Boxes

Continuing with the framed and captioned theme.  I've been looking at these boxes out in the field for a week now and have wanted to get a picture.  I used the photo merge in Photoshop to get the full panorama.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

An Experiment in Presentation

Another slightly different veiw of an earlier photo from this month. I attended a talk by Ted Oland the other evening and he was showing some of the various styles he's used for his work. I was struck by some of his images presented in a take on the 19th century engravings, so I thought I'd see how some of my work fares with this style. I like it.

In bocca al lupo. m (no v)

June 27 Sunset

We had some good light last evening and I actually pulled myself up, grabbed the camera and headed out to catch some of it.

And I always have to indulge my love of black and white:

Farms of the valley.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Barn #7

The broad side of a barn framed by its surrounding landscape.  I chose an optic center, or weighted center for this "mount".  I choose black and white for gravitas. These barns are iconic.  Although they are used in nearly every culture, a barn of single wall, plain board, on a farm is somehow associated with Americana.  A symbol of the heart, of ideals, of solidity, home, security, love.  It at once reaffirms independence and an encompassing community spirit.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Today 5/21/15

Building the portfolio

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Today 5/10/15

On the way home tonight...

Playing with post processing to make the photos look vintage

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Today 4/15/15

Now I'm getting into landscapes...

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

A Flowering Tree

Every spring as we drive to church I have noticed this lovely, lonely tree flowering in a field bordered by forest.  It's the only fruit tree in sight.  This year I decided we might just take some pictures of it.  Such a brave beauty.

It's on farmland along Hwy 1 south of Carmel and north of Big Sur.  It's so nice that it hasn't been paved over and we hope it stays that way for some time to come.

The fields are full of wildflowers.  I remember at one time there were artichokes in these fields. I've heard that the padres brought the mustard to California.  The Carmel Mission isn't far from this farm.  Father Serra is entombed at the mission.

The tractor hasn't been busy for awhile.

 

There's even a nest inside the engine.  Nothing goes to waste.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Saturday in Wine Country

Saturday afternoon v and I took a photo drive along River Road and the heart of the Salinas Valley wine country.  When I first moved to this area the fields were either full of the vegetables we put in salads or vast expanses of grass for cattle.  Now there are vines as far as the eye can see, sometimes.  Coming from Southern California where the fields have mostly been filled with concrete, asphalt, and matching houses as far as the eye can see, I'm so very pleased that agriculture still rules up here.

This lonely Victorian stands sentinel over pinot and syrah grapes.  Topping the rise with skeletal openings that once reflected candle and gaslight glow from within.

Side roads are planted with windbreaks of majestic trees casting dappled shade in the late afternoon.

We started out in a quest for fields of lupin.  We didn't find any along this route, but there were other wildflowers blooming.  I don't know what they are and would love it if someone reading this could identify them for me.

Barns are also on my list for photo capture, and there are several along the road and slightly off road.  We only captured a couple on Saturday, but plan to return soon.

We come across farmsteads neatly maintained yet uninhabited.  A mystery...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

More from our sunrise outing

A few more shots from our sunrise photo expedition the other day. At v's urging I have begun taking courses in photography.  As a way to document my progress I've begun another blog strictly devoted to my photography and the lessons I'm learning. We call it Biondography.  If you would like to follow along and see some beautiful photos click on the link on the side panel where we have our links. Sometimes the photos appear in both, but I try to make it unique.  The blog itself has a completely different look.  We bestowed the posthumous honor to 100-year-old Agatha of being the background of the title .

Returning to our sunrise (and nearly freezing) jaunt. We passed through the fields of Salinas where even in February they are in nearly full production.  It was 34 degrees.  This must be lettuce that is sprouting all along the rows.  Of course, they plant plugs.  

A stack of pallets along the harbor side in Moss Landing.  As a teenager my friends and I would gather as many pallets as we could find and stuff them into whatever vehicle we had.  We'd take them to the local beach, which was Huntington Beach in Southern California, and we'd make a bonfire in the fire rings set into the sand along the length of the beach.  This was an absolute must on Labor Day weekend just before school started again.  v never enjoyed a bonfire with his high school friends.  His adoptive parents sent him to a private boarding school in Northern Connecticut not very close to the ocean.  Too bad, I say.

In boca al lupo.  m & v

Always Welcome

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Think About It

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.               Henry David Thoreau

We are too quick to clear the land and cover it with asphalt in order to park a car on it for several hours a day.  Our taxes support this.  It is the infrastructure.  We clear acres and acres of space for new, and frequently poorly constructed, new homes while older homes nearer city and town centers are allowed to deteriorate, to become "low-income" rentals that landlords feel little obligation to maintain beyond basic standards.  We have no pride.  

We've been convinced that "growth" for our economy relies on more and more new homes to congest our landscape, distance us, isolate us, and enslave us to the wasting of fossil fuels to return to our ever more distant jobs.  On your way home from work make an observation as to how many large automobiles are single occupant.  Why do we drive in a vehicle larger than the covered wagons that moved entire families westward?  How many of the Conestoga's were private vehicles?  Mom and Dad with separate wagons? The teenager gifted his or her own by virtue of living to the age of 16?  Two to four wagons per family?

We should insist that our tax dollars be spent in the upkeep of existing residences and buildings.  Architects, contractors, carpenters, plumbers, all journeymen would be just as busily employed with remodeling, upgrading, and redesigning.  Instead of more roads let's build an efficient high speed rail system.  Make public transportation practical.  Give us the opportunity to walk or bike to work and the markets.  Free up space and give us some air.

How can we and our county and state governments condone the construction of new shopping centers and malls while so many storefronts are empty and have been since the crash of '08 and before?

Stop moving away and move toward.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Farm Road

We've been having a lot of rain lately.  The day after Christmas I took a drive to see the countryside.  I chose a long, rutted stretch just off the Monterey-Salinas Highway that cut through the fields.  

At this time of year the sun just seems to suddenly drop from the sky.  Time to go back home.

In bocca al lupo. m & v

Serendipity on the Spur of the Moment

Round two of chemo for v started this morning.  He's gained weight and blood values are improved.  We continue to remain cautiously optimistic.

To take advantage of his renewed, and temporary, energy we decided to head across the Big Valley to the Yosemite area.  Serendipitously we received a text from friends in Southern California, whom we rarely see, saying they were on their way to Yosemite for the weekend!  We chose Oakhurst as our rendezvous point and despite several stops for photos and breaks we arrived only ten miles ahead of them. 

Recent storms left so much snow in Yosemite that chains were required to enter.  v and I don't have them, but it didn't really matter.  The getaway and meeting with our friends for supper and conversation after a spur of the moment decision during breakfast was magical and energizing.  We're still riding that wave of happiness.

This was just the perfect drive in the country.  We have to go back just so I can try again to capture the silouhettes of the oak branches in the sky at dusk.  I'm just starting out in photography...practice, practice, practice!

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Backroads

We took a drive this afternoon in an attempt to cheer ourselves up.  It worked.  We'd waited all morning for the sun to come out.  We left a pot of beans simmering on the stove and took off for the backroads of Carmel Valley.

At the end of this long drive we were greeted with a clear sky at home and the heavenly scent of those beans as we crossed our threshold. 

I cook the beans the way my grandmother and my father cooked them; with a good, smoked ham hock and an onion added to the pot.  My dear friend Maria-Elena suggested I serve the broth to v for strengthening.  I have done this and, thank you m-e! it works.  

In bocca al lupo.  m & v