Leaves

I am still feeling absolutely obsessed with water drops on plants. Or rather, water drops on anything really, but in this case on plants. I think it must be the weather. We are having a lot of rainy days around here pierced with rays of bright sunshine and then back to rain. It's kind of awesome for lazy Sunday mornings. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR 

Venturing Out

Lately I've been making it a point to get out in the world and just take pictures. Not with any sort of agenda or destination, just me and a camera and my own two feet.

I feel like over the past couple of years my brain has felt a little stuck and I think some of it has to do with photographing the same subject matter over and over and over again. Believe it or not, but one CAN get bored photographing naked women all the time. 

On some level I feel like it is working. I'm starting to see things again that I would have normally not given any thought to what-so-ever. Like on this particular day I became completely obsessed with beaded drops of water on every surface I could find. Granted, once that happened I ignored everything else except beaded drops of water, but new obsessions that last for a single day or two are healthy...photographically speaking. 

Most of the images turned out horrible of course, but that hardly matters. I can't say I'm some sort of expert now and close-up shots of leaves and fence posts. I can however say that my brain is a little more open today than it was before I made these. 

San Francisco

Exactly one week from today at around this exact time I will be cruising into San Francisco for a few days of photo shoots and relaxation. This will be a much needed trip for me to gain a little perspective on life which is something we all need to do from time to time.

As much as I love the Pacific Northwest and consider it a great place to live I can't deny that California will always be in my DNA. It's the region of the world that shaped me, made me who I am, and is still home in a lot of ways. Maybe that's why I always gravitate there when I need a break and want to re-orient myself. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: San Francisco, CA

What is This?

Hey, I just realized it is Friday! I have a weekend with a whole lot of nothing planned (not a bad thing mind you), so in honor of that very special day here is a picture. 

Enjoy :-)

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: Adora
Location: Portland, OR 

New Year, New Optimism

Hey, look at this! Did anyone else notice it is 2014 already? Yes, I am a couple of weeks late on that revelation but I’ve never claimed to be a punctual person. Ok, I’m going to take that back because I am actually an incredibly punctual person, but when it comes to reflecting on the past year I won’t feel bad for taking a bit of time to really get a grasp on things.

I’ll be the first to admit this past year has been an especially challenging one for me. I had more than a few monumental failures, all of my own doing, and it’s left me in a place where I’m feeling more than a little battered and broken with a healthy dose of shame mixed in just for flavor. Yet despite this, I am determined to come out the other side of it stronger than I have ever been. I believe the best way to do that is to take stock in the things in my life that are good… no, not just good, the things in my life that are fan-fucking-tastic. I’ve got a lot of those things. More than most people in fact.

I’m grateful for my friends who hang out with me several times a week and never complain when I cry tears in my beer and beat myself up for things outside of my control. I’m grateful the only fights we have are over who insists on paying the tab on that particular evening and how we can repay each other’s generosity. I’m thankful that when I accidentally lock myself naked in a bathroom for hours (true story!) I have people in my life who will come rescue me during the wee hours of the morning before daybreak. I’ll never forget the people who have spontaneously showed up at my door, dragging me out to taste test artisan whiskey or those who waited for me on the steps of the public library in the windy cold and walked with me from one end of the city to the other until 2 o’clock in the morning simply because I needed it.  

I can’t help but feel joy over the fact that when I announce plans to travel I get e-mails from old friends and potential new ones, all willing to volunteer their time in the hopes we’ll make an image worth sharing on this blog or in some other random corner of the internet. I haven’t forgotten that I have people from Seattle to Los Angeles, San Francisco to New York, Paris, London, Athens and Rome who would all welcome me with open arms if I need a place to crash or to just simply escape for a while. I hope they all know I would do the same for them.

Holding all of that close to my chest I look toward 2014 with a sense of certainty and optimism. I have a refrigerator well stocked with film waiting to be used and some luggage sitting on my floor begging to be packed. Where fate will take me over the coming year I do not know but in February the asphalt highways of the west coast will be carrying me to San Francisco and in March I’ll be gliding through the windy skies to New York.

I’d say that is a good start.  

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: Keira Grant
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island

Where to Begin!?

I am so overwhelmed with crap I need to get done I don't even know where to begin. Negatives to organize, thousands of rolls to develop (literally), a website to redesign, prints to pack, sheet film to process, slides to scan, etc. etc.

Oh, and you know food and sleep and personal hygiene would be nice too. 

Name something photography related and chances are I have it on my backlog of things to do. It's times like these that I really wish I had an assistant. It would be nice to be a famous or important person who can afford such things. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Buck Lake, OR 

Visions and Fields

Call me whimsical and maybe even a little cliche, but I always like doing photo shoots in fields of tall grass. There is just something pretty about it, like when looking at the photograph you can just imagine the way the stalks of wheat would have been swaying back and forth and you feel certain you know what scents were in the air.

