sometimes I love schmaltz

Light hearted bon-bon stuff. Over sweet tea and Turkish delight.
Sentimental and cloying.
We all have our Achilles heel.
Good to clear it out of my system before I attempt a real shot.

I feel a bit naked sharing my fetish for schmaltz.But I love it in small doses.
Like Victoria magazine, it appeals to some mush brained part of myself.
Super-sweet and harmless like those pom-poms some women sew onto on drapes.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Singer and Song-Writer Bee Wolf-Ray ..three minute shoot.

Finally I had the opportunity to photograph Bee.
The wind was blowing like hell..it was cold and wet .
I decided to shoot fast.
Fifteen frames or less.

In three minutes flat she was exotic, charismatic and beautiful.

Trying to be less torturous to my models these days.

God is a great lighting Director..

I really love the light in the forest. Some days it filters through in a magical sort of way.Other times it hangs darkly and broods.This type of lighting appeals to me tremendously.It speaks to me of old fairy-tales,and the romance of faith based religions .Old as the mountains, and much beyond our control.
It is an old saying among photographers and D.O.P's that God is the best lighting director.

Black & White at Little Tribune..

 I had all kinds of ideas about how to shoot this scenario.

As soon as we arrived I ditched them all, and remembered Poe.

That's all I could think about.

His poems

I often don't talk to my models.

Not because I don't like them. It's often better to not over direct.

As soon as the model talks too much something is lost.They start thinking too much about what they are doing. Then all the wonderful things that they might be get into a muddle.

I often notice really wonderful things about people when we don't talk.

There is something profoundly peaceful about photographing a person who is at ease with themselves.

I get to see amazing things sometimes.And most of them are none of my business.

Compost shoot in my messy kitchen

 Early a.m. photo shoot in my kitchen.
Messy counter.Hard to even make a pot of coffee when it looks like that.All stuff headed for the compost bin.Usually our chicken eats this sort of thing, except for the citrus.She hates citrus.Arranged the debris.. ...spent a few minutes shooting, and went back to my coffee.
Clean-up waited.

Cross country skiing with Grandpa Pal

 My dad has always been more at home in the back-country.Not that this is the back-country.We are close to the Mt.Washington ski area here...skiing on laid track

We used to ski in Paradise meadows before the ski hill was developed.It was a private sort of heaven.My dad and a bunch of Nordic types even built a small cabin there.We didn't have any permission, we just did it.That was how things used to get done.I say "we" because my dad always had a way of making us kids feel involved in every process.
It was a long haul dragging in all the materials on sleds.They were tarped off till spring.There was a cheap-o tin stove for quick heat.
The crazy Nordic types liked to bust through the frozen lakes to swim a bit after a long ski.That never appealed to me, I was always a fan of the wood-stove and hot-chocolate apres ski.
 My dads friends have usually been these super tough, tanned,  out-doorsy  types who don't say much.And those were the women.
I was also never one for the 50k ski races.He and the Nordic types did that stuff.I mostly poodled about in the back-country enjoying myself at a more normal pace.It was  fun.And I never felt uncomfortable about not being super-duper at it.Everyone was always so nice.

The cabin was where we spent Easter sometimes.We used to have to ski quite a ways to get there.Kids slept in the cabin, my dad preferred to dig out a snow drift and sleep there.Probably more peaceful.

My brother was always a better athlete than me..so the two of them used to ski up to Mt.Albert Edward and beyond.
Dad still does that.He's 78 next month.Not that age should matter..it just amazes me.After all these years my dad still amazes me.
The cabin was torn down years ago when park rangers started coming around the area.


Anyhow..Angel-Blue and her Grandpa Pal spent some good time together.He is a great ski instructor.He demonstrates and encourages.He is patient and kind.He is always a lot of fun.


 Maybe when she gets the hang of track skiing she
can learn to telemark with a pack on ?

We have plans to climb Albert Edward with Grandpa Pal..just not on skis.
We will walk.
My dad has a great way of sharing his love of the out-doors with people.

Red is our favourite colour.

When I was  little  my dad used to dress me in bright red rain-gear when we walked on our beach

up north.When I was about seven we hiked the west - coast trail for the first time. Again.. I wore bright red sweaters and clothing. My first gore tex parka was red. My back-pack too.

So was our land-cruiser. The kayak was also was red come to think of it. 

I used to assume that vivid red was just his favourite colour. It was and still is. Then he told me that he dressed me that way for visibility in remote areas we spent a lot of time in. He liked being able to spot me in the landscape easily. It gave me the  freedom to wander further.

I thought that was a bit silly.

I really do love red. And I also like being able to spot our girl in the landscape easily. She  likes to wander ahead you see.