A gift

Upon retrieving the mail, I held in my hands a small, almost square package from a person who’s name or address was unfamiliar. It was a book about heart shaped stones and only after reading the accompanying enclosed letter, did I realized it came from a person I met April 4th at Bean Hollow State Park beach, which lies between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

The Gift

Her name is Elizabeth and she was traveling down along the Pacific coast taking photographs of the scenery. We struck up a conversation and after an introduction I told her that a little further south was Whitehouse Cliff trail that leads to a cove I have considered my pirates/smugglers cove, my place to escape to. The place I discovered my first  two heart shaped stones during a storm.

Deep down inside me I wanted to share that spot with her, since it was a public spot, but that was not to be. During the course of taking pictures, Elizabeth called out to me and gestured I come to her, for she had discovered a heart shaped opening in the rock formation. Elizabeth continued photographing the varied stone structures as did I and before I left, giving her the name of my web site that she wrote down in her notebook.

From my collection

When I learned the gift came from her, three months after our initial contact and that she remembered how personally important heart shaped stones are to me, I was deeply touched by her kindness, especially as her correspondence contained some sad news, the kind we all face at one point or another.

The brief hour we shared at a public beach, each fulfilling our creative vision, while sharing a conversation, has now become a permanent memory through the gift. Maybe our paths will cross again and we meet once more, for it would be something I would look forward to with pleasure.

Thank you Elizabeth for brightening my day.

Thank you for your visit

and comment . . .

Egmont

Guest David Savellano and the ECAA

El Cerrito Art Association attending members

Last month I attend El Cerrito Art Association’s first meeting of the year, which featured guest speaker David Savellano, it was also my first exposure to the ECAA group. The large room was filled to capacity and a large number of the audience brought along their sketchbook and paints to follow along.

ECAA Director, Charlotte Britton 

David Savellano demonstrated travel sketching techniques and pointing out that one does not need much in materials, because what is more important is to capture the random moments in nature or anywhere else one chooses or the inspiration leads one.

David favors urban settings that requires adaptability and above all great speed. This means that one must focus on the essentials and know what to eliminate since everything at best is temporary. By focusing on the important elements of a scene, ones art work reflects the energy of spontaneity in this particular art form of expression.

• Other points of David’s presentation focused on composition and keeping people and environmental objects in relative measurement

• When drawing people to create an outline and then cross hatch in the shadow areas and nothing more

• To gather photo and magazine clippings of people for reference when ones sketch is incomplete

• Limiting ones materials to a small folding metal palette with professional quality tubes paints; a #8 round synthetic and medium size squirrel quill mop brush; and a Moleskine Watercolour Notebook 8x5” inch; a small bottle for water

David with a finished demonstration sketch

David Savellano lives in the Bay Area and is a native Californian, he has earned signature membership in the National Watercolor Society (NWS) and the California Watercolor Association (CWA).

During the brief break, ECAA members look over David’s watercolours and notebooks

I regards to my last post, the painting in progress, “White on White” has been completed and I will share with you the various stages of progress very soon. Not wanting to lose the momentum with which I seem to have started the year, this Saturday I pulled a canvas that has been patiently waiting around since 2008 to receive due attention and giving its first coat of paint.

Thank you for your visit and comment

Egmont

I am finally painting again

Earlier this month we had record high temperatures as if it were mid-August, now it has been raining most of the week and by tomorrow the temperatures are to drop so low that if the rain continues, we are expecting the possible of snow in the lower elevations. The last time the Bay Area had any snow was in 1976, however I was in Europe at the time and therefore have no recollection of the event. 

Right now I welcome the rain as there is nothing better to do than to paint, continuing the work I started about a week ago on my first painting in more than a year ago. in the meantime I look forward to the possibility of a little snow.

After applying the sculptured material to the canvas, it was time to prepare the entire surface for painting by applying gesso. Doing so with a brush which which I will be painting in Acrylic and then using oils, helps me to contact mow directly with the surface and get a feel for the type of brush work I will need to apply for the desired effect.

It will be at least another two weeks before I may consider the painting finished, in part because white always takes longer to dry and the weather is not helping in that department. Besides, the process of painting needs to evolve, were the artist connects with the painting and vise versa. 

