What is this Photograph About?

My latest LensWork magazine's editorial exhorts every photographer to shoot with a purpose, rather than simply snap a picture because it looks pretty.  This is something I am trying to do more often.   Having just spent a few wonderful days with twin grandsons, 60 years younger than me, I've been thinking about family and the differences in age (from the amount of energy one has, to how one perceives reality).  These thoughts took me out into the garden, seeking images that reflect the cycle of life.

Hello

Garden chicken in the California sun.  Sometimes a little humor is calling.  Reminds me of Lionel Richie calling Adele:  http://zap2it.com/2015/10/lionel-richie-responds-adele-song-hello/

The Events of the Week Make Me Feel Like Running Away

Honorable Mention at the Marin County Fair

My five photos entered in the special category - "In Focus," judged by Jack Fulton, got an honorable mention.   #1 winner was Louise Williams, a Bay Area photographer, who composited zoo animals into rooms in a charming way.  Can't find a link on-line but here is her Saatchi page: http://www.saatchiart.com/louisekwilliams

Bird on a Wire

The crows in Seattle must have had nests near to be so set on getting me out of the neighborhood. But not before I photographed this bird harassing me!  The shot that got away was a vision of two crows chasing a bald eagle over Puget Sound.  Obviously the eagle got too close to the nest too.

A Story of Three Quilts

Quilting takes a looooong time, at least for me.  Here is the story of these three new quilts:

Top #1:  Florida Spoonbill, 85 1/2" long x 80" wide.  I started this quilt a year ago and only finished it last month.  Then it was too big for me to photograph, so I took it to the exceptional Jay Daniel at Black Cat Studio (link here), which took a bit more time.   The quilt was put together in 9 pieces to accommodate my small Bernina sewing machine, and is intended to represent the elusive spoonbill in a Florida swamp, with the blue sky above.  I stopped planning as much as I had with my earlier quilting efforts and cut and sewed most of this quilt without doing too much measuring.  I also learned to cut and sew curves.  I went to Florida in 2014, to Singer Island, looking for a Spoonbill, but never found one in the flesh so had to create my own.  The brown & blue batik fabric in the quilt was brought back from India, where I had the good fortune to buy it directly from the Mundra artist, Shakil Khatri, who designed it.  This was the 3rd quilt I made with his beautiful fabrics. Unfortunately, I sold the 1st one before getting it photographed.

Middle #2:  Amber's Marathon Quilt, 85 1/2" long x 72 1/2" wide.  This quilt contains only about 1/3 of all the winning T shirts won by my marathon running daughter.  Sewing stretchy jersey was a pain, as was the dot minky fabric backing.  To personalize the piece, I took photos on various trip to Seattle of Amber's awards and sewed those fabric photos into the quilt, along with various drawings I did of running shoes.  It came out a bit lopsided, so you can tell it is hand made!

Bottom #3:  Albion Bird in Window, 30 1/2 x 30 1/2.  Now that I'm taking a lot of photographs, my desire is to do something practical with them, such as printing them on fabric and sewing them into quilts.  This is one such example, having taking various photos of the windows in a shed in Albion.  I combined the photos then added an applique and embroidered bird before quilting the entire piece.  This is a new wall hanging format, rather than my traditional 'lounge on the couch' size.

Going to Kehoe Beach Digitally

Since I'm not at the beach today, I'll have to go there with this memory of Kehoe Beach last September.