The Alphabet 2006, W - Z

W is for Woodpile

Smith River, California

While this is the image used in my original book, I could not find it among my photographic files.  The picture above was scanned from the book, so there is no photographic information available.  That said...  For years, Mother would buy a cord or two of oak each fall which she would split and burn in the fireplace.  This is one of the remaining woodpiles in the back yard.

X is for Xanthophyll

Taken December 8th, 2006

Smith River, California

Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma Lens set at 45 mm

ISO 200, f /5.6, 1/60 second

A yellow crystalline pigment, C40 H56 02, found in plants.  It is related to careotene and is the basis of the yellow seen in autumn leaves.

Y is for Yacht

Taken October 24th, 2006

Gold Beach, Oregon

Nikon Coolpix L3 Camera, Focal Length 19.2 mm

ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/250 second

This being a sea-side community, there's no end of boats in our harbors.  This particular boat, the Pola, is moored at the harbor in Gold Beach, Oregon.

Z is for Zither

Taken December 11th, 2006

Smith River, California

Nikon D80, Sigma Lens set at 18 mm

ISO 200, f /3.5, 1/60th second

This is actually an Appalachian Dulcimer, a true American folk instrument which was based on the German Zither.  Below I show it posed on a chair with an hand stitched back done by my mother, and finally laid on a hand-woven blanket I wove for my father in the colonial overshot pattern called "Methodist Wheels."  I like to think of my father as being one of those "Methodist Wheels."

 Taken December 11th, 2006

Smith River, California

Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma Lens set at 18 mm

ISO 200, f /3.5, 1/60 second

Taken December 8th, 2006

Smith River, California

Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma Lens set at 22 mm

ISO 400, f 6.3, 1/20 second

The Alphabet 2006, S-V

S is for Sashimi

Taken December 8th, 2006

Brookings, Oregon

Nikon D80, Sigma lens set at 42 mm.

ISO 200,  f /5.3, 1/60 second, flash

Raw fish isn't everyone's dish of choice, but I love it.  This was the dinner plate served to my friend Steven at the Café Kitanishi in Brookings, Oregon.  I had ordered the same sashimi combination plate a couple of days earlier, and I have to say that this is the best sashimi I've had anywhere.

T is for Teasel

Taken December 1st, 2006

Near Gold Beach, Oregon

Nikon Coolpix L3, Focal length 19.2 mm

ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/65 second

Any of a genus (Dipsacus) of bristly plants of the teasel family, with prickly, cylindrical heads of yellowish or purplish flowers; esp the fuller's teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) with flower heads having sharp, spinelike bracts.  Weavers used to grow these in their gardens, drying the heads to use as a tool to full or raise the nap of newly woven cloth.

U is for Ukulele

Taken December 7th, 2006

Smith River, California

Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma lens at 50 mm

ISO 100, f /5.6, 1/125 second

In June, 1959, we moved to California from Montana.  Shortly thereafter, Father took a business trip to Hawai'i.  He brought me this ukulele which I played constantly until I got my first guitar.  In November, 2005, I rescued it from the garage of the house in Smith River, took it back to Missoula with me and had it fully restored.  It is displayed on a double weave lap robe I wove for my father.  Care to hear me play "Princess Poo-poo-lee Has Plenty Papaya"?

V is for Victorian

Taken December 4th, 2006

Eureka, California

Nikon Coolpix L3, Focal Length 14.8 mm

ISO 200, f /4.6, .6 second

The Carson Mansion, now a private club in Eureka, California, is arguably the most photographed building in that part of California north of San Francisco.  Here it is all dolled up for Christmas, 2006.

The Alphabet 2006, O - R

O is for Octopus

The Traditional Christmas Octopus that is

Taken December 6th, 2006

Brookings Oregon

This octopus and his friends below are a small part of the civic holiday display that fills Azalea Park in Brookings, Oregon each December.  This is the most elaborate holiday display I have seen in any community.  Brookings has a population of 6,000.  The photos were all taken on December 6th, 2006, using the "Night Landscape" setting on my new Nikon D80 DSLR. This was the first day I had the camera.  Cheers!

 Also the Traditional Holiday Mermaid

 The Traditional Holiday Seahorse

 A Cup of Cheer!

P is for Pilings

Taken December 1st, 2006

Gold Beach, Oregon

Nikon Coolpix L3 camera

This is not the picture included in the book although it was taken at the same location.  The pilings in question are just about all that is left of a salmon cannery built on the south bank of the Rogue River at Gold Beach, Oregon.  I say just about all, because there are some interesting "rock" formations here as well that are not really rocks, but compressed scrap metal from the old "tin" cans used in the cannery.  The original picture was taken at low tide and the ground around the pilings is visible.

Q is for Quilt

Taken December 7th, 2006

Smith River, California

Momma and Grandma used to quilt as a team.  The four quilts shown here were made by the two of them sometime in the 1920s or early 1930s.  They have lived in the family cedar chest until now, as Mother was saving them for when I got married.  With Mother gone, I now have four brand-new 80 year old hand sewn quilts.  All pictures were taken with my Nikon D80 DSLR on December 7th, 2006, in Smith River, California.  The ISO was set at 200, the shutter speed was constant at 1/60th second, the focal length varied from 24 to 38 mm, and the aperture from f /4 to f /5.

If you know what to look for, you can see which stitches were done by Momma (the ones that look machine done) and which by Grandma (the more open, looping stitches).  I can assure you that Momma's were hand done and not done by a machine.

R is for Red

Smith River, California

I would say that R is for Rose, but Roses come in a variety of colors, and this particular rose was as red as anything I've ever seen.  This picture was one of the first taken with my Nikon D80 Digital Single Lens Reflex camera, on December 6th, 2006.  Yes, roses bloom in December in Smith River, California.  Focal length was 50 mm, ISO 140, f /5.6, 1/125 second.

The Alphabet 2006, J-N

J is for Juice

Taken 12/2/2006 in Smith River, California.  

Nikon Coolpix L3.  ISO 50, f /3.2, 1/60 second)

J was my only real problem child in putting together this alphabet book.  I considered Jicama, Jaguar, and Jewelry, shot Jalapeños and Jeeps, and woke up in the middle of the night saying "Jack."  Jack is my Jack LaLanne Juicer, and here he's making my favorite morning concoction--Apple (from the trees in the back yard), Carrot and Ginger Juice.  (And you thought X would be a problem.)

K is for Kelp

Taken 11/29/2006 at Pistol River, Oregon, 

Nikon Coolpix L3, ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/60 second

Kelp is the most common form of sea vegetation washing up on the beaches of California and Oregon.  It is a form of brown algae, and the ashes produced when kelp is burned give us iodine.  These photos were taken at the mouth of the Pistol River, Oregon, on a hidden beach near Klamath, California, and on Harris Beach, Brookings, Oregon.

Taken 7/17/2006 near Klamath, California with a Pentax SLR film camera

Taken 12/1/2006 on Harris Beach, Brookings, Oregon

Nikon Coolpix L3,  ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/50 second

L is for Lemons

Taken 11/30/2006 in Crescent City, California, 

Nikon Coolpix L3. ISO 50, f /4.6, 1/30 second

While looking at the jalapeños (hay is for jalapeño) in Ray's Market, Crescent City, California, I shot these lovely lemons as well.  And as we all know, when life hands you a bunch of lemons, you should make lemonade.

M is for Manzanita

Taken 10/26/2006 along the GO Road, Del Norte, County, California

Nikon Coolpix L3, ISO 50, f /4.9, 1/160 second

A member of the heath family, manzanita grows as a dense ground-covering shrub throughout the mountainous regions of northern California and southern Oregon.  It is quite distinctive, with its bright red bark and equally bright green leaves.  It is the plant I think of when I hear the term "chaparral," although technically speaking, chaparral refers to oak.

N is for Necklace

Taken 12/4/2006 in Smith River, California

Nikon Coolpix L3, ISO 50, f /3.4, 1/60 second

In 1965, thanks to Heifer Project, International, my father and I boarded the SS President Lincoln in San Francisco, arriving in Yokohama 13 days later.  Aboard ship we played cowboy to 25 bred Holstein heifers, themselves bound for the pioneer farmers in Hokkaido.  One of the gifts Father brought back to Mother was this 3-strand necklace of cultured pearls.

The Alphabet 2006, F-I

F is for Fern

    ...  or possibly

                Fuchsia

Taken 11/25/2006 using a Nikon Coolpix L3 camera, ISO 125, f 4.2, 1/60 second.

I've been taking pictures of ferns for 30+ years, but this shot, taken alongside the Newton Drury Scenic ByWay (old US 101) in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, is the first shot I've really liked.  This is the shot I submitted to The Photographer's Workshop.

  

Taken 8/21/2006 with a Pentax SLR film camera.                 

Taken 10/25/2006 with a Nikon Coolpix L3 

camera, ISO 50, f /6.4, 1/60th second.

