It Is Over...

5/28/24 Showers Across the Valley - image ©Bruce A. Morrison

It's official now...the Drought in Iowa has finally ended.  No exclamation point punctuating the end of that opening statement yet, but I am happy none-the-less.

It's been a bit of a mixed bag of course, nothing is ever straight forward or simple.  The weather systems in the middle of the country have come with a cost...flooding and damaging storms in many areas.  Iowa lost the best part of two small communities in the SW/Central part of the state from tornadoes.  Its been bad elsewhere too.  

Its been a bit of a race with area farmers trying to get crops in during the melee...the neighbor just got his beans in behind us yesterday afternoon.  I was kidding him a bit and said he still had a couple hours before the next rain comes and he said he didn't think he could disk and plant another 300 acres before then!  He'll be looking for another hole in the storms like so many others I guess.

5/28/24 Showers in the "Neighborhood" - image ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

Its been a real joy "here" to see everything as it "used to be"...the pastures were mostly burned late last winter and early this spring.  We left the NW quarter unburned to help the invertebrates out...had a bonus surprise there just two days ago - our 3rd Prairie Skink in 22 years!!!  We had our 2nd Prairie Skink outside the sheep barn in the south pasture late last summer...that really gave me hope that maybe they could make a come-back.  Now I'm optimistic!  Yes, even this pessimist is now optimistic!  What a little rain can do for a person, right?  Our first Prairie Skink here came the first or second week we moved here in the Fall of 2002...we discovered it in the mouth of the farm cat that came with the place!  Ouch!  Was so sad to see that.  

Red-headed Woodpecker on the acreage - image ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

We do not allow cats out side here unless supervised anymore...we are just down to one now and she is my studio kitty...I'm afraid that little rescued lady is indoors bound.  Don't get me wrong...I have had cats since I was a little kid, but I've witnessed first hand what they do outdoors.  I revisited a report I read many years ago on birds...it was reinstated recently due to the precipitous fall in the world bird population.  Cats are the LARGEST documented cause in the drop in the population of birds.  Larger than habitat loss even - very significant!  And I will be witness to the significance of that here - we have lots of birds...more than we used to before bringing all the cats inside...lots more!  And they are more successful in raising their broods than I have witnessed in past years.

Anticrepuscular Rainbow - 5-8-2024 - image ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

This last day of May marks an interesting month here, its been quite eventful really.  We get rainbows here fairly often each year...except during the drought when it's not raining of course!  We had a rainbow on the 8th of May that was kind of special in it's own way - a rainbow accompanied by ANTICREPUSCULAR RAYS. I have only witnessed Crepuscular and Anticrepuscular rays 6 or 7 times in my life - and ALL of them Out Here. Most people have either never seen them before or just didn't realize what they were witnessing.

 

Here's a WIKIPEDIA Quote for a brief explanation - "Anticrepuscular rays, or antisolar rays, are meteorological optical phenomena similar to crepuscular rays, but appear opposite the Sun in the sky. Anticrepuscular rays are essentially parallel, but appear to converge toward the antisolar point, the vanishing point, due to a visual illusion from linear perspective."

 

Fun huh!

 

Northern Lights from the North Pasture - 5-10-2024 - image ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

 

But the Crème de la crème was the Aurora Borealis on May 10!  A solar storm so active that the Aurora was visible into Mexico and the South Pacific!!!

 

I was so fortunate I got photographs from the north pasture here...even luckier I went out and set up when I did.  It was still daylight; that civil twilight when you can still make things out but the darkness is closing in.  And there they were!  Spiking high and moving around.  I had to be quick and probably got the best of the evening - the shot above shows the foreground still discernible and the moon off to the west as the Aurora danced on the horizon!  The next 45 minutes was great fun but I still prefer this image, as the rest had the foreground only as a blank black canvas.

 

Well May was great for us...here's to June being better!

 

Have a great rest of your Spring out there and always - be good to one another...we are not all the same, yet we are all from the same Maker and Loved Equally.  Again - Be Good To One Another.

 

Until next time...

 

 

September Archival Works Friday!

It's Archival Works Friday!

As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work - the first Friday of the month.

I am now including photographs of past years. I hope you'll find it interesting! 

