CalArti

The 2008 Signature Gallery wrapped things up last Saturday. It’s amazing to see how quickly a retail storefront can shut down – though in the case of Signature, it will reappear in a year.

But the gallery is only a part of what this artist co-op is about, and we step into 2009 with a new group exhibit. Signature: 30 Years of Michigan Artisans opens at the Downriver Council for the Arts in Taylor, Michigan, on January 8, 2009. The exhibit will display work from the many media represented by Signature artists – personally, I’ll have 4 large prints from 2008 and 2007 in the exhibit.

The exhibit runs from January 8 through February 13, 2009, with an opening reception Saturday, January 10, from 12-3 p.m. The Downriver Council for the Arts is located at 20904 Northline Road, Taylor, MI 48180. Their website is www.downriverarts.org.

If you are in the area – stop on by!

A few more snow crystals from last week are now online in the Image Stream. Wow - I almost missed these while going through all the RAW files from Saturday night.

Heavy snow (along with freezing rain) is on the way - so hopefully I’ll have a few more snow crystals post in a day or so.

11 pm. The last of the lake effect snow bands passed a few hours ago. Since then the sky has cleared. A full moon hangs overhead, and the stars shine clearly, as they only can on a cold winter night.

I don’t know where they come from, but every now and then a snow crystal tumbles out of the sky. The crystals that are falling now are large – some are over ½ inch in diameter – and they spin and tumble as they fall through the sky. Stand with a plate of glass, watching for falling crystals. When I spot one falling I run over to it and try to catch it in on the glass plate. It’s sort of like playing ping pond with a glass paddle and a ball the size of pea.

Every now and then I’m successful, and take the captive snow crystal into the garage to get a shot of it. The crystals falling out of this clear sky are big, complex, symmetrical and rich. The way that they spin and tumble in the air as they fall to earth is almost as fascinating as their structure.

Ultimately, around midnight, with the temperatures dropping into the teens, I call it quits. The clear sky has stopped sharing, but I’ll be back for the next round…

More images are in the Image Stream.

Last week I hit a milestone of sorts – I finally replaced an ink cartridge on my new-ish Epson 3800. I purchased the printer last August when the Epson 2200 that I had been using died from a massive paper jam.

Here are a few subjective observations about the Epson 3800:

Print Quality: Obviously the most important characteristic of any printer. As you’d expect, the print quality from the Epson 3800 is outstanding. I’m hard pressed to say that I actually notice much difference in color prints – they look great – the real improvement is in mono / B&W prints. Metamerism – which seemed to be the bane of B&W prints done on earlier printers – is finally at bay, though it not completely gone. As with any of Epson’s high-end printers, though, the 3800 produces fine results.

The Advanced B&W (ABW) print mode usually produces great results, but it can be pretty fickle. So far I’ve found that I have to print at the ‘darker’ or ‘darkest’ setting to get the kind of contrast and deep blacks that I’d like – which is kind of odd since I don’t do a lot with heavy blacks in most of my B&W shots. In a few cases, ABW mode has produced some seriously ‘off’ results – choppy gradients, poor tonality. “Spent” - shown above - is one image that simply refuses to print well in ABW mode. In those cases I just prep the image in Photoshop and print with profiles, as I would with a color print. That usually does the trick, and doesn’t leave me reliant on the print driver to get the results I want. But for quick and easy mono printing, ABW can work fine.

Printer Size: I initially planned to get another printer with 13 x 19 inch maximum output. While a larger print size is desirable, I’ve been pretty happy just sending the larger prints to a lab for output on a Chromira. Space is also a consideration since my office / studio does not have room for a really big printer. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the footprint of the Epson 3800 is only a few inches bigger than that of the Epson 2200 it replaced. It fit nicely on the stand that I used for the old printer. The printer is also light enough for one person to carry.

Build Quality: This is the one area that disappoints. I guess I can’t complain too vigorously, since I just said that one of the things I liked about this printer is that it is compact and lightweight. However, the plastic in the unit feels pretty lightweight. Both the input and output paper trays feel flimsy, and one good whack (or cat jump) would probably do them in. One particular annoyance is that the small metal plate that holds the front paper tray closed by attaching to a magnet on the unit fell off on day one. I’ve tried to glue it on a few times, but it doesn’t reliably hold. It’s annoying.

