Susan Brandt Graham Photography
Life from a Southwest Point of View
This is the kind of sunrise photographers anticipate, wait for, and photograph quickly when it does materialize because sunrises like this will not last long. I stood, looking out, with camera on hand and set for my usual sunrise settings, for about 15 minutes. When the color appeared, I started photographing at 7:02am. I stopped at 7:10am. This image is from 7:07am.
More stormy weather is on the way, and it is already windy. But the sunrise was worth being up for. 🙂
Playfulness – what is it and why should anyone care? Most commonly associated with children, playfulness in adults has been more recently studied by researchers.
We often think of children when we think of play. But being able to play may be what makes some people happier than others. The ability to play as an adult, as defined the above-referenced article, seems to be innate rather than learned. But even people who are able to enjoy being in their own heads, imagining and seeing the magical aspects of life, may not be able to do it all of the time.
Photography is one outlet for play for me at this time. Creating images of my world is fun. At this time last year I was engrossed with the Persephone series. Looking back through those images now, this is a composite of many aspects of my life. It is only in retrospect that I see it that way. It occurred to me when I came across the Frida Kahlo quote about her painting:
“I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.”
I guess this is mine:
Some winters I find it harder than others to feel like playing. Winters are always the worst, and some are worse than others. But here in New Mexico, even sunsets in winter can seem to offer some hope of a better tomorrow.
If all else fails, a look back at the 2016 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta can reveal a playfulness that appeals to all ages, children and adults.
Wishing you a day, week, and life filled with the hope of joy and playfulness.
A found film negative – one that I looked for over a couple of years – is something to celebrate! This image of Chaco Canyon was, for many years, the only one of my photographs hanging in the house. A 26×20 inch print remains a fixture in my dining room. Over the years, although long ago, I had given prints as gifts to friends who knew and appreciated the area. This image was taken when Chaco Canyon was just called “Chaco Canyon.” It is now “Chaco Culture National Historical Park” and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Several years ago I thought it would be fun to obtain a scan of the 35mm film negative just to play with it in digital form, and perhaps make some smaller prints for other friends. I started going through all the film negatives I could find, which I had never filed in what I now would consider an appropriate manner. I looked everywhere. Film negatives were in multiple places. The negatives were sometimes with different prints. The dates on the folders did not always match the date of the negatives. I had finally given up on finding this particular one, although I found many that I probably should dispose of.
Regular readers here may have noticed I have been on an extended winter break, which will continue on for a bit after this post. (A slight digression – if you visited on January 8 or 9, you may have encountered “the white screen of death.” A Word Press plugin was broken, and I spent much of the evening of January 9 figuring out how to fix this when I could not login to the site, which had gone offline!) In my time off, I have been working hard on decluttering the house, which has taken me into closets and drawers which had not been looked at for some time. Last week – Eureka! – in a small envelope obviously placed in a very safe place, was the negative for this, and three others. The three others were unimportant, they were just attached to the strip that contained this image.
I sent the film negative to one of the professional labs I use for large digital prints, not for printing but for scanning. In an email I saw a charge for “mask.” Reading about issues of color in scanning 35mm film to digital, and the use of color masks in the conversion process, interrupted my decluttering. I know a little something about color and digital processing, but this was the first time I really had to stop and think about color in the scanning process. It did make the time seem to go fast, the time I was waiting for the digital CD to arrive.
When the package arrived, I did not open it immediately. That is very unlike me. I set it where I could see it, and continued what I had been doing. After a couple of hours I opened it, and found the four negatives had been separated and placed in their own sturdy envelopes, along with their attached masks. This was all new and interesting to me.