 

My first large format camera - a 1951 Crown Graphic

I was first introduced to “large format” photography back in the early 1970's when a student at the University of Iowa's School of Art.  My Father-in-Law bought an old Crown Graphic 4X5 press camera from an older gentleman who had been a professional photographer all his life. The retired photographer “Andy” had bought this camera new back in 1951. I was a one year old in '51!!!

For those out there that don't know what large format is – its a camera that takes any type of sheet film from 4X5” and larger.  One sheet of film.  Large format cameras were build to accept film holders – they held 2 sheets – you'd shove the holder into the camera's back, pull a dark slide out of the holder, take the photo, push the dark slide back in and pull the holder out...if you wanted to take another photo you would turn the holder over and shove it back into the camera back and repeat the process.  You had to remember to mark the holder or flip the dark slide so you'd remember that sheet was already exposed...in the heat of the moment I must have double exposed my share of film over the 30 years I used my 4X5's!  Oops!!!

I also had a Graphic 6 sheet holder – this was very cool if it didn't jam up or fail...it was finicky!  If I were to fog or waste a sheet – B&W film wasn't too bad...maybe about 35-50 cents a sheet, but the color film could be as expensive as $1.50 to $2.00 a sheet!  To make matters worse, if you didn't realize you screwed up your shot, having to get it processed or doing that yourself spent more money on processing or chemical costs!   It was always a moment for regret after processing a batch of film only to find out something had gone wrong!  A sheet of color film, after being processed could add up to as much as $5.00 “A SHOT”!  That was a bundle to lose back in the 70's through the 90's!!! Especially for just one picture!

There was a lot of ways to lose shots...the subject moved...the tripod jiggled a bit during a time exposure...the film holder leaked, or jammed...you just plain blew the exposure...and a lot more ways!

Don't get me started with how easy everyone has it these days!!!  Oh dear, my age is showing!

I became very good at processing sheet film...I worked in a professional photo lab in Kansas City for 3 years back in the mid 70's...processed thousands of sheets - “manually” by hand. And I found I could cut my costs by over a third by doing my own that way, but it was extremely tedious and time consuming...and chemicals were not cheap or forgiving.

My 4X5 Field Camera - a Tachihara

 I used 2 types of 4X5 cameras – the first one I mentioned a ways back was just one year older than me...the other was a beautiful wood/folding field camera...a beautiful piece of workmanship, a Tachihara 4X5 Field Camera.  This wooden field camera was lighter than the lenses and lensboards I used!  I won't get into all the drawbacks or challenges of large format film and cameras, suffice it to say I've already mentioned a few, but the 2 toughest hurdles for me were always depth of field and the shutter speeds you were forced to use.  Most large format landscape images required F/32 or higher and shutter speeds of ½ second or longer...ya, try hand holding that!  NOT!  My favorite tripod was a wood ash tripod – still use it to this day – HEAVY bugger but steady as a rock!

I guess I could keep complaining or bragging about how I had to walk to school for over a mile, up hill both ways, when I was a kid (Really – I kid you not! Well, after grade school any way) But it was “work” for sure. (Just don't get me started on cameras and smart phones these days – Aacck, there I go again!)

There are a lot of stories I could get into with Large Format photography, but the all time favorite was one vacation back in the early 1980's.

On vacation, the family had to resign itself to the fact that I was always stopping to take pictures...always!  The tripod and back pack were ever present and a photograph could take up to several minutes to as much as a half hour or longer – depending on what was going on or where we were.

I carried a lot of loaded film holders, but it didn't take me long to run out of film! The only way to “re-load” film holders was in total darkness.  OK...if you're out camping in a tent, on vacation, your opportunities are limited!

One day in Cascade River State Park in NE Minnesota I ran out of loaded film.  This was NOT the place to run out of film!  We were camped in the park itself and there were too many cars, headlights and flashlights at night to chance changing film holders in the tent, so I went searching for the park ranger's house, knocked on the door and tried best I could to explain my dilemma...I showed him a sheet of film and a film holder...showing him how it worked. I asked if he had a room in his house that was able to be completely darkened in the middle of the day. He said the only room he could think of was the hallway closet and agreed o let me take it over for about a half hour!

Well the closet was “close” to being dark...there was light making it's way under the closet door, so I took clothes off their hangers (ya using the ranger's coats and jackets) and stuffing them around the door bottom. It worked! The room was very hot after a few minutes and I had to try and keep from letting sweat drip onto the film – literally!

