Waiting for the rain to end

Went to my favorite beach yesterday after work and the light was awesome for about one minute ... and during that minute I was picking up dog poop. Then these big clouds came in, and it started to rain. I snapped these quickly and ran back to the car to wait it out, hoping the light would come back (they were some thick clouds).

The sun did come back out again for a little while ... and I think I got some nice shots in the sunshowery late afternoon/early evening light.

Good photos + writing = new sidebar links

So I can't quit my job (professional satisfaction + steady salary + health insurance = not going to quit my job), but I can fantasize via Funemployed, "experiments in wily world beyond cubicles and comprehensive health insurance."

Check out the fun behind-the-scenes look at a photo shoot with a model covered in clear goop. Her writing style is hilarious: "sticking fingers up models’ noses = better than a cubicle."

Love the before and after shots of her garden make-over. She is also very brave: she touches slugs, something I could never, ever do.

And, while I'm at it, holy cow would you please go and check out Steven Cohen's photography website. Sorry about the flash intro, but when you get to the main page, hover over the word "work" and click on one of the numbers. Personally, I am in love with the third set and totally and completely intend to (try to) copy what he's done.

I've been playing with matches lately (did some more this morning that I'll upload soon) and intended to light them all when I'm done and photograph that. Now that I've seen the photos he did of the same subject, I'm feeling a mixture of envy and inspiration. I doubt very much I can match (pun seriously not intended) what he's done with the concept, but I am damn sure going to try.

I need a light box, like, now.

I have the too many pictures blues

Found a great new photo site, blue pixel, which I'm adding to my sidebar. This advice from the May 14 post, Sketching, really struck me. The title of the post refers to the fact that painters often go out and make sketches to work through an idea:

And more often than not those sketches get thrown away. That's an important lesson to learn as a photographer. You don't have to make a great picture every time you go out with your camera. But you certainly won't make any great pictures unless you go out and shoot.

I recently went to one of the beaches in Marblehead to take some photos. In fact, I took a lot of photos. This one little forlorn row-boat with peeling paint--laying upside down way at the back of the boat yard-- caught me eye. The light wasn't great (midday and sunny) so I went back a couple of days later, on an overcast morning and took another dozen or so photos of it. I even cracked out the tripod.

I've been looking at those photos for a few days now. I keep going back to them, running through them in full-screen view on my laptop. And you know what? I just don't like them. So I'm going to save my hard drive the space (and my mind the obsession) and just delete them.

This is a big step for me, especially after spending so much time and effort to try to get a good shot of that little rowboat. I'm a definite hanger-on-er when it comes to photos, even the ones I don't like. Sure, I delete anything that's out of focus or has other problems that can't be fixed in Photoshop. But I usually keep even the pictures that are technically fine but that just don't sing. The truth is, you're lucky (or I am, at least) if one shot out of 40 is a keeper.

All of which adds up to a LOT of photo files on my computer. It's not that I can't back them up (my new laptop has a CD burner), but it can be overwhelming going through all the photos I've taken, trying to find the ones that are worth printing or uploading to Flickr. And I don't neccessarily want to waste time making backups of photos I don't like and will probably never print or post or show to anyone, for that matter.

I think, going forward at least, I'm going to try to be more ruthless.

Free kisses with every portrait session

First cute dogs, now even cuter babies. What is this blog coming to?

Seriously, have you ever seen such a sweet face? He's so curious, carefully studying the world around him, taking it all in.

Little does he know, the dog is about to swoop in for a kiss:

Babies and dogs. Sheesh!

I'll post more as soon as I can ... They'll be marked private for family and friends, so if you're either, make sure you sign up for Flickr (if you haven't already) and send me a note so I can add you to my contact list.

That is, unless you don't like babies and dogs.

Alert!

Just checking in to make sure you all remember how friggin' cute the dog is.

Published

My photo “Wooden Boats for Sale” was used for an article on buying used boats in Pacific Yachting magazine. Small picture and no credit, but I did get paid a whopping two-figure sum!

My original photograph, taken at Redd's Pond in Marblehead, is here.