Paper Sizes: The Epson 3800 only handles cut sheet paper. At first, I didn’t think this would be a major limitation. In the past I have only used roll paper for mass producing small prints, or for the very occasional panoramic image. What I didn’t realize is that sheet paper selection is pretty limited at larger sizes. While there is a good selection of papers at 17 x 22 inch size, that reflects only a 1:1.25 aspect ratio – i.e. a 16 x 20 inch print. If, like me, you shoot at 1:1.5 or greater aspect ratios, paper selection become problematic.

Some papers are available in 17 x 24 inch size, but even that is not a complete solution. One of the first larger prints I pulled on the 3800 is the Skegemog Swamp, shown here. It’s pretty much un-cropped, and the image prints to 16 x 24 inches. That calls for a 17 x 26 inch slice of paper – something I’ve been unable to locate.

My solution was to purchase roll paper and cut it into sheets the size I needed. So far I’ve printed several larger images on Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper, and Enhanced Matte Paper. It’s not an ideal solution because the papers have to be pressed flat before being used – something that took a few days under a very heavy pile of mat board to achieve. (The Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper never did get fully flat.)

I also picked up a roll of 16.5 inch wide Epson Premium Lustre Paper. I haven’t tried it yet but I’ve done a lot of printing on sheets cut from 10 inch wide rolls of this paper. The Lustre paper seems to flatten out pretty readily, so I expect it will work well. Call me fussy, but I wish it was 17 inches wide, as opposed to 16.5…

So far, the largest prints I have made have been 16 x 24 inch images on 17 x 26 inch paper. Both Epson Enhanced Matte Paper and Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper have worked well at this size. The printer driver lets you set up a custom paper size up to 37 inches, so a print of 17 x 36 seems to be possible, even though that is outside the stated specifications of the printer.

If you are going to try to cut sheets form roll paper, be sure to use a good trimmer to get a clean, straight edge to feed into the printer. In my case I rolled the paper out on a work table, made an initial cut with a razor blade and straight edge, and then trimmed the final edge in a rotary trimmer. I also took car to not touch the coated surface of the paper and to blow any dust particles off the surface before printing.

Paper Handling: This seems to be one area where the 3800 gets some criticism, but so far I have had no complaints. I haven’t done anything extreme, but I did manage to produced a few hundred photo note cards on 9 x 5.8 inch Museo Artist Card paper. I just dropped the sheets into the sheet feeder, fudge the driver setting by telling it I was printing on Enhanced Matte Paper, and printed using the Museo profile. The result were great and the paper just chugged through the sheet feeder with no problems. While feeding sheets cut from roll paper has been a bit of a challenge at times, the rear paper feeder has worked very well for this.

Cost Effectiveness: The larger 80ml ink cartridges means that ink costs with the Epson 3800 are much more reasonable than with the much smaller cartridges used in smaller printers. But then, the 3800’s 80ml cartridges are only a few dollars less expensive than the 4880’s 110ml cartridges. So while the 3800 is a huge leap forward in terms of ink costs, the real savings are to be had with the printers that use even larger cartridges.

Many other sites have noted that, when the cost of ink is taken into account, the 3800 actually costs less than the smaller Epson 2880.

Driver: I’m using the 64bit driver on Win XP x64. Disregard my rant from last night - this morning I realized that I should install the latest version of the driver before critiquing. Guess what? All the main options are on the first page! Nice job, Epson. What can I say? It’s no worse that most pieces of software. If you are setting up a print that does not conform to your saved settings, you’ll have to click through a few screens to set things up. Paper type and basic print mode selection is on the main screen, but you have to drill into the ‘advanced’ table to fine tune color, dpi, and other settings. Paper size and paper feed options are on another tab. So, in general, you have to click on three separate tabs in the driver to set up basic print settings. It’s crazy that the most commonly used setting can’t be put on just on tab.

Overall, I’m really happy with the Epson 3800. The larger print sizes, better ink prices, and improved B&W printing make it worthwhile – and I didn’t have to re-arrange the furniture to make room for it. However, if I were in the market for a new printer now, as opposed to a few months ago, I’d take a serious look at the new Epson 4880.