Upon the completion of the painting I will share with you the entire evolution and process, along with plenty of photographs that have documented the process through the various stages. So stay tuned.

Thank you for your visit and comment,

Egmont

My first heart walk

This last Thursday I participated in my first American Heart Association Walk for 2010, joining the staff of Alta Bates Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Center and patients.

Alta Bates Cardiovascular Rehabilitation group

The weather could not have been any better, considering Friday was overcast and there is a forecast for light showers today. We were a small group of 23 individuals when considering Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo volunteers and other groups who participated in the annual event.

We meet at the clinic where Susan made sure we all had our Alta Bates T-shirts and red caps from the American Heart Association. Alta Bates Hospital provided two shuttle buses to take us to Lake Merritt in Oakland, where the festivities where being held.

Our group was divided into two, those who could manage the entire distance, while the other group did the one-mile route. As you see by the images, I choose the distance.

Alta Bates Cardiovascular Rehabilitation group

Lake Merritt is a focal point, as it stands out as a jewel of Oakland, with its unique combination of fresh and salt-water, it is the larges such lake in an urban area; consisting of 3.4 miles around the circumference of the lake and covering 155 acres of land.

The Cathedral of Christ the Light

We passed a variety of interesting architecture along our journey, including numerous wildlife from egret, herons and Canadian geese. It was at the half way mark I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right decision concerning my shoes, as I had opted for lighter weight then the heavier exercising ones, due to the distance, but all I could do was continue on with determination and so I did.

Once back where we all had started, Subway provided us with the selection of either a turkey or vegetarian sandwich, which came with a banana and a package of peanuts.

By the time I came home, I was indeed exhausted and my feel had paid their price, and yet if I were asked to sign up for the 2011 walk, I would do so without hesitation.

Though now I am home from cardiovascular rehabilitation last four weeks, I have begun to pick up the many loose ends that have been neglected since May. Though I long to paint and draw, it must wait but it also means I have not been busy enlarging my collection of photographic images of the Berkeley Telephone poles. A number of these I shall share in a couple of weeks.

I thank you for your visit

and comment . . .

Egmont

As one chapter closes, another one opens

Last Tuesday I gave a presentation on blogging to the East Bay Artists Guild. It was in regards to how artists and photographers can utilize this method of marketing over just having a website with static pages. Especially now that blogs in general are undergoing a transformation from just being journals to being a blend of website pages and journals.

The presentation was to be only ninety minutes, but with a wonderful and engaging audience it ended up being three hours, even then I could have continued for much longer and as you can see by the photographs, I was enjoying myself.

 

August 17, Pleasant Hill Community Center

On another bright note is that the last four months of cardiac rehab has come to an end, as I attended my last class, yet I am still not out of the woods. Though I have my 20-24 hours per week back, there is plenty to catch up around the house, while also maintaining an aerobics program so not to lose what I have gained. In the meantime we are also in the process to see if the insurance will pay for another four weeks of cardiac rehab but that may take a while. Never the less, for the next couple of months I plan to set aside time for visiting blogs and commenting, maybe even writing a post now and then.

'Eine kleine aufmerksamkeit' when words are not enough

On our front porch, under the Japanese maple, the tripod is set up, the camera positioned. A few critical observations and calculations later, three variable exposures are quickly achieved before a gust of wind disturbs the cluster of flowers of our hydrangea and the HDR exposures rendered useless. A few more adjustments to tripod and camera, I await that brief moment in which all appears motionless for the next set of multiple images and this process is repeated several more times until I have squeezed every possible second I have remaining of the early morning and that wonderful overcast that acts like a giant studio softbox, before having to drive to Berkeley for my cardiac rehabilitation.

And as I enter my third month of dealing with a failed open-heart by-pass graft, I reflect upon the past two and the five to six hours I spend each day I attend the program, the progress has been marginal, suffering a few setbacks, leaving me with no clear answers and still too many uncertainties. However, focusing only on the negative means I am allowing the situation control me and though it is still a major distraction, I have been trying to find a balance.