Finally, I put the CD in the computer, and copied the images to a file on my hard drive. I then opened the images in Lightroom. That was the first time I was absolutely certain I had found the 35mm film negative I had been searching for for a couple of years. This is the image of Chaco Canyon that I carry in my head. The image that you are seeing here is one that I “color corrected” to my memory and to the print that has been hanging in my house for years. The color corrected one from the lab was too bright and shiny. 🙂
Working with the image on the computer, I noticed a lot of flaws. Only one can I blame on the age of the negative improperly stored for many years. I had to go look at the print, and I was more than a little surprised that all but one of the flaws I see now were there all the time on the print. I also had to learn at an emotional level something I knew at an intellectual level: film grain and digital noise are two very different things.
Do the flaws in this found film negative change how I feel about the image? Yes and no. I doubt I’ll be making large prints as gifts, and I won’t be entering it for jurying for shows. But this is how I see Chaco, a place I loved from the first time I was there, spring of 1966. It is a place where even people who are not particularly religious feel the spirituality and power of the land. I have been very fortunate to be there multiple times when there were not many other people around. This image reminds me of so much that is very personal to me. I am glad to have it now in a form in which I can work with it. Friends may get small prints, or I may use it on note cards. It represents a part of my life that shaped who I am now. Just a personal bias, but I also like this image as much as any of the images of Chetro Ketl posted on the Park Service site.
If you have never been to Chaco Canyon, it may be hard to imagine the power that this place has, even to a casual visitor. I close with a link to an op-ed piece written by two young people with ancestral ties to the land.
This summer sunset was actually the view looking east. A storm was approaching over the Sandia Mountains. Now, in December, it strikes me as particularly beautiful, and I want to share it.
The supermoon of December 2016 is not quite as impressive as November’s. However, it would take an expert in moons to really be able to tell that with the naked eye, at least in the waxing phase.
Full moon will take place on December 13. Here in Albuquerque, moonrise is set for 5:09pm. But, about another 30 minutes or so is required for the moon to clear the mountains. The sky will be dark for the full moonrise. Photographing moonrise in daylight is so much more fun. The alpenglow on the Sandia Mountains at sunset, combined with a very bright waxing moon, was too beautiful not to photograph and share.
I hope you can see the moon where you are in the next few days.
Black and white photography as the sole focus for the December ANMPAS show is new this year. All of the ANMPAS (Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Shows) shows feature New Mexico photographers. The December show has been a general show, with color and black and white images. The April show (Insight-NM) has featured women artists of New Mexico.
Organizer LeRoy Perea is changing things up a bit this year. December 2016 is “Shades of Gray.” April 2017 will be the standard ANMPAS show. December 2017 will be “Insight-NM.”
The show is closed December 24 and 25. Otherwise, it is open from 10:00am – 5:00pm December 4 – 27. The show itself is free. ExpoNM may charge parking on weekends or during special activities. All images are framed gallery style and all are for sale.
Those of you who read here often (Thank You!) know that, as a photographer, I am basically a colorist. To my eye, the colors of New Mexico demand that of me. But, every now and then, I do see things in black and white. I have always seen these boots, handmade by my son, in monochromes. When I realized he planned to come for the holidays and might be able to see the show, I entered this image. I was very happy that it was juried in. Many thanks to the jurors.
If you are in the Albuquerque area in December, consider visiting this black and white photography show, “Shades of Gray.” I am very happy to be included in this show.
Water is life everywhere in the world. The peoples of New Mexico readily express this truth. “El agua es vida” signs and banners appear in many places, such as floats at the annual Marigold Parade.
New Mexico is in the Desert Southwest. The Rio Grande River blesses the state. Albuquerque, the largest city in the state, grew up around the river. But many different peoples populated small settlements close to the river for hundreds of years.
Communal irrigation canals, acequias, remain important even in the 21st Century.
Recently, on a rather chilly and definitely dismal day, I got to have a wonderful visit with Tim and Laurie In Corrales. Because they live right along the Rio Grande, I have walked the ditch bank with them many times. We have photographed the acequia from which they get water to irrigate their land. I have photographed this many times, and never got images that I really liked. Those other times, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, the leaves were green, and water with reflections was in the acequia. You might think that could make a nice picture. For me, the overcast and dismal sky, dry acequia, and brown leaves made images I liked better.
Walking along the ditch bank, you often meet other people. A gentleman passed by with this beautiful German Shepherd!
After a wonderful afternoon out photographing many interesting things in the bosque, we came back to a warm home and fabulous dinner prepared by Laurie and Tim! Great friends, photography, and food – what more could anyone ask?
Super Moon with Blue and Golden Hours of dawn, November 15, 2016 was a beautiful start to the day.
I had not intended to photograph the Super Moon this morning (Tuesday) because I had an early morning appointment for which I had to get ready. But that did not stop me from going out to see how the moon looked today. It was beautiful, as it had been in previous days. I did not have time to set up the tripod and shoot a series, although it would have been nice. I grabbed my camera, took a deep breath, and said to myself, “you can hand hold this for a few images.”
This first image is from 6:39 am MST, during “Blue Hour.” It is never an actual hour in most places. It is the time when the sun is below the horizon, either before dawn or after sunset, when the indirect sunlight has a predominantly blue hue. You can clearly see that in this first image.
This second image was taken at 6:47 am MST, just 8 minutes later. This is transition from “Blue Hour” into “Golden Hour.”
I’ve always been a fan of “Golden Hour,” because it is such flattering light, not only to people but also to landscapes. The moon looks pretty good at Blue Hour. 🙂 I think in the coming year I’ll try to practice more Blue Hour photography, just for fun.
This Super Moon has provided days of fun!
Super moon this November has been spectacular, even in the afternoon hours. Saturday I photographed the moonrise over the Sandias, partly because it was so beautiful, and partly because I wanted to prepare for photographing tonight (Sunday, November 13). I’m really glad I have the images from Saturday. You have seen the animated gif already, and this is a black and white of the moon on Saturday night.
Late Sunday afternoon I set up my tripod, and got the camera set in such a way that I would be able to make final adjustments quickly when the moon rose. From where I live in Albuquerque, moonrise is never at the time the Tables say, because the moon has to clear the Sandia Mountains and not the horizon before becoming visible. I knew a lot of light would not be left by the time the moon actually appeared, but I had hoped for some. However, I was more disappointed than surprised when it was dark.
I was even more surprised by where the moon finally appeared. I was expecting relatively close to where you see it in the image above. That is not where it rose!!! Rather, it rose to the left of that tree, in between the tree and a neighbor’s swamp cooler. This was a learning experience. I moved the tripod and adjusted the camera settings. Because I had so much fun making an animated gif yesterday, I took a series for another gif. Then I made images specifically for the close-to-full (99.6%) moon.
Because this moon was to be its largest near dawn of Monday, November 14, I got up to see what was visible. It was still dark. At 6:11 am MST I was able to get this clear shot. Note the slightly orange color as the moon is closer to the horizon.
I have been reminded with this moon how quickly the light changes at sunset and sunrise. I’ve known that, but was definitely reminded! The images in this gif were made between 6:19 and 6:26 am, MST. There was no way to avoid seeing the moon through neighborhood trees from my home. It was still fun to make a gif.
I hope you have enjoyed three days of the November 2016 Super Moon as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you.
Prelude to a full super moon – what does that mean, anyway? Shortly after 6:00 am on November 14, the “largest” moon between now and 2034 will officially be “full.” The largest this moon will appear at moonrise will be tomorrow, November 13. Some of us who have photographed various moon phenomena find ourselves a little bored with just a bright full moon against a dark sky. Moonrise tommorrow will happen in light. It will be dusk, but not dark. For photographers, that presents an exciting challenge. Today I decided to practice with a series. All the camera settings are the same in this series. The images were photographed from 4:39 pm to 5:00 pm MST. Notice the changing light on the Sandia Mountains. A couple of frames have birds flying through; I left them. I hope you enjoy this “night before the night before the morning of…” in gif format. It loads slowly, and then repeats at normal speed.
You can use this link to find moonrise times for your location.
