river walk

Went for a walk with Peggy today, checking out our trek with students in a couple weeks.

Saw this sign on a fence along the river but we couldn't manage to read it from the top of the levee, and getting all the way down to it didn't look very easy (especially in the shoes I was wearing.)

So I had the bright idea of using the zoom on my camera to see what it said, and voila! "Temporary Beaver Barrier Fence" is now legible, even the small print -

Just up river, the view is a little nicer, and we even find a pretty good spot for students to spend some time to journal.

I'm not taking the time today to journal myself, but I'm looking forward to some time here -

On the way back, I notice some oak galls, so I take a shot to remind myself to look up all the details about the oak gall wasp...

sac building

While I was at the SAC Bldg last week, I shot some slide film, too - and got a couple pretty cool Polaroid transfers from it. This is a more artistic rendering of the SAC Building itself.

And this is a charming house just down the street -

new studio space

Some of the SacArtQ met with Barry Smith at the soon-to-be Sacramento Art Complex (SAC) Building on K Street yesterday - I'll have a studio space there come May 1st, and so may some of the rest of the Q, more to follow -

front porch tree

Yay! new leaves budding on the Japanese maple on the front porch! That means I didn't kill it!

norcal orchards

Mar 10, 08 - driving trek with Theresa
10:30 a.m.
Garden Hwy, near 99, just south of Yuba City
high thin clouds, weak sunlight, no wind

naked orchard - walnuts? pecans? (Walnuts.)
with wild mustard in full bloom

ground I stand on is pale, dry, hard, but a dark moist swath of deep mud surrounds the orchard, carefully forded like a small moat

The mustard smells pleasantly spicy-sweet, not too overpowering. Lots of little birds sing and chatter, an occasional crow flies over cawing loudly.

Bees buzz among the mustard
billions of tiny blooms clustered
on long stalks massing together
to create a yellow three-to-four foot tall
mass of brilliant yellow

old tree on the edge of the orchard, surrounded by old tires on the ground

Theresa takes a photo of the artist. (This is my 4x5 crown graphic, which I use to take my black & whites; you can see a piece of Type 55 Polaroid film in my hand, too. At the opposite of the camera spectrum, I use my little Nikon digital to take my color shots.)


Farther on Garden Highway...
about 1:45 p.m. - lunchtime on the side of the road - almond orchard (I'm pretty sure) just beginning to bloom (I was wrong - peaches.)

definitely one for the "crazy woman on the side of the road" series - actually IN the road for this shot -

In the orchard itself - ground dry, farm dog not far away not sounding happy with our presence - or at least not happy with something -

Wildflower "weeds" grow down the row of trees, yellow and fuscia and white, along with two-foot tall wide bladed grass.

playing with macro on the digital

Theresa breathing in the orchard.


Down 99, across to the other side of the Feather River, we pick up Garden Highway again, to take the scenic route home - Old barn at the edge of a walnut orchard catches my eye -

roadkill

Target parking lot

quickie

(this is what journaling while teaching looks like, I actually did more on the white board for examples, should have photographed that)

how I spent my day

Beautiful weather today & I need a new photo of my booth for show submissions, woo hoo. Setting up my booth just long enough to take some shots and then tearing it all down again is not my favorite thing in the world, but hey, sometimes this is really work...

Actually, it turned out to be a good thing, reminded me what I wanted to get to improve and/or make my life easier for festivals, showed me how low my inventory is, and what I need to make more of for the season, though I always make more as I go. Got to keep the creative juices flowing!

And I think this is the best booth shot I've ever gotten, so totally worth the four hours hard labor - and thanks, honey, for helping!

book #9

Frontspiece in my newest journal.

handcoloring workshop

Spent the day playing well and sharing with others - teaching a handcoloring workshop at Viewpoint Gallery - a fun time had by all.

Students discovered how to layer different media on black & white darkroom prints as well as on inkjet prints.

The biggest lesson for the day: don't be afraid to experiment and just have fun!

foothills drive

Fri, Feb 22
midday
French Camp Road - between Latrobe & Shingle Springs
Rainy, cool, out with Wendell
I've got my new bag, so everything fits -

What Wendell calls "roadkill" - a shot from inside the truck - while driving, no less. I want to take a "real photo" so we stop & I get out. Wendell's impressed by the beast of a camera I'm using now, handholding a 4x5, zone focus, no light meter -

So I use up a piece of film by under-exposing,

then shoot it again and get the shot of the day - no more shooting necessary. Only get moderately wet in the drizzle.

But another shot presents itself - a way down the road - it starts to rain a bit more than a drizzle & I take shelter back in the truck, dry off the beast while Wendell shoots more.

I continue with roadkill shots, inside the dry refuge of the truck -

The ultimate roadkill shot, wet windshield and wipers fully evident. It's just raining a bit much for my taste now - but we plan on being back here for more real photos in about a month - should have fresh green leaves on the oaks and we'll try to catch a drier day -

k street tree

Feb 21, 08
nearly 3 p.m.
K Street, Sacramento
waiting to look at potential studio space
saw this great tree while still in the car

lunar eclipse

Feb 20
about 7 p.m.
lunar eclipse
nearly full
wet ground
break in the rain
chilly

8 p.m.
red-orange moon & star