One of the goals of the cardiac program is to be generally more active, especially accomplishing more walking and to achieve this, we were given a pedometer to guide our progress. So today I looked over the numbers I have been recording in my notebook to see that in seven weeks I have covered 181.53 miles (292.144 km), averaging 25.932 (41.734 km) per week, or 3.70 (5.955) a day, with the most in one day being 8.46 miles (13.615 km) when I visited the Pacific coast.

Now to help pass the time during my walks, I have been combining it with photography; especially focusing on the series I began a little more than five years ago. Walking down Ashby, Haste or Dwight , holding my extended tripod with camera securely mounted, inspecting each telephone pole, searching for the visual gem.

As I continue to cope with the disruption to my previous routine and life style, the past two months have felt like being stranded, isolated in a time warp from which there appears to be no escape. I have missed visiting your blogs, to see what you have been up to and leaving a comment, wile sharing with you my own creative events.

Please feel free to download the full size version of

the bookmark page by clicking here to gain access.

As I bring this update to my ‘Leave of Absence’ to a close, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to those who have sent me letters, cards and emails, checking up on my progress, sending me encouragements and wishing me well, I also desire to say thank you to those who have stopped by either of my blogs, just to see if there was anything new.

I would also like to say thank you to those who have decided to become a follower during my absence and in due time I shall also return the honour and list your blog at my blog roll and resource blog, The DIRECTORY.

I would like to reciprocate by sharing with you a few images of my excursions that I have designed into a page of bookmarks that you can download in full size here, then print out on card stock. You then have the option to punch a hole at the top for a string or ribbon.

If you would like to check out my other version of the books, please visit The Artist Within Us.

Wishing my American friends a wonderful and safe forth of July.

I thank you for your visit

and comment . . .

Egmont

My spirit soared all week

It has been a wonderful week on many levels, allowing my spirits to soar as in years before, shedding winters bleakness to embrace the light of spring, I began to be creative once more. Capturing many floral images, including a number of tabletop product photographs for today’s post. For a time being, the weeks of distraction seemed to disappear even though my visit to the cardiologist resolved little, if anything, while things that needed to get done, including this post were set aside to be addressed many days later.

The previous Saturday a package arrived from England, it was my winnings from Jeanne’s give-away at Collage of Life. The package, to no fault of Jeanne’s husband who mailed all five for her, appears to have taken the long way via the Panama Canal, whereas Donna’s traveled over the North Pole, for hers arrived one week before mine and we are practically neighbors. Later I learned from Jeanne that one of the remaining three packages arrived in Australia while the other two to Germany and France were also delayed, making it seem they were being hand delivered by row boat over the English Channel. So trying to figure out the postal delivery system is best left to the bureaucracy who really never know what is going on anyway. All in all, you see the package arrived safely and with no damage.

It would take several more days before I finally managed to get around and start setting up a display with the canvas book bag that Jeanne had sent and one that I would share with my wife, who in the last year and a half has become an avid reader. We both thank you for your kindness and generosity.

A few days later our mail delivery person came to the door with a package from Elizabeth (her new blog is knittnkitten’s blog) with whom I was partnered in a tea swap held by Patty over at Artfully Ooglebloops. This was my first swap or Internet participation of any kind and I had been looking forward to it. So when I was handed an overly large package with some considerable weight to it, I was very curious and headed for the kitchen, grabbed a knife and started opening it without thinking that I would want to take a picture of the package first.

Apart from several tea samples, Elizabeth also included a jar of homemade lime marmalade, which at first I thought was lemon, hence the lemon in the picture. She had taken a former pastilles tin and added plenty of loose leaf Earl Grey tea with lavender from a Berkeley teashop. The other three packages are all from Primula teas are of a green tea infused with the scent of jasmine, then rolled up into a flower that will unfurl as hot water is added. Each package contains a different kind of a flower and I will look forward to seeing them open up in my glass teapot. She also included a container of an Alpine berry herbal tea from Two Leaves and a Bud tea company that I will try this Sunday afternoon with a couple of slices of toast and your lime marmalade.

An hour after receiving Elizabeth’s package, the UPS driver came by to hand over a square package, one from my friend Anna in Houston. She recently had posted at one of her blogs, My Ephemera, drawings she had made of a cluster of red Japanese maple seeds. Her seed samples were considerable larger than those from my red Japanese maple tree, so I asked if she would be so kind as to send me a cluster since I raise trees from seeds. Having had success with seeds from my green Japanese maple but not the red, I am hoping that Anna’s seeds will make a difference and germinate.

