I've been busy lately (and not taking many pictures), thus I've neglected this blog. A few things have happened; among them, Halloween was most awesome. I dyed my hair purple:
...I just like taking pictures. I recently had a critique in my photography class that really emphasized that I think more like a designer than like a photographer, whatever that means. Here's the picture that people DID like (though apparently I misinterpreted the assignment somewhat, because the color wasn't vital to the photo):
Today is Blog Action Day! The theme for this year is climate change. I don't have much to say about the subject that hasn't been said a zillion times before (including very thoroughly, concisely, and cheaply in this great little book), but it's always important to spread the word.
Here's another photo from my apple-picking trip (supporting local agriculture is just one of the many ways that individuals can help combat climate change):
I went apple picking yesterday with some friends, and brought home nine pounds of Cortlands. Here are a couple of shots from the trip:
Yesterday was the First Friday Art Walk, but before I sat around trying to sell stuff, my father and I spent a lovely part of the afternoon walking around Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth and taking photos:
I was walking down India Street on Saturday when a man appeared beside me. "You want to take my picture," he stated. I wasn't sure if it was an accusation or a demand, so I just shrugged. "How do I pose?" he asked. I mumbled something about lighting as he stared into my lens. I snapped a picture:
"You have it," the man said, "for posterity?" I answered in the affirmative, and he seemed pleased. I am pleased too, to have gotten such an expressive picture!
I went to the Common Ground Fair yesterday and spent the morning walking around looking at crafts and animals and other lovely things. I spent most of the afternoon volunteering, which in this case meant sifting through old dirt and separating from it things that had not composted properly. This included a lot of old animal bones, which I am keeping for a future art project.
Here's a goat:
I have discovered two less-than-optimal things about my camera: one is that the lens is long enough to block the flash when taking macro shots (which can be worked around), and the other is that the battery dies very suddenly (it spent the better part of two weeks reading at 100%, then dropped to nothing within an hour. My replacement batteries entered the camera at 79% charge and fell just as fast). This is the bigger problem.
We at MECA recently had a visit from a couple of printmakers calling themselves Drive By Press. They gave talks about the history of printmaking and of Drive By Press itself, and showed some of their massive print collection, much of it gathered while on the road making prints.
They also set up a printmaking press on Oak Street and printed their woodcuts on tee-shirts for the MECA crowd and whoever else happened to come by. Here are some photos of the operation:
I recently discovered a website called Spoonflower that lets its users create custom-printed fabric. It's fairly expensive ($18-$32/yard), but I ordered a few $5 test swatches and the quality of them is really fantastic. I'm thinking of making pillows and iPod cases from my designs. Here's a before and after of one of my test swatches:
