Leaving On A Jet Plane.............

This is it! I just shut down Photoshop, printed my boarding pass, my Surtex badge info, and called my bank to make sure they don't cancel my cards because they are being used in New York City. 

Once I post this, I will begin to pack!

I do have a "Project 52" image to share this week, but I also have a couple of other images to show as well.

Except for some floral iPhone photos from my walks these last couple of weeks, there has not really been anything in my camera roll that I have wanted to work on.

While waiting yesterday for an appointment, I went back in time and started working on a couple of images from earlier in the year. It was fun and I liked the end result, so here they are:

©2013 Dianne Poinski

©2013 Dianne Poinski

I used the apps "DistressedFX" and "PhotoFX" on both of these............

Project 52 - Week 19

I posted this image on my Facebook page last week in part to find out what kind of flower it was. Turns out it is a Hibiscus hybrid of sorts. I had never seen one until I was walking to get my morning coffee the other day.

©2013 Dianne Poinski

I will surely be posting photos from NY on my Facