Painted Birds

A couple of years ago a group of artists were turned loose on some scrap planes – and the following images document their artwork.  I attempted to move in close using a super wide lens to try and show the artwork flowing over the planes.  The planes were on display for a short period of time - and regrettably I never got the chance to revisit these colorful birds again for a second shoot.

Resting Birds

Not far from Exit 270 – under a hot desert sun rests the war birds of another era – they sit majestically as symbols of wars that seem to never end.  Here they sit with the dusty desert sands blowing around them lit by a blazing sun.   The only shade from the sun can be found under their winds, which seem to stretch outward as if they are preparing for flight.  Their engines are long silent, but if you listen closely you can almost imagine the roar of their engines as they prepare to rush down the tarmac for another mission. 

Faces of Exit 270 Part 6

My faces of Exit 270 are not exactly street photography – since in many of the photos there is very little of the street scene involved.  This is why I call it the faces of Exit 270.  While many of the subjects in the photos are not aware they are being photographed –there are some where I have asked for permission to photograph them, while telling them to try and ignore my presence.   My images are what you would call “grab shots”, I do try to pick my subjects and carefully compose the shot.  All of the images have been shot in color and converted to black and white because I feel black and white offers a more dramatic effect than the same image in color.  My camera of choice for this type of shooting is a Sony Nex7, because it is unobtrusive and gives me the ability to compose and shoot quickly.   

Desert Debris

Debbie Harry once said, “I don’t mind if my skull ends up on a shelf as long as it’s got my name on it.”

Recently a friend loaned me some animal skulls for me to work into some still life photographs. I guess he figured my macabre interest in such items would produce some interesting possibilities.  So after studying them for a couple of days I set about constructing the attached still life scenarios.  The lighting used was a portable Flashpoint Led light, which enabled me to direct the light or paint with it hand held. Using a Nikon D7000 at ISO100 with an f8 setting, I preceded to create the following images with some PS help.  

Crayola Village

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” Claude Monet

With respect to art, there was a period where artists such as Van Gough, Gauguin led by Matisse abandoned the idea of using color to define objects but let color become the subject of their art.  In architecture you do not usually find color the defining element, however, La Placita Village is a case in point.

La Placita Village is a business complex downtown that presents the photographer with a multitude of lines, shapes and angles –it is a group of buildings where the architects were let loose with a box of 32 Crayola crayons.    La Placita is a village where color collides with design -and color is the subject of this post.  The images were all shot using a Sony Nex7 camera incorporated with both a 16mm lens and a fisheye converter for some images.