Unique Finds on a Hike – Excerpts from a Photo Shoot

I’ve attached two shots from a photo shoot I did during one of my hikes in the Cascade Mountains just east of Seattle. One is a macro of a single mushroom that I almost didn’t see in the undergrowth of the forest and the other one of a rotted stump.  Both shots represent unique opportunities often overlooked in the sheer beauty of a hike in a heavily forested area.

“The Mushroom”

I couldn’t have arranged the leaves and the mushroom head more perfectly if I had done it myself. This shot was along the path I was hiking and I almost didn’t see this single mushroom poking through the leaves of the surrounding undergrowth. Getting down on my knees and shooting it from a slight downward angle, framed it perfectly.

“Sunlit Stump”

The uniqueness of this shot was not just the subject matter, but the sun shining on the rotted stump and the perspective of it in the view framed by live trees.  The visual changed dramatically just walking a few feet in either direction on the path. The sunlight caught my eye bringing this large stump into center stage. The framing of the shot with the live trees had me walking the path forwards and backwards looking for just the right alignment, which I think I found.

Thoughts?

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The Jacaranda Tree – Excerpts From a Photo Shoot

We were in Los Angeles for Memorial Day weekend (weekend before last) visiting our daughter and son-in-law, but more importantly our first grandchild (just hit the 6 month mark). We try and go as often as we can for obvious reasons. I volunteered to do the daily stroller outing into the neighborhood each day while we were there (she loves to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air, sights, birds, etc.). I always wandered up into the hills with her as the climbing was good exercise for grandpa and the views were spectacular for both of us (more on that next week in my post). One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the Jacaranda trees in full bloom.

If you’re not familiar with Jacaranda trees, they are native to subtropical regions of Mexico, Central America, South America, Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Having said that, this particular species of the Jacaranda family has been widely planted across the globe and regions well known for them now include South Africa, Australia and in the US, Florida, Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles. I love this time of year when they are in full bloom. I have seen pockets of neighborhoods across Southern California where they have been planted in abundance and this time of year you have a sea of purple.

I have attached five shots I took on one of our outings giving you an idea of the beauty of these trees in bloom.

Jacaranda One

You can see how they add a dramatic touch of color and of course you have the mess of dropped petals to contend with (well worth it to me…we had one at the end of our driveway in San Diego and the concrete was always covered in purple as the petals dropped).

Jacaranda Two

This shot shows two next to a driveway on our walk through the hillsides.

Jacaranda Three

The trees are scattered throughout these hillside neighborhoods and give you that pop of color.

Jacaranda Four

This gives you a close up look at the blooms…

Jacaranda Five

as does this final shot. Thoughts?

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Autumn Colors – Featured Art Print

 

Autumn Colors

 

Autumn Colors: a wall art print where I used an impasto oil technique creating this scene. This technique uses bold brush strokes and bright color tones creating a traditional oil painting look. This particular wall art print depicts trees in a park at their peak of fall colors.

The setting is Issaquah, Washington located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain range to the east of Seattle. Once a small stop along the rail line between Seattle to the west and North Bend in the Cascade Mountains to the east, this town has become a thriving and vibrant suburb within the metropolitan area of Seattle. Thoughts?

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Celebration of Fall Colors – Excerpts From a Photo Shoot

My favorite time of year is fall. I love autumn colors as they paint the landscape with vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. In celebration of this time of year, I have attached five color photographs I have just added to my Color Photography One Gallery. These shots were from a photo shoot I did in Issaquah, Washington.

Issaquah Train Station

The first capture shows the Issaquah Train Station (now a museum). I like the perspective of the capture looking down the train tracks with the station and fall colors framing the composition.

The Sidewalk And Fall

The second shot is looking down a sidewalk along one of the main thoroughfares. I like the look of the sidewalk meandering beneath the bright reds and yellows of the fall foliage.

Walkway Under A Canopy Of Yellow

The third picture is another sidewalk shot along the same thoroughfare. In this capture, the bright yellow foliage forms a brilliant canopy over the sidewalk.