Though I only requested the seeds from her maple tree, Anna decided to add a little something extra to surprise me. The package rested on a black and with bandana and was beautifully wrapped in a sheet of handmade paper and tied with raffia to which she added a card of one of her images and attached a heart. Upon opening the package, I discovered a set of oversized cards with envelopes printed on watercolour stock; the image Anna used was of one of my irises. Here thoughtfulness and loving care for our friendship was evident in each element of the package and the gifts treasured there within.

When I looked at the remaining seed clusters still in the box, the light from the kitchen widow moved over them in such a way, I could not resist the urge to take several close ups studies, especially since the once deep burgundy colour has shifted towards a purplish tone.

It certainly was a little more than a week of excitement, most of which was euphoric there was one other surprise that came via an email. Jeanne had bestowed an award to my blog, a Happy 101 award to say thank you. In many respects this award I cannot claim just by myself, as I feel it needs to be shared with my readership, who are responsible, visit regularly and support me through their comments.

I bring to a close this post the same way as it was started, with a photograph of a blooming tree. May it delight you as it has brought me pleasure in capturing its fleeting beauty.

Thank you for your visit

Egmont

To forgive is to heal thyself

Three weeks ago a story was set aside and forgotten, until I came across the file on my laptop. With the weekend coming upon us and some cultures celebrating Valentines Day, I thought no better venue then to share the importance of ‘forgiveness’ and the power it has to heal ones spirit and eventually the body.

Previously this year, there had been exchange of a number of correspondences with a friend living in Colorado about the similarities in our lives. This included how we each dealt with our situations, when the subject matter of forgiveness arose, as my friend was referring to a comment I had left at Katelen’s blog The Poetic Artist, where the discussion was learning to forgive. It was there, where I stated that only after beginning the process to forgive, was I then able to heal from the wounds that had been inflicted upon my person all those decades.

Forgiveness does not take away ones pain, it only diminishes the hurt, what forgiveness does, is take away the anger and hate. For it is the anger and hate that slowly destroys us, eating away our insides like a slow growing cancer, which eventually will consume our very being, this self inflicted form of a prolonged suicide.

Those who are free of resentful thoughts

surely will find peace.

Buddha

In the spring of 2005, the series ‘Family Secrets’, a sequence of photographs about child abuse illustrated through the use of empty abandoned buildings was made public. The ‘Self-portrait with shattered mirror’ at my other blog is a part of that collection. The photographs marked a seventeen-year struggle before I realized that the fault for the abuse suffered was not of my cause and therefore not my fault.

All those years I was so filled with anger and hate, I had not even considered forgiveness until after I had undergone open-heart surgery in 2006, when priorities and that which I viewed as important, took a dramatic shift in another direction.

By letting go of the past, I finally permitted myself to take the first few steps towards initiating the path to forgiveness. Though irrevocable damage was done and could never be reversed, the act of forgiveness allows us to move on with our life. Forgiveness does not mean we should forget, nor that we condone or exonerate the one who had tormented us. Forgiveness is for our own self; it is the medicine we administer to ourselves.

Bitterness imprisons life;

Love releases it

Harry Emerson Fosdick

To forgive is not easy. I had to believe in the ability of forgiveness itself. Just saying the words “I forgive you” without any conviction lacks the strength and any very power these words hold to heal the person saying them.

I cannot tell you how to go about forgiveness; this is a course of action you must discover for yourself. I can tell you that once a path has been found, the process can begin. It will be a journey of unfathomable depths and challenges, and it will exceed any pain previously suffered. In the end, a burden will have been lifted and it will feel like as if breathing for the first time.

This Valentine weekend give yourself a present,
the kind that no one can give you but you yourself,
the one that is priceless.

Photography by Egmont

This award is yours too

After being up late, past 3:30 in the morning doing what I love, blogging, I arose to what could have been my birthday. Not fully awake and only semi conscious, I reviewed my eighteen emails on my cell phone. Moving from one email address to the next, a message seemed to poke me gentle on the side, alerting me that I had been nominated and the recipient of an award.

