Infrared Study 5

Infrared Study 5, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

Not long ago I suggested there'd be more images from this affair: flic.kr/p/dDKW3B
As is the case with affairs, what I saw in this beauty causes me to chase other beauties, but I return often to seek that initial spark of imagination.
Maybe it's strange to you that I should spend so much time making portraits of trees and rocks. That I could have a lucrative job making portraits to feed someone's vanity might be a better use of my skill. Maybe, but I can't get enough of trees and rocks!
It's Friday, leave your desk and have a pleasant weekend!

Infrared Learning Curve, Or, Let's Talk About Bonsai

This infrared work I've been doing recently has been very consuming.  In some instances it's like learning photography all over again.  I've commented before about slowing down and being more deliberate with my compositions, but there's a lot more stuff that happens before I press the shutter button.  For instance, I now have to focus twice.  Autofocus is awesome, but infrared light focuses at a different point than the normal visible spectrum.  That means, after finding a composition, you need to focus once for visible light, then make a manual adjustment for the IR light.  Not too difficult a task, but easily messed up or forgotten.  That's one of plenty of extra steps before making an exposure.  I have a list in my notebook so I don't forget them all.  Then there's a lot of decision making back in the studio.  That's what I'm going to show today.

Infrared Study 3

Infrared Study 3, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

After doing a lot of false colour IR, I bought a new filter and reshot the same scenes with the intent of going monochrome. This scene didn't work well as false colour. I find it to be interesting as monochrome, however, I'm not sure why. This is a troubling photograph for me. Someday, I will recognize what is affecting me and I will then know whether to make a thousand more photos like this or never do it again. Until then, please, enjoy what I think is an interesting sketch.

Passage

Passage, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

Moments of introspection and navel-gazing are of great service to the artist, however, they are rarely of much use to an audience. After all, the audience should be staring at the art, not their navels! Within that context, I offer this photo.
Creative endeavours are not linear tracts, not plotable courses. They are often inexplainable, yet, invite curiosity and wistful theories.
Creativity moves at it's own pace on it's own course.
Happy New Year to you all, best of luck in your own endeavors!

The Yearning Tree

The Yearning Tree, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

This time of year seems as good as any to begin an affair with a tree. As with most burgeoning affairs, you can expect to see a lot more of this beauty!

Hypochilus bonneti - Pair

Hypochilus bonneti - Pair, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

Found at the junction of a secondary cave passage and a surface vent in total darkness with good air flow. Female (left) is sitting in her web. Male (right) photographed while moving. The abdomen of each specimen is approximately 8mm.
Maybe spiders aren't the christmas present you hope for, but Santa knows me pretty well.

Dancing Orbs of Light

Dancing Orbs of Light, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

These lights were part of a commercial christmas display but are in their own right part of a large art installation on the grounds. They are constructed with filaments of fiber optics threaded through rods and into ploy-carbonate globes. The lighting was actively changing colour and intensity, so the act of photographing them was similar to playing a game with a spastic child! Great Fun!

How do you Hoodoo?

How do you Hoodoo?, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

...and then I found out that I live near a large collection of hoodoos! Holy crap... hoodoos!
The following day the road closed due to adverse conditions and may not open until spring-ish. Grrr....

FCIR Study-5

FCIR Study-5, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

I did a kind of "lollipop" hike around this formation photographing as I went. When I think of infrared photos, I see inky black skies, white glowy foliage. Out here in the desert, we have lots of sky, but not so much foliage. Capturing the striations in this hill was a complete surprise, to me anyway. Normally the skies aren't so cluttered with contrails, and normally I don't shoot when they are, but here again, just going out for an experiment was a lucky and fortuitous endeavor.
Happy Friday!

Christmas Star Trails

Christmas Star Trails, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

A different kind of star trail today. This season is full of low hanging fruit that's ripe for the picking. Not bad for a handheld spur of the moment JPG with the little point & shoot.
Cheers!

