Ink – spiration

Posted on September 30, 2012 by artsifrtsy

I work at a large T-shirt manufacturing company. We screen print our own line of tees that are sold all over the world. While I spend my days working with the design team in what we affectionately call the “art cave” the action happens out in the shop. I have always been inspired by the colors of the ink and the industrial finishes of the machinery. One day while the print team was at lunch, I took a walk through the shop with my camera looking for color.

Orange smear

Ink on aluminum

Lights on for safety

Glitter Heart Screen

Aluminum Frame

Mesh Counts

Splatter

Adjustments

Press Station

Clean up

Ink Mixers

Color Choices

I have a practice of trying to shoot at least a little every single day. Some days there are no birds or deer or flowers in my path. Sometimes I have to find beauty where I am. I shot these on a grey winter day.

What inspires you when the flowers are all hidden away?

A Prelude to Fall

Posted on September 28, 2012 by artsifrtsy

I’m on a plane flying home from a business trip to Michigan. The signs of the fall are already apparent there and the colors are in the early stages of changing. Before I left I saw a couple of trees just starting the transition. After the warmest summer that the Ozarks has ever experienced there were concerns that there would be no color at all, but the gentle rains after Isaac may have saved the season.

Although Isaac brought less rain and wind than anticipate, he also brought my very first macro photo ops after a long, brown summer,

I have no idea what this is – it was on the ground and it wasn’t brown.

In a pinch, even a greened up weed will suffice as inspiration.

In between showers I would pop outside and look to see what had changed. I love rain or dewdrops on leaves.

If you look very closely and let your imagination fill in the details, I am visible reflected in the bottom center water drop. I’m gonna have to try to do that for real soon 🙂

On July 4th I posted a lament to cancelled fireworks and focused on some lilies that seemed to thrive in a hidden garden at my neighbor’s place. As promised the lilies have gone to seed and the seeds look just like blackberries.

This subterfuge confuses birds to pick them and drop them elsewhere once they discover that they are not tasty berries. I need them to carry some my way.

Another lily that peaked after Isaac was the local favorite, the Naked Lady – not sure why they call it that, but I got a chance to shoot some macro between showers.

Before the leaves change colors, a lot of the local wildlife gets a makeover for fall. This young fawn has lost her spots and is starting to go from a rusty brown to a more grey brown that matches the color of the barren winter trees. The tourists are also changing from motorcycles to minivans.

Even the cardinals are starting to spruce things up – This is one of the birds I posted images of a few weeks ago when he was impersonating a scraggly parrot. His transformation for fall is almost complete and he’s looking pretty dapper.

I don’t know what these are but they are gorgeous, I shot them at the Ponca Elk Education Center last weekend.

The Hummers at my place are fattening up and getting a bit cocky with me. This guy is roosting in my crepe myrtle, totally unconcerned with my proximity to him

In fact – I get a raspberry from him – he’s taunting me, I just know it.

Even the rain doesn’t dissuade this guy from watching over what has become his own personal feeder.

Lest I live under the illusion that I am a hummingbird whisperer and that my birds have accepted me into the flock – here are a couple that I shot at the Ponca Elk Education Center.

Apparently they are more concerned with stocking up on calories for the long journey south than they are with stalkers like me going in for the shot.

The color’s out there, and its about to explode – now is the time to take that camera absolutely everywhere! What’s the color like in your neck of the woods?

The Boys are Back – a Third Chance for Elk in Arkansas

Posted on September 25, 2012 by artsifrtsy

At the dawn of the 19th century, settlers in Arkansas found themselves in a land of amazing biodiversity. Vast herds of elk roamed the hills and hollows of the Ozarks. Those settlers saw the ancient forests as expendable resources. They harvested the timber and exported it to their neighbors to the north and they hunted the great eastern elk into extinction. By 1840 there were no elk left in the Ozarks.

For almost a century the sound of the bugle was gone from the meadows along the Buffalo River. In 1933 11 Rocky Mountain Elk were transplanted to Arkansas. They thrived in the same meadows where they had lived since before the coming of the white man. The Wapiti were once again roaming in those ancient meadows. Those 11 transplanted elk grew into a sustainable herd of over 200 animals.

By 1955 the elk had completely disappeared once again. The destruction of their habitat and poaching lead to the complete devastation of the restored herd.

In 1981 the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission attempted a second restoration. Over the next 4 years 112 elk were gradually transplanted into Newton County along the banks of the Buffalo.

Today a healthy and monitored herd of over 500 populate 5 counties. Almost a hundred live in the Boxley Valley alone.