Now normally I would make my morning tea, have a look at the bird feeders to see who was visiting and wait for the water to boil. Rather it was down the stairs to the guest bedroom that has been serving as my office to grab the laptop and headed back to bed.

Still not being fully awake, my fingers became busy typing away on the laptop keyboard, formulating my acceptance speech, which in the end after posting, I deleted. Deleted only because in my enthusiasm in which I failed to congratulate Betty Manousos, who’s blog Cut and Dry received numerous awards in recognition from other bloggers. Though I did acknowledge Betty having reached a major milestone, one that reflects the many reasons for her having been awarded numerous awards, today she marked a major milestone of four hundred followers. Do have a visit to her blog, especially if you have never visited Cut and Dry before.

Now the award already had me—a person of sixty—feeling like a little school boy back in elementary when a girl had paid me some attention. You see I was already dating Barbara at the age of six and we were very serious as school chums go, but that is a story for another time — maybe. Now I was already saying that I felt like it was my birthday and it certainly could have been when I made another discovery. Three new artists’, who came for a visit, had kindly added themselves as followers while I was sleeping. I welcome you to my portion of the infinite universe.

Since it felt so much like a birthday, won’t you please join me

in a slice of a coffee cake and a cup of tea . . .

Thank you Betty, followers and all visitors for your gift,

Egmont

A heart of stone

One of many reasons I like blogging, are the discoveries we can make, especially the ‘being inspired’ kind, learning how others express their creativity. Recently I saw stones that were beautifully wrapped at Donna Watson’s blog Layers, they were a gift from Nancy Neva Gagliano. When you visit Neva’s site Openings Connecting, you immediately see that stones play an important roll in her life, for the masthead is a beautiful arrangement of stones and she has been practicing wrapping stones, that she calls ‘RAPT’ for a number of years.

The notion of making my own wrapping stones quickly manifested itself in my mind like a song stuck on repeat. So when I found myself driving back home along Cabrillo Highway recently, I decided to go on a quest for pebbles and stones suited for wrapping.

Since I already had given so much thought to wrapping stones, I realized that such ‘art’ required a ritual and this meant a purpose, a reason, so that in the end one could interpret the artwork. By thinking of the possible purpose for the wrapped stones and its relevant meaning, a few ideas were being considered, besides it was important to adjust Neva’s ‘RAPT’ concept by adopting it to my vision, so off I went on a quest.

The process of collecting ones stones can take on the proportions of being on a holly quest, resulting in traveling great distances to locate natural deposits along rivers, streams and even the beaches of an ocean. In the end a location can have a direct impact upon the design of ones stone wrapping, altering the original purpose and meaning.

The day I went on my pilgrimage, there was a storm with waves clashing against the rocks, then fanning against an agree sky. The wind blew with ferocity, bending the grasses, and wiping tree branches to its will, I continued forward on my journey. With my hat angled to keep the brunt of the rain from my face, I proceeded down a narrow path to a small breach in the cliff, to a little hidden cove.

At the base of the cliff ran a stream that this time flowed with great vigor towards the ocean, only to be rebuffed with violent force. Waves had momentarily forced reversal of the streams direction and I was unable to jump across the stream because of the run-off.

Undaunted by disappointment or weather, I went about rummaging through the scattered stones, selecting a number of different sizes, shapes and colour of stones, while throwing rejects into the water. I picked up a few light grey oval pebbles and a couple darker ones that when dipped it not the stream to remove the sand, tuned almost black. My hands were already full of stones but in order to pick up a few more, the smaller ones were shoved in the back pocket.

There was one, half buried by sand, with a nice elongated thin oval shape that peaked some interests. Kicking it loose, I retrieved it and washed it in the stream. The stone, though heavy, felt good in my hand and so I kept it.

A few steps further along the streams boundary, a couple smaller stones were retrieved, studied, then either pocketed or tossed back. One of the pebbles that became worth keeping was the size of a silver dollar, especially after turning it around between my fingers; I noticed a notch, shaped like a crescent moon, giving the pebble the appearance of a broad heart.

Though visually I knew what I had found, its significance or importance did not sink in until I was back in the car and out of the rain, when I also realized that the rock that felt so good in my hand was also in the shape of a heart.

