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!

HallWay Photo

Students were out and about this week doing the first of their picture-taking and it is amazing to see what "you" all come up with for your shots! We are all pretty much on the Google+ "bandwagon", so can start looking at each other's work and offer critique!

Here's a shot I took in the hall... one of you knows how I got it, ideas?

Photograph Your Artwork - Digitally!

Here's a recent drawing, photographed with an iPhone upside down and "tweaked" to improve clarity and contrast.

Ellsworth... and Becoming

A tree is such a noble growing thing, reaching toward the sky and going on and on in the fluctuations and extremities of environment. Socrates said that humans should not settle for being, but to achieve full potential should think of themselves as becoming. Carol Dweck recently "Discovered" this fact to base her book "Mindset" upon, and it does offer up some great possibilities!

Fall

When the days grow shorter we all get a sense of pulling more into ourselves and preparing to change the way we do things as well as the things we do. Replacing the process of cutting the grass with shoveling snow and the bike rides with snowshoe treks through the forest are only a small part of how we adapt to the seasons here in Maine. I think the nicest part of the change of seasons is that it is a process not an event, that the seasons slowly transform from one into the next and we can see the subtle changes in many ways each day. I truly love living in Maine! Here are some photos from this afternoon which I went out to get based on the concept of "fall" and how it might be expressed in the natural world around me. Because of the "time shift" it seems to be a lot later than it really is.