Here are some shots I took this weekend of bulls in Boxley Valley, near the Buffalo River.

This is George – at least that’s what I call him. I have seen him in this same spot before. His antlers are a bit crooked, but they look better than they did last year. Bulls shed their antlers every winter so this years growth looks a bit more symmetrical that they were when I saw him last. He also is a bit knock kneed on his rear legs. He seems to like it here in front of the creek. He grazes and poses for the early morning photogs and spotters who fill the valley. From the look of his antlers I would guess that he is 3-4 years old.

This is a great old fellow. He is simply enormous, but he seems to lack the bulk of a younger bull. Most bulls live about 6 years, the oldest known bull in Arkansas was 15. Their antlers start to decline in size around 10 or 12 years of age, so I’m guessing he’s somewhere north of 10.

He’s over 5 feet tall at the shoulders so the depth of the grass in this meadow is pretty amazing, almost like it was designed to feed animals of this size.

He had three females in his harem. The cow behind him had wandered off so he circled around her and guided her back to a safe spot near the treeline.

This is a pair of youngsters I spotted alongside the road. They have the antlers of a 2-year-old. Spindly without definite points. They were off alone away from the females – bachelors. Elk are very social and males like this tend to live in small groups away from the cows and calves.

This isn’t a great shot – it was into the sun and a pretty far distance off, but I include it to show the size of a bull towards the end of his prime. I got the chance to hear him bugle for the ladies in the meadow about a quarter-mile away.

It’s good to see bulls of all ages in the herd. Some of the cows have tracking collars and great care is taken to prevent poaching. The herds placement was established with the assistance of the locals, so they are not seen as pests, but rather as a part of the environment.

It looks like the Natural State got it right this time, third time’s a charm.

Boys Will be Boys – The Youngsters at Boxley Put on a Show

Posted on September 23, 2012 by artsifrtsy

This morning I got up bright and early – 4:30am – to head over to the Boxley Valley near the Buffalo River. A friend and I decided to make a run over to see if we could get a look at some elk. We arrived at the valley right before sunrise and began to scout out locations. We saw a pair grazing in a roadside ditch. It was still just a bit to dark to get any good photos so I parked my jeep about a 100 feet away and hiked towards the pair of young bulls. As cars passed by, I just hoped they would stay close until the sun came up. One at a time they wandered across the road, over a fence, and down into a meadow. I thought for sure that we had missed out, but hiked over towards the spot where I had seen them leap over. From the roadbed I was actually above the meadow and got a chance to see them both clearly visible above the wall of foliage along the fence.

The most amazing thing happened next. They carefully, even gently, began to spar with each other. There was no crash of antlers or huffed snorts, it was more of a quiet ballet.

Occasionally the pair would stop, and look our way. Then they would look back at each other and continue the dance.

Dodge, thrust, parry, block – and then another glance, perhaps to see if we were still watching.

Back and forth, round and round, stop and glance – this went on for about 20 minutes.

Then they were finished, the show was over, time to take a bow.

They both headed off towards the cover of the woods.

The first bull went on through, the second lingered, almost like taking a curtain call.

I photographed lots of elk today, but I was most enchanted by the young bulls I spotted before sunrise. I’m not sure what they were doing, were they practicing for a future rut? Were they raised together in a nursery group? Did they see my camera and decide to put on a show? Either way it was worth it, now I think I’ll go take a nap.

Everyone Loves a Parade – Mardi Gras in Eureka Springs

Posted on September 21, 2012 by artsifrtsy

I have done a lot of posts about birds lately so I thought I would change things up. These are a series of shots from last winter taken with what was then a brand new lens – it’s now one of my favorites.

I live in a small village in the Ozarks called Eureka Springs and we love parades! Christmas, St Patty’s, Art’s Festival, VWs, Corvettes, Antique Cars, Diversity, Folk Music and more. Most of our parades are a part of the party we throw for our visitors. We host festivals on dozens of weekends throughout the year. Come see us during VW weekend and we’ll throw a party with a parade and you can be in it! But there’s one party we throw that is unabashedly about us.

In the dead of winter we crown royalty from among our own citizenry and host a week of parties culminated by the annual Eureka Gras Mardi Gras Parade. It’s one of my favorites. Instead of a visitor in a Model T, I get to see our own folk decked out in their best finery with beads-a-plenty. We’re not New Orleans – but that’s OK. Everyone’s welcome, even if you aren’t a Eurekan.

There’s something uber fancy about adding some beads to any ensemble

Adding an ostrich feather sets just the right mood.