As I was getting to my last couple holders I heard a woman's voice enter the house. Then I heard foot steps walking down the hallway toward the closet door. Next I heard the ranger's voice almost shout “Don't open the closet door – a man's in there!!!”

I don't remember much after this point except with me “popping” out of the closet drenched in sweat – then the ranger's wife shrieking hysterically!

I'm sure we spoke briefly before leaving the ranger and his wife behind, but really all I remember is the unstoppable laughter emanating from their house as I carried my pack of film holders back to the campsite.

I do remember leaving them a sheet of film as a memento of this auspicious/wacky occasion.

I'll wager the word “photographer” brings back a story for them both to this day!

Crazy camera nut!!! 

(No argument there...)

Archived Works Friday No.6!

 

Post No. 6! The next post for "Archived Works Friday” comes from just over a decade ago. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting! 

 

I also want to mention, starting this month I will limit "Archival Works Friday" posts to the first Friday of the month...I don't want you tiring too quickly with my ranting! 

 

This was a pencil drawing done in the early 1980's...it is a bit personal but maybe more on that before I close.

 

I always loved walking creeks...some of you who knew me well may have even accompanied me back "in the day". A person sees things a bit differently from "in" the creek, river, pond; I know, I could have easily grown webbed feet as a kid! But on this particular day I wasn't frogging, seining or fishing...just decked out in waders carrying a pack, tripod and camera. 

 

The stream was Prairie Creek. If you're familiar with Dolliver State Park in north central Iowa - this is the creek you had to drive through to go from one end of the park to the other. Kids could always be found wading or playing in the water between sparse traffic on hot summer days. The road has since been re-routed for water "sensitive" drivers. 

 

Prairie Creek has somewhat attractive features downstream before it empties in the Des Moines River, but on this early spring morning I chose to walk north to the west park boundary, since it would be new to me...besides the other direction was typically busy with park goers and I liked the idea of being by myself. 

 

It was a fun walk. Once past the Copperas Beds trail head and sounds of activity from the nearby group campground cabins, it got very secluded and beautiful. Accompanied by the occasional warbler and sweet spring bird songs, I found unaltered woodland and vegetation...it was like I walked into a different world. I still remember this walk nearly 40 years ago. 

 

I didn't get too many photographs of the landscape. I did photograph some ferns, mosses and wildflowers. But one landscape image I did make was one I felt compelled to draw instead of process a print. I knew my photography and the darkroom well - it had been my profession already over a decade at this time. I was seeing the scene so differently in my mind than on the 4X5 large format color transparency that I processed from this morning walk. 

 

The subject had a clump of Basswood in early leaf, surrounded with a thicket of scouring rush. The bank hung heavy over the creek and I noticed a set of mink tracks heading under the bank...always on the hunt for crayfish and frogs. I've watched mink fish in and along streams and marshes before - they're pretty good at it! 

 

Prairie Creek is a name likely given it because that's where it originated - way before it entered the sandstone walled ravines leading into the timber. And here the stream resembles those that traverse through woodlands...stones litter the flowage, decorating the water and defining patterns on the surface. This stream had poetry within it's banks and I wanted this to show.

 

I worked on this piece exclusively for several months - I had a daytime job at the time. Little by little I gained ground. To keep from smearing lead already placed where I wanted - I drew from the top down...never leaving a mark unfinished. Seemed counter intuitive to not put the "foundation" down first, but that's how I always worked with graphite pencil leads; making mistakes with pencil, even with an eraser handy, makes it extremely frustrating to hide the "error". (Of course something like india ink would be impossible to erase an error!)

 

I only used one grade of lead – a very soft grade of Eberhard Faber – Ebony Jet Black – Extra Smooth (6325)...every light touch of the pencil equaled fine lines...heavy touches made for darks that you could get lost in. I try and draw on acid free paper. The last few years I switched to quality hot press watercolor blocks and use that for the color pencils as well now.

 

My Mother was dying from bone cancer at this time...years earlier it started as breast cancer; she had a 5 year reprieve and they declared her cancer free. As suddenly as we all celebrated, it was back, but in her bones. In her last weeks I worked frantically on this drawing. I wanted her to see it finished. My Mom always supported my artistic endeavors and trials. She was actually a good artist herself but was a practical person who had grown up during the great depression...providing for her family, along with our Father, was “her” focus and she did little for herself in comparison. 

