Photo Adventures from Home

The Thrill is Gone (Luster on Dublin Construction Project Fades)

Posted by Marlene Hutchison

If I had known I would spend years on the project “Dublin, CA development” I would have planned it better. As the philosopher Kierkegaard once said, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.”

Since I don’t see an end to the development, I’ll stop with a couple of slideshow videos (coming soon) and pictures of NE Dublin excavations and a few of current San Ramon housing developments.

New housing development on Dublin Blvd. 2015
Dirt–The beginning of a new housing development on Dublin Blvd. 2015

 

San Ramon, CA development off Windemere Parkway

© Marlene Hutchison, 2015

Happy New Year! May the Picture gods smile upon us all in 2015

Posted by Marlene Hutchison

Photo-Journalism Begins with Henri Cartier-Bresson's street photography in the 1930's
Photo-Journalism Begins
with Henri Cartier-Bresson’s street photography in the 1930’s

Life offers the moments and we seize them with a camera. Recognition of those moments isn’t made with a camera, but with the eye, heart and mind.

1. Keep your camera close-by,

2. Study the light and composition.

3. Take a lot of pictures to increase your chances of capturing that magic moment.

I once spoke with a National Geographic Photographer who shot between 800 and 1200 photos a day and only sent 30 or so to her editor. They sometimes only selected 5 or 6.

Money isn’t much of an issue with digital photography since you can shoot 1000’s of pictures for the cost of a memory card.

When none of your pictures are any good in a day, don’t despair. “The first 10,000 pictures are the worst” said Bresson. Tomorrow is another day. Enjoy the journey.

Selfie Chosen Word of the Year

Posted by Marlene Hutchison
Edward Steichen, Photographer-- self portrait Paris, 1902
Edward Steichen, Photographer– self portrait (selfie), Paris, 1902

Oxford dictionary named ‘selfie’ the word of the year, 2013, after  word usage increased by over 17,000 times. Almost everyone who uses the internet has posted a selfie.

 In fact, so many are uploaded daily, that the app Snapchat will automatically erase your last post for you after a few seconds.

 Share your moment to moment life without worrying that your online presence will become too cluttered and annoying.

Photographers for National Geographic  do a lot of editing. They  may shoot over 1200 pictures a day and only put 20 or 30 in their “favorites” folder.

The photographer considered to be the father of photo-jouralism, Henri Cartier-Bresson (1902-2004 once said, ” The first 10,000 photographs are the worst.”
 
 

Go ahead and fill that big shoe box in the sky

just be sure to store photos you care about in at least 3 online clouds because clouds disappear.

Selfie in Atlanta Apt. '79
Selfie in Atlanta Apt. ’79

I’ll get back to how to resize images for the web next time even though it’s almost irrelevant to most.

Copyright © Marlene Hutchison, 2014

 

 

Everything Has Changed for Photographers

Posted by Marlene Hutchison

 Dinosaurs Still Roam the Earth in the Digital Age

Ceramic Staurikosaurus by Marian Coleman 2013
Ceramic Staurikosaurus by Marian Coleman, 2013

Those who practice the ancient art of ceramics like my friend Marian can more easily navigate the digital age than old photographers like me. No matter how hard we struggle to be part of the new age, we are dinosaurs about it become extinct. My darkroom was a beloved haven where  for decades I unraveled the mysteries of my images.

Where has the mystery gone?

Now I sit in front of a back lit computer monitor struggling to understand software programs designed by engineers whose lives revolve around the numbers 0 and 1. Where are the mysteries buried in computer code? Only engineers know, so as Mao Zedong said, “I curse the river of time” that has brought us here.

Honestly, I’m fascinated with technology and don’t really regret the past decade or so I’ve spent deciphering Photoshop and my computer’s operating system. It hasn’t been easy because I really don’t belong to this age and because I lost my memory somewhere.

 An unknown person once said,

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.

The large ceramic dinosaurs below are mounted on acrylic and are approximately 28″wide by 22″ high.

Solitary artists with an aversion to sharing won’t go far in the digital age

I don’t like to share my creative process, even though I’m a socialist.

Scandinavian artist Edvard Munch (The Scream) was so possessive of his paintings that he rarely left his studio and when he did, he carried as much of his work with him as possible.

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty recently said:

Your value will not be what you know, but what you share.

Dinosaurs Need Not Apply

Google started a TV school and studio in order to create new TV channels. Entrance into the school  is mostly determined by how much you collaborated in your online YouTube productions.

Archaeoptery by Marian Coleman
Archaeoptery by Marian Coleman, 2013

 Next time I’ll write about resizing your pictures for optimal viewing online. For now, visit what I think to be the best photography site– Digital Photography Review. At this valuable site, you will find answers to your equipment and photography technique questions, keep up with the latest photography news and join challenges where everyone votes for the best pictures by subject.  

 http://www.dpreview.com/

 Good Bye for now, and don’t forget to set your laser printer to stun.

All ceramic art by Marian Coleman is copyrighted © 2013

 

 

I Don’t Scale Steep Mountain Peaks Anymore

Posted by Marlene Hutchison
Me above Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada on a Hitch Hiking trip in 1972
Me above Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada on a Hitch Hiking Back Packing trip in 1972

Despite the rumor that 70 is the new 40 or 50, I don’t scale mountain peaks anymore, nor do I do much at all. Those who rage against the dying of the light like the 107 year old man who recently jumped from a plane, look for activities that combine adventure with a chance of fame (going viral) like his skydiving did. I heard that skiing down an iceberg in Antarctica was a thrill too.

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.  Dylan Thomas

(I plan is to go gently into the night accompanied by my favorite music and images.)

“I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in on by the storms, and, from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend to repair.”  John Quincy Adams (6th President of the U.S.)

For Now, Adventure is a Click Away:

 You can take a trip down the Thames River in London or visit the Venice canals thanks to Google Street View Maps on the link below. Miss the crowds and steps in Rome and the long lines in Paris. Just type in the place you want to visit in the search window.

https://www.google.com/maps/views/home?gl=us

Google also has a new project that documents art museums around the world. You can find places by typing “Art Projects” into the search window on the above site or just Google Google Art Projects.

Visit Next Monday for tips on how to Update your online navigation and digital darkroom skills

Copyright © 2013, Marlene Hutchison

 

 

 

 

Photography Adventures From Home

Posted by Marlene Hutchison

If you’re not-so-young anymore and your roaming days are behind you, you’ll find plenty of adventure online while you sort through your lifetime of work or concentrate on close to home photography projects.

Travel with me from the Comfort of your Armchair to My Favorite Photo Sites and New Exhibits

 Wildlife Photographers should enjoy the Site Below

I just saw an aerial panorama view of 8 million flamingos  about to take flight. There are both urban and nature panoramas on this wonderful site. Click on all panoramas

Click full screen and then a thumbnail on the right.   I like #5.   Wait for the panorama to load and then use your scroll button to zoom in and out and wait again.

 

My Close to Home Wildlife pictures from the Suburban Fringes

 

Jack Rabbits in adjacent lot to SAP Software Co.

Ducklings with Mother at Alamo Creek, Dublin, California
Copyright© 2013, Marlene Hutchison