Bright Orange Fall Colors

This fourth shot, highlights bright orange leaves.

Fall Color In The Woods

And then the fifth shot shows the mix of colors found in the woods that surround the town.

The display of color is stunning in this town nestled in the foothills of the Cascades just east of Seattle.…thoughts?

I invite you to visit my Color Photography One Gallery to enjoy these prints and many more.

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Abstract Forest Canopy – Featured Art Prints

I love the look of a forest canopy…the boughs of a tree, creating a ceiling of leaves and the sun peaking through the cracks. On the attached three art prints, I chose to take that view and create an abstract look. Using a technique that creates small geometric shapes to define the subject matter and surreal colors, the final result is a colorful representation of a walk in the forest looking skyward.

Forest Canopy

The first print keeps with natural colors, but obvious geometric shapes to fill in the subject matter of a tree canopy. The perspective looks skyward, yet with this technique, it creates a more whimsical feel to the scene.

Purple Tree Branches

The second print uses the same shape technique, but adds the element of the sun peaking through a canopy of purple branches. The colors add a bold statement pulling the eye into the scene.

Purple Stand of Trees

The third print really capitalizes on the purple color tones integrating the bold color into a forest scene created with the same abstract shapes.

All three create unique art prints of one of nature’s gifts, the forest canopy. Thoughts?

I invite you to visit my Abstract Watercolor Gallery to enjoy these prints and many more.

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Hiking in The Pacific Northwest – Featured Art Prints

Anyone that has been following my blog, knows I love hiking. A lot of my work comes from the various hikes I have ventured on. This time of year makes me think of the deep woods, just before the fall colors start appearing in the leaves. One of my favorite hiking spots was a trail very near where we were living in Issaquah, Washington while our house was being built here in the Phoenix area. The trail-head was just a small parking area along the road we lived on. The trail immediately disappears into the woods with the dense forest and undergrowth of the Pacific Northwest. This particular trail had an elevation gain of around 1200 ft and was about 11 to 12 miles round trip. What I loved the most was the diversity of the forest along the trail…around each bend, the scene would change and draw you further in to see what was next. I have attached 7 art prints I have done in an impasto style technique. This style uses bold, thick brush strokes creating a texture to the scene that compliments the setting of the deep forest….enjoy!!

Hiking 1

Hiking 2

Hiking 3

Hiking 4

Hiking 5

Hiking 6

Hiking 7

Thoughts?

I invite you to visit my Landscape Oil Gallery to enjoy these prints and many more.

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Picnic Table by the Tracks – Featured Art Print

I wanted to finish the week by embracing and celebrating fall. Fall is my favorite season for a variety of reason. The weather change is an obvious, but more importantly the explosion of color as the leaves turn colors. In honor of that I am featuring the attached art print “Picnic Table by the Tracks” from my Landscape Oil Gallery.

Picnic Table by the Tracks

The print is done using an impasto oil technique. This style uses large brush strokes and bright, bold colors. Both elements seem appropriate for this print to make the setting really pop with color and texture. What I like about this particular scene is the picnic table nestled in the background on the other side of the railroad tracks. The most dominating feature in this print is the row of brightly colored trees. The one in the front is just turning, but the rest in the row behind it are at their peak of bright yellow and have been losing leaves that are now covering the ground. The mix of the colors in the leaves creates depth to the fall foliage. The other prominent feature in the setting is the set of railroad tracks running parallel with the trees. It’s then, that you see the lonely picnic table sitting under a tree by the tracks. You have to ask yourself what is that all about?

If an art print can make you pause and look deeper into it, whether it is the colors, texture or subject matter, then the artist has succeeded. I know the story behind this setting, yet I still find myself drawn into the picture. I have another print with these infamous tracks that I will share next week and the puzzle about the tracks gets even more interesting with that one. Thoughts?

I invite you to come into the gallery to view the collection in Landscape Oil.

