school day

Dec 17, 04
9 a.m. cold, sunny, fog clearing



Pulling out of the driveway, to take the kids to school - I liked the way the light was hitting and the tree and fallen leaves framed the garage of Lois' house. First exposure wasn't enough to catch what I saw - my mental light meter is still learning.

noonish
Gibson Ranch
sunny - cold - slight breeze



Out with Ramona - dead tree catches my eye right away - first shot overexposed, come in closer to try again - cloud filter pulls the sky down nicely. Takes the coated prints so long to dry in the cold.


Pair of young trees along the bridle path - I think of them as two sisters. Funny how often I think of trees as feminine, something nurturing about them. Later Ramona says this shot reminds her of the Wizard of Oz, we are certainly not in Kansas anymore... but maybe I found two sisters in the Land of Oz.


Dry Creek, running swift and deep. We see a big snowy egret fly down the creek, land on a beach, but he's too skittish to let us get close enough for a shot and he flies down the creek, then doubles back again.


The path before us, looking into the low winter sun, well above the creek bed.

A road not taken -

tree hunting

Dec 11, 04
midday
Carlson Ridge Evergreens Christmas Tree Farm
sunny, clear, warm - above the fog of the valley




Great day to find a tree - plenty of people have peeled off outer layers until only t-shirts are left.

Dec 9, 2004

Dec 9, 2004
9 a.m.
at home
Sunny and bright, almost warm, quite a change from the past few days that have been blustery, cold and wet.

Coming back to the house after dropping off the kids for school, I notice how nice the light hits my unkempt garden. So I start my day with art.

After noon, Antelope Community Park -

The joys of an over-exposed image! I can't believe how much all of my camera paranoia has gripped me, maybe I can begin to shake it off now.

Now I'm sitting on a log in the sun - better than the bench in the shade - off the path to the far right of the photo above.

Birds chirp, chick, tweet, whistle, squeak in the trees around me yet remain largley unseen. Searching with my eyes I've spotted a magpie, scrub jay, a couple blackbirds and plenty of unidentified movement among the oak leaves. I hope they all stick around once the park is "developed." A bond measure for the desperately-needed new high school finally passed, and is slated for the adjacent property. There are plans for ball fields and skateparks and parking lots on this land, I pray they do it wisely.

Lovely little toadstools I came across - nearly stood on my head to get this shot, or so it felt.

The little toadstools make a contrast with the oaks -

Now a tiny beetle lands on my page, tries to take back off, flops back onto the page several times, then finally succeeds in flying away. Sometimes I feel like the toadstool in the shadow of mighty oaks or like a tiny beetle that can't manage to even take flight. At least I know that as long as I'm on God's page, I'm in the right place - (oh Lord, that sounds so corny!)



Meandering around, I come on this oak - the image I saw so much grander than this and if I were so inclined I could work it again to show you - but as I came closer there was a little ladder that caught my eye. I had been thinking that I didn't need to hide the fact that this lovely tree lives in suburbia, like I'd done in images before, and then I truly saw the heart of the matter.

This tree had been the source of dreams and great adventures. What youngsters, maybe aided by an elder, had been lured into the arms of this lovely giant? What secrets have been shared here? What hopes - what dreams - or naughty schemes? No matter, this tree would not have lived such a social life out far in untouched wilderness, and we would not have enjoyed it so.

Then, up farther, more obscure among the branches and golden leaves, a newer home of a different creature, a large nest made of twigs. Whose nest exactly, I'm not sure, but it doesn't really matter. This is nearly a magical place where people and animals have come together.

I hear too much about the evils of suburbia and sprawl and our car culture but it isn't all that bad. Some of us enjoy more space and less urban living where we can breathe a little easier. And just sit and listen to the birds.

clear skies

Dec 1, 04
1:30 p.m. - between 2nd grade classes
Kohler School
sunny, clear skies, cool, light breeze

Earlier several crows and a couple seagulls were feasting on lunch leftovers, as well were a couple magpies. Now a small sparrow chirps and flits between branches in the trees.

The ground is damp but not soggy, leaves that have fallen are nearly everywhere but on the trees. The branches overhead are nearly bare and a magpie comes to visit briefly then flies off again.

late november

Nov 29, 04
11:15 a.m.
Sunny, clear, cold - out in backyard

Just wanted to see if I could get a good exposure in full sunlight and the old 180 seems to oblige just fine, guess I'm just being paranoid.

Late November finds that the garden is weedy and the pool is dirty...

dark

nov 27, 04
nearly 4 p.m.
It's been too long - I've let other things keep me away while the camera calls. Busy with teaching, show and just life.
very windy outside
blew away the clouds that rained all night
The dark wet garden is in desperate need of weeding.

I'm longing to get away, escape into the landscape for just an hour even. Today a couple quick shots will have to do.

Darker than it seems it should be & I have a hard time trusting my camera - maybe it's me - this image certainly conveys a feeling, though.

Sunlit tops of trees and jay in the top of plum tree - again darker than it should be -

tackling the problem

Oct 31, 04
afternoon

At long last I decide to tackle this problem. So many other things (paying jobs, getting sick, hanging shows...) have gotten in the way, demanded my time.


I begin by loading film that I know is good in my camera (this all with my new-old Polaroid 180.)

First two shots in shade fine, then shots in sun not fine (not putting all in this book.)I guess it could be light leaks, cracks in the bellows, so I try taping some of the bigger looking cracks to see if it makes any difference.

It does! Back in to tape up all edges with the black electricians tape - and shoot more film to test.

In all, I run over a dozen more peices of film through the camera, turning it, using different f-stops, shutter speeds and focal lengths to test all I can - all with clean results.

I had first guessed these marks were light leaks, but couldn't quite believe it.

They weren't totally consistent, they hadn't been there from the start, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.

I hadn't seen any cracks in the bellows when I first got the camera, but as I used it more, it began to crack, small leaks became bigger.

Changing my focus changed where the light leaks were, as focus expands or contracts the bellows. The other thing that tricked me is that at least one of my student cameras began to show the same light marks, at the same time as I had gotten & was using a batch of film slightly beaten up in transit.

Now I realize that I need to go through all my student cameras and patch some bellows! At least I can relax and get back to making art.

parking

Oct 6, 04
11 a.m. - noonish
Capital Park

Out with Ramona - helping her to learn a little about photography - very distracted by problems with my 180 camera -



1ish Land Park



Thinking this is a film problem, new pack seems all right...

until I try again - very distressing.

family day

September 26, 2004
4 p.m.
warm, clear skies, cool in Grandma & Grandpa's backyard

End of a family day, celebrating G & G's 65th weeding anniversary (in two days.)

Just about time to leave, kids in the car in the driveway, adults working on good-byes, when suddenly the car begins a slow roll backwards. A quick jump in and stomp on the brakes stops it - it didn't have the parking brake full on nor the stick in gear - but now I'm all full of adrenaline and need to quiet myself down before driving home. Someone suggests a walk out back and so we all head in that direction.

My grandparents' backyard has always been a special retreat over the years. Fond memories of games with cousins and brothers, egghunts and a swingset that could launch you into the sky are all hidden here. Now tomato plants offer their last fruits, camelias are showing off their first blossoms, blueberry bushes hide quietly in the shade against the fence. Family members chat now, Grandpa begins to putter, my nerves begin to calm and we can head out to the driveway again.

test test

Friday 9-24
Testing newest camera - another 450 - with the film that was in it: Polacolor of unknown vintage - seller didn't think the batteries for this were still made, but I knew better. With a battery, even the old film makes an image.



Fresh film to go with fresh batteries in new-old 450. The first sign of fall - leaves in the bottom of the pool.

wetlands

Aug 27, 04
morning, Consumnes River Preserve
sunny, clear, warming

Lost Slough Wetland Restoration
Out exploring with Lisa-

Having technical problems, very distracting

Lousy day for shooting, wasn't sure if the problems were film or camera - highly suspect film since it's so inconsistent - problem like light leak in the camera would be the same every time.

Of course garbage in say, the shutter mechanism might float around and come and go like this.

Too bad I couldn't stop and pay attention to my surroundings - my own one-track mind just fretted on the problems.

Button bush swamp
One good neg in the middle of the film pack makes it seem to be man-handled film (so to speak - I am not always as careful as I should be.)

Actually water here now, which means year-round wetland habitat. The surrounding dryland is all dead grasses dotted by occasional valley oaks.

Temperature climbs and bug repellent seems to have worn off - our bodies are an easy target for many mosquitoes.

The shade is now the only place to be comfortable - mid afternoon has brought near 100 degrees, I'm sure, and the humidity is relatively high for us, making us feel the heat more.

New pack of film seems to have more problems - will have to test more later to determine what exactly problem is...