This year I decided to make myself us only one lens. No bag, just my camera and a single lens and a strap. I had just gotten a Leica 25mm 1.4 portrait lens and decided it was the one to try out. I shoot a mirrorless M4/3 system so the focal length is equal to double the number so this lens is the equivalent of a “fast 50”.

I love this lens and I love the freedom to just shoot. It was so nice to dive in and out of the crowd and not worry about my equipment. With our parades no one cares if you just jump in so I did and got as close as I could to those in the middle of the action.

I think this guy might have been a Grand Marshall – I don’t think he got the memo about the dress code.

I did not realize that I knew this lady until I posted the image on Facebook.

Of course it’s fun to shoot the crowd in between floats. The noise and the crowds make this parade a joy to be a part of and the faces of those in the parade echo those of us who were just watching.

This is Judy – We both have birthdays near Mardi Gras so it’s just another party.

One of the things I love about this lens is the way it can isolate the subject. Casual portraits are pretty easy to pull off. I love the control I have over the DOF.

This is my neighbor Lynne – all beads and grins.

As the royal court approaches the beads really start to fly. I was actually hit in the face several times – too busy trying to get the shot to go for the beads.

A member of the Court tosses beads into crowd.

The next three shots are from a series of a woman who was originally from New Orleans – the gusto she had for the enterprise of tossing beads into the crowd were amazing – these were my favorite shots of the day – Duchess Pamela.

Wave

Wind-up

Follow-through

This Duke can’t quite get the beads free to toss.

Tangled

This gentleman owns the local Indian restaurant. I love his smile.

Turbaned Duke

This lens lets you pick a face out of the crowd. This is my friend and co-worker Sharon.

Beadmobile – the crowd’s looking up because beads are flying down.

This young man was all about the beads – he was focused on grabbing as many as possible.

This young man was in the crowd with us – his face painting is awesome.

Some of the floats were quite tall so you get a chance to play with the perspective – the King towers above the crowd.

Here comes the King!

In between the royal floats there were these fellows on bicycles. I love how this lens let me capture the streamers in motion.

Steampunk Bicyclists follow the royal procession.

I’m thinking this is a great idea for those who just don’t want to commit to a full sleeve full time.

These kids we part of the Queen’s court – they did the bead tossing for her.

The Queen’s Helpers hoist beads into the air.

Of course we needed someone to control the crowds and keep the peace.

A bedazzled officer on crowd control

I typically try to avoid shooting into an overcast sky – but on this day the colors were so bright I shot up to get Alice letting loose.

Looks like Alice has gone down the rabbit hole and come back with lots of beads.

As the parade ended I got a chance to see some more locals adorned for the day’s events.

This little guy was worn out. Amazing he could sleep over the brass bands.

A beaded chapeau

I love the way this lens made me get close. There were moments when I wasn’t just watching the parade, I was in it. Now I don’t consider myself a street photographer – but I do love a parade.

Woody at the Feeder

Posted on September 17, 2012 by artsifrtsy

In my post from yesterday I mentioned a woodpecker feeder. A friend told me about this feeder and it’s pretty simple and ingenious –
1. Take an old log, I used a downed cedar from my woods – drill 1 1/4″ holes about an inch deep around the surface. I specifically drilled the holes on a side that would face the spot where I shoot photos.
2. Attach it to something that will let it stand vertical like a tree – a fence post will do, I attached mine to the large cedar that holds up my pergola.
3. Fill the holes with suet. I also filled the cracks in the log.

My friend says it’s like a social program where you are giving a handout and making the little buggers work for it.

Here’s one of my feeders – nice and rustic…

Tonight Woody stopped by – first he landed on the top of the pergola .

He takes a look around to make sure the coast is clear – today he must have been really hungry because my Goldendoodle was sitting about 6 feet away from the feeder watching him.

He lands and takes another look around…

Scopes out the situation…

And digs into that suet.

He stays vigilant…

And digs into the suet again.

See the look of satisfaction on his face?

He looks like he could use a napkin.

Rat-a-tat-tat – Woody’s Back

Posted on September 16, 2012 by artsifrtsy

Woodpeckers are shy. This is a red-bellied woodpecker who hangs out in my yard. My suet feeders were up for over 3 months before he dared get close. Here he sits on top of my pergola, deciding whether or not to go for the feeder

He stayed up there for about 30 minutes checking to see if it was safe. He did this several times before he decided it was safe to try out the suet.

