triptych # 3 ~ dreams of yesteryear

Lake Champlain / Vermont / snow squall ~ view from Peru, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenThere's rarely a day which goes by during which I don't pine for making pictures with my Bronica and color negative film.

However, soon after that somewhat nostalgia induced desire pops into my head, I remember things like finding a source for dependable high quality film processing (not to mention a film source), film and processing $$$$, running to the post office, Kodak's bankruptcy, dust / film scratches, scanning, and, did I mention dust and film scratches?

It's at that point that my brain overrules my heart and I return to the world of digital picture making.

diptych # 11 (ku # 1214-15) ~ it's coming sooner or later

Whiteface • Au Sable River / Whiteface ~ near Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenToday was one of those days when it tried like hell to snow, succeeding at high elevations - witness the snow on the Whiteface Mountain ski trails - but only occasional light flurries at lower elevations.

ku # 1211 ~ it snowed

A sign of things to come ~ Lake Placid / High Peaks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenWe've got snow at higher elevations.

FYI, a 4 frame stitch.

civilized ku # 2365 / ku # 1201-10 (rain # 45-55) ~ death, decay, and dormancy - pt. II

Autumn color # 12 ~ Jay, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 13 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 14 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 15 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 16 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 17 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 18 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 19 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 20 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 21 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 22 • click to embiggenAs promised, here's the rest of the rainy day Autumn Color pictures.

I am curious to know, of the all the pictures from yesterday's and today's entries, which picture do you think is most Autumn color cliché-like and, conversely, which one is the least cliché-like? As always comments are appreciated.

civilized ku # 2364 / ku # 1191-1200 (rain # 34-44) ~ death, decay, and dormancy

Autumn color # 1 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 2 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 3 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 4 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 5 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 6 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 7 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 8 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 9 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 10 • click to embiggen
Autumn color # 11 • click to embiggenIf I could be accused of "chasing the light", it would be attributable to the fact that there is nothing like a rainy day to get me out and about in pursuit of picture making. Although, truth be told, it's not the light to be had on a rainy that draws me out, it's the complete atmospheric package which tickles my eye and sensibilities.

The light on a rainy day is rather flat and not very conducive to rendering the features / details of the landscape. However, the rain itself transforms the landscape with a fine mist (during a heavy downpour, not so fine), occasional fog, and a saturating effect on everything it touches so that the colors of the landscape, natural and man-made, become deep/dark, yet muted. Plain and simple, I just like the way things look on a rainy day.

That written, I mentioned in today's earlier entry that I was out and about with the intention of making pictures of Autumn which avoided the generic screaming fall foliage genre. Picturing in the rain certainly provides a good head start on that objective inasmuch as it stands diametrically opposed to the ubiquitous sunny Autumn day pictures which we all know and love(?). But that's not the whole of it.

While most think of Autumn as a rather celebrate-the-color season, the fact remains that Autumn is as much about death and decay as it is about riotous color. Beneath the color, there is a natural process of shutting things down and the beginning of a slow slide into dormancy and it is that aspect of Autumn which I appreciate the most. IMO, it's just as joyous as the radiant color of Autumn, simply because it's all part of the wonder of life.

At least that's how I see and picture it.

FYI, this entry is comprised of only half of the pictures I made during my recent out-and-abouting. I'll post the other half tomorrow.

FYI # 2, for those of you interested in such things, unlike my normal / regular picturing M.O., a fairly inordinate (for me) number of these pictures - #s 1, 5, 7, 9, and 10 - were made using my Zuiko 50-200mm f2.8/3.5 lens. This lens is anything but small so mounting it on any of my E-Px cameras results in a look akin to the tail wagging the dog. Fortunately, the lens has a rotating tripod mount collar so I mount the lens to the tripod, not the camera. BTW, it's one of sharpest lenses (at all focal lengths) I have ever owned. And, picturing in the rain wise, it's also sealed against dust and moisture.

ku # 1186-90 ~ bite sized Autumn color

Fall color # 1 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Fall color # 2 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Fall color # 3 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Fall color # 4 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Fall color # 4 ~ in the vicinity of Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenOn yesterday's entry, ku # 1185, Mary Dennis wrote (in part):

...A perfect example, in my opinion, of an effective way to document the beauty of the changing season. It hits me in the gut but doesn't knock me in the head and render me senseless with blazing, over-the-top saturation...

My response: Mary, thanks for the comment and, somewhat needless to write, I agree with your opinion. In that spirit, while I was out and about yesterday afternoon, I pictured a few more bite-sized, saturation content wise, Autumn pictures.

ku # 1185 ~ real sharing, not that virtual crap

Tree ~ Windham, NY - in the Catskill Park • click to embiggenWhile playing a round of golf - part of the wife's conference program - during my visit to the Catskills, one of my playing partners (a female lawyer) asked what I do. I mentioned I did this, that, and the other thing, with the other thing being Art / Picture Making.

Her immediate response was to state that she too is an artist who works in oils. She then inquired as to what kind of pictures I make. I tried to explain as best I could and asked her if she would like to view my portfolios (the photo print books), which I just happened to have with me on the trip. Answering in the affirmative, we made plans to get together later in the day and, upon viewing the portfolio books, she was very impressed with the work and especially so with the quality of the books.

I don't mention this as a self-aggrandizing bit of self promotion but rather to once again encourage those of you who are serious about your picture making to make one of these books. The printed quality of these books, as long as you have your picture processing act together, is nothing short of outstanding. And, in my experience, the reaction to viewing them - characteristics of the pictured referents aside - is also nothing short of being very impressed.

FYI, when I write, if you "are serious about your picture making", what I mean to imply is, if you're not sharing your pictures with others in some form of print, you are less than serious about your picture making, or, at the very least, having only half the fun.

IMO, one of the best ways to grow as a picture maker* is by displaying to others prints of your pictures. In doing so, you are required to: a) look at and edit your work in a very critical manner, and, b) be driven to make the best possible prints, which, in the digital picture making era, is all about image file processing.

IMO, letting it all hang out, picture making / print making wise, is a great incentive to improve and grow in your picturing endeavors. Although, I suspect for many, that idea seems both daunting and intimidating.

However, my advise is to suck it up and just do it. The more you do it, the better you will get.

*in addition to learning about the history of the medium and its practitioners, looking at lots of pictures made by others (that is, actual prints in exhibitions, books, and folios), and getting inside your own head.

ku # 1177-81 ~ the "little Adirondacks"

On the water at sunset ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Thicket / sunset ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Mist / sunrise ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Shoreline / sunrise ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Dock / sunrise ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenThe wife and I are heading out for the weekend to New York State's other state forest, the Catskill Mountains.

The Catskill Mountains are often referred to as the "little Adirondacks" inasmuch as, like the Adirondacks, it is a state forest with some protected land, a bit of protected wilderness, some mountains / streams/ rivers / lakes, with a sprinkling of small villages / hamlets thrown in for good measure. Unlike the Adirondacks, it a good bit smaller in all of the aforementioned attributes and, in large part, more developed. It should come as no surprise, development wise, since its proximity to NYC has made the Catskills a kind of playground for the big city dwellers.

All told, the Catskills are nice enough, but they ain't no Adirondacks.

In any event, fall color is much in event - measuring 35-50% of peak color (dependent upon elevation) - so I expect to see a fair number of leaf peepers out and about, engaged in their annual orgasmic / feverish fall color picturing mode. Naturally, I do my best to avoid falling into that picture making trap.