Da Goddess

Being such good friends (although they have their occasional fights), neither Don nor Noam mind having to go out on a limb for the other.

I feel as though I’ve been cheating on you. And it’s not really a pleasant feeling either. Y’see, the thing is, I’ve been sick the last couple days and everything that’s popped up on the site was posted automatically.

My hours have been funky, to say the least. So I try to make the most of them. I upload, edit publishing date, push the little buttons this way and that, and then the next time I’m awake, I check comments so I can kind of keep up.

You probably don’t care, but it’s bothered me. Honestly, it’s more that I feel so disconnected and I don’t like it.

In a few hours, I’ll be heading in for my P.T. eval. I can’t reschedule it as I’ve already done it once and I need to get started. Only death or uncontrolled bleeding would keep me from this appointment. Okay, maybe a major fever would do it, too, but that’s not the case. I’m sinus-y and my stomach’s all messed up. It’s icky, yet not bad enough to keep me from my appointment. It has kept me from L.D. though and I hate that. I just can’t have him sick.

Anyhow, so there it is. My confession. Have mercy, please.

*sniffle*

*whimper*

*urp*

I give it until tomorrow to go away and then I’m cutting off my head and my stomach and getting on with life.

I do! I love art. In all its many forms. It makes my heart and head sing in the most beautiful way. Without it, I’d be heartbroken. It brings me peace, inspires me, makes my soul soar, and it gives me great joy.

Walking through Balboa Park a week or so ago, I saw the art museum’s big banner depicting a William-Adolphe Bouguereau painting. I immediately went back to 1993. I was still in Colorado at that time and my mom had come to visit with me and baby Mojo. During her visit, we went to museums — natural history for the Aztec exhibit, and the art museum, where we found “Two Girls” painting. I fell in love with it right away. I reminded me of my sisters for some reason and I was thrilled when I found it in the form of a poster in the gift shop. I bought the poster and my mom said she’d pay to have it framed. To this day, it hangs in a very prominent place in my home. I have art everywhere, including the bathroom. I can’t live without it.

Back in September, I wrote about an artist named Earl Klatzel. Some of you went to visit his site and immediately discovered a real treasure. Well, because you went to explore, Earl came over this way to see what was going on. He then emailed me. And since then, we’ve exchanged numerous emails. In one of the emails, he asked if he could use some photos to help him build a portrait of Honeyboy Edwards. I said yes without hesitation (really, I’m that easy when it comes to art, it seems). A couple weeks ago, he emailed me to let me know the painting was finished and gave me permission to share it.

About the only way to do this painting justice is to quote an early email between Earl and I because what I said about his other paintings is exactly what I would say about this one.

…the right facial expression and pose as a means of communicating the style and sound of his music [regarding Honeyboy Edwards]. You do that so brilliantly in your work already. I don’t know if it’s the colors you use or the obvious love you have for your subject, but you capture more than mere ambience. I’ve spent hours getting lost in your images. Each tells a story in a way that I can’t describe. There’s warmth, sorrow, joy, and even music ringing forth from your paintings that many others lack. Believe me, I’ve poured through thousands of photos of paintings, drawings, and photographs, and the majority are “nice” but fail to move me the way your work does. And that’s why I come back to it time and time again.

Like most Klatzel portraits, Honeyboy is not only shown in the foreground as we know him, but the background tells the story of how he lived as a younger man — the life that shaped him and led him to where he is now. Amazingly, Earl captures the essence of his subjects with such clarity that I can hear the music and feel the wooshing of air as Honeyboy plays his guitar.

My imagination is good, but not that good. Only art brings that out. And I am grateful and honored to have been a tiny part of the process. Thank you, Earl!

Can you imagine a world without art or music? I can’t. It’d be like a world without books, without the laughter of children, without birds singing, and dare I get so touchy-feely and say like a life without a single embrace. To me, that’s not living. That’s exsisting. And that is simply unacceptable to me.

So go on, go soak up some beauty. Feel the sun warm you, smell the richness of the soil, feel the dust on your skin, and hear the music in Earl’s work. Tell him I said hello!

Sometimes I get two shots of something and find myself torn between the two choices. I like them each for different reasons and yet can’t say one is better than the other. knows what I mean. Now, below you’ll find two images, almost identical. I like the one on the left because of the extra green on the right. I like the one on the right because the shadows are different. How to choose?? That’s where you come in. Tell me which you like better. The person who writes the most compelling comment about which photo is better will receive a digital download of the image. (For a look at the larger version of each, please check out 102 [pictured to the right in image below] and 103 [being on the left in photo below] on Flickr)

Oh, and by the way, my inspiration: I saw in this plant the green equivalent of an Antelope Valley slot canyon, if that makes any sense. (Just nod and pat me on the head. I’ll shut up eventually.)

I’m a sucker for details and this plant seemed to be beckoning me closer.

Saturday morning, I arose early to get ready for a trip to a local brewery for a group shoot. I ran over to one friend’s house, picked up my 8GB card, and then went to wait on the corner for my ride. Ride showed up and off we went. Just as we were about to turn onto the freeway, “POP!” Actually, it was more than a “pop”, but I don’t know exactly how else to describe the sound. Anyhow, the passenger window behind the driver was shattered and glass sprayed into the vehicle. The brewery shoot was now just a dream. I called one of the organizers to let him know we wouldn’t be attending. Ride dropped me off home again and I considered my options.