Eventually his appetite overcame his fear and he made the leap. It was clear right away that he was too much bird for a feeder like this.

I’ve built him a feeder out of an old dead cedar tree – I have seen him using it, but haven’t managed to catch him with my camera – yet. I drilled 1 1/4″ holes into the log and filled the holes with suet. The little guy loves it, its like his own personal suet tree.

By far his favorite place is my black walnut tree just off my patio. He paces along the limbs, scouting the feeders and tapping on the old tree.

He has a distinctive call, it’s really more of a cry. It sounds mournful, sad – in contrast to his chipper face.

I can hear him in the woods near the house. He flies in long sweeping arcs from tree to tree.

I hear his tap and I know he’s back.

A Fungus Among Us

Posted on September 15, 2012 by artsifrtsy

Issac came along and pretty much ended a summer of drought in the Ozarks. We didn’t get a lot of rain, but it was a nice slow soaking – 3 inches over a couple of days. My grass came back to life and I considered mowing it for the first time since mid May. I noticed some large white blobs over by my cedar tree while I was clearing limbs while getting ready to mow.

I saw several odd round turban-shaped mushrooms underneath the cedar tree. They were growing in a circle about 6 feet across. A friend told me that this was called a fairy circle, for me it was an excuse to put off mowing another week while I waited to see its progress. It was also an excuse to take some photos of something living. Drought = no wildflowers, no lawn, no color. Imagine my excitement at seeing white blobs!

This shot is misleading – they are not actually larger than my terrier Velcro in the background, but they were quite large. Baseball-sized fungi…

The fungi surface looked like flan that had been stretched to reveal a plush and fuzzy sub-layer.

Over the course of the next 24 hours the ball opened and flattened into a disk the size of a salad plate. Perfectly round like one of those parasols you get in a fancy drink, only not so fun and colorful…

All-in-all they were kind of boring, but you gotta work with what nature gives you. I thought I would try to impose some artsy angles on them to make them appear more dramatic. I got very dirty doing this.

The details of their gills were pretty amazing – there are spider webs in there, or maybe tiny cob webs – a tiny microcosm…

This is the view a field mouse or packrat might have as they approach one of these babies – reaching for the sky. I got very dirty getting this shot. I also was bitten by chiggers. There’s nothing I won’t do for art…

Eye level to a rabbit, if my dogs would let a rabbit get this close.

Enough already, I’m putting on some calamine and getting out the mower!

Chrome Sweet Chrome

Posted on September 9, 2012 by artsifrtsy

I’m a car nut – have been since I was a little girl. It’s all my Grandpa’s fault.

When I was about a year old my Grandpa bought a new car for to celebrate his and Grandma’s 25th wedding anniversary. It was a 1963 Impala Super Sport.

It’s the very first car I remember riding in.

I went almost everyplace with my Grandpa when I was young. He was pretty crazy about me and I was crazy about him as well.

While we would drive along he would play this game with me – I would point out an old car and he would tell me the make, model, and year.

I could never stump him. He knew the differences in the small bits of trim and chrome that separated a ’49 from a ’50 Chevy or what defined a Pontiac from a Buick made in the same year.

I learned about Buick portholes, Pontiac chevrons, and Caddy V-crests.

I learned which hood ornaments were on which models…

Which models had a Continental Kit…

I began to look at the details of a car as well as the sweeping lines of the whole.

My grandfather left his family farm as a young man and got his first job in town painting cars.

He knew how to care for a car’s paint and I learned to wax a car by watching him wax that Impala nearly every Sunday.

The miles we spent in that Impala – around town, around the state, all over California, and to Nebraska and back…

When I was very small I was sure the chrome jockey box in between the front seats was built just for me. Later on trips I thought the indentation of the speaker in the back seat was made as a place for me to rest my head.

In the mid 60s my grandparents opened an upholstery shop. I learned the meaning of tuck-and-roll and grew to love diamond-tufting.

Grandpa did a lot of furniture but he specialized in car and airplane upholstery. He told me once that a new convertible top would tighten right up when left up in the desert sun for a few hours…

That the details of the interior were just as important as those on the outside…

That a perfect interior was the sign of a well cared for automobile.

As I entered my teens he planned to pass that lovely Impala on to me, it was finally time for him to buy a new car.

My folks were having none of it so he reluctantly sold it for twice the price be paid for it.

I learned to drive the family sedan and the first car I ever owned was the LTD he replaced the Impala with. I bought the car from my Pop who Grandpa had passed it onto a few years earlier. It had not been cared for so well after leaving Grandpa’s driveway so my time with it was short.