Peering into the camera’s eyepiece, I spy the snow crystal. One the first of this season – it greets with twelve arms held out in an icy and ridge embrace. Personification of the cold indifference of the universe, and yet a welcome sight after all these months.

Yes – it been cold here in south west Michigan. For the last week or two a dusting of snow has stubbornly clung to the ground. It’s hard to believe that just three weeks ago I walked in shirtsleeves in summer-ish fields. Now I don my old black parka before venturing out of doors. Summertime’s flip-flops sit unused in the mudroom, as I step into leather shoes before treading into the slushy mush outdoors.

Yah – it’s winter. It came up fast.

For a few days now I’ve dodged the inevitable. It’s cold. It’s snowing. I need to get out and shoot some snow crystals. I never got around to dismantling last season’s setup, so tonight I went back into the garage to get things going again. The table-top tripod, 50mm macro less, extension tubes and bellows were all as I had left them. I had snapped lens caps in place when I last used them, so every ting was still pretty clean. I wash the glass plates that catch the snow crystals, wipe off of the table, hook up the camera and flash, and everything is ready for another year.

Well, everything except the temperature… The first snow crystals I collected melted into tiny droplets of water when I brought them into the garage. I pulled the thermometer off it’s bracket outside of the dining room window. There it read 20 F, but inside the garage it soared to a balmy 34 F.

Looking around me, I realized that the garage was warmer simply because it trapped warmer air. I found a box fan – normally used in hot summer months – and set it up to blow cold air from the garage floor up into the rafters. I probably introduced more stress into the lives of the mice who live up there, but within an hour the temperature in the garage had dropped from 34 down to the mid 20’s - which was good enough to get going with a few snow crystal shots…

By then the snow was thinning out, and shortly after I got started working in the now cool garage the snow stopped altogether. But, it was enough to get me back into gear and I’m ready for the next storm – which, according to the weather forecasters – should be coming along any time now.

So here is the first snow crystal shot of 2008/2009 – a twelve armed crystal. Hopefully, more will be coming.

I spent a few hours today getting set up at the 2008 Signature Gallery. The gallery is located in the same great location as the last two years - 5027 West Main, Kalamazoo, MI 49009. The gallery is in the West Century Center, just left of McGuinnis Landing Restaurant. The gallery runs from December 5-27, Monday thru Saturday 10 – 8 and Sunday 12 – 5.

For more about the Signature Artist Cooperative, and the annual gallery, check out www.signatureartistcoop.com.

If you are in the area – stop on by!

And so, the dragons perish…

The sleety flakes that danced in the air a week ago turned into a steady snow. The temperatures dropped into the teens. Where golden grasses danced in the wind, sodden brown stalks now break under the weight of ice and snow.

And so fall advances…

Without a doubt, the dragons I saw on the wing the week before are gone. The next generation slumbers in the depths – under the surface of the not-so-temporary marsh, or in the waters of Swan Creek. The world spins in its gyre. The days grow shorter, the skies darker. The dragons’ slumber deepens…

In a few short months, they’ll be back on the wing. Yet another year in the millions and millions of years they’ve covered…

The Art Etc. Art Fair wrapped up about 24 hours ago… As usual, it was a great event and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the dozens of visitors who stopped by my booth and took a look at the photos.

And now it’s on to the next event – which will be the Holiday Hop at the Kalamazoo Public Library. It’s Friday, December 5, 2008, from 6 – 8:30 pm. I’ll be there with dozens of other local authors and musicians. In my case – I’ll be signing and selling copies of Imperfect Symmetry – my little book of snow crystal photos.

It’s all part of the December Art Hop in downtown Kalamazoo - which features tons of great art and music.

If you are in the area – stop on by!

Sunday evening. This is the first truly cold night of the season. The outdoor air sniffs with sleety snow. Ice glazes the fallen leaves, resting on the cold ground.

I’m back in after hanging the last storm windows. (My house is an old one, and the windows are original. Every fall the screens come down, and storm windows are toted up to block the winter winds.). Now I’m sitting by a roaring fire – I have a bit of catching up to do here.

Things have taken me away from posting, and also from shooting. Lately, the days I spend in the field are rare, and whatever results come from those trips are all the more precious.

I missed most of the local fall color. One trip into the Allegan Forest resulted in one shot of one maple tree. I could find the place again, but don’t remember thenames of the roads and trails that brought me there. Fortunately for me I had packed up the Pentax 6x7 and several rolls of Kodak Portra VC 220. The negative, scanned at 6400 dpi, creates a huge file that could produce an enormous print. One token from this autumn.

Otherwise – I missed the season. In late October I traveled to New Jersey to handle some business. After two weeks there I returned to Michigan only to find that the season had turned.

Nonetheless, I set aside one day this past week to get out and enjoy a few of my favorite places. Firearm deer season stated yesterday, and no sane person (who isn’t also hunting) would head into the woods at this time. So one Wednesday I visited the old farmstead, with its seasonal marsh.

The old farmstead is one of the few fields that has not been mown this year. I guess it’s on the list for mowing next year. The seasonal march would normally be rebounding in November, and this year is no exception. However, two summers of very wet weather have left the march more full and wet than ever.

It’s a bit of a walk from the parking area down to the marsh. Fir filed is buffered by dense, scrubby woods on all sides, so the only access point is a small parking area, big enough to barely hold two cars. Around d this small area, railroad tied are driven vertically into the ground to keep vehicles out of the field.

There is a distinct trail in the vegetation leaving from the parking area. It winds due east, and heads into the woods along the far eastern side of the field. The marsh is to the south, and that’s where I went.

Here’s a shot that shows the current water level – hard to believe that just a couple of years ago, I was able to walk through this area without getting my feet wet. The heart of the marsh, which was once full of cat tails and other vegetation, has vanished. Too much water for the cattails, and just open water in that small area.

The marsh, of course, is home to many dragonflies.

The skies were cloudy and cold early in the day, and the early forecast called for light rain. I visited a few places in the Allegan Forest under an autumnal chill. But shortly after arriving at the old farmstead, the skies cleared and warm sun bathed the landscape.

Even on a clear day, the sun isn’t very warm in November. But it was enough to stir up the few remaining Autumn Meadowhawks. After a few minutes of sunshine I started to notice a few dragonflies flying low to the ground. They kept low and would land on the ground, soaking up what warmth they could from the sun. there was no perching or obelisking, just a few old dragons hanging tight to the sandy soil…

I didn’t even bring my insect macro setup. It was so late in the season, I thought for sure that all dragonflies would be gone. But here it was, November 12, 2008, and the Autumn Meadowhawks were still out.

After spending some time around the marsh, I returned to my car. It was mid afternoon. The wind picked up and a few high clouds were starting to obscure the sun. The day’s warm temperatures were the result of warm air riding in front of a coming cold front. As I hiked back to the car I realized that in a few days the ground would be covered with frost and snow.

But as I neared my car, I was surprised to see an Autumn Meadowhawk land on the back of the vehicle. A perfect place to soak up the sun’s rays. Another landed, then a few more, and as I watched at least five dragons came to rest on the back of the car. They didn’t stay long, but even without my close up gear I was able to get a couple of shots. Then they flew off into the brown, dried grass and leafless trees and shrubs – to live out their last few days for the snow falls.

So it goes for another season with the dragons. I think about how dragonflies where in the skies with the dinosaurs, hundreds of millions of years ago. They remain today – a primal connection to this planet’s life force. Even when they are just sitting on the back of a muddy Subaru…

It’s that time of year again! Art Etc will again be setting up shop next week at the Oshtemo Campus of Kalamazoo Community College. As in past years, the Art Etc art fair will host several local artists in all media - including photography by yours truly.

So if you are in the area, stop on by. The event gets started Thursday, November 20, from 5 pm to 8 pm. It continues from 9 am to 8 pm on the following Friday and then from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday.

See you there!

Suddenly, the season changes…

The summer of 2008 was long and lush. Frequent heavy rains kept even the most sandy fields vibrant green throughout the season. And the summer like days clocked on through September, and even into early October.

