Tag: abstract

In Memoriam…

Wolf Kahn.

Many years ago while taking a drawing class I was forced to confront landscapes. While used to altering my camera settings to create the feel that I wanted for an image, having to do the same with pastels, while outside, seemed almost insurmountable. I began a search for artists whose work resonated with me and came across Wolf Kahn. His use of bold colors, often at odds with the subject matter, in addition to its often abstract nature, inspired me.

In the chaos of 2020 I missed that he had passed away in March at the age of ninety-two. I played with my photograph of trees, shot after a devastating wildfire swept through, to come up with this image that gave me the feel of Wolf Kahn.

In an interview he stated, “My choice of color is dictated by tact and decorum stretched by an unholy desire to be outrageous.”

Words as delicious as his work.

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s make it a good one! 

Truer words…

if there is magic.

looking into a river and seeing the patterns emerge as water flows over rocks blue green palette


If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.

Loren Eiseley

Eiseley was quoted as being a scholar and writer of imagination and grace. His reverence for the natural world and his eloquent and poetic way of writing about it is nothing short of inspirational.

I share his thoughts on water. It compels in me a strong desire to record its transient nature and its variant forms.

The image above is part of a series that I have some special plans for and I hope that it in turns inspires people to look, really look, at the beauty of our natural world.

Note: Those of you signed up to receive my blog by e-mail received a link that was not functioning correctly. My apologies, I will post that when it is corrected.

Just…

be.

DSC_1848Dream, struggle, create, prevail. Be daring. Be brave. Be loving. Be compassionate. Be strong. Be brilliant. Be beautiful.

Caterina Fake

It’s been a long time since I sat at this desk and it feels really good.

I’m taking time to be.

To enjoy the colors of fall. To inhale the scent of leaves as they change from green to bright red, yellow, and orange.To gaze upon the sunlit waters where the salmon spawn.

But most of all. I’m taking time to just breathe.

 

Photography…

and the photographer’s vision.

dsc_9659The goal of abstract art is to communicate the intangible, that which eludes the photograph and normal seeing.

Curtis Verdun

Hmmm, but does it?

I think that photography is often underestimated and I have found it to be an incredibly complex and fluid medium.

I believe that you could line up a dozen photographers in any setting and come away with a dozen distinctly different images and that to me is one of its inherently beautiful traits.

I don’t know what you might see when you look at this image but for me it encapsulates the beauty of one river from its garnet sands to the play of light on the rippling currents.

My style of shooting begins with a focus on the larger picture and from those images I begin to focus down on the elements that to me speak the loudest.

Sure, I could have photographed the river, as a river, but for me it’s more about the feeling. I like to really pare things down until you simply cannot remove another element.

What thoughts go into your images? When do you feel like you’ve captured the image?