Though visually I knew what I had found, I seemed oblivious to its significance or importance, even back in the car and out of the rain, examining what I had retrieved from the cove. This included the rock that felt so good in my left hand, resting against the palm with the index finger naturally anchored in the rocks notch.

Several days passed before realizing that I now held inexplicable and mysterious energies in the palm of my hand, not once, but twice.

When viewed full size, stones appear actual size

Unearthing two heart shaped stones I take as a sign of good medicine, I also realize that in order to release the stones spirit, I will need to become one with the stone, infusing each stone with other elements having personal significance.

What happens next still remains to be an unknown, so for now the story about the other suitable pebbles, stones and rocks, for wrapping and adorning the assemblage would have to be told another time.

A change of surroundings

It has been far too long since my last posting, even though there was one written and ready to go last Tuesday on Forgiveness, but I felt it was time for something less serious, especially now that the holidays have passed and there are only two more months of winter left. There was even a draft about the rough storms California faced for a number of days, as my first exit from the house in just as many days for a medical appointment, had allowed for a photo to be captured. It showed how one of our reservoirs, Briones, had managed to raise its water level after a three-year drought.

Briones Reservoir

Contra Costa County, California, January 22, 2010

As the previous weekend passed, it was time to take my daughter back to Santa Cruz. I was looking forward to our company and the trip back home along the coast on Cabrillo Highway. The weather looked good all morning but after dropping off Ariana, it took less than an hour for raindrops to appear, signaling what was about to come. Undaunted, I continued to my two favorite places, especially one, a little hideaway. Just above Aña Nuevo State Park, lies the Aña Nuevo Whitehouse Creek trail, whose entrance is nestled between groupings of large eucalyptus trees easily missed from the road unless one is looking for it.

A little into the trail, it splits in two different directions, one north into the open area and the other west, towards the coast where another split in the trail would lead one down to the shore or along the ridge. My aim was to head down towards to a little cove, which when entered made one feel like the pages of an adventure book I read as a boy about pirates and smugglers came to life.

Now the rains became heavier, they had brought on also stronger winds, causing the surf to plunge deeper into the coast, almost reversing the flow of the stream that I no longer was able to cross in order to enter the cove and reach the beach. Never the less, I was able to retrieve from along the stream a few pebbles for wrapping. Once back in the car, it was off to Bean Hollow.

Bean Hallow

Bean Hallow, San Mateo County, January 25, 2010

By the time I arrived at Bean Hollow the rain stopped but the winds had increased significantly to cause the waves to cress between fifteen to twenty feet with an additional five-six feet of ocean spray on top. At first I was the only person, but soon several more die-hards arrived to observe the oceans display of aggression as it seas swells forcible trusted itself against the few outcropping of steadfast rocks that rose above the waterline for a spectacular show. Almost one hour later, I felt as if I was frozen to the bone, signaling that it was time to go home.

Bean Hallow beach

Bean Hallow, San Mateo County, January 25, 2010

The next day I managed another escape from the walls that have been confining me these past weeks with a return for another medical visit in Berkeley and since the day lighting was better than before, I was able to document a number of telephone poles. One of my long term projects I have been working on these last four years, with an earlier posting to The Artist Within Us and how these telephone poles were turned into an artistic vision, a new direction that my paintings since have taken. I promise to share more of these in upcoming posts so that you can see what it is that that has me so fascinated with these mundane totems lining the streets at regular intervals.

Amidst the grey a dash of colour

 Berkeley, California, January 26, 2010

The next several days were spent like most of this year at building The DIRECTORY, my third blog. It is a collection of resources for artists and a list of the blogs I follow. There is still far more work ahead, but do have a look when you have a moment.

The brief outing along the coast lifted my spirits considerable; it has offered much needed rejuvenation and has permitted my focus to see challenges in another view. Circumstances have not changed, but a little strength has been mustered that will permit me to go on, for it appears winters brooding finds itself waning as spring approaches and days begin to be longer.

I wish to leave you know with a thought and your next excuse for when your spouse cannot understand the mess you are making, just tell them

Kreative Menschen machen keine Unordnung,

es sind alles Ideen, die da rumliegen!

Translation:

Creative people make no messes,

they are just ideas lying around!