I think this is an image that illustrates why I have a fondness for older Minolta glass. It is such a shame that more people didn't appreciate Minolta when they were still around.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: Freya Gallows
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island

Sauvie Sunset

Every once in a while I like to post an image that reflects the exact time of day in which I post it. Just a strange habit of mine I guess.

Photographed on Sauvie Island just before 6pm with the sun setting off in the distance on a rather glorious day.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: Keira Grant
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island

Fall Is Here

Fall colors are all around me right now and I'm loving it. This is easily my favorite time of the year, not just for pictures but just in general.

This photograph was actually taken in the middle of the afternoon which is always a difficult time for photography, nudes especially. I had to search high and low for a spot that didn't have unflattering light and I ended up finding it down by a little creek in a public park. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Corvallis, OR 

Rainy Weather

Today it is raining. So therefore you get a picture that was taken in the rain.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Detroit Lake, OR 

These Days...

Full of emotions after a day filled with victories and defeats and consolations and ultimately doing the right thing.

Photographed in Ithaca New York. If you had asked me if I would ever be photographing anything at all in Ithaca New York a year ago I probably would have responded..."Where!?"

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: Olivia Odd
Location: Ithaca, NY

Sunset Nude

Sometimes you just need an escape.

I haven't been getting out and shooting as much as I normally do lately. That is for a lot of reasons, not ll of them good I'm afraid. I feel like I'm loosing my edge a little bit and I'm not sure how to get it back. As with most things it is probably an issue of just gritting my teeth and working through it. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island

River Dance

Home again and not surprisingly it is raining. I don't seem to mind today though.

Oh wait, who am I kidding? I am rarely bothered by the rain!

This was made with some very tricky lighting as the sun was setting in a awkward direction in relation to the opposite shore of the river. Sure, I could have just turned the model around, but the background was much less appealing. After all, we were only a few feet into the water when all is said and done.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island

Stone and Ink

A dark and shadowy morning out in the Gorge can lead one to find all sorts of things.

There wasn't a lot of light to work with when making this image and unfortunately I did not bring a tripod with me, which was my mistake. Controlling my breathing helped me get reasonably sharp results though. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR - Columbia River Gorge

Summer Light

Today was a lovely day to be working out in the Columbia River Gorge. The wind was strong at times, but overall not too bad and the light was nearly perfect. All-in-all not a bad way to spend the morning.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR - Columbia River Gorge

Lake And Sun

I am always at a little bit of a loss when it comes to handling bright summer light. It feels chaotic to me, and overwhelming at times.

However, until I gain god-like powers and the ability to summon an overcast sky whenever I want I will just have to deal.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Buck Lake, OR 

I Hide Away

A little bit of raw emotion here.

It's one of those days. I'm not looking for a pity party or anything but I am definitely going through a period of time right now where I am questioning my own work. We all go through this from time to time, and this certainly isn't my first round of wondering, "what does it all mean!!?"

I think artists can be particularly sensitive to this kind of emotion in no small part because the act of creating something is a deeply inward and internal experience.  If we are creating things, then by default we are crawling around  our own emotional insides, both dark places and happy places. Sure, we might share the finished product with the general public, but the process of creating is very much something we do alone.

As such, it is no small surprise that we tend to get lost in a lot of self doubt. This isn't necessarily a bad thing mind you. An artist who is aware of their own internal questions and limitions will probably do a much better job of self editing and self editing is absolutely key to showing a bit of cohesiveness in your presentation. At the same time, if you take it too far it can stop you from making new work at all. 

I think every artist should be asking the questions...what does my work mean? Does anyone care? What am I trying to say? However, we shouldn't let those questions stop us from making work at all.

Though I am certainly guilty of doing that too sometimes. 

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: St. Merrique
Location: Portland, OR 

Motel Light

This was a bit of a last minute shoot that I'm glad I was able to do.  My film stock is running pretty low right now so I had to work mostly with digital, which isn't always such a terrible thing.  

Sometimes I like work with a really simple set up.  In this case it was a single hot light, a table, and a blank wall.  That's it.  

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Location: Portland, OR

Window at Dusk

I remember very distinctly the window light fading fast when this image was made. I don’t think I’m unique at all in the photography community when I say I love a nice direct window light on the female figure.

Camera: Sony Alpha A850
Model: St. Merrique
Location: Portland, OR 

Field Jump

Jumping around in a field is just about the most fun a person can have.

Photographed on a day that wanted to rain but never quite did. 

I made this with a Sony Alpha A-850 DSLR which is one of the few digital cameras I actually enjoy using.  It is a basic picture taking machine that does what I want it to do and nothing more.  

I've said this before and I'll say it again, I don't mind digital photography as a medium, but I don't particularly enjoy the tools of the trade a lot of the time. The Sony A-850 is one of the rare exceptions.  

Camera: Sony A850
Location: Portland, OR - Sauvie Island