Taken 10/27/2006 with a Nikon Coolpix L3 camera, ISO 50, f /7.7, 1/60 second

 The fuchsias were all shot in the back yard of the house in Smith River.  Mother never cared much for cut flowers, seeing them as a frivolous waste of money.  Rather than fill her room in the nursing home with flowers, I printed my photographs on Post-It Note photo paper, and stuck them up on the walls by her bed.  The single blossom has been manipulated using Adobe PhotoShop's watercolor filter.  Momma liked it.

G is for Gull

(No information available for either photo)

I could not find the original of the immature gull I submitted to the Workshop, so the second gull here is a substitute.  The picture I could not find was one of the first pictures I took with my tele/zoom/macro lens fitted to the Pentax SLR.  It was taken at the harbor in Crescent City.  The picture of the light brown immature gull at the top was taken in a McDonald's parking lot in Brookings, with the Nikon D80 DSLR and a 50-200 mm zoom lens.  Of course, in my heart of hearts, I know that G is for Gypsy.

Taken 8/17/2006 with a Pentax SLR film camera in Smith River, California

H is for House

(No information available for this photo)

Driving the scenic Rogue River Highway from Grants Pass to Medford, Oregon, my friend Carl and I passed this house.  I hit the brakes, did a U-turn, saying, "That, my friend, is a photo-op!"  When I submitted the image to my peer review group, the only criticism I received was that the scene was too dark.  In the original book, I placed a second version of the image, having lightened it a bit.  The image above differs from both in that I re-opened the original image as a RAW format file, and then processed it as I normally would these days in Photoshop CS5.

I is for Island 

(No information available for either photo)

Castle Rock is a National Wildlife Refuge off the Crescent City, California shore--due west of Pebble Beach Drive.  For over 30 years, I've been intrigued with shooting this island and its denizens, but it would take a 500 mm lens at the least, and at the time I published this collection, I still didn't have the equipment I would need to to get the shots I want.  I can't complain about these sunset shots, however.  See if you can't hear the seals and sea lions barking.  (In the book, there was a third photograph, a truly stunning sunset shot, probably taken with my film camera.  I cannot find the digital version of that image today.)

I apologize for the lack of information on so many of these images.  Apparently, when I copied them from their original location to the file folder for this blog, Photoshop stripped all photographic information from the images.  I am not amused.

The Alphabet, 2006, Part 1 (A-E)

In October, 2006, I bought my first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix L3, just to see if I liked the process.  Long story short, I liked it so well, that for Christmas, I bought my first digital single-lens-reflex camera, a Nikon D80--at that point pretty much state of the art.  I also joined an on-line photography group, The Photographer's Workshop, which allowed members to post one photo a day for the group's enjoyment.  Something gave me the idea to work my way through the alphabet, and I started out with A is for Apple.  Every day I would post a new photo, but it wasn't until I got to L that someone actually caught on and asked if I were going through the alphabet.  When I concurred that I was doing exactly that, they started asking, "What are you going to do for X?"  I replied, "You'll just have to wait and see.

Well, it's been over eight years, and I just got a new camera, a Nikon D7100.  I've had it less than a week now, and I absolutely love it.  Figured it was time to challenge myself again, and so come up with a new alphabet.  But first, I'd like to share the 2006 work with my blog readers.  This will be the topic for the next five or six posts, so hang on and let's get going.  By the way, I put the whole work together in a self published book.  Unless otherwise indicated, what follows are the pictures and texts from that book.  Also, with this "edition," I've added the photographic information.  Unless otherwise noted, all images were shot in JPEG format, and finished in Photoshop Elements.  Clicking on a picture will open it full screen in a new window.

A is for Apple

Taken October 26th, 2006, in Smith River, California, using a Nikon Coolpix L3.  Focal length is 19.2 mm, ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/60 second. 

There are four apple trees in the back yard at 344 Brookings Avenue, Smith River, California.  They start producing edible apples in August, and I continued to pick apples off the trees into December.  One of the trees is a Gravenstein.  I have no idea what the other three are.  Mother always made applesauce, but I prefer making pies, juice, or just eating them.

B is for Berry

Taken November 8th, 2006, using a Nikon Coolpix L3.  Focal length is 19.2 mm, ISO 50, f /5.3, 1/100 second.  

Wild Blackberry vines, which the locals call Himalayas, grow everywhere [in the Smith River area].  They're a weed, in fact, but I still like to put them on my Cheerios, or make a pie or even ice cream with them.  The picture above is of unripe, or "green," blackberries and was taken in November 2006.  I was intrigued by the fact that the leaves were turning with the season, but the new berries kept coming on.

