?) so we could learn to be good little home makers I suppose. Anyhow, I always tell my nephew he is lucky to be learning these things at such a young age... that it will give him a jump start when he goes to college. When I told him I'm confused & having some difficulty learning photoshop & layers, he doesn't quite understand the problem, and says something like "Aunt Becky, it's really easy." To which I spout off something about young brains being like a sponge, how new concepts are much more easily absorbed when you're young, and something about my frontal lobe deficits. He just laughs. Another reason I chose this image is a lead into my next post, which will be my photoshop collage project. Maybe you can vote on which image you like better. Only kidding... it may hurt my emerging artist's self esteem if you vote for this one- so just disregard that last statement! A side note to my nephew Cody- great job! Keep up the good work, & don't let your new job detract from your school work. You have the rest of your life to work, and just a couple more years of free education!!!

Week Two: Other/mmmm..... cappucino!!!

This image was sent to me by a friend & fellow coffee lover. Notice how the lines on the window sill draw you into the subject... how the handle invites you to grasp it... how you long for the frothy foam on your upper lip...even the chosen mug- orange in color- suggests sweetness, desire & taste according to the Chakra system. Perhaps this is all just artspeak! Sometimes maybe we should just take things at face value, rather than trying to analyze it all. That sometimes drives me crazy in art. Maybe there is no hidden meaning. Perhaps, in this case, it is just a damn good cup o' joe!

Week Two: Personal Observation/ View from the Deck

After DMF lecture today I realized (after thinking i was on time for my blogging assignments) that I was actually behind on my postings! So, I figured I'd better get to it. My 2nd personal post is a photograph that I took the day I returned to Santa Fe, NM to work for the summer to fund my 2nd quarter at SOU (after a long educational hiatus.) After having several months off from work to devote time to making fun art projects, I have to admit it was a bit daunting to think of going back to full time work for the summer. However, after my 3 day drive, I was greeted by the most amazing thunderstorm! I love thunderstorms, thus, I love the summer weather in New Mexico. It can be clear as a bell, then moments later, the wind starts blowing in the storm. Flash flood warnings can arise in seconds... and there it is! Pouring rain, thunder that shakes the ground & lightning that cracks the sky wide open. As the storm dissipates, almost certainly, come the rainbows. It sounds cliche, but I just think rainbows are so beautiful... they make me feel good. Peaceful or something. Anyhow... if there was any consolation to knowing that I was about to be worked down to my bones...(I would later describe it as being tired down to my bone marrow) it was the fact that I got this amazing greeting from mother nature welcoming me back once again to "the city of faith." In many ways, that deck & those views consoled my spirit. And, actually, I think it is a darn good photo!

Week One: Observation Media/Other

A Tibetan exile resident in India is detained by police at a protest outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. Tibetans across the world are protesting the 60th anniversary of Communist rule in China.

(AP

I nabbed this photo & caption on yahoo's week in photos. Honestly, I have to admit I generally try to avoid politics and mass media. It's like, yeah, I know the world can be a pretty screwed up place... but I try to keep it from entering my life on a daily basis. I prefer not to as Jackson Browne would say "shoot up the evening news." I hate the fact that there are wars, greed, atrocities perpetuated on people, entire cultures, and the very earth that supports us all. It just makes me very sad is all, so I try my best to keep my head buried in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich.

But, I digress. This was one of the many images in regards to the 60th anniversary of Communist rule in China. I felt that the photographer captured this image perfectly. I'm sure most people are aware of the plight of the Tibetan people, so I won't go into all that here, except to say that in this photo, if you look at it closely, you can see that it it appears that this man is literally being torn apart. The dark patch of earth behind him struck me as grave like, and the man on the left with the baton... well, it looks like a shovel in which to bury him. Not to mention they are literally ripping his shoe & shirt off. They say a picture is worth a thousand words... and I would say this captures well the treatment of the Tibetan people by Communist China. I did however, find the text accompanying the photo interesting. This man, they claim, is being "detained."

o.k., I guess for next weeks post, I'll find something a bit more cheery & artsy....

Week One: Personal Observation

Huh. My first blog. I'm doing this blog for an entry level digital media class & I actually have no idea what I am doing, but it looks like I am doing it. I took these pictures on the ET highway in Nevada, on my 1,400 mile journey from Ashland, Oregon to Santa Fe, NM to work for the summer. I love road trips & seeing new parts of the country I haven't seen before. The ET highway is close to "the loneliest road" in America... though I really didn't find it lonely at all. I love stretches of open road, where there aren't many other people... just you, your car & and several hours of driving without cell service or gas stations. (Remember the days before cell phones? Road trips were so much more adventurous back then!) Hwy 375 skirts the infamous "area 51" and I admit, I was a bit dismayed that I didn't see any actual aliens or anything! (perhaps they only come out at night... like ghosts, bogey men and such.) I did, however stop in Rachel, Nevada.... (a place that could be missed if you blinked) to buy some alien paraphernalia and a cup of coffee. No one that worked there claimed to have witnessed any alien activity, either... perhaps they are in on the cover up. Ha! And that, folks, does it for my first blog.... until next time.