They still might not understand, but at least you won’t have to stand there in silence and have that blank but questionable look about you.

A momentary lapse of contemplation

During my recent trip to Los Angeles, I gave myself a treat by visiting The Getty and where I would spend the next nine hours in total bliss, viewing three exhibits. Migration of the Mind, a collection of scientific and mathematical books from the Schoenberg archives. Some of these books and illuminated manuscripts were several hundred years old, including one book from Iran having been written a little over one thousand years ago.

The other exhibit, which was spread out into three galleries, consisted of forty drawings and one notebook from the seventeenth century and depicted Dutch landscapes. However the one I would have traveled great distance for was the Irving Penn collection of more than 250 large photographic Black & White prints from his 1950-51 series Small Trades.

In an earlier post at The Artist Within Us, I paid tribute to Irving Penn who passed away last October. For me he was an important influence in my portraiture work, even though Avedon and Newton also shared a hand. It was Irving’s subtle though dramatic lighting, including the treatment of his subjects that attracted me to his style over other contemporaries such as Avedon’s high-key lighting, or Newton’s elaborate environmental sets.

When I returned back to the place were I was staying, there was a moment in which I held close Irving’s last book Small Trades, then only to sink into a momentary lapse of contemplation and melancholy. When I looked up and saw myself in the mirror, I felt I needed to recreate this moment when I returned to the Bay Area.

Self-Portrait, December 17, 2009

So three to four weeks ago when there was a break in the weather with a clear sky and sunlight was able to enter the room where I have an empty wall for portraiture, I set up the tripod and camera.

It would take several exposures with me walking back and forth, being in front of the camera one moment and then behind, before I had not only the aperture and shutter speed, but also the distance set for proper focus.

Another dozen or so shots until I had everything the way I wanted it to be, including how I would appear in each frame. I also had to make sure that the small hand device that allowed me to photograph myself with out the assistance of another person would not be visible in my hand.

Now you may question the reasoning behind my appearance in choosing not to wear anything but Irving Penn’s book Small Trades, other then possibly revealing my own vulnerability, provided it was a conscious reason for doing so. Yet I will leave it up to the viewer’s imagination for what the reason might have been.

I had tried to emulate not only lighting or the style of Irving Penn, but also the mood that he was able to extract from his subjects. So after several more takes, I would review that series of frames, making mental notes before heading back in front of the camera for the next set of exposures.

After I had edited the seventy plus exposures down to 23 and treating each one within Photoshop, they were assembled into digital filmstrips in order to simulate an old fashion contact sheet, along with its grease making pencil, while also offering you the reader a view of the series and how I came about to make my selection of the one image that represented that very poignant moment in Los Angeles a week earlier.

I had planned on another photo shot for the following weekend, yet events, including the weather have delayed any further self-portraitures and most likely will not happen until after I get my haircut.

In the coming next couple of weeks I will be writing about the Irving Penn exhibit itself, including individual posts on the Schoenberg collection and the Dutch landscape drawings. There are also plans to write about Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton in the coming months since they two had made a difference not only to the craft of photography but also the way I shot my fashion assignments.

Technical Information

Camera:

Nikon D70 w/AF-S Nikkor18-70mm 1.35-45G lens

Exposure:

Image N0155823, December 17, 2009 at 2:31 PM Pacific Time

Camera settings manual at full resolution (3008 x 2000 px)

ISO200; focal length 31.0 mm; F-stop 8; exposure 10/100 second.

Lighting:

Natural day light entering through the doorway with no fill card to bounce any light back unto the subjects matters right side.

All images were treated in Photoshop v.8 (CS-I) using a G4 466 MHz Macintosh running OS-X.4

PS Notes:

Every image received custom Level treatments, by individually adjusting the R-G-B settings.

However the Curves and Channel Mixer, including the Brightness/Contrast sets were based on the final image and then applied to all of the out-takes.

Curve settings:

Global RGB Input/Output: 85/75 and 185/175

Individual Input/Output: Red: 70/60; Green: 70/60; Blue: 70/60

Channel Mixer:

R+65, G:00, B+35, Contrast 0

(For more dramatic skin tones you may wish to try: R+35, G:00, B+65, Contrast 0)

Brightness/Contrast:

-5 / +5