Recently I have managed to make it through all the deviations of those I watch and actually take time to look and comment on some. I remember why I love being on DA. Seeing this creativity in the world is wonderful.

Many of you probably have your own plethora of artists you watch who fill your boxes with deviations regularly. I wanted to share with you some who over my two years on DA have continued to impress me again and again with their talent. This is not to say these are the only ones who are worth a deeper look on my list. I simply have something to say about their most recent work and I have never met any of them so all I know of them is through their art.

If you have time please take some to actually click on the pictures, fullview and read the descriptions, as I find each of these steps to have their own rewards.


This DA artist is actually a published children’s book author. Her pictures have made me smile time and again pretty much from the moment I joined DA. Here are a couple of her recent pictures. I strongly recommend reading the description she writes of the rather normal goldfish picture. It makes the picture!




This artist creates visually alive scenes telling stories with images that I find to be a feast for the eyes. Of course I had to favorite a giant alien robot reigning destruction down upon a city. But he also draws scenes depicting a post apocalyptic future, space exploration, fantasy, and historic naval battles. He shares the methods of his creative work from time to time which I find fascinating as a watcher. Now is the time to start following him if you are so inclined as every year he produces a phenomenal Halloween themed picture.




This artist holds a special place in my heart as most of his pictures are taken in Utah which is a land of much beauty and a place I love very much. With his old film cameras he manages to capture unique images of very alive deserts as well as the decay of the many abandoned human structures found in the often unforgiving West. His series of chair photos that he adds to periodically was actually the inspiration for my pursuit of lamp post pictures.




This artist’s drawings are what drew me to him. He doesn’t post every often, but his drawings are so intricately detailed and full of myth and meaning that pouring over one of them is like reading an entire story. Recently he has begun posting videos in which he brings his drawings to life to convey messages. This recent one is just a demo – I can’t wait to see the whole thing. It is worth the watch.




I have enjoyed watching this artist’s work develop as he looks for opportunities to capture street scenes, portraits, amusing composed shots, and lovely nature scenes. He writes of what he is working on, and it is fun to see in action. He is a fantastic combination of humor and talent. Nothing limits him.



There are many more I’d like to feature but I don’t want this to get too long. I’d love to see some features from other people like this too - not just of pictures they like, but of the artists themselves. I am fascinated by the people behind the art as much as the art itself.

Enjoy!

Sometimes life just makes you want to…

I am not feeling particularly verbose… too many emotions roiling around inside me. I would not think I could feel so profoundly sad and so utterly happy at the same time but I do. Both emotions are coexisting, leaving me in a state that feels somewhat akin to floating. I have found this state to be very productive picture-wise, as you may have noticed.

In the past I have tended to edit and post pictures as I take them. However, I have been so inconsistent in my photographic pursuits the last few months that I have random pictures in random places, so I will be posting them randomly. You may see a picture from May in Florida next to a picture from August in Iowa next to a picture from July in South Dakota and then a whole slew from August again followed by a trickle from June… you get the picture.

We’ll see when inspiration strikes me next to write.

I have so many pictures to edit and post... be warned.

I still have many pictures from Disneyworld and Kennedy Space Center that I visited in May. I took many pictures and while I love them all, I don't think it is fair to subject those who watch me to all the fun family shots and pictures of touristy things that you could just as easily find on the internet. These are my memories, not my artistic expressions. But I will be posting some that I think are particularly interesting. I admit, if this were the 1960's you would all be invited to a dinner party at my house where I would subject you to slides of my various travels. Hopefully they wouldn't be too tedious.

I will then throw in a few pictures from local travels around Iowa in June as well as a quick trip to Maryland. I don't have that many, and again my pictures have more of a touristy quality than anything artistic. I find that these days I take less pictures when I am enjoying a place for the first time.

July so far has taken me to some more local venues as well as a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota which are beautiful. At the rate I'm going you may not see these pictures until December but I will do what I can to make my way through them to find some to post.

Since I have not been taking as many pictures the last several months I have noticed my skill declining significantly. I do not have the same connection with my camera as I did before, and I am now working with a new one that I have not works out all the kinks with yet. I didn't realize how muck skill I had developed during my very productive times until I stopped taking pictures all the time. This is definitely something I don't want to lose.

My next adventure will be to Fargo, North Dakota. I plan to stay clear of wood chippers but hopefully I will have time to explore and find things to record for posterity. Quickly following that I will be attending Anime Iowa and then the Bristol Renaissance Faire. These should all be wonderful opportunities for reacquiring skills.

Adieu!

Wow its been a long time... I keep believing life will settle down enough for me to write and post and comment on all the wonderful pictures and journals that have been stacking up here on DA. I am on the back end of all the crazy changes and traveling that began in April. I've had time to edit and post only a few of the pictures I've managed to snap on my recent travels and more will be coming.

As most know, I moved in May to a newer, bigger, better place closer to work so I can fully indulge in being a true workaholic. I'm very happy with the decision as I now have just enough time to myself between jobs and in the morning that I am no longer completely exhausted. The change of venue has done wonders for my mental health and I am actually feeling like being social again which is a fantastic feeling. Now I just have to wait for things to calm down enough to allow me time to do so.

I'd like especially to thank and without whose help during the move I would have been far more stressed and lost. I have to say, Mary kicks some major ass when it comes her big truck with enormous horse trailer driving skills. Six years ago I was coming to terms with the fact that I was actually thinking of moving to Iowa, but if you'd have told me I'd someday move all my possessions in a horse trailer I'd have told you you were crazy. Well here I am and I was thrilled to do it. I can't thank all those who helped me enough, but I'll try. Thank you thank you thank you...

In addition to travels for work, I had the chance in May to go to Disneyworld, one of my favorite places. I'm not afraid to admit that the Magic Kingdom is truly magical for me. It rained every day we were there which was just fine as it thinned out the crowds and helped lessen the heat. I have a few pictures I'll be posting as I have time to go through them. When on family outings one's concern is more to capture the people memories than be artistic but I tried to put some composition and thought behind a few as well.

As much as I love Disneyworld, my favorite part of the trip was when my brother and his wife and I went to Kennedy Space Center. Space Mountain can't hold a candle to the Saturn rocket! It was an absolutely incredible day. The little girl in me was jumping up and down squealing with glee the entire time and the adult me was hardly less excited. We took the tour that brought us as close to the launchpads as civilians can get, a distance at which your organs would explode during a launch if you happened to be there on launch day. I saw the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the launchpad prepping to take components to the International Space Station the following week, and after that we got to see the actual components being prepared by engineers for the journey. Amazing!

Last weekend I had the privilege of being an event photographer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Chesapeake Challenge walk - a 32 mile walk on Maryland's eastern shore to help raise money for research. As you may remember from a desperate post I made several months ago, I was originally going to walk it. When I finally came to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to be prepared, this opportunity opened up. I enjoyed having the chance to scope out the course during the event for the most photogenic locations. I am hoping they will want to use some of my pictures in newsletters and promotional materials, and all the event participants will be able to see themselves having a good time and making a difference. There were other photographers so they have a lot of material to chose from. Even one used would be an honor.

Finally, my work's annual art show was this week and I entered photos in all three categories, B&W, color and digitally enhanced. Because I haven't been very prolific the last year much of what I entered was older but it was nice to have a new venue for display. Two of my pictures won in their categories: "Time to Change" in digitally enhanced and "I Love" in B&W. I'm very happy the people at my company liked my pictures enough to vote for them. "I Love" is an especially meaningful picture to me so I am thrilled it was recognized.



Well, that's about it for the spam from now. I don't necessarily like overwhelming with a long post but given the rarity of updates these days I thought I should just throw it all out there and let whoever wants to wade through my life have at it. Keep up your own wonderful art and posts... I will be catching up with all of it here and there as I have time.

P.S. My mood below should be content, not tired... DA emoticons are not online. Bah.