Cache Cabin

Cache Cabin, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

The interior of this shelter is incredibly small. Can't imagine what the original purpose might have been. A great find nonetheless!

FCIR Study-3

FCIR Study-3, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

Still in the backyard doing false colour infrared studies. Living on the edge of the desert watching the approach of winter probably wasn't the best time to catch the IR bug, but I'll be ready come spring!
Doing this slow, technical, deliberate, work has me thinking and looking more than shooting... What a joyful side-effect!

FCIR Study-2

FCIR Study-2, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

One of my favorite discoveries in this area was this "nostril rock". Figured that I was making strangely coloured photos, so why not up the oddness a bit. This is another false coloured infrared photograph. The sepia toning is a characteristic of the filter I'm using as it allows a portion of the visible spectrum to pass as well as infrared light. The foliage is actually white or shades of grey, but an optical illusion is giving it the appearance of being slightly cyan. Kind of geeky and kind of cool, so I'm sticking with it for now. Composing a shot like this involves working through a nearly opaque filter, there's a lot of redundancy and note-taking involved. Not usually part of my MO - but strangely, I'm enjoying it very much.

FCIR Study-1

FCIR Study-1, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

I dusted off an old camera to begin experimenting with infrared photos… again. It isn't very straightforward, and there is a huge learning curve. If you are the research type, you may shorten your experimentation, but my art school background demands I just continue to fail until I succeed. Anyway, I went off into the backyard and started shooting. While trying to figure out how to develop a decent IR image, I discovered a method of conversion that produced this effect. Similar to a duotone, but with full RGB information. Kind of like the false colour thing and they seem interesting enough to share. Plenty more to come.

Flowers For Monday

 The ethereal genus: Nymphaea.

Sometimes my photography is not about spacial depth and exploring three dimensions within the expressional constraints of two.  Sometimes it is a story of colour and texture.

Spring 2012 Cover of Rocky Mountain Caving!

 My photograph was selected as the Spring 2012 cover of Rocky Mountain Caving magazine.  The original is below.  I'm quite pleased, it's my first cover shot!

Deadwood Gulch Scene 1

Deadwood Gulch Scene 1, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

It happens a lot that I just stop along whatever road I'm traveling along and head into the forrest. Chasing a hunch or Sasquatch or flash of colour. That's the story for these three little cascades. Driving with the windows down I saw a small stream that sounds much bigger than it looked. (Riding with me as a passenger is pretty interesting, I'm told.) Of course we stopped and these were the reward for our curiosity.

Deadwood Gulch Scene 2

Deadwood Gulch Scene 2, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

It happens a lot that I just stop along whatever road I'm traveling along and head into the forrest. Chasing a hunch or Sasquatch or flash of colour. That's the story for these three little cascades. Driving with the windows down I saw a small stream that sounds much bigger than it looked. (Riding with me as a passenger is pretty interesting, I'm told.) Of course we stopped and these were the reward for our curiosity.

Deadwood Gulch Scene 3

Deadwood Gulch Scene 3, a photo by McF Studios on Flickr.

It happens a lot that I just stop along whatever road I'm traveling along and head into the forrest. Chasing a hunch or Sasquatch or flash of colour. That's the story for these three little cascades. Driving with the windows down I saw a small stream that sounds much bigger than it looked. (Riding with me as a passenger is pretty interesting, I'm told.) Of course we stopped and these were the reward for our curiosity.

In other news...

I built the frame for this table in 1998.  As soon as I put it in my living room, I decided I needed a TV stand more than a coffee table.  So that's where it stayed, unfinished but functional.
When we moved to Rifle, CO this year, we decided not to move the TV.  So this table was no longer functional and being unfinished it was also kind of an eyesore.  But no longer!  Can't wait until is gets its first coffee cup ring.
Fifteen years is a long time... Guess I should have thrown that damn TV out sooner.