 

One day, when I was around 13-14 years old, Mom showed me something she had done as a teenager. If you are my age or close you'll know what I'm referring to – it was a magazine ad...”Draw Me” from Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis...I had done the same thing without knowing she had years before. She and Dad agreed I could enroll. It was a mail order type art school and the lessons were good for me...made me focus and think things through. But I always thought back on this and wished my Mother had the circumstances she and my Father now provided me.

 

Mother never got to see “An Iowa Spring, Prairie Creek” finished. I was just reaching the water beneath the overhanging bank in the drawing when she last saw my progress...she passed shortly after. But I did it for her and I think of her every time I look at this drawing...its my visual song to my Mother; a poem to her memory.

 

“An Iowa Spring, Prairie Creek” - pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison

(from the collection of the artist)

Don't Blink!

"A Frosty Morning on Barry Creek"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

This time a week ago it was a windy/rainy day, but the month had been very nice with plenty of Indian Summer weather...come Saturday it all changed!  But it was the perfect photo-storm opportunity!  Usually when blizzards come along, things are sewn up and buried for the duration, but this year was unseasonably warm and a large snowstorm on top of warm ground is quite different to see.

I've always lamented for winters with open water...streams flowing through a snow covered landscape are quite visually pleasing...much more so than frozen streams and bodies of water!  Well this first snow of the season was really quite perfect!  Well, OK...I'm no fan of driving in this stuff nor in shoveling out the home place after a storm like this (we had 12" in this one), but here was a new fallen snow on warm ground and streams still flowing relatively warm...their mist rising from the water surface; very pretty stuff going on!

We spent the morning digging out like everyone else but around 3 in the afternoon were able to get out and investigate the transformed landscape.  I drove about 3 miles to a place I've walked many times in past years...I soon realized I should have taken the snow shoes with me!  It was a tough trudge for about an 8th of a mile to Waterman Creek and the shoreline timber, where I took many pictures of snow laden cedars and Bur Oaks...every 10-15 minutes a Bald Eagle or two would cruise past me and I disturbed a few White-tail Deer bedded down for the day...it was a fun time outside!

Later we drove over to Barry Creek just down the road from us.  I've done some photos and drawings of this little creek in the past. The day had gotten too late and the light was gone but I made a note to go back at first light.

The next morning was made to order...very slight breeze and anything in low lying areas was developing a nice frosty coating.  The creek had subtle drifting steam rising from the warm water reacting with the cold air...the shoreline was frosted and glowing in the first rays of sunlight!  Very pretty stuff :)

This was a lucky break for landscape photographers and artists, the kind that doesn't come around too often in this latitude...maybe we'll get lucky again soon?  One can only hope; but on thing is sure - don't blink, you might miss out!

 

Print of the Week - "Big Sky - Brief Shower"

"Big Sky - Brief Shower"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

 

Missed a print of the week last week as my wife and I were celebrating our 45th Wedding Anniversary!  Now we're back to daily life on the prairie and all that it brings.

 

This week's featured print is actually a photograph; I've been featuring so much art work, I thought a photo would be a nice change-up.  This is more befitting at this time of the year, especially now with all the rain we've been experiencing here!  Actually this is depicting just a nice brief shower in the landscape - we just got deluged with 10 inches of rain in 36 hours here the past few days...I think "brief" would be preferred now for a while.

 

The photograph is the landscape we see every day here - the pasture across the road from us usually gets baled mid to late summer and the sky can be just an amazing compliment to add drama or beauty or both!

 

All my photographs are printed here in the studio on archival papers and with archival inks.  I print these as open editions and sign each one in the lower margin.

 

Stop by any time and see more at the studio or take a walk on the prairie pasture here and soak in some of the beauty! 

 

Till next time! 

Ode to July

"Morning Beatitude"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

July...when I was much, much younger "July" meant the middle of summer vacation.  It meant there was a whole month "after this one" before school began again!  It was a month of wandering, like June and August, but there was something else about July; it was ephemeral...you lived it, breathed the essence of it, held it close and then it was gone.

 

June seemed like a dream when it arrived; summer was here!  We languished in the

thought of it, but as it gained momentum and you grasped the opportunity - it was finished.  We had "wised up" by July; it needed to be savored.

 

When August came, the sense of well being was shaken...summer's end was near.

