4/24/2008 - Humpback Whales off Race Point

My family and I went down to P-Town on Monday to see the Right Whales that were reported to be mingling around down there. Apparently, there were close to 80 of them hanging around Race Point earlier in the week. When we got down there, we were disappointed to find a few people standing on the dunes with binoculars oohing and
ahhing over the barely perceptable water shoots of a couple of whales way off in the distance.

We drove around to various spots trying to find a better vantage point to no avail. Then an older local woman divulged a local secret (to which I am sworn to secrecy... unless a $100 should find it's way to my palm). The locals know of a spot where whales are often found, but it requires trudging three miles over the dunes and through a salt marsh to get to it. We got lucky since the tide was on it's way down,
and the marsh was dry. It was more like walking through a desert.


When we finally got to the beach, there were no whales to be seen. But, the beach was really nice so we hung out for a while and let the girls play in the water. Finally, Lisa decided to go around the bend of the beach. I heard her scream 5 minutes later and looked up to see a huge back coming out of the water only 100 yds off shore.


For the next half-hour we had a private performance put on by a couple of Humpback Whales within easy swimming distance of the shore (yes, I was tempted). It was pretty amazing.

4/25/2008 - Palette of Colors

Palette of Colors

One summer day after work, I stopped by the Pembroke Herring Run to see if there was anything interesting to photograph. When I got there, the parking lot was full and a group from the North River Arts Society had their easels setup and working in pastels. This particular image of one of the artists box of pastels is my favorite from the day. I like how the pastels are arranged to create a sort of spectrum range of color. What initially appears as box of arbitraty pastels quickly becomes relatively organized and not haphazard at all.

4/15/2008 - Full Moon Rising on Cedar Point

Full Moon Rising on Cedar Point

While attending a function across the bay from Cedar Point, I looked out the large plate glass window that overlooks the Bay and noticed a huge full moon coming up over the horizon of the Atlantic. Since things were wrapping up, I herded my family into the Jeep and drove over to Cedar Point Light. I took a bunch of shots that night. However, this one was captured as I was heading back to the Jeep and was taken without a tripod. I really didn't think it was going to come out, but I was pleasantly surpised by the results. Thank goodness for Image Stability.

This is probably one of those images that means more to me than to anyone else because of how it was captured. As a result of not using a tripod, the image is a little blurry in places. However, it is not significantly obvious and actually compliments the moodiness of the scene.

4/14/2008 - The worth of Art

I have been wanting to see the photography exhibit of Dorothy Kerper Monnelly called "The Great Marsh". So on saturday I went into the city to check out the Panopticon Gallery located in the Commonwealth Motel in Kenmore Square.

Ms. Kerper Monnelly's work is very nice, but I was taken aback by the asking price of her prints (in some cases $1200 for just the print... you pay more to have it matted and framed). I am by no means an art collector, nor do I claim to understand this particular niche. But, $1200 for something that can be readily reproduced without a great deal of effort is tough for me to fathom. That said, I am aware that some photographic prints fetch a great deal more than this in the market. As a photographer, I appreciate that much of what one is paying for is the skill required to capture and finish the image. But, still...

Now, let's look at this from the opposite angle. To get to Kenmore Square, I decided to walk Newbury Street from the Park Street station and check out some of the art galleries. Now, I know art is subjective and everyone has their own tastes in what they like, but in my subjective opinion... there is a lot of crap out there.

Here's one example. I walked into the 3rd floor Newbury Street gallery and all I saw were squares. Everywhere.... squares. There were approximately 10 paintings all hung like they were to be admired and gauked at. But, the truth is that I wouldn't hang them on my fridge. I don't know for sure the medium in which this artist works, but it appeared to me to be oils and tape. It was as if he laid out various squares on canvas with tape, overlaid the entire canvas with paint, then removed the tape after the paint dried. And every piece was based on the same principle. Different colors and layout of squares, but...

Another example was at another gallery where the artist made very large paintings that were very geometrically balanced and seemed like they could have been done with oversized ink stamping kits like my daughters use. An example would be something like a flat red sky, green land (1/3 up) and far over to the right, flush with the horizon line, a square house with a triangle roof. Oh, but then the real selling quality of this art is apparently the fact that she dips the entire piece in some sort of clear plastic or latex and allows the large drip marks to remain at the bottom of the piece. You may ask why. Not to worry, the artist displays a written statement that explains that her work portrays the greed and despair of mankind (or something to that effect).

