Blitherings – Page 151 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Another Sunday Hike

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Another weekend hike! This one was a surprise to me – sort of like a kidnap party where you don’t know where you are going to end up. I get picked up, and off we drive. I knew we would be going somewhere in the next town over, Simi, but not the specifics.

Pano 4

We ended up in Tapo Canyon, which leads into the Santa Monica mountains north of the city. Another dirt road with beautiful oak trees, wild grasses, and little if any poison oak. About a mile or so in, the flat dirt road gives way to a short, but steep, climb. No trees, just grassy hills so typical of the southern California landscape.

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The view from the top of the saddle looked into another valley, and down into the one we had just climbed out. We could have continued, but not wanting to spend the whole morning hiking – or the whole day as who knows where the trail would come out! – we turned around and headed back to the car.

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Downhill is different that up hill, just as in is different than out. Viewpoints change. All of this makes for interesting photography opportunities. For me, the most fun was seeing two different snakes, one short and stripped, another longer and mottled, both scuttling away into the grasses as we came down the hill. Luckily, no rattlers!

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And this is all part of the art of living, eh?

Art & Life

Contemplation

In my more cynical moments, I am annoyed that I spend time sitting in front of a computer looking at pictures and playing with software. Who will see them? Does anyone care? Even writing these words seems to be a bit of a waste of time.

Years ago, in my younger days, I aspired to be an artist. The need to earn my keep held me back, but also fostered the question of what is the value of art? Value implies something which can have a monetary amount attached to it, but on a deeper level it also means merit, worth, esteem and often ethics, principles, standards. My conclusion was that if it had value to me, then it was art. No more angst over it, and a very simple answer.

Still, life intervenes. Things need to be done such as working, taking care of a house, paying bills. People, too, need to be nurtured; friendships and family relationships are inherently important. Physical, mental, and spiritual health need attention. All of these take away from time “doing” or “making” art. However, there is also the art of living, which is all-encompassing.

LIttle talks with myself in moments of why? are very important. I expect most of us have these dialogs. Our inner voices need to be heard, and sometimes the only one who can provide an answer is the voice within, from whatever it is derived. Perspective helps; hindsight aids.

So, to answer my own question: The value of the time I spend developing pictures is the value I place on it. When it pales in value, my focus needs to change to something more satisfying. Yes, life’s little chores need attending, but they are part of daily rhythms. Questions like this may also allude to dissatisfaction with solitary activities, or one kind of activity, or sitting rather than being outdoors hiking or gardening or seeing new things or meeting up with friends and family.

Regroup, rethink, and move on!

Hiking: Happy Camp Canyon

Weed

My friend Rashelle and I have made a pact, which, for now, I expect we will be able to keep: Go hiking every Sunday morning! Last week we went up through a bit of Wildwood, here in Thousand Oaks, and this morning we went to Happy Camp Canyon, located in the Santa Monica Mountains outside of Moorpark, California.

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Getting there we got lost, ending up in a canyon on the other side of the hills. There we found avocado groves, a road in bad repair, and old eucalyptus trees for windbreaks. We figured out we were in the wrong area when we asked a gentleman, who very kindly gave us better directions than the ones I had copied.

Road 1b Happy Camp Canyon is very flat, which makes for easy hiking. The scenery is fading a bit from the flowering we had after our few rains, but still lovely. The hills are amazingly golden and green, with sunflowers and yucca and mustard dotting the fields and hills. A few oak trees dot the landscape, along with tobacco bush and other native plants. Birds were all over, and in the quiet, unafraid to sing or fly from tree to bush.

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Morning walks outdoors, amongst the flora and fauna of California, beats the pavement of suburbia. End this with some coffee and nosh at a good coffee shop, and Sunday is a great day!

The Glass Aerie – My Romps in Photoland

Through the Weeds

For the past year and a half, I have had another blog, minimalist in nature, with just a picture now and again that I post for whatever reason. I haven’t mentioned it here, but now, I have decided to do so. You can find a link to it on the above “pages” bar. Take a look, let me know what you think. Photography is now a part of my creative life, so I think it should be posted here – along with whatever else I decide to do.

No Color Here

Morning Flower, Color

Putzing around with a lot of my images, taken over the years, and all in color, I am looking for ones that I think might look work in black and white. I am looking, analyzing texture and lighting, and then making a conversion to black and white. Mostly I fail.

What I am trying to do is to train my eyes to be able to visualize a picture in black and white before I take it. Given our world is filled with color, I find this especially hard to do. Awhile ago someone told me that people who are color blind in one area or another make great black and white photographers because they do not have the ability to see all the normal range. While I don’t know if this is true or not, I do know that “seeing” in black and white is very difficult for me!

When I first looked at this color picture, it immediately stood out. The original exposure was very dark – underexposed to the point that only the bright white light of the flower stood out. I increased its exposure in LR and saw that it had potential because of the contrast in light and dark. Leaf textures and fine hairs on stems and buds also caught my eye.

Morning Flower

I popped it into Silver Efex, and scanned through it. Finally I chose the preset I liked best, and went to work a bit. I increase fine texture, used control points, and then returned to LR for final vignetting and detail enhancement. Last steps were in CS6 for some spot removal and a signature. The end result is not too bad, in my opinion.