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?

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

I didn't feel well this weekend so I mostly stayed home and got no photos. This is one from a few weeks ago.

9:00

I seldom shoot still life or studio shots but occasionally I feel a need to stretch myself a bit. This old clock belonged to my hubby's Uncle Clarence at one time. He's been gone for many years but each chime of the clock is a reminder of this kind and generous man.

Newport Bridge

I love the bridge in Newport. It is quite busy below the bridge as this is where the docks are and boats and ships are coming and going often.



The Yaquina Bay Bridge is an arch bridge that spans Yaquina Bay south of Newport, Oregon. It is one of the most recognizable of the U.S. Route 101 bridges designed by Conde McCullough.

The bridge opened on September 6, 1931, at a cost of $1,301,016. A total of 220 people worked to pour 30,000 cubic yards (23,000 m³) of concrete and fabricate 3,100 tons of steel.

The main span is flanked by identical 350 ft (107 m) steel arches. The rest of the structure is constructed of reinforced concrete.[2] One concrete deck girder forms the northern approach, and a series of 5 arches makes up the southern part of the bridge.

The details of the bridge are typical of McCullough's style.

The Power of Nature

We went to Bandon, Oregon yesterday. The ocean was rough and beautiful.

Chained Rock and Grandsons

My daughter recently visited Kentucky and came back with some amazing photos so I thought I'd post some of them here.

This is the legend of the Chained Rock

Some children of Pineville, Kentucky were having troubles sleeping at night because they were afraid that the large rocks that loomed over Pineville on Pine Mountain would break free and come tumbling down the mountain and smashing into Pineville. Well, the parents of these children invented the story that the rocks were chained to the mountain so the children wouldn't worry and sleep. Before long the story of the chained rock spread to neighboring communities and people started showing up in town inquiring about the locality of the chained rock. So as a publicity stunt,
in 1933, the rock was "chained" to the nearby cliff.

The steel chain is 101 feet long, spans 75 feet and weighs 1 1/2 tons. Each 4- by 6-inch link weighs 4 1/2 pounds. They are made of steel and are 1 3/8 inches thick.
It was acquired from a quarry in Virginia and was moved up the mountain by mules, Kiwanis Club members, local Boy Scouts and the Civilian Conservation Corps.



This is my grandson Raymon on the left, my daughter Christy on the right and my new grandson Alex who I have yet to meet in the middle.

Wishy

So delicate and beautiful and so unwanted in the lawn.