C is for Cactus

Taken November 22nd, 2006, using a Nikon Coolpix L3.  Focal length is 19.2 mm, ISO 50, f /11, 1/60 second.

Mother had three "Christmas Cactus" plants growing behind her kitchen sink.  I'd never really paid much attention to this type of plant, although I've always liked them.  The bloom shown here began to open Thanksgiving week, and was at its full glory on November 25th, the day Momma died.

 D is for Darlingtonia

Both pictures taken September 4th, 2006, in the hills above Smith River, California, using a Pentax Single-Lens-Reflex film camera.  No other information available.

These peculiar insect-eating plants grow in a relatively restricted area in northern California and southern Oregon near the coast.  Usually they grow in dark boggy areas, and there is a botanical wayside on US 199 just east of Gasquet, California.  The ones pictured here, however, were growing on a wet rock cliff above the South Fork of the Smith River, about 14 miles off US 199.  Notice how they're sticking their tongues out.  I submitted both of these pictures to the Workshop, albeit at different times.

E is for Elk

(And yes, I know the proper term is Wapiti.)

Taken November 25, 2006 in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks, using a Pentax Single-Lens-Reflex Film Camera.  No other information available.

There are herds of Roosevelt Elk all along the north coast, including just south of the town of Smith River.  The most visible herds, however, are the ones in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  They are often found alongside US 101 in the park, and are considered a highway traffic hazard.  They can also be found on the beach at Gold Bluffs and Fern Canyon in the park.  It's rather disconcerting to be walking through the beach grasses and suddenly find yourself face to face with a bull elk.

More elk

Both pictures taken November 25th, 2006, in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, using a Nikon Coolpix L3 camera.  Focal length 19.2 mm, ISO 63, f /5.3, 1/30 second.

Come back on Friday for F through I.  And feel free to leave comments here on the blog.

Bridges Over Untroubled Waters

2 foot by 8 foot panorama of the Flathead River 

West of Perma, Montana

February 17th, 2015

Sail on silvergirl,  Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
     --Paul Simon

To hear the Concert in Central Park version of this classic, click here. To buy it, click on the link at the bottom of the post.

Anyone who follows my rants on Facebook knows that I've finally replaced my venerable, trusty, over eight years old Nikon D80 digital single lens reflex camera.  I ordered the new camera last week from 42nd Street Camera in New York, and yesterday, UPS delivered it.  I purchased a new Nikon, a D7100, with 24 megapixels and more bells and whistles than you can shake the proverbial stick at.  I'm still learning the tricks of my D80 after all these years, so I can only hope to gain some sort of familiarity with the D7100 in time.  To that end, I'm out taking pictures every chance I get.  This blog will be unlike other posts I've written, in that I promise to keep the words to a minimum and share some of the 81 photos I've taken in the 28 hours I've had the new toy, er tool.  Please remember to click on each photo to see it full screen.

My double hibiscus blooming in the window

Plains, Montana

February 16th, 2015

I set out today hoping to find some birds.  I really want to see what the increase in megapixels can do for my avian shots.  Of course, the true test is if the camera operator can figure out how to take great shots, but the birds were few and far between, so I settled on another of my favorite subjects, bridges.  Edward T. Hall, in his study The Dance of Life, talks about working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on a project to build a bridge on the jointly administered Hopi/Navajo lands in Arizona.  Long story short, he came to the realization that a bridge is an instrument of time.  When you consider how much time it would take you to cross a canyon, or a stream, or a river without the convenience of a bridge, you'll understand what he means.  If you're interested in his look at time, I've put a link at the bottom so you can buy the book and read it yourself.   As for me, I just like the look of classic bridges, especially railway bridges.  So I shot a few, even catching one with a train.

Christmas Cactus Blooming for Valentine's Day

Shot through a Kaleidoscope Lens

February 17th, 2015

That's it, that's all she wrote--or at least all I'm going to write today.  Here's a few more photos from the new equipment.  Hope you enjoy.

 Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Coal Train crossing the Flathead River Bridge

West of Perma, Montana

February 17th, 2015

The Flathead River Along MT Highway 200

West of Perma, Montana

February 17th, 2015

Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Rail Bridge over the Clark Fork River

South of Paradise, Montana

February 17th, 2015

Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Rail Bridge over the Clark Fork River

North of St. Regis, Montana

February 17th, 2015

Mount Baldy, Highest Mountain in our Neighborhood (7500 feet)

Wishing you all a very happy Valentine's Day, a few days late

Between Plains and Hot Springs, Montana

February 16th, 2015