I ended up calling my friend who I’d awakened earlier and who was, by now, fully awake. We decided to go for a walk. We headed up to the Sky Reserve. It was my first visit to this incredibly beautiful park, but it won’t be my last.

Among the many wonderful sights, was this:

And there was my Saturday treasure. Jutting up from the ground, no tree nearby to claim the leaf, it stood tall and proud. The light had found its way down through the canopy and highlighted just this singular brilliant leaf. Aside from creative presentation, this photo is straight out of the camera.

Two-hundred twenty-two photos uploaded to Finally. In the midst of uploading the last 50, I received an email from a blogger for the local PBS website asking if she could use a photo. I said yes.

This is only the latest of happy photography-related news. I was asked by a performer on Friday to take more photos for a French magazine. No pay, but it’s exposure, right? If they use my photos. That’s one of the reasons I shot so much and worked so hard to get everything done right away. Thank goodness I only had to brighten some photos and then do a little noise reduction. Can you imagine how long it would have taken me if I had to fully retouch faces and everything? I’d be here for a month.

Sigh. Job #38 done. Still working on #19-37, though. And haven’t even considered #39. Well, maybe just a little since there aren’t that many.

For now, sleep. I was up all night working on the photos and I think I’ve earned my nap.

…not to take so many damn photos. Seriously? I took way too many on Friday and am still in the process of editing them. I did, however, sleep through most of yesterday. Yes, I missed the Superbowl and the commercials and everything surrounding that GIANT EVENT. I wasn’t horribly invested in either team, so really, what did I miss? Those commercials will eventually air when I can see them, too, so my guess is that I missed two teams playing football and that was about it.

Back to me, ‘cuz it’s all about me. My photography. Did I overshoot? Yep. A bit. But in a low light situation, with moving subjects, and the potential for some special moment to occur, that’s what you do. Oh sure, there are photographers out there who don’t shoot this way and would lecture me nine ways ’til Sunday about my methods, but this is what I do and I would rather do it this way than shoot less and miss The Shot. It’s digital. I’m not breaking the bank with film and developing costs. Plus, I am fully aware of what I’m in for with editing while I’m shooting.

That said, I do need to learn a bit of restraint and shoot less. In general, I mean. Because life does happen while I’m sitting here editing.

Still…

I laughed long and hard when I got this email:

• 4 GB of memory lasts most people a month but barely lasts you the afternoon. I have yet to completely fill the 4GB card, but I got really, really close a couple times.
• You know what aperture-priority means. Duh.
• You delete more photos in a week than most people make all year. Guilty guilty guilty!
• You need just one more lens. Did I tell you I want the Lensbaby Composer? I do, very much. And I was given money precisely for this purchase. I just need to find someone capable of buying it for me online so I don’t have to pay shipping or tax.
• You’ve crawled on the ground to get a shot of something rusty. That started when I was young and only hasn’t happened lately because of my back. But in a nutshell, yeah.
• Your camera equipment is worth more than your car. What car?
• No one else brings a camera to an event if they know you’re coming. Totally true! Except big family things. Then we have several.
• Your family doesn’t recognize you without a camera covering your face. My son once remarked, “wow! You have two eyes. TWO!”
• You have thousands of pictures and you’re not in any of them. I like it that way.
• You’ve been up before dawn or out in the freezing cold or even done something semi-dangerous… all for a photograph. The point being??
• Your friends ask you to shoot a family Christmas portrait for them as a favor. Yep.
• You wish your camera equipment cost less so that your insurance would cost less. Uh, um, insurance? Get back to me on that one in two years.
• You put your digital film wallet in your pants pocket in the morning even before your car keys. Don’t need to with the 8GB card. I’m sure someday I’ll be that way. Oh wait, with my old camera? I had several cards, so, yes.
• You have enough camera bags in your closet to pack up your entire house. I have three. Only three camera bags. But many other bags large enough to fit extra gear if needed, so I guess that’s a “true”.
• You choose airlines based on carry on baggage allowance. I’ve totally done this. NEVER pack gear in anything you can’t carry on the plane unless you’ve been hired to shoot the Olympics and you have to bring 30 lenses and multiple camera backs.
• PS8 is a software program and not a school you attended as a child. Not that we have PS anything (school-related) out here, but I do remember PS6, 7, and 8. And I’ve since moved on to PSP X2, thankyouverymuch.
• Your family cringes every time you say, “I’ll be right there, I just need to take a couple shots of this.” They groan, too. And not just family. Non-photo friends do the same.

I can see the end of editing this batch. It’s looming on the near horizon. God, give me the strength to reach it!

That’s what Tomcat Courtney always says. He’s a local bluesman who just celebrated his 80th birthday. Friday night, the blues society threw him a party. It was an evening filled with spectacular music, good friends, and all around fun. I took far too many photos, through which I’m still digging and editing.

Anyhow, here’s a quick peek at some of the goings on.