 

Now that I am older, I pay more attention to the calendar. Summer is no longer finished in August - there's September to look forward to...its not until the equinox that the end is true.  But this old duffer still remembers saying goodbye to July all those years ago; its not over yet but I'll still wish it back.

 

I know its cheating, but stepping back and savoring a "time and place" in my paintings or, as in this case, my photographs - can be a nice respite.  I hope you enjoy "July" in my work.

Working the Summer Landscape

"Late Afternoon on Dog Creek"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

The landscape is the staple of my winter work here at the studio, and the summer has not stood still while I spent the last several weeks putting the finishing touches on the "From the Tallgrass" exhibit - so I've been out hiking around the "neighborhood" trying to catch those last summer days before autumn throws too many hints around.

 

The past couple summers here have been a major bust with area streams...flooding creeks and rivers.  But after about a 23 month trend, we've gone through a decent dry spell and I've tried to revisit the creeks in the familiar haunts nearby.  Now, I'll admit I've been searching for ideas for future painting projects - not photographs...but things have not been going that way!

 

I've spoken of this quandary to a small degree in a recent issue of my studio newsletter...I like to gather information in the field for future artwork ideas.  I compile this information (files of photographs) for later reference material to work from - usually during the winter months when I'm in the studio almost all the time.

 

But I've been coming up with photographs I like as "photographs"!  Why bother redoing something that works as it "is"?  I don't like the idea of reworking something that already works!    The above image of Dog Creek, a few miles south of here, is a good example.  I found the late afternoon back-lit subject shouting for attention; the small creek quietly meandering in its narrow channel, catching the light in an almost elegant manner...the open shadows inviting the eye into the scene, embraced by the canopy of branches.  What a nice painting idea!

 

The quandary arises once I'm back at the studio "processing" image files from the day's explorations...dang it!  It works so well on its own, and I like it!  That's important too right?!  OK, another nice photograph of a small prairie stream may soon find its way to the studio's gallery wall.  The idea of a painting lost...well at least for now; no need to redo something that works quite nicely already...there'll be another painting down the road eventually!

 

 

Processing, Processing, Processing...

"M12 Fall Bales"

(photograph - click on to view a larger image)

I Love the Fall!  It's wonderful out after a few frosts have calmed the summer's mosquitoes and other biting bugs.  But it's really the sky, the air and the sun I enjoy...along with fall colors, the crops being harvested, even the early evening light.

But sometimes things catch up with me...I am trying to work on the many image files I downloaded onto the hard drives.  I have processing to do.  A lot of processing to do.

Years back I would always look so forward to going through batches of film, either after I processed it or had it sent out instead.  I shot transparency film, so spent a lot of time over the light table peering through a loupe , checking for film scratches, sharpness and what were "keepers".  When this film returned from a processor, it was almost like Christmas...I'd eagerly open each box in anticipation!  When I processed it myself (E-3, then E4, then E-6 processing), I still got excited about what I was seeing but the work load would temper this enthusiasm somewhat. 

I still look forward to going through images on the computer monitor, the old feeling of anticipation is still there but one thing I have noticed the past 10 years (I've been shooting digital since 2000) is the work load actually gets more cumbersome!  Why?  Well, when I shot film there was a "finite" number of exposures I could make...you'd have to be made of money for that not to be true! With digital I found I was freed up a great deal and did much more experimentation...also I took many more photos of what I'd call "idea" shots...these "ideas" pile up fast!  Soon I have more "ideas" than I can manage - on my hard drive or in my own head!  But I keep recording these ideas...and they need "Processing"...they have to be sorted and filed somehow so I don't forget them or loose track of where they're at.  

Georgie knows how "organized" I am...uh...OK - "disorganized"  :)  But I still plug away.

The "M12 Fall Bales" photo at the top of this post was forgotten...but I only took it 5 days ago!!!  Uh...I also saw numerous...too many to count images that I forgot about, and they've only been taken the past 2-3 weeks!  I think I need to do a dump on my hard drive most people call a "head"!  I seem to be hobbled as to how much can actually go up there and still be retrieved without too much difficulty!