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Pine Forest – Excerpts From a Photo Shoot

Pine Trees 1

The excerpts from a photo shoot I want to share today are from a picnic lunch we had with some friends last weekend. As I always travel with my camera, I was ready for these shots. We had traveled Saturday morning to watch a scrimmage football game by Arizona State University. The facility they have been using is a camp nestled in a pine forest away from campus and the city. With the heat here in Phoenix this time of year this certainly makes more sense for the players. The drive doesn’t take that long and before you know it, you have climbed in elevation, the desert is behind you and pine trees are everywhere. After the scrimmage, we drove further up out of the valley into the mountains and found this spot to eat. The view was incredible, the food and company were great. It was nice to just sit and relax in conversation as gentle afternoon breezes blew through the pine trees.

This first shot is of the valley where we had just been. The area we had found had a small granite ledge that jutted out over the edge.

Pine Trees 2

The second shot is from our picnic table looking through the trees towards the ledge in picture 1.

Pine Trees 3

The third shot is the forest with the valley in the right of the frame. The lack of undergrowth in the woods was very different than what I was hiking in last year in the Cascades, but reminded us of the Colorado pine forests where we had lived many years ago. Obviously the rainfall is different between this part of the country and the Pacific Northwest. 🙂

So, this week, I’m just sharing some shots from my weekend, no words of wisdom or incredible insights….just enjoy the scenery!

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Simplicity in Nature – Excerpts from a Photo Shoot

One of the things I am always on the lookout for is simplicity in a potential photograph to focus in on. If I’m doing a photo shoot on a hike, it’s that moment of sunlight coming through the forest canopy framing a plant or log. It can be that simple touch of color in the undergrowth or the unique plant popping through the forest growth. I call that simplicity in nature. As I have mentioned, for me it can take a number of shots to get just the right one. I’ve attached a series of shots I took on a particular hike. I saw something that pulled all of the simplistic elements together for me…sunlight through the forest canopy shining on new growth sprouting from a moss-covered branch. From the attached 6 shots, I pulled one that I added to my galleries completely untouched…no cropping or color adjustments needed. Which one would you have picked and I will tell you which one made it to a final art print and why.

Simplicity 1

Simplicity 2

Simplicity 3

Simplicity 4

Simplicity 5

Simplicity 6

I chose number 6 as the final art print and here’s why. I like the two branches of new growth versus the one as in 1-3. Looking at 4-6, the focus on the two foreground plants was perfect in 5 & 6. Narrowing it down to these two, I preferred the background growth being centered in number 6…blurred as intended, but centered. It creates a visual balance between the foreground and background. Thoughts?

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The Sun in the Trees – Excerpts from a Photo Shoot

I’m attaching some shots I took a couple of weeks ago when I was out on a photo shoot. That particular outing was a 2 hour hike into the desert for saguaro cactus blooms. I was able to get some shots, but had more fun as I was about two blocks away from our house on the way back. Coming into our neighborhood is a common area that is planted with desert trees, shrubs and plants. The trees were in full spring bloom with yellow flowers and as I was walking on the sidewalk under them, I looked up and caught the sun shining thru the leaves and thought…”how cool”. Having grown up shooting film, I still hesitate taking sunlight shots with digital as not something you do readily with film. With all of this going through my head and wanting to take some shots to play with, let’s just say I decided the best angle would be laying on the sidewalk on my back. Simple enough with no one around to wonder what the heck you are doing….wrong….let’s just say a morning “power walker” came around the corner on that same sidewalk. Imagine her surprise to find a 60 yr man with camera and back pack stretched out blocking her route. Unfortunately for her, it took me a few minutes to realize I was being watched. Feeling like an idiot and being the smart ass I am, I said…”This must look really weird.” Her reply was a “Yes, but the good news for you is I appreciate good photography and get what you’re doing!”

Sun in Trees One

Sun in Trees Two

The last one… I played with the contrast and darkened the shot for comparison sakes. Not sure what if anything I will do with the shots, but wanted to share them and the story. Thoughts?

Sun in Trees Three

 

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