Whispers

I love the accidental, which is how this image came about. I was testing how a Lensbaby Composer with the plastic lens insert would work for digital infrared. On my Canon Rebel XT, most lenses have an IR "hotspot" even when wide open. So I thought I'd test the Lensbaby out. The good news is that at all apertures, there is not evidence of a hotspot (haven't tried the glass lens inserts yet). The testing involved removing the R72 filter, changing out the aperture ring, then putting the filter back on. The infrared filter is opaque, so for each shot I was just blindly focusing at infinity. But I forgot to put the lens back at infinity when I took this shot. Just a happy accident.

Spirit

I took this image at a park overlooking Shoal Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is a spiritual place for me, somewhere I go to feel the ocean breeze and the sun in my face. A place of contemplation and peace. It's a small park, not much to recommend it as a place to photograph and yet there is always one or two images to be found, to be made as photographic contemplations.

Narrative

I have a deep, abiding love for the coast where I live. History is written in the rocks here, reaching from millenia ago to the present day. Ancient history etched in the rock surface, present history attached, everything integrated into a continuous whole, like a multimedia art piece. I really see a connection between a subject like this, and the potential to transform it into a drawing, painting, etching. It's possible to find a hundred photos to take within a radius of 20 feet on some of the beaches here. Which is something I find comforting - no matter what kind of funk I find myself in, a quick trip to the beach will give me several hours of engagement with a rich, wonderful narrative.

Emotional Richness of Blur

There's something engaging about blur. Ultra sharp photos seem to elicit a sense of "wow", an appreciation of technical achievement. Blurry photos hit you in the gut, down in the emotional centre. They recall fragments of dreams grasped on the edge of waking. It's that reaction I'm chasing, playing with different tools to achieve images that speak to me, and I hope speak to others. I see the landscape as a playground for imagination, and that's how I want to represent the landscape. As a cherished experience, rather than a postcard moment.

Metallic Lushness

I tried a new way to print some of my images - using mpix.com and Kodak metallic paper. One of the images was this lumen print of poppies. Lumen prints are one of a kind, since they are essentially photograms made on expired black and white paper by exposing for hours in direct sunlight. The colours result from the long exposure, the expired paper and chemicals in the plant material that interact with the chemicals in the paper. They are always intriguing, and often have a wonderful glow. I scanned the original print and then sent the digital file to mpix.com for printing. Just received the print (and some others) today, and am blown away by the way the metallic paper enhances the glow in this image. Part of the motivation for trying this is to find ways to produce prints for sale at a reasonable price, but high quality.

New Ways of Seeing the World

It's been a crazy few months at work combined with some family health issues that have partly derailed my efforts at creating a healthier and more purposeful life. But here and there I've still managed to add new life to my art endeavours. Most recently, I've been working on a new darkroom technique called lith printing. This is a way to transform black and white images into some stunning colours. I find myself walking around town pre-visualizing images that will work well with this printing method.

It's been an interesting month in The Bertie Project. Reading the book "The Brain That Changed Itself" inspired me to re-wire some of the neural circuits that had hardened with old habits, and begin the wire in new circuits. I see the scope of the project ranging from life style changes to a consistent program of trying new things. For me the key to embarking on change was being able to visualize the changes that would take place in my brain as I started diet modification, a regular walking schedule, trying new things with my cameras and new ways to work with film and prints. This visualization made it easier to overcome inertia, and allowed me to see the benefits that a few weeks of consistent work brought about.

With the cameras I started a new project that involves a fair amount of shooting colour film. I paired that experience up with trying home development of colour negative film (turned out to be ridiculously easy, and very addictive) and cross-processing of colour slide film.