The "M12 Fall Bales" image is something I like to do; panorama shots are becoming more common...I've been doing them since around the time I shifted to digital film, and they were less common then.  There is now a myriad of software and cameras out there that automatically pull these shots together (stitch them) but I am still stubbornly plodding away - doing them the "old" way...stitching frames "by hand"...well, still with the computer, but without the automated programs.  (This shot is made from 4 individual frames.) This takes a while, but it still feels right to me.  Maybe someday the "processing" will get to me and I'll relent and go "auto" (?)...we'll see.

For now I'll still go through all these images that I shot just last week and had forgotten, or will uncover that great moment I remembered from last summer or spring - but tucked away so well I forgot where it was!  

Never a dull moment here...now back to processing...

Memorial Day Weekend

Spring Along Waterman Creek
photograph © Bruce A. Morrison
(click photo for a larger image)

I keep hearing that "summer begins" this weekend. It's that unofficial start that begins when school lets out and the vacation season begins, but I'd rather it stay spring for the next 3 weeks until the 21st of June when the summer solstice begins...I don't want things to move too quickly - time already passes by way too fast!
It does seem like summer though doesn't it?! We had our first Lightning Bugs of the season this week here (fire flies for some of you)...seems a little early. I love Lightning Bugs! Brings back many, many memories of days long ago...catching them in jars and watching them from the bedside at night.
The Waterman Creek photograph, at the top of the blog (taken about 3 weeks back) also brings back memories...memories of the creeks I used to wade along and fish and swim in as a kid. These memories inspire artwork and photography of, somehow familiar landscapes - like Waterman Creek here below the studio. I was attending an archaeological weekend event 3 weeks back when I visited this section of the Waterman. We were visiting the oldest known agricultural field in Iowa at this location. The field was dated at 900 - 1100 AD, and was tended by the Mill Creek culture that lived and flourished along the Waterman Creek valley here. The agricultural field was just 3 miles from the studio - wow...I love to think about who was here centuries back and how they lived! Amazingly, the entire "ancient garden plot" encompassed roughly the same area of 2 1/2 football fields or more.

Off in the distance behind the far trees in the photograph, is the Mill Creek Village that archaeologists refer to as the "Double Ditch" site. There was another village about the same distance in the opposite direction...archeologist's had recovered spoons from that site - spoons carved from Conk shells from the Gulf of Mexico...can you imagine?! It boggles the mind - the trade and commerce of that era. I find all this very intriguing and amazing to think about.Memorial Day weekend...amazing how soon that happened!
Another critter seems to be enjoying this weekend - it's that little bug on the screen among this blog. It is probably the worst scourge I find around here (although ticks and mosquitoes run a close second). They're about the size of the image on the screen (well, that depends on your screen resolution of course) and have jaws the size of Grizzly Bears! OK...an exaggeration - but they feel like the jaws of a Grizzly Bear!We've tried many things over the years for them...deet doesn't deter them...they just seem to get stuck to you with deet. Skin So Soft is a joke...they like soft skin too and lather it on; Vanilla works for a couple people we know, but I'm sure it's a weird anomaly or just a psychologically induced phenomena...we've tried it...more than once...with "real" vanilla...I think they really like it as a sauce on their food - US!What am I speaking of??? Black Flies. Huh? I call 'em Black Flies, some people call them gnats...some people call them biting gnats, but the official common name is "black fly"...they are from the family Simuliidae. Everybody reacts to them differently, but Georgie and I swell up like burning balloons! This too shall pass and the high winds we've been having will be more welcome than usual till they're gone :)Blessings to everyone out there and to your loved ones remembered on this weekend...

From the Beginning

I don't know if I've ever gotten into this topic before (?), but it is something I relive occasionally when someone poses a question where I started; where it all began I guess.

First it was just unintentional small steps...parents who didn't protest the little things...frogs, toads and turtles "free ranging" in the basement; science summer school; teaching the neighborhood squirrels to eat out of my hand; wading and fishing in neighborhood streams.

I gained an appreciation for the beauty of this scheme of things. I was fascinated by the light shimmering off the membrane of an amphibian, the colors and design of a turtle's carapace and plastron, the shapes of trees, their leaves, the hillsides along the Des Moines River valley, the rocks and fossils along Lizard Creek, or lying on a pasture hillside staring at the sky...watching clouds and the birds that intersected my field of view.

One day I bought a book, I was eleven or twelve, the book was full of color illustrations by Louis Aggassiz Fuertes. They were awesome, beautiful...the slip cover of this 1917 edition book, for the lack of a better word, transported me. Two of my most favorite birds, a Cooper's and a Red-tailed Hawk, were perched on treetop branches above forested hillsides. The landscape and the birds were mesmerizing for a young impressionable me. I wanted to paint birds.

