The Ecology Action Center meets monthly for Green Drinks.  This year Executive Director Michael Brown added an informative speaker element to this casual and social event.  I am excited to be speaking Tuesday April 1st, 2014! I'll be doing a presentation highlighting my Milkweed Mercantile artist residencies at Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village.  The basic premise of my presentation will be about how my photography moves or illustrates a story like Dancing Rabbit forward.  I hope you can attend to learn more about my work.  These green minded folks are just wonderful and the drinks are great too!

( Find us upstairs at the Medici from 5:30 -7:30 )

While away at my recent Artist Residency, I took on practicing a new layer of skill as a photographer. DIY Lighting. I found mentorship from a photographer I've actually never met who took a fancy to my work.  His entire career has been in commercial photography and he enjoys working with students and being part of their success.  He's been super patient and encouraging.  I feel rather grateful. 

I have resisted commercial lighting for many reasons. Mostly because I didn't want to fuss with it. I felt comfortable using natural or existing light.  I didn't want the expense of it, the clutter of it, the toting of it, the cords ...well, you get the idea. Yet to move forward in my work. I really needed to get off it about all my why nots...and be more about how can knowledge of lighting be useful for me.  While I don't envision myself as a studio photographer, having access to doing work with lights...simply, does appeal to me.

I did some practicing at home rather successfully,  my set up was rather crude, in my kitchen on top of my washing machine. Once I got to my working environment at my residency.  I felt super nervous.  I had to create a studio in a room that was an active dining room and store front.  There were things I hadn't thought about like the back round. I didn't feel practiced enough with diffusing light or using the white board. Right after this shot I completely knocked over the jar of dilly beans. Can you say pickle smell?? A few times I tripped over cords. It was only a matter of time that something else would get broken.  

One thing I know about myself is if I have to over think something it isn't going to happen. 

I was able to get some imagery that I felt good about from the above set up, but in the end the top of this table felt limiting and dangerous!

Someone - perhaps a video I watched or a peer or a friend mentioned that sometimes trusting ones gut is the only way to go...often photographers are making do with a variety of situations they have no control over.

I shifted my mock studio to this storage space for firewood. Partly because I felt like I could control it more.  I found myself drawn to the natural woody back round. 

I admit I found myself rather amused when items like a carrot cake on a pedestal found it's way to the space to be photographed.

I spent several days experimenting with this set up.  Playing really.  and drooling.  Oh my gosh, SO much delicious food!! (have to thank Alline of Milkweed Mercantile Inn for that !!)  What I knew and trusted about working with natural light was actually quite the same as with lights. It was simply a matter of looking and following my gut. 

Here a few of my favorites:

Back from my residency several weeks now, I have not pulled out the DIY Lighting set up again.   In thinking about my work and what I am striving for,  I have to find clarity in how lighting will fit with what my creative expression might be. Food.  uh - that's a no brainer, yet I am not sure that I am that committed to photographing my making of my dinner each and every night. I can always photograph things.  That's easy. Stills are around me always,  but why would I photograph things??  People. Now that's something I have never focused on. Formal or Studio Style Portraits.  Hmmmmmm....I have to think about that one. Stay tuned!!  

In January I had the remarkable opportunity to repeat my artist residency.  My hosts Alline and Kurt of Milkweed Mercantile Inn at Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village asked me back for the winter, spring and summer seasons.  Wow!!  I was thrilled to be able to expand my fall portfolio, as well as get a chance to complete a full year of artistic perspective. 

Winter, is not my favorite time of year.  While I was glad that it wasn't awful weather for my drive, there unfortunately wasn't much snow during my visit.  Finding the winter love took a lot more than I expected, not because of the views around me, but more so from my not wanting to be out in subzero temperatures. Risk to my camera from the extremes wasn't such a good idea either. Thank goodness for several indoor projects that filled much of my time. One was to practice my food photography and work with a DIY lighting system.  It helps that Alline loves loves loves to cook and bake! That made for many occasions to capture images of food!! I have to say I learned a lot, drooled a lot - not on the subject matter of course, its just that having so much access to yummy pies, cakes, and cookies was probably not a great way to get my new years weight loss goals into gear!! I feel pretty good about my first attempts at food photography. 

I found myself even more warmly welcomed this second residency. As a matter of fact, I felt a level of belonging and ease that I am quite clear is reflected in my images.  

Post production requires a LOT of time and patience.  I learned from my last visit that processing images daily is a very helpful thing. It didn't feel like I had taken as many as before, but as it turns out I did!! Almost 2000 images! I did my best to share an abbreviated expression over on my FB Page as I went along - you can take a peek there if you like. I also found doing a daily favorite and commentary helps me remember the happenings of each day. 

For the sake of keeping a volume of images manageable, not only for others to view, but also for ease of finding later,  I created folders.  I found with my last residency that there was a need for images to be watermarked in some circumstances and not watermarked in others - so, in all my sorting and uploading this time I did all of that process at once.   Hopefully I have created a simple way for these images to be of use later and an easier way to view a large number of photographs. 

I continue to make this stuff up as I go.

Below are the folders I created: 

Winter Scapes - members of dancing rabbit formed a swirl pattern of snow on a frozen pond that is just gorgeous.

Winter Things Mercantile - see a collection of plates, bake and cookware that were celebrated as stills, these and much more were just a few of the nuances I captured of the Inn.

Winter Things Dancing Rabbit - winter is definitely stark, the village scape quite different from my fall visit - yet, I still found so much beauty!

Winter Critters Farm - I observed these community members get windows and doors on their home just in time for winter. Upon returning I felt curious to see the finished barn and more of the farm animals. 

Made With Love - I had an absolute blast capturing the making of sunday breakfast and soap making,  just a few of what is created at Dancing Rabbit with love.

Food - uh...pretty self explanatory and mouth watering too!

The Folks - I truly believe  Dancing Rabbit is what it is today (and what it continues to become), because of the people who live there and serve as an example of how to live sustainably. They are warm, committed, tenacious folk - a collective of individuals, strident, quirky and giving. It's not an easy life they live. I feel admiration and awe.

Lastly - I taught another collage workshop, and this time had a larger attendance - the collaging, sharing, vulnerability and compassionate community around that workshop table was palpable. I feel pretty darn happy to have been able to bring my photographic creative sensibilities into this community's fold.