– gloriously bright flowers that almost require people who see them to smile!
2013 has been a great year for sunflowers in New Mexico, and I have enjoyed photographing a variety of them, as well as some of the creatures attracted to them: bees, crab spiders, and even some attractive flies. I’ve been surprised at the different sizes and colors of the different flowers themselves.
Fall is approaching, and the blooms of the sunflowers around me are coming to an end. But they have seed heads, which are attracting house finches and gold finches and jays, among others.
This is the summer I have been smitten with the humble sunflower.
This slideshow has some of my images from this summer. A few more will probably be added before the bloom comes to a complete end. I hope you enjoy these sunflower images.
These were series of 5 images each. This is representative of the “Flowers of Early Spring” series:
More White Iris,
while this image is representative of the “Jellyfish” series:
Pacific Sea Nettle jellyfish
It is an honor to have these images included in winners of the People’s Choice Awards for the 2013 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris. Again, thanks to all who voted for these images.
The Corrales Fine Arts Show, held annually during Balloon Fiesta at the historic Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales, New Mexico, is set to kick off the fall fine arts show season in the Albuquerque region. This will be the 25th Annual Fine Arts Show held by the Visual Arts Council to raise money to support the upkeep of this beautiful old adobe church. This is a venue in which I love to show my work. The show has all kinds of work in it, not just photography. While there is photography, there is also painting of all varieties, especially oils and watercolors; textiles; pottery; just a great variety.
I would like to thank this year’s jurors for selecting two of my pieces for inclusion in this show: ‘Floral Fireworks’ and ‘Sacred Datura.’
Floral Fireworks – Gladiolus that always blooms on the Fourth of JulyLife Cycle of Sacred Datura – an iconic plant of the Desert Southwest
The show is open 11:00 am – 5:00 pm daily, October 5-12, 2013, and
11:00 am – 4:00 pm on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
You may find more information on the Old San Ysidro Church and direction to it at this link.
If you live in the area, or if you will be visiting during Balloon Fiesta, make the Old Church and the Fine Arts Show a stop on your visit. There is no charge, and parking is free. The church is a part of old New Mexico, and part of the proceeds for the sale of artwork goes for maintenance of the Old Church.
A big thank you to the jurors of this year’s show.
Note cards seem to be what people need now. I have received requests for note cards with some of my images, and I am happy to announce that 5″x7″ note cards are now available here.
Sunflower
The note cards are available in both landscape and portrait orientations.
The image options for the landscape cards are shown in this slideshow:
The image options for the portrait orientation cards are shown here:
The note cards are available in packs of 25, all the same image, with envelopes included. These are blank note cards, leaving you plenty of space to write notes.
There are a variety of paper options, all the same price. If you are not sure which paper you want, I would recommend the “Linen” paper for note cards.
These images are suitable for more than just notes. They can be framed in 5″x7″ frames readily available in many places, or in 8″x10″ frames with mat openings for a 5″x7″ image. You may think of many more uses.
Unlike yesterday, I did not set out this morning to photograph birds in the yard. I had a lot of things on my mind, and went straight to the computer to start checking email. But, there was a most beautiful song, loud and clear, coming through the window. I know the songs of many of the birds that frequent my yard, but I did not recognize this one. I looked out the window and saw this curve-billed thrasher singing its heart out on top of the “look out tree.”
I see curve-billed thrashers on my patio, when they come to get peanuts I leave out, mainly for the jays. But I cannot remember seeing one in this tree, or especially hearing its beautiful song. It was a wonderful start to the morning.
Curve-billed thrasher
This video was made by T.Stone in Arizona in 2010, and lets you hear the beautiful song of this bird.
Yesterday morning I was out photographing flowers in the yard. I noticed a lot of birds, but did not have the best lens on the camera for that type of photography. So, this morning I got up early and went out to see what birds were out today.
This is a juvenile scrub jay. The jays love peanuts, but will come for the water in a bird bath. This summer has been so hot and dry – New Mexico is in the midst of “extreme drought” – that many birds will come for the water, even without food being put out.
Scrub jay
This is a white winged dove, keeping a wary eye on me. The pine tree shows damage from both drought and disease (dry trees are more susceptible to disease), but that tree is home to several birds. I hope it manages to survive.
White winged dove
For as long as I have lived here, a variety of birds have used this juniper as a type of “look out.” Birds also nest in this tree. This image shows a robin and a scrub jay. Scrub jays do not like to share, and the jay soon chased the robin off.
Robin and scrub jay
House finches, goldfinches, road runners, sparrows, hummingbirds, and mourning doves are also seen very frequently here, so expect more bird photos.
Water is a valued resource in the desert, especially in these days of severe drought. Ponds can be found in places along and near the Rio Grande River, and a variety of plants and animals are attracted to such spots. Water is life-giving.
Sometimes water can be appreciated for simple beauty. I loved the various reflections in the water this particular day – the duck, the clouds, the trees, the rocks…
These Dutch iris were blooming earlier in May. Dutch iris are about as common as water here in the high desert of the Southwest. But sometimes the magical light, in combination with Dutch iris and water near the Rio Grande River, can produce some unexpected results. This image brought a smile to my face when I saw it uploaded on the computer. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it also.
