Since moving to PA from my home state of Kentucky in 1988 I’ve made the drive to and from too many times to count. But make no mistake about it…it’s a long drive. And as I’ve aged it seems the miles between the two states have increased as well. But of course, that’s only true in my mind. 

500 miles, give or take,  and around 8 to 9 hours, depending on how stiff I get sitting. I’ll usually plan a long weekend for my trip south. I’ll leave on a Friday morning, 8 or 9, and be at my destination in Kentucky around 4pm, IF I only stop for gas. The return trip back to PA on Monday usually takes a little longer.  In my 30s and 40s I would be in “vakay mode” almost instantly after arriving in Kentucky, but now I have to rest up a bit after the drive before vacation starts. 

Long weekends are great for getting things done around the house too, and I don’t have to ‘waste’ two days of it sitting!  

Spring can be compared to a Daguerreotype image. Which was the first type of photographic process publicly available, thank you Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) for inventing that process. The image above of Biltmore Estate was edited to resemble a Daguerreotype photo. Made ever so easy to do using the Daguerreotype Photoshop action button in Blake Rudis’s Zone System Express Photoshop panel (thanks Blake!). 

Spring brings many visions, i.e, sights of flowers blooming for the first time. Of course, if you’re a gardener you know that perennials bloom year after year, but during spring there are lots of flowers that we plant for the first time that will make their debut in the garden, and hopefully provide us with a show of beauty and color.

Speaking of color, have I mentioned that I’ve delved into color theory as it pertains to photography and image editing? Well, make no mistake that I have, and I’m kind of up to my neck in it now thanks again to Blake Rudis and his Color Theory for Photographers course. I’m a member of Blake’s online community of photographers…..er, I mean artists at f.64elite.com. I signed up in June of last year, I was a photographer at that time, now I’m an artist that uses a camera to create art. I think that’s a pretty cool change and thinking of myself as an artist is also helping me to discover my artistic vision. What is my artistic vision you might ask? I’ll let Blake answer that for me: 

“Artistic Vision is inexplicable by itself, but it is not one ethereal thing (even though it feels like it). It is literally a Molotov Cocktail of your frame of mind, memory and past experiences, attention and perception, metamemory metacognition and emotional interaction. Everyone’s Artistic Vision is subjective to them because their experiences, thoughts, memories, and ideas vary based on their perception of the world and their environment. There is no right or wrong here, your artistic vision is uniquely yours!” (From Blake’s ”The Color Course, Color Theory for Photographers.”)

This year spring has brought me new challenges with bluebirds, nest boxes, and the invasive and overwhelming population of house sparrows. A house sparrow will kill a bluebird over a nesting box! And I’m struggling to find a solution. I’ll let you know in next week’s blog if it’s gotten any better or worse. 

I’ll end by mentioning the end of copyright protection for a couple of pretty recognizeable characters: The Great Gatsby, Steamboat Willie, and Sherlock Holmes to name three. What does that mean? Lets say I want to create art that shows Steamboat Wilie taking a photo of Gastby and Holmes in a boxing ring. I can do so without worrying about permissions to use those characters in my art. I think Gastby would knock Holmes out in the 3rd round. What do you think?

Happy Spring!

I used to blog on Word Press years ago, general musings about life and backyard gardening. I didn’t blog about photography, other than posting a flower photo now and again. A photo that I probably used in my gardening column. I wrote for a small town newspaper in western Pennsylvania. I enjoyed writing about gardening and folks enjoyed reading my column. But then things started to change with newspapers and the content they provided. The World Wide Web gave you all the info you needed about gardening and you didn’t have to buy a newspaper. My short six or seven year stint as a gardening columnist ignited the spark that’s led to my present day love of photography. I am pleased to be writing again, not so much about gardening this time. I think I’ll try to do my part and help save the world by showing you how photographs can make it a better place. Stay tuned and keep looking.