New Big Bend Work

I have a ton of new work in the "works" (about 37 GB of files that need weeding, selecting, and editing). I've started posting some images from the recent trip to Big Bend over on my "photos-only" blog.

click to enter photos-only blog

See you over there, thanks!

AR 32 - Fall Has Arrived

Fall, or what passes for fall down here in Texas, is in full swing. Today is cold and rainy, and I probably won't get out for a walk. I don't mind the cold, but the damp isn't good for electronics.

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I thought my fascination with motion blurs wouldn't last very long, but it seems to have taken hold of my interests. The more I do it, the more I get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

What I like about it is that it abstracts colors and shapes into information that is easier to digest. Literal shots are hard to make sometimes because you have to deal with all the information in the photo (the messy looking pile of leaves and branches in the near background that's in focus with the foreground subject, for example). Blurred abstracts can smear away other detail not critical to the main subject if you do it right.

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Not all scenes lend themselves to blurring, and there are many factors to play with such as shutter speed, camera movement, focal length, and distance to the subject. I've mostly played around with simple panning along defined lines in the scene (e.g. tree branches or trunks).

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We'll see where this goes. The days are getting shorter and daylight savings is about to end. My normal walks will be in near darkness soon.

AR 31 - Color and Motion

The literal world is starting to escape me.

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A cool feature of the Canon G11 is a built-in neutral density filter. This has been used on nearly every motion blur that I've shot recently.

The Field Lab

Last Friday some friends and I paid a visit to the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy And Sustainable Living Field Laboratory, otherwise known as The Field Lab. It is owned by John Wells, and he maintains a daily blog here: thefieldlab.blogspot.com.

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We caught up with John at the Grub Shack on Terlingua Ranch Road and visited over lunch. He then led us out to his place and gave us the grand tour.

You can read all about his work on his website and blog. Basically, he's living off the grid and working towards a 100% self-sustainable life on his property located on Terlingua Ranch.

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His massive greenhouse project was most impressive. He has many other projects going, including a self-powered washing machine dubbed the Bike-O-Worsher. We also got to meet Benita, a longhorn cow that is a Field Lab regular and a companion, pet, and guard to John. Who needs a dog with teeth when you have a 1000 lb.-plus animal with horns like that? :-)

Many thanks to John for his hospitality and giving us the tour!

AR 30 - A Blur of Interest

Here we go again with more motion blurring :-)

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It's fun, yet difficult. It takes a lot of trial and error and I'm just barely beginning to get a feel for it.

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I enjoy the effect because it abstracts the scene into basic forms that, hopefully, are still recognizable. But it still captures the same colors and forms that I'm noticing with my eyes when I see the scene.

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Of course the literal shot is still interesting, such as this yellow flowering weed and bee. There were many bees working around this plant.

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Finally, another snake sighting. I was moving towards a palm tree to try a motion blur when I instinctively checked the ground first. Sure enough, there lay a cottonmouth.

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It's funny, and a little scary, how many times I've ventured off-path only to discover a snake in waiting. At least I've learned to check first.

AR 29 - Motion

This post picks back up on regular timing. This walk was just two days ago.

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I've had a recent and sudden inspiration, many thanks to Marti Jeffers. Basically, this is a new approach of seeing the world in shapes, lines, and colors through the technique of motion blur.

The above shot was taken while I was walking. I also panned the camera upwards a bit during the exposure.

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This photo above was taken during high winds. I held the camera nearly still for the exposure.

AR 28 - Trees and Post

This entry is for a walk I did almost a month ago. I'm way behind on things after all the activities and trips that have happened in October.

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The fungus covered tree is an interesting one that I see every time that I walk. I'm becoming familiar now with almost every tree and bush along the path.

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The path is marked with posts every quarter mile. Above the engraved numbers are little red hearts. This post is weathered pretty well.

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Back from Big Bend

My life is returning to normal after a period of traveling. Most of October was spent traveling for work and also work (photography work :-) ).

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I spent 10 days away from home to be involved in a photography workshop in Big Bend. I assisted Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers in a TME (The Mindful Eye) workshop.

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More images will come although slowly. I have a lot of work ahead to catch up on things!

AR 27 - Trees, Seeds, and Snakes

The weather was beautiful yesterday with temps in the mid-to-high 80's and significantly lower humidity. The days are getting noticeably shorter too, so my walks are taking place effectively later in the day in terms of daylight.

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I've not been too focused on photography lately. My mind has wandered a lot during the past two walks, and I've not concentrated much on seeing and discovering things that I want to shoot.

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But that is the purpose of this photo-walk project. The more I do it, the more accustomed I am to seeing and photographing, and the easier it becomes for me to slip into a meaningful and productive photographic process (and get to my happy place).

I'm hoping to get out today too, especially since the weather is still really nice here. I'm about to head into a period of about three weeks where I won't get much opportunity to go walk in the reservoir.

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Once again I was startled by a cottonmouth right next to the paved trail. I didn't even see it until it had flipped around and was quickly wiggling away. I missed getting a shot. Shortly later, I came across a rather large one stretched across the pavement. It also took off quick but then paused in the grass next to the trail.

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AR 26 - Fall Shows Up; Snake in Grass

Fall weather is showing up here slowly, although it's our version of fall: a cycle of a few days with slightly cooler temps (and we all take to sitting outside in the evenings and repeatedly say "nice!, nice!") followed by a few days of back-to-summer heat and humidity.

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This walk is actually from late last week, a full four weeks since walk #25. I'm always disappointed when I have gaps in time like that, and I always have several excuses (but honestly there's a bit of laziness mixed in there too).

I should be walking a bunch this week since we're in a period of dry, cool weather. But I'm busy with chores at home and two big photo-related projects that have been taking a lot of my time lately. I'm done with one now (updating my website) and just about done with the other. More about that later :-)

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I walked right up to this cottonmouth sitting in the grass alongside the trail. It perked its head up and looked at me as I approached absent minded and unaware. I jumped back and raised my camera all in one motion.

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It quickly decided to leave, so the shot is of the snake headed away from me, and that was a good thing.

Big Bend Gallery Done (Sept. '10)

The gallery for my recent work in Big Bend National Park is now up:
www.thomasjavery.com/bb_sept10

Click to enter gallery.

Big Bend is still an ongoing project for me, and it is definitely my favorite location to visit and photograph. I'll be headed out there again in almost two weeks.

During this next trip, I will be a second assistant to Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers (The Mindful Eye) on their workshop. I'm greatly looking forward to spending more time in the Big Bend area as well as being part of the TME workshop.

New and Updated Website

I would like to announce two major changes to my photography website.

1 The website address now has its own domain name: http://www.thomasjavery.com

The old Texbrick address still works, but will point to the new domain name if you visit it.

2 Major update in content and structure.

I have decided to focus my website on my major photography projects. I think they contain my best work, and I want to feature them rather than have them lost in a sea of bigger content as before.

I will continue to work on all four projects, and I will update their webpages as I generate new content.

If you spot any bugs or errors on the new site, please let me know! Thanks!

Updates and New Photos

I posted so much in August that I feel an explanation is needed for my two week lag here on my blog.

desert rainstorm
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My wife and I had a nice trip to Big Bend National Park over Labor Day weekend. Photos and reports from this trip will come soon as I'm still in the process of editing.

South Rim of the Chisos
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Other "life" activities and happenings have been getting in the way, including a bad cold and sinus infection. Staring at a computer monitor is the last thing I want to do when I have a throbbing, pounding, ice-pick-in-my-forehead headache!

Stay tuned, there's more ahead. Hopefully I can resume my normal photo-walks very soon.