If you look around at images on the internet, you may be surprised at how few images actually carry a watermark. I’m not surprised when people’s vacation or holiday pictures are posted without a watermark, but I am always more than a little surprised when serious photographers do not watermark their images before posting them on the internet.
As far as I have been able to determine from an unscientific look at other serious photographers I know, there seem to be three major approaches to watermarking images before posting on the internet:
1. those who watermark virtually every image before posting;
2. those who would never watermark an image to be posted on the web because “watermarks spoil the visual effect;”
3. those who would really like to watermark images because they see the advantages in terms of some degree of protection against unauthorized use, but are intimidated by the photographers whose thinking about watermarks has not yet made the mental transition from photographic prints to digital web images. If this third group uses a watermark, they almost apologize for it!
Most photographers I know, when selling a print, either sign the mat (if the print is matted and/or framed) or the back of the print. That is mainly so that the buyer has a record of the image creator, and also partially because reputable labs will not copy a printed image not made by the print owner. In most cases, the signature (or logo, if that is used instead) does not interfere with the visual flow of the image. And, for years, this system worked well for virtually all photographs (as well as other works of the visual arts in a fixed form).
Enter the internet, and protection of one’s images becomes something completely different. I have already discussed the importance of registering one’s copyrights for works created in the United States. But, even works with registered copyrights are likely to be downloaded and used unless people have a way to know that an image is owned by someone who cares about protecting his/her work. Well, it might be downloaded and used even if a watermark has been used, but I’ll talk about what an artist can do about that scenario in a bit.
There are a variety of ways that the creator of an image can be identified. Serious photographs embed their copyright data and contact information in the metadata of each image. Image editing software, such as Adobe’s Lightroom, make this very easy and efficient to do. Once set up, the information can be embedded in every single image exported from the software program. Great, you say. When used diligently by photographers, there should be no such thing as “orphan works,” which are creating a lot of headaches worldwide at present. And, in theory, that is true.
Unfortunately, theory and reality are not always the same thing. Some social network sites, Facebook among them, strip that information from images uploaded there and then downloaded by anyone. And, anyone can download any image on Facebook. Don’t believe it? Upload an image with all your data nicely embedded in the image, and then download it from Facebook. Now, try to find all of your conscientiously embedded data. See what I mean? Once that data has been lost, the image can appear all over the internet and no one will know the creator of the work.
Someone told me not too long ago that it would not matter, because if a photographer uploaded only low resolution files, no one could make a decent print out of it to sell. That is true. But that is only part of the issue. Many photographers make part of their income through licensing their images for use on the internet. That is, selling prints is not the only way photographers earn money in these days of the internet. Many companies find it much less expensive to license images already created than to pay a staff photographer. This is one reason there has been such an explosion in stock photography companies, which license work. If you have an image that someone would like to license, but your connection to the image is not there, there are two possible outcomes: the person seeks another image whose creator can be contacted for licensing, or, your image gets used anyway. In either scenario you, the photographer, lose money. Now, if that image has had the copyright registered, and you discover its use, your attorney can write a nice letter for cease and desist, along with a demand for payment for licensing fees to that point, and a demand for a listing of every place else the image has been used and then licensing payment for that as well. If the copyright has not been registered (assuming the work was created in the US), well, too bad. You can ask for payment, and you may or may not get it.
Back to watermarks. It is possible to remove watermarks from images, but it takes a lot more work than simply stripping embedded metadata. And, there is a huge potential liability for someone who removes watermarks from images and then uses those images. That indicates “willful” infringement. If done on an image whose copyright has been registered, the person is potentially liable for statutory damages, not just actual losses and damages, which can amount to up to $150,000 per infringement. Of course, if the creator claimed a watermark had been removed, he/she would be expected to prove that he/she had used a watermark, and there is no better way to do that than to use a watermark on every single image. It is just good business and good practice to put a watermark on every single image you put on the internet. And, you need not apologize to anyone for doing it! If anyone tries to make you feel guilty, chalk it up to ignorance on their part.
What should a watermark for use on an image to be posted on the internet contain? These are merely my suggestions. I have not yet come across an article with specific recommendations. I think it should contain a name, the same name as used for registering a work. That way, if someone wants to see if the work is registered, or if you, as an artist, register your work, all the person needs to do is search the name in the copyright records. If your name is there, it says that you are serious about protecting your work. It should contain a link to your website, if you have one; otherwise, an alternative way to contact you should someone wish to discuss licensing. It should be visible, and not easy to overlook.
Let me stress that I am talking about watermarks for images posted on the internet. If someone purchases a print, you’ll mark the back or sign the print, or something more traditionally done with photographic prints. If you license the image for internet use, part of the agreement will state whether or not the photographer is credited, but the watermark will be removed when the license is purchased. (As an aside, one of the things I like about Zenfolio as a selling site is that a watermark remains on an image until a client pays. The shopping cart clearly states that the watermark will not appear on the finished product, be that a print or a license for use).
More White Iris
Watermarks – important for the serious photographer who posts his/her images on the internet!
