update on my mom (faye)

Hi all

My mom wanted me to let you know what's going on with her, and to thank you again for all your prayers, well wishes and comments. I just got done reading all of your wonderful comments to her, and she said, "Isn't that a wonderful bunch of people?"
Thank you for being there for my mom...it means a lot to her. She's doing really good, and has been home since Sunday. She wanted me to let you know that she'll be back posting as soon as she can.
God bless you all!


Christy

More Fall and Medical Update

Another shot from the Melrose area. I love the orange grass here.


I saw the specialist today. I really, really like her and I came away feeling even more confident about my medical situation. I go in for surgery on the 26th of this month. This wonderful doctor looked me straight in the eyes and said with total conviction "I will cure you"... and I absolutely believe her.

I know all your well wishes, prayers, candles, good thoughts and kind words led me to the right doctor and will carry me through the rest of the healing process.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Delfino Vineyard

In all the years I've lived in wine country, I've evidently never seen a vineyard in the fall. I was in awe when I saw these gorgeous colors in the grape vines.

Melrose Orchard

I am soooo enjoying the wonderful fall colors this year. This orchard is close to a small community in Oregon called Melrose.

Friends.. 2 legged and 4 legged

WOW!

I logged in to my blog after not being here for a few days and what a wonderful surprise I received. I won’t say I’m amazed at the outpouring of love and caring I read in your comments, because I already knew you are a great group of kind, caring folks. But I can tell you that your caring touches me deeply. Thank you all so much.

An update on my health situation… I found out that I do have some unusual form of cancer. I go out of town to a specialist on Friday this week. From what I hear this Dr is the best in her specialty. I will be scheduled for surgery shortly after this appointment.

My local Dr tells me that if I have to have cancer, uterine cancer is the best to have and as long as its contained within my uterus its 90-95% curable. So, even though the “C” word is scary, I really do expect the surgery to get rid of it all.
_______________________________________________________________________

Yesterday I drove out to visit with some old friends I haven’t seen for awhile. I always feel good after visiting these friends. I think the following photos will show you why.

Changing Times

The fall colors are so gorgeous this year.


Thanks so much for all your prayers and well wishes. My latest tests didn't come back as well as we hoped. I am waiting to get an appointment with a specialist. Waiting is the pits :) I should hear from him tomorrow though.

Honesty

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I've been hiding out for a few days, not much feeling like posting. But the blogger friends I've made here are important to me and one shouldn't hide from friends, so I thought I'd be honest instead.

Some medical tests I had recently came back with "highly suspicious" cells. My Dr did a DNC Friday and we are waiting for those reports to come back. Its a bit scary but I'm pretty much OK. I just didn't feel like posting as though everything is normal when it isn't. So, dear blogger friends, this is where I am. I would appreciate the prayers of those so inclined.

Thanks

Faye

Black Cows and White Tractor

Camas Valley Fog

I could never get tired of seeing foggy country scenes. This was taken near a tiny community in Oregon.. Camas Valley, the same community as Monday's fog shot.

Trunk

I thought the shape of this pine/fir tree was so interesting. Its unusual to see such a huge branch like the one close to the ground.

Fog in Fall

This was taken a couple weeks ago, on my way to the coast. This farm is in a small community called Camas Valley. I was in awe when I saw the fog rising from the ground. The soil was wet and the sun had just came out and was warming the soil and drawing out the moisture.



I've battled a nasty trojan over the weekend. It almost brought my computer to a stand still. I think I have most of it cleaned out but I still get some annoying popups.

What I Found on The Beach - Rocks n Stuff

What I Found on The Beach - A Claw and A Leaf

Someone asked how I did these collages. Its a program called LumaPix Fotofusion. If I remember correctly its a free download.

What I Found on The Beach - Guts

OK seriously, as bad as this looks, I promise no animals were disemboweled to get this shot. I believe this is some type of sea plant but it certainly looks fleshy.

What I Found on The Beach.. A Shell

You can tell how small this shell is by the size of the grains of sand. Its amazing how many colors there are in ordinary sand. We think of it as gray but check out the different colors here.

What I Found on The Beach - A Dead Crab

This baby didn't make it. Not pretty but dead critters are always part of a walk on the beach. This one was tiny. The shell wasn't more than an inch across.

What I Found on The Beach - A Wet Feather

I walked along the beach and rather than take my usual photos of the ocean, the waves, the ocean birds, the skys... I looked down and took photos of the common things I saw lying on the sand.

This feather was the first thing I shot. I noticed the water drops on it but until I got home and edited it I didn't notice how the water drops magnified parts of the feather.

For the next few days I'll show you the interesting things I found on the beach.

Shore Acres Finale

I hope I'm not lagging everyone to death here. I couldn't leave Shore Acres without showing you the last of these gorgeous flowers.

Tomorrow we'll leave the park and I'll take you with me on a nice quiet walk along an Oregon beach.

Shore Acres Dahlia Gardens

The dahlia beds in this garden are breathtaking. There are four big beds full of hundreds of dahlias in dozens of different varities and colors. I won't bore those of you who aren't flower lovers with photos of all the varities but will show a few of my favorites.