Now, one could argue forever whether these examples qualify as "art". My opinion (not that it matters) is that in all cases, it does. Somebody took the effort to produce something that was meaningful to them and we have to assume some of their heart and soul went into it.

My question is, what is this art really worth? In each case, the asking prices for the various pieces were in the thousands. Is anyone REALLY paying that for this kind of work? I suppose somebody is, but then I have to ask.... why? I suspect there is a bit of "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome going on in the Art community. It's expensive, so it must be good. It will be interesting what collectors will be getting for this work in 100 years.

But, maybe I'm just jealous that nobody is writing me a $1k check for my work. I think I need to bump up my prices.

4/11/2008 - WAYWARD BUSH - SCITUATE RESERVOIR

WAYWARD BUSH - SCITUATE RESERVOIR

The Scituate Reservoir was created by flooding a large section of wooded land. There are times in the summer when the water is down and you can still see the large stumps of the trees that met their fate many years ago, as a result. However, one persistant bush remains. Standing in the middle of the reservoir, it is a strange sight when you drive by.

For a while, I was passing this bush twice a day on my daily commute to work. Often the lighting and/or atmosphere were such that I kicked myself for not having my camera. Finally, one evening in October my timing was on and I had my camera with me to be able to take this shot during peak foliage. The sun was setting behind me, and lit up the scene beautifully. There was little wind so the tree reflected nicely off the water.

I like this image because of it's simplicity, the contrast of bright colors, and the moodiness of the scene.

4/10/2008 - Printing

I must confess... I am now a "Do your own printing" convert. Until this point, my feeling was that the cost to buy a quality photo printer and keeping it supplied with ink and paper out-weighed the benefits of printing ones own work. The fact was that I had found a finishing lab that I was very happy with.

However, I've been reading a great deal of material on photographers who do their own printing and I found myself smittened by the idea. I did some research and decided that the HP9180 was within my budget. I spent much of last weekend calibrating my new purchase with my monitor and with Photoshop CS3. I had heard good things about Hahnemuhle Smooth Fine Art paper, so had included a couple of boxes with my printer order (at $80 per box of 25 the stuff ain't for snapshots). I was amazed at the quality of my prints... especially the B&W's. The blacks are very close to black and the tones of grey were extremely nice. More over, I found a greater sense of depth than even the prints from the lab (an outfit many pro's use).

I'm still testing papers and ICC profiles, but thus far I am very pleased.

4/3/2008 - Temptation

Temptation

A photographic cliche'?.... yeah, probably. A great composition?... probably not. However, this is one of those images that I find I can study repeatedly and am drawn to because of it's simplicity. Hopefully, others are drawn to it as well.

4/2/2008 - "Beatin' the Summer Heat"

Beatin' the Summer Heat

Two years have passed and I STILL smile every time I look at this image. My daughter had no reservations about using a large plastic bucket for an improvised pool. I absolutely love the facial expression.

I did a bit of dodging and burning to get the tones I wanted. The image has also been cropped from the original. I don't think I would change anything else. This one is a keeper... at least for me.

4/1/2008 - Powder Point on Ice

POWDER POINT ON ICE

Yet another image captured with my trusty 3MP point-and-shoot a few years ago. I distinctly remember this day as being probably the coldest of the year. A group of us were supposed to be climbing up in New Hampshire, but the trip was canceled due to the dangerous temperature. Feeling a bit slighted, I decided to make the best of the day and drove around with my camera looking for photo opportunities. When I got to Powder Point Bridge (crosses Duxbury Bay an is the longest wooden bridge in the US) the first thing I noticed was that the bay was nearly frozen. Where it wasn't, the water was reflecting the deep blue of the sky.

Even though I broke a major rule of the Rule of Thirds (i.e. horizon half-way up), I still like the composition of this image. I orginally thought about cropping it to conform... but, decided that it worked the way it was taken. This has been a popular image and has even sold a few times.