Somewhere along the line I bought an old Jeep, just like one my grandparents had owned when I was a kid. Grandpa insisted on taking me out into the desert to learn to drive it off-road safely.

I went through a couple of odd cars until I was almost through college. I became obsessed with first generation Mustangs.

I found one I felt I could not live without, the owner said it was 99% restored – I guess if you didn’t count the engine or interior that he was pretty accurate. My Grandpa gave me a loan to buy it and together we restored it. His arrangement with me was that as long as I graduated from college, the restoration was his gift to me.

The real gift was much more that parts and paint. It was the time we spent each week and the satisfaction we felt as we saw it come closer and closer to a completed project.

We scoured junkyards looking for elusive parts. He bought me a buffer to keep the paint looking showroom perfect.

Every Friday for a year and a half we started a new project. Paint, chrome, AC, carburetor, upholstery – the day we had the carpet installed he sat down next to me in the passenger seat and beamed as he told me it smelled just like a new car.

It may not have been our beloved Impala, but it was a car we both loved. Each time I drove it I could see him in it.

I could see his hands in the details. One time after our drive he was concerned about a rattle. When we got home he took a screwdriver and disassembled the dash looking for the source of the noise. He did the same thing on his own car.

When the time came for me to move on to a new town in a new state I packed up that Mustang. I wept upon leaving him, but took comfort in taking a part of him with me in the car we restored together.

I kept the Mustang for several years until the snows of the Cascades made it impractical. It was Grandpa who urged me to sell it and buy something safer.

In the 90s I was restoring a 1967 Buick Riviera. Grandpa gave me some good advice and helped me solve a few technical problems. He also told me when it was time to let it go and move on.

He advised me on all matters automotive for the rest of his life. He advised me on all matters non-automotive as well. His wisdom and belief in me gave me the courage to try new things – to pursue my dreams, even if they lead me away from him.

I took these photos yesterday. I was at an annual antique car festival in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

As I saw the parking lots in our tiny Victorian village filled to overflowing with so many gorgeous old cars that had been lovingly cared for, I thought of the details that Grandpa taught me about…

I found myself identifying so many of them based just on these details.

The owners patiently listened as people like me shared our memories of cars gone by.

There’s something about an old car that brings these memories to the forefront. We all remember the cars of our childhood or the great times we had in cars with friends and loved ones.

These days I live out in the woods where a classic car is just too impractical – even as a hobby. I miss working on one like I miss my Grandpa.

When I see an old car that’s been lovingly cared for, no matter what the make or model I think of him.

But when I see an Impala, it all its splendor, I gasp and am taken back to that place where I sat in the passenger seat alongside the most noble man I ever knew…

Growing up at the Elk’s Lodge

Posted on September 8, 2012 by artsifrtsy

I live about a mile from the local Elk’s Lodge. The lodge sits across the road from a wide open meadow that ends in thick woods. To the east a subdivision runs almost across the meadow. It’s a spot that local white tail deer like to feed. I started taking snaps of the herd about 3 years ago. The first year there were 3 fawns – triplets. I would drive through the meadow on the way home hoping to see them. I noticed on fawn with a small white band just above her nose – she seemed more laid back than the others. She looked me in the eye, she kept grazing if I started to walk towards her with the camera. I named her Doe.

The next year she was back – all grown up. I could recognize her by her calm demeanor and that fine white line just above the black of her nose. When the other deer would turn and run into the woods, she would stay behind and watch me. I made sure to give her some space. I got a few nice snaps, but the distance was just too great.

This spring I upgraded my camera body and the AF is significantly better. My friend is also more comfortable with me. About a month ago I saw her with her own twins – as usual she was not disturbed by my presence…

I got very close to the three of them and shot for about 20 minutes. I noticed that one twin, the one grazing, takes after mom. No concern for my presence. The other one is more vigilant. It trusts it’s mom, but is not comfortable grazing around me…

Being respectful of the more cautious twin I stepped back a few feet. When I did the clam twin moved towards me…

She gave me a nice pose and I noticed something about her – she has the same white stripe on her nose as her mother…

After a few minutes she licked her chops and turned to leave, not in panic, but to look for a better spot to feed…

Last week I cruised by the meadow and saw some deer over near the housing development. I drove over to an empty cul-de-sac and saw that it was Doe and her family. She was a ways off by the treeline, but the twins were pretty close to the road. Not wanting to block them from crossing the road to join their mother I got out of my Jeep and approached them from the far side. My laid back friend turned to check me out – she’s growing so fast…