OK.. the Mirror Reflection photo WAS flipped. I thought one of you would figure it out from the moss on the left side :)

Still at Shore Acres...

This plant fascinated me. The "fruit" looks like rose hips but they are HUGE... probably the size of a US quarter across. But if they are rose bushes there were no faded flowers left anywhere on the plant and it seemed like there should have been. Anyone know what this is?

Mirror Reflection

I got to the coast this weekend. The weather was rainy, foggy and cool.. it was perfect! Shore Acres has gorgeous daliah gardens and I had to get there before they were all gone. I wasn't disappointed and will post some later but in the meantime.... I was amazed at how clear the reflections were in this pond. I could flip this shot and you probably wouldn't know the difference.

Fall Finally Fell w. Fog

It seems like fall came overnight. Two weeks ago I was checking trees for signs of fall colors and finding almost none. Today on the way home from the coast, fall colors were everywhere.

Intensity

Color or black and white?

Deadly Embrace

I thought I had posted this shot before but couldn't find it so maybe I didn't. Its from last year. I know.... I've been digginig in my archives a lot lately. Hopefully this weekend I can get out and get some new stuff :)



I had a good time in Salem. It was a business trip but I have a very cool and fun staff so we had fun despite the meetings. Thanks Angela, Carmen, Letitia, Mikki and Virginia.

Sue, I waved at all the young, good looking men in Salem. Maybe one was your son :)

I changed the title.. I liked Salty's title better.

Lavendar

I'm off to Salem for a couple days. See you when I get back.

Barn.. in Black and White

This isn't a new shot, but newly edited.

Grainy Boid

Today I gave a presentation to the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.
It was very exciting, I wrote this @ 2am for my 7:45 talk:

I'm here to explain how I turn making art into making business. It's been a long road.
Like any artist the need to express yourself comes first-
15 years of doing only B/W photojournalism didn't even give me enough money to pay for a new camera-
When I got married @ age 25, I looked at my wedding photographer & said "at least he's making a living" and with a new wife, I needed to make a living!
So I learned from him as an intern and I shot my first wedding with another photographer, both of us making $35 each!!

As the years went by I joined all the photography organizations and went to all the meetings and in 1990 I went to Albany to take a new test for certification. I was actually the 30th in New York State to pass.

I was very happy to work for studios. Good pay, no headaches afterwards with the bride & groom, just shoot the film, hand it in & get paid.

This all changed when digital came in- Everyone had a camera & became a photographer!
If I wanted to eat, I had to work for myself- and learn digital!

I am sort of a rare breed. I don't specialize, I work with any budget, I haven't gotten burned out by weddings like a lot of photographers and have easily done over a thousand (Used to do over 100 a year when I worked for studios).
Still happy to be behind a camera, making people look good!

Just opened a new studio on Bay & Fingerboard. A few things that I shoot that you might not know about is passport pictures, artwork, pets, communions, sweet 16s, models, architecture, construction sites & sports teams. We also do video.

To bring new people into my photo studio, I have a gallery up front (150 feet of wall space). I have exhibits booked with other artists and have an opening reception each month.

I contribute my time and talents to Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep which is a group of photographers that go into hospitals to photograph memories for parents of dying children and babies. This is a charity that I believe in.

Fine Art Fotos is not your typical photographers by any stretch of the imagination. We like it that way & our customers like it that way. Just looking at our work you can see that we are not your traditional photographers! We are not bound by any preconceived notions of what photography should be. We are progressive, free-thinking artists-
In other words we want to create images that are new & exciting! Not only for us but for your benefit. Oh yeah, we have a lot of fun with you along the way. Your wedding should be a memorable one& not only will we capture your entire day, we will help make it your perfect day. And that is only the beginning. We will design with you a one of a kind album that no one else in the world will have.

View From Sunset Beach - Oregon Coast

Just a Tractor

You can't have a rural Oregon blog without an occasional tractor.

Red Barn

I'm not real crazy about this shot. Just too much going on in it I guess, but its the only shot I got of this great red barn. I didn't see the little deer lying on the grass in front of the barn until I started editing it.

Shannon and Kenny

Lilly Pads

Companionship

Another Bee

Modern Granny

Ahhhh nothing better than a walk along the beach with a faithful companion (in matching outfits). Fresh air.. sea gulls flying over head, the sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore and .... a cell phone!

Grannys just aren't what they used to be :)

Ouida Frances Grider 1923-2002

Mama died 5 years ago today.. so I made goulash. It just seemed like a good thing to do. Mom always made good goulash and it always reminds me of her. I miss her so very much today.

"Attention, Safeway Shoppers..."

What a difference time and experience can make. I shot this mossy grocery cart in a slough in back of Safeway in Coos Bay, Oregon a couple of years ago. I've always loved the shot and stuck it in my archives. I just rediscovered it, and looking at it with knowledge gained from two or so years of photo editing experience I realized it was quite dull.



So I grabbed my handy, dandy photo editing tools and played with it some more and I couldn't believe the difference it made.



Then I had to try a black and white version.



Which do you prefer?