Birds in the yard would never seem to hold still long enough for me to draw; I got the idea I needed to photograph them, and then I could draw them from their photo; brilliant idea I thought.

I didn't have a camera, but my mother loaned me her old box camera. Ya, the old Ansco Shur-Shot Jr. at the top of this blog, was to be my first camera. I actually took quite a few pictures with this Ansco...all B&W...it was a 120 film camera (2 1/4X2 3/4" or 6X7cm). You can kind of guess how useful it was as a bird camera though - not very.

One incident convinced me to get a "suitable" camera. I was walking the upper banks along Lizard Creek's south branch west of town one summer afternoon. It was a typical hot and humid day and the afternoon wasn't the best condition to find birds. By just dumb luck I came upon a Great Horned Owl sitting in a tree jutting out of the high bank below me. The bird was maybe 3 feet out from the bank on a branch about 8-10 feet above the water flowing beneath it. The bird was awake, looking across the creek into the woodland there. I dropped as fast as I could into the grass above the high bank and crawled very slowly on my stomach to the bank's edge and peered over - it hadn't seen or heard me, the noise of the creek had masked my presence. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure the bird would hear it!

The owl was sitting in deep shade. I pushed the box camera ahead of me and tried peering into the viewfinder without raising my head too much and giving myself away. I was no more than 6-8 feet away from the bird, yet I could not find the owl in my viewfinder, it just was not bright enough. I looked up again and tried to reference where the bird was, then looked back into the viewfinder - still no bird, I looked up again and the owl was no where...it was gone.

Whether the bird spotted or heard me I really don't know, what I do remember is the rush from the experience and the needling anguish of blowing it! That was not going to happen again! I spent the next year saving money from about any odd job I could find, and bought myself an SLR and a 400mm lens. As best I can recollect, this was in 1962.

I became hooked on nature photography that way...birds eventually led to all flora and fauna and to the landscape. Painting nature eventually led the same direction.

I don't know why I didn't become a biologist or botanist? There was always an urge to paint, draw or photograph and that's all I can say.

We all gotta start somewhere!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Have you been in a last minute crunch the past couple weeks like I have?! What a race it's been to get everything covered and finished or taken care of before the big holidays coming up!

I am grateful for being busy, but things have got to slow down some, if not only just for our sanity!

I haven't had a chance to really get out for winter photography for some years...it used to be a favorite time for landscapes. One favorite location I liked hiking during the winter was Woodman Hollow Preserve in Webster County, down south of Fort Dodge, Iowa on the Des Moines River. As state preserves go, this one is nice.

This preserve actually had a decent access road in and even an old CCC type building, albeit small. The road was blocked off sometime in the1970's. I felt a little bad about it because it really cut off the ability to carry a lot of gear into it...except for younger (more able bodied) folk. The road had completely grown over in scrub trees by the early 1990's.

The photograph taken here was in December in the mid to late 1980's, along the path leading to the river overlook. This path passed through a goat prairie and overlooked the hardwood forest to the south. The main thing I remember about this day is the temperature being slightly below zero and the walk in took some time. I was carrying about 45 pounds of equipment...my 4X5 view camera and my 35mm gear, and wooden tripod and ball head. I wish I could still handle that much gear below zero on a two hour hike now!

Well, whatever you can or wish you could do these days, get out and enjoy Christmas and New Years with family or friends if you're able.

Wishing you the best! (See you next year!)

Finally Got It Done...

Well I finally got it done. My web site was nearly 7 years old and in bad need of revision and redesign. It was cluttered and neglected; I knew it but was too busy with other business to do anything about it. I kind of liken this to the plumber who's home has leaky faucets, or the electrician who has an exposed box in a wall - waiting for a finish!

I've cleaned up the old design and simplified it; it's now much simpler yet efficient (I hope). I've added more paintings from the past year. And I've also added nearly all the note card sets I offer.

To view artwork or cards just go through the "Our Artwork" link, this page will give you linked cues of the "Photography Gallery", the "Originals Gallery", the "Limited Editions Gallery" and the "Studio Gift Shop". Each is self explanatory except perhaps the Studio Gift Shop - it has the Note Cards and some of the less expensive and smaller Open Edition Prints. The Note Cards are accessed by clicking on the Note Card image, the others are more obvious.

