Week #51

Winter Tree With Bird

This week, on December 21st, we will experience the winter solstice. The winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun and is an important turning point in both the natural and spiritual world. It marks the shortest day when the hours of daylight are at their least. But it also starts the increase in the hours of daylight and darkness becomes ascendent once more.

The natural world shares this reminder to all of us - light will always come back to us and illuminate even the darkest night.

Week #50

Don't Let the Rain Stop You

"Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."

Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Week #49

Young Boy in Chinatown

Do you have the patience to wait till the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

Lao-Tau - from the Tao the Ching

I often don't have the patience to wait " to the mud settles" but what I have found is that when I do, when I can be centered and mindful and fully present, wonderful images appear. This young boys face reached out to me through the window and caught my heart first and then my eye.

Week #48

Man Feeding the Birds

"At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect - a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known."

Robert Adams - Why People Photograph

Week #47

San Francisco - Chinatown

Here is another image from my San Francisco street photography class with Valerie Jardin. I usually shoot my street photography in black and white, mostly because I love the simplicity it brings to the image. Sometimes though the image you are trying to capture calls for the complexity of color. That's when I turn to the classic chrome setting on my camera. This was one of those times.  Using color helps to tell the story of this woman and the world that surrounds her.

See you on the streets!

Week #46

I Feel The Same Way

Friday I was off of work and treated myself to a day long street photography class in San Francisco. Once again, I had the pleasure of roaming the streets with Valerie Jardin and once again, I had the opportunity to spend the day with nine other creative and inspiring students. Spending the day connecting to people and our shared humanity helped bring joy back to my heart. I hope you find time this week to honor the people and pursuits that bring you joy and peace.

Week #45

The Blacksmith

I've been spending the weekend up in the Sierra foothills vacationing with family. On Friday we headed off to Columbia State Park. This is an old historical town that has buildings set up to show how life was in the mid to late 1800's in California. One of the living history exhibits was this blacksmith. He kindly let me hang around taking his picture. It's wonderful to see that some of the old crafts still flourish.

Week #44

After the Rain

"Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more."

Vincent Van Gogh

Week #43

Light On The Wall

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever.....It remembers the little things, long after we have forgotten everything."

Aaron Siskind

Week #42

Street Reflection

Here is another shot from my Paris workshop. Though street photography usually implies that there are people included in the image, there are times when the urban landscape is enough in and of itself. Here the street had just been washed down leaving this wonderful puddle of water to reflect back the street scene. 

Week #41

Walking to the Louvre

I've just been back home for a few days from Paris but the sights and sounds of the city are still fresh in my heart. What brought me to the City of Lights was a Street Photography workshop taught by Valerie Jardin. What I left Paris with is a new love for this city and most of all for street photography.

We explored many of the iconic sites of the city but Valerie always urged us to try to look in fresh ways, capturing the city as an urban landscape with the human element. This day we were walking into the courtyard of the Louvre. Hopefully I was successful capturing the sense of place but in a new way.

Valerie is a gifted teacher and I would recommend anyone who wishes to explore this area of photography to sign up for one of her workshops. As an extra bonus, the participants are also amazing and fun people that just add to a great experience.

See you on the street! 

Week #39

 Waiting For Time

Today was the first day of our Paris Photography workshop with Valerie Jardin. What a great group of participants and of course how wonderful to spend a week learning from one of the best Street Photographers in the world. Stayed tuned for more images from my week in Paris.

Week #38

My Old Camera Bag

Throughout the summer we have been cleaning out the garage and unearthing wonderful treasures from the past. Oh sure, 90% of what we have found is trash but oh the 10% that isn't! Several weeks ago I came home from work and found sitting in the living room my old leather camera bag from when I was a kid. Seeing that bag brought back so many memories of family vacations and my dad. 

My dad was the first person who got me interested in photography. He had a serious case of what we now call GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome. He often took me with him on Saturday mornings to the local camera shop to look at new cameras and talk with the staff there about all things gear. He made sure that I always had a camera and would often joke that I got better shots on vacation with my simple Kodak then he did with all of his fancy gear. My Dad has been gone for over 30 years so I never got to share with him how that early seed of interest he planted in me those many years ago has finally blossomed into my passion. Every time I look at my old camera bag I'll remember the person who sent me down this path.

Week #37

In My Backyard Garden

" When people ask me what the secret is to making good photographs, I say go to the place you know, love and have passion for. It can be as simple as your backyard."

Jim Brandenburg

Week #35

Side by Side

"Photography is the power of observation not the application of technology."

Ken Rockwell

In a few weeks I will be in Paris taking a week long street photography course with Valerie Jardin. In preparation, I thought I would take my camera with me yesterday as I went out to our local library. One of the concepts that I am working with is what makes an interesting image. There are always people out in the streets, but how do you capture a moment that really expresses the human condition? 

Week #34

The Mar Ray Motel

"No matter how slow the film, spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer it has chosen."

Minor White

I was driving to work one day and as I made my way down Railroad Avenue in the slow school traffic I looked up and saw this shot. I was stopped at a red light so I pulled out my camera and took the picture through the windshield. There is something about the sign for the Mar Ray Motel that always catches my eye.

Week #31

Summer At The Salon

This week, while making a visit to my local nail salon, I had the opportunity to take several pictures of Summer Lee as she worked her magic on my nails. Summer is a beautiful and talented young woman and I deeply appreciate her willingness to let me take multiple images of her while we were together. I hope these images capture her beauty and uniqueness. 

"Learning to identify the heart of your image and then isolate it is key to communicating clearly and compellingly."

David duChemin - Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision

Week #24

Kicking Back On Sunday Morning

This was the last week of my Nalanda Miksang Level II class. In our final week we looked at people and other sentient beings. Here I captured the play of light on the legs - lots of lines and colors.

I have so enjoyed the class and have learned a lot along the way. I want to thank  Miriam Hall and my fellow classmates who shared the journey with me. Miriam has once again created a space to learn, reflect, and grow. Naland Miksang is a practice that will continue to influence my photography and life as I move forward.

Week #23

Impressions

To see we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.

Claude Monet

This week in class we looked at Monet and Impressionism in the context of looking at the phenomenal world as the way of the contemplative mind. We studied Monet and the way he used light, water, and nature to capture the the contemplative aesthetic. Monet had a fascination with water and it's reflective properties. My guiding questions for this week was - how does water reflect the world around me and in my photography practice, how does my mind reflect the images I take?

Week #22

Spring Flowers

"When we see things as they are, they make sense to us: the way leaves move when they are blown by the wind, the way rocks get wet when there are snowflakes sitting on them. We see how things display their harmony and their chaos at the same time. So we are never limited to beauty alone, but we appreciate all sides of reality properly."

Chogyam Trungpa - Shambhala The Sacred Path of the Warrior