Now fall is here in full force. This year does not bring a bright, colorful, vibrant fall. I expected that it would, reckoning that the long and productive summer with result in fabulous fall colors. But instead the greedy trees hang onto their green leaves right up to the last minute. They wither, turn brown, and drop. There is, of course, a splash of color here and there – but a highlight and a splash. Otherwise olive tan is the color of the season.

As expected, the dragonflies have moved on. It’s amazing how the insect population in general just collapses in mid October. The area has had one or two mild frosts, no hard freezes, but still the dragonflies have disappeared.

A few trips into the Allegan Forest and McLindon trails have netted little result. The Autumn Meadowhawks clink to the low vegetation – grasping on shot plant stalks or landing on brown leaves, resting on the ground. They are a lot like the Dot-Tailed Whitefaces that were among the first dragons to appear in the spring. Fall ends as spring began – with me lying in the sandy soil, trying to coax out a shot or two of the infrequent dragons.

And so, barring anything unexpected, here are the last dragons of 2008 - a few shots of the reliable Autumn Meadowhawk, plus a couple shots of a either a Ruby Meadowhawk or a Saffron Winged Meadowhawk. (It looks more like a Ruby, but Saffron Wingeds are more likely in October.) More images can be found in the Image Stream.

Last spring a patch of weedy, straggly looking plants appeared in my garden. I was fairly confident that they were some sort of flower, so I let them go.

The strip of dirt that I laughingly call my garden is really just a cultivated collection of wildflowers and weeds. In recent years it’s been the site of a more or less Darwinian competition. For a while the worst of the weeds - most notably spearmint and ragweed – held the upper hand. They choked out all but the most hardy cultivated perennials, and only the peonies were really able to hold their own.

The Queen of the Prairie has always been able to struggle through the mint. And a few years ago some grey coneflower finally took hold, and is on its way to taking over. Combine that with the phlox, golden rod, and fall blooming clementis, and the garden has something blooming almost every week of the spring and summer.

So – this patch of weedy green… By mid September I was about to give up on it. But as the month progressed I was pleased to see a few buds appear on the straggly stems.

Then in early October I was happy to see the plants burst out in small white flowers. This patch of weeds that I had almost given up on turned out to be a dense clump of fall blooming aster. The small white keep on blooming, and here in mid October it is just now starting to fade.

No one appreciates these last flowers of the year more than Honey Bees, Apis mellifera. On a warm October afternoon, the patch of Aster would be literally swarming with them. So for a couple of hours on a couple of afternoons, I sat in the grass and took a few snapshots of the bees working away at the flowers. As I’ve said before - bees are among the first insects to emerge in early spring, and the last to disappear in the late fall. A couple shots are here, more in the image stream.

Fall is on hand and with it comes Battle Creek’s Fall Art Walk - Fall Into the Arts. I’ll be participating this fall with a dash of winter - a collection of Snow Crystal prints to be displayed in Barista Blues Cafe’.

Located in the ground floor of the heritage Towers, Barista Blues will also be hosting live music at the event.

The Art Walk runs from 5 – 9 on Friday, October 17, 2008. I’ll be there with lots of Snow Crystal prints on the walls of Barista Blues. I’ll also have copies of Imperfect Symmetry – the snow crystal book. Plus there are lots of other artists and events in the city that night. (Not to mention a whole lot of great food and drink.)

If you are area – stop on by. For the full scoop on the Art Walk check out the online brochure at http://www.downtownbattlecreek.com/pdfs/Fall_into_the_Arts_2008_Brochure.pdf.

In the Allegan Forest. There are a couple of places along 126th Avenue, north of the river, where folks come to shoot stuff. Most famously would be the bluff overlooking the river, where there is sizable pile of ash from numerous bonfires, and the ground is covered with the brass butts of shotgun shells. But a short distance north of there is a stand of planted white pines, all standing together regular, like a bunch of soldiers in formation.

One unfortunate tree in this bunch was singled out to be the backdrop for target practice. A few years ago I noticed a large hook – like what you would use to hang planters in the garden – screwed into the side of this tree. Judging from the litter around the trunk, more than a few TV’s, LP’s, milk jugs, and other unwanted household items had met their demise here. Or to be more positive about it – gave their owners a few more moments of pleasure at the end of their existence.

