Snow Icons

Plan on making some photos the next time it snows! Will it snow again this winter? With only a few weeks left until the start of spring, who can tell? But it is fascinating what can take place in the snow covered hills and valleys of Maine. Always a thoughtful aspect to landscape, the snow can provide a clarity and simplicity at the same time that you really would struggle to find in any other season. I'm posting here a couple of shots of the same "stump" from different "points of view".

Boring Photograph Unlimited

As I sit here at Morrison's in Ellsworth, wifi enabled, I am considering all the awful "snapshots" that our society takes. But these aren't bad as they have a function to record events, something made much easier by technology than what used to be the simple sketch requiring a certain amount of artistic ability or knowledge. How do we differentiate between art and record keeping? Or, do we just assign a different context to each "art form"?

Winter Wonderland

Maine is unique in so many ways, but it is the change of seasons that has always been one of it's most beautiful aspects to me. Landscape photography has enjoyed a rich tradition in America and throughout the world, but I truly believe that some of the most beautiful spots on earth exist right here in our own back yard.

Finding those special places to photograph is often simple, but making that great photo of the "place" also takes some work. It is not just point and shoot, but requires using several of the "Habits of Mind" that make artists strive for that "perfect" shot. "Point of View" is a concept that you should consider carefully to enhance the interest of your photos.

Shadows...

Here are a couple of "Shadow" pieces from my iPhone today. I like two things about these; the first is the overlapping shadows that are possible from multiple light sources. A gallery space such as the newly painted walls in the Wing Gallery are perfect for this with the multiple lights pointed to a single spot. I'll post a couple of these, the shapes are the interesting factor the way they overlap with one another to create more intricate complex imagery.

These visual abstractions above have the added texture of the walls to enhance, but the image I'm posting below actually does more around telling a story, with my long shadow and the shadow of my car as I am getting ready to head home this afternoon.

A Year Later...

... and we are still taking all sorts of pictures! Here are a couple of new ones for this new semester.

Above is a recent drawing, and below is a double exposure taken on my phone with the "Hipstamatic" app and the multi-exposure add-on!