Give the site a quick run through if you like, and any feedback is appreciated! I am trying to make it out here in the "wilderness" and any help is always appreciated! Thank you!

Ufda!

No, I'm not Norwegian...Georgie is though, and although she doesn't exactly say it like that, she certainly makes it known "It's cold out there!" Well, I suppose it's not so bad compared to many winters past here or say, North Dakota or N Minnesota...International Falls was 36 below this morning compared to our mere 6 below (we are supposed to get near an actual 26 below tomorrow morning though).

The sun dogs were in full display this morning at sunrise, like so many cold mornings we experienced back before Christmas. I've been missing so many photo opportunities of sun dogs this winter that I decided to quick suit up and plow out to the south pasture fence a fast as I could to at least record this one. I must admit the landscape wasn't exactly adding or contributing to making the image anything unusual or particularly inspiring; I guess if I have aspirations for a landscape image that'd hold up technically and artistically on it's own, I'd better get up before dawn and drive to a more eloquent location and hope for a good sun dog event...or maybe just file this all in the back of my mind for a future painting...!?

The acreage is in need of a few hours work to get blown out right now but since we do all the work and the forecast is talking about more high winds, I think we'll hold out for a couple days yet before cranking up the snowblower and arm and back muscles! I'll just stay in the studio for now and see if I can earn my keep that way.

Keep warm!

A New Year!

2009! Wow, I'd like to say "Where did 08 go?", but I don't believe I'll miss it too much...it just feels good to move on at this point. Not that I would ever wish time away (I did that too much when I was young), but there does come times when you really feel you need to look forward...just be thankful and mindful of the past year, it's blessings and bumps.

Georgie made a New Year's resolution to "just have fun each day" - I like that! I guess I won't worry about not having an original thought and just agree with her! It's funny how we take ourselves so seriously all the time and then, sooner or later find that it's just not working out. Enjoying the small things along the way would be a helpful boost for anyone through the year...I'm going to try and stay more in tune to that thought...nudge me if I forget!

Happy New Year!

Indian Summer

In the mid 70's in November...doesn't get much better than that! Love Indian Summer!

I looked up the meaning of Indian Summer and I must say we sure make things complicated. I think the term Indian Summer is much more personal than the "strict" requirements thrown about from various sources.

We have experienced at least 3 hard freezes since mid October, and it was in the mid 70's today; whether or not that qualifies it, that doesn't concern me - I'll still call it Indian Summer.

I've been working in the studio on a long project, entering lengthy information in an html document. Needing some respite and fresh air, Georgie and I went on a long walk out back together. It's a half mile to the back of the back pasture, it's a real nice walk along the ridge of a prairie remnant.

When we returned we sat on the studio's front deck and watched the harvest down in the valley out front. The neighbors driving by frequently pulling their wagons full of corn...a lot more traffic than we usually get here.

The air is crisp and the sun is warm...most trees have dropped their leaves but there's still a few stubborn ones around. As the afternoon light lengthens behind us, a wonderful magenta casts itself on the upper tree branches and the valley takes on a wonderful glow. Two bucks follow a doe and it's two offspring of last summer along Waterman Creek and the east ridge...one a 10 pointer, the other smaller. A crescent moon - waxing, rides lower in the SW and the breeze is now a more pleasant tempo.

This is Indian Summer to us; we'll cherish it and replay the sense of it, the smells and sight of it, during long winter nights ahead...

Road Trip!

Georgie and I packed our bags for a road trip this weekend...it was short but long deserved as far as I was concerned! Too much work makes Bruce a dull boy. I needed some winter painting material too and hadn't been down the Loess Hills in Western Iowa for some years, so that's where we headed.


Even though the color of autumn was fading, the hills are usually good for nice pockets here and there plus the landscape has much physical character. You can always count on the prairie ridges (the grasses) for color though - without fail!

One area we always go through when we're in the Loess Hills is the area of Preparation Canyon and further north. It was very windy when we went through on Saturday but not nearly as bad as today! (Gale force winds sustained at 40mph and gusting a lot higher)

With real windy weather I rarely come up with publishable images, but they give fodder to work with on long winter days and nights in the studio. Winter - yikes, lets hope for a "long" fall first!