Anyhow, last spring I found the tree snapped in two, just a few feet below that hanging hook. It got so shot up that it just broke when the wind rose. It’s fascinating to look at close up – wood, peppered with lots of brass and lead. I figured that was that, and folks would move onto another tree. As expected, the debris under the tree stopped accumulating.

Passing by there this week, I noticed that someone had found the frying pan that was in the debris pile, and stuck it onto the broken tree truck to get in a little bit more of target practice. I was shooting one of my last rolls of Kodak HIE infrared film, and took a few snaps of the stand of trees. Here’s the best of the bunch.

September in Michigan is sometimes the last month of summer, and sometimes the first month of fall. This year summer clearly hang on for many extra and welcomed days.

The remnants of hurricane Ike rolled through the area early in the month and dropped 8 to 12 inches of rain (depending on location.) Following it, a summery weather pattern settled in, with sunny days, 80 degree temperatures, and cool crisp evenings.

I missed this first part of the month, since I was away. As a result I tended to linger a bit over the last week, enjoying some of my favorite places in the Allegan Forest. Even in the last days of September, the woods were lush and green, with almost no sign of autumn.

The dragonflies have changed, though. As the seasons unwind, new species emerge and old ones drop by the wayside. There are, of course, some points on continuity – the green darners still lumber over the meadows, as they have since late April. But the Blue Dashers, Twelve Spotted Skimmers, and Halloween Pennants are now gone. The Dot Tailed Whitefaces, Calico Pennants, Spangled Skimmers, and Clubtails of all stripes have long been absent. Now the Autumn Meadowhawks (formerly called Yellow Legged Meadowhawks) are on the ascendancy. They will stay on till the hard freezes come, the last of the dragons for this year. White faced Meadowhawks are also still abundant, and I saw (but did not photograph,) a few Carolina Saddlebags.

The fields around the temporary marsh are now waist high will grasses. The triangle of walnut trees that stands next a crumbling building foundation is now thin and almost leafless. The apple tree next to a pile of field stones has dropped most of its fruit, and has also given up most of its leaves. The ironweed and bee Baum are now brown stalks capped with seed heads. The patch of wild strawberry that carpets the northern end of the field is starting to turn reddish brown. Bright oak and maple forest that surrounds the field remains vibrant green – not a trace of fall color yet to be seen.

The rain has fortified the temporary marsh. It’s hard to believe that two summers ago I walked through it, and aside from one small, muddy patch of cat tails, the marsh was dry. This year there are no cat tails – I think they drowned as the place where they once stood is now under several feet of water. The edge of the marsh is now higher than it usually is after the spring snow melts.

Several splashes greet me as I near the edge of the marsh – frogs and toads are now abundant in this field. One fearless leopard frog bucked the trend, and jumped out of the water and towards me as I was photographing dragonflies. I managed a few shots of it, as it worked its way into the pine forest that presses again the eastern end of the marsh.

The marsh was also the home to lots of white-faced meadowhawks. Autumn meadowhawks already dominate the higher ground to the north, but right at the edge of the marsh the whitefaces still hold their own. They are not particularly cooperative about being photographed – since they tend to land on the grass stalks several yards out into the marsh, but a few land on dried raspberry branches or other plants a few feet into dry land, giving me the chance to take their photos.

I’ve tried to visit some of my favorite places in Allegan this last week. Unfortunately, the fields north of the river, which were rich with dragonflies in the spring and early summer, have been mown, and are now more or less lifeless. The same hold true for the field along 46th Ave. The low levee near the Swann Creek dam was flooded last week – the water from the creek was running over it and into the swamp to the east. But that area finally dried out late this week.

One area of note was at the end of a small two-track, cutting into the woods east of 46th Avenue. It’s always a good spot for dragonflies in the spring and fall, but for reason doesn’t have much of a population in the summer months. Here I found several Autumn Meadowhawks, and to my surprise a female widow skimmer. Widows are among the earliest dragons to appear, and I haven’t seen one locally since July. Odd to see one flying around in the last days of September – but there it was. I guess that, like me, she decided to just hang on a little bit more.

More images in the Image Stream.