Another dilemma

In looking at the photos from this post I realized it would be very difficult to color-correct them in an aesthetically pleasing way...so, I'm wondering if black and white is the way to go?

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

Keep in mind I don't have much experience or knowledge when it comes to converting to black and white, and this is basically just the automatic conversion in Lightroom, plus a little exposure and contrast tweaking. Basically, I really like this group of images (there are many more than I've shared) and I'm trying to find the best way to present them.

A dilemma

I'm beginning to notice more and more how much I miss an art community. There are some times when you really need some critique and advice, and this is one of those times. Last week, I took quite a few pictures one night while a few of us on the island were hanging out. It was a dark, cozy space, and it feel like a good time and place to experiment a little bit. One of the many wonderful things about Star Island is that many of the people that work there are artistic or creative in some way. This means they are usually more comfortable being photographed, or at least seem to be used to it or able to ignore it or accept it. This makes my life much easier. I think I tend to get fixated on one thing or one person at a time when I'm taking pictures and for most of that night last week it was Mandy. The combination or lighting and gesture made her a really great subject, but I'm struggling with some of the images I got. I like the movement of her hand but I'm unsure about the framing. I think I'm a bit of a purist, so part of me gravitate towards the full-frame, the unadulterated shot as it was when first taken. At the same time I understand that there are times when extraneous objects are distracted, and need to be cropped out, and I really enjoy a square crop in the right situation. So, I'm left trying to figure out what feels right and I think this might be a good opportunity to get some outside input. So, what do you think?

(Just FYI, these are each a different image, but they all started basically the same in concept and composition. The gesture itself is the only difference)

Uncropped:

From Test Shots/Experiments

Cropped at the same aspect ratio:

From Test Shots/Experiments

Square crop:

From Test Shots/Experiments

Different square crop, excluding the spoon:

From Test Shots/Experiments

More Star Island Eye-Candy

I'm writing this post on the weekend and hoping I've set it so it will automatically post in the middle of the week. Just thought I'd share some more images from my first week on Star Island. As I mentioned before, I've become interested in lichens and moss, and exploring the smaller plant communities on the island (though I'm not sure lichens qualify as plants. Do mosses?). I'm reading a book called The Granite Landscape by Tom Wessels, which had a chapter on mosses and lichens and spotlights various areas of the Northeast with granite features. It's really fascinating for some reason I can't explain - learning the geology of granite and glaciers and the juxtaposition of tiny organisms thriving in such huge, barren places. My interest is always pulled in so many directions, I haven't been able to find a way to combine or tie everything together - I also really enjoyed shooting some candid portraits of people on the island last week, and I love fiber arts, felting, and sewing, and feel the need to create tangible objects. How do I get this to all work together? Or find enough time to pursue everything?

That's a big conversation, and obviously a tangent, so for now, here are more pictures.

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

I believe the white lichen here is reindeer lichen, which is a fruiticose lichen. Fruiticose lichens are the most plant-like in form, and are the most advanced form of lichen. In order for this reindeer lichen to exist, three other types of lichen had to come and go. I'm sure most of you know lichens take a very long time to grow, since they are most common in barren, extreme environments. It's amazing to think that this tiny organism has probably taken centuries to come into existence, and that could so easily be destroyed by a careless step. (By the way, it's called reindeer lichen because it is a food source for reindeer in the Arctic).

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

First rainbow of the season!

From Star Island 2009

Star Island 4/20-4/24

Here's a few images from my first week on Star. I still have a ton of images to process, but it's a start.

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

From Star Island 2009

What I want to know, where does the time go?

Ok, I know it's been a while - I've never been good at keeping up with blogging, and I'm leaving for the island in a few days so posting will continue to be scarce. I think I'll be taking a lot of photos on the island though, so I'll try to update on the weekends.

I've gone to the beach several times in the last couple of weeks, which has provided some great photo opportunities. I'm way behind in editing photos, as usual, but here's a few images from Wallis Sands beach, near Rye, NH.

From Beaches

If you look at the larger version of this one, you can see Appledore, Star, and White Islands in the distance.

From Beaches

From Beaches

From Beaches

From Beaches

From Beaches

New Year's Eve

I know it's a little overdue, but I just realized I never posted any photos from New Year's Eve! Ben and I went to Brooklyn to hang out with some friends from Star Island. It was quite a trek for me - the drive to the train station took about two hours because of a snowstorm, and the train to Penn Station was about an hour and a half late. It was worth it though - we don't get to see Star Island friends very often since we all live so far away.

We spent most of the night inside because it was so ridiculously cold. Right before midnight we went up on the roof to watch the fireworks, but no one could handle the cold for very long. After about ten minutes (maybe less) I couldn't feel my hands!

From New Year's Eve

Annie and Jay checking the clock - almost time!

From New Year's Eve

Tom, Annie, and John (all members of my crew this summer)

From New Year's Eve

Tom on the phone

From New Year's Eve

Annie and Jay

From New Year's Eve

Jay climbing down the sketchy ladder

I didn't take many pictures New Year's Day, but we went to Tom's Restaurant, this great and very popular diner in Prospect Heights. We had to wait in line (or is it "on line?" Is on line a NY thing? Or is in line a northeast/New England thing?) outside, but waiters kept coming out with coffee and cookies and delicious cinnamon toast and other treats. The food was absolutely delicious and the atmosphere was so quintessentially New York diner. I would have taken pictures but I was too engrossed in my eggs benedict, plus there wasn't really enough elbow room for photography.

Keep an eye out, later today I'm going to post about my natural dyeing adventures!