digital – Page 8 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

On the Way to Second Beach

About 10 years ago we spent several weeks exploring the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington State. This corner of the country is home to rain forests and here, a virgin forest of ancient cedars covered with moss and dripping with foggy condensation. To get to Second Beach, we took a trail through this forest. At times I wondered if we were still on the trail, but there were others, too, bound for the beach.

This forest goes straight out to where the beach meets the forest. One moment you are in a dripping and scary forest, and the next minute, out on a wide flat beach with sea stacks, and behind you, an edge of a forest that all looks the same! Luckily, the exit to the forest and entrance to the beach is clearly marked, otherwise, I doubt few people would make it back to the parking lot.

I don’t think I have ever seen anything as magical as this forest. Nor, do I think, have I ever visited a rain forest. It was very quiet and eerie, but I recall birdsong, dripping water, and the fact it was so quiet even with others nearby. The trail was covered with fallen cedar needles and moss was thick everywhere. A hush pervaded and could be felt like a blanket, yet it was comforting and joyful at the same time. Seeing such beauty reminds us other, older times, and the magic in the natural world.

Quill & Coil

Sounds like the name of some pub . . . but in reality, this is a macro with my Nikon Z 50mm macro lens.

Anyone who does post production with photo editing software knows about pre-sets. I have a lot I have made over time and it can be a lot of fun to manipulate a picture. The original of this was in color, so I converted it to black and white and then used a high-key preset I have made. I like the way it has softened the feather but retains enough detail to let you know what things are.

On an aside, I need to cut some new quills and brew some new ink. I am using fountain pens right now to write, but do like the tactility of a quill pen! However, my fountain pens are a lot of fun, too, and with different pens and inks, the variety is equally pleasant . . .

Bagged

Yesterday I refilled an old travel palette with new watercolors. This meant rummaging through my paints, discarding dried up tubes of paint, and sorting them out. This is always fun as I get to choose my colors out of the collection that has accumulated over time as well as just clean things up.

I don’t know about other people, but I really like my stuff – of which I have scads – to be organized and tidy in all its scaddiness.

Baggies are great for this. Permanent markers label them, too, to help me sort things out. Categories include red, blue, yellow, orange, earth colors, teal & turquoise, violet, neutral-white-grey-black, green, and maybe a few others. If a color leaks, the baggie keeps things from oozing everywhere and when this happens, the offending bag is dumped into a bowl of water, the offending tube(s) removed, the rest of the tubes cleaned and dried, and moved into a new home. We are all happy.

Morning Vitamins

Our bathroom night light has rotating colors – the marvels of LEDs! There are about 12 of them, but in general we keep it on red as it is less likely to wake you up but it still lets you see as you stumble around in dark. In the mornings, once the makes the “turn off” switch of the night light happy, the light goes out. On a gloomy day, the light may never turn off, but early in the morning, the light remains on.

One morning, dumping out my vitamins onto a blue towel, suddenly I noticed these little bright bits of color and light. Coming through the gel caps, everything just took on a surreal quality. Out comes the Christmas macro lens and here we are with what I think are some of the more interesting photos I have seen in a while. Vitamins A, E, and D are now immortalized for your viewing pleasure.

2024 Resolution: Schedule or Agenda?

Schedules are usually events fit into a time slot, like a dental appointment. An agenda is still something to do, but perhaps a bit more open ended. After working for years in a world regulated by bells and students and patients with exams, I really dislike – or don’t want – scheduling as a daily event. Agendas give a sense of potential – something to do, perhaps a vague something, perhaps a timed something, perhaps a definite something – but there is much less a sense of obligation.

I like agendas better than schedules!

As with most people, I make resolutions for the New Year, and this is one I struggle with quite often. I don’t think I need to schedule time to paint or sew or whatever. I just need time to do it. Thus, this year I have determined that 2024 is The Year of the Agenda.

And what does this mean?

Simply every other day I will change my choice of something to do on alternate days. Visual Art one day and Fiber Art the next day.

Problem solved.

And so, below, some of today’s Visual Art . . . . taken with the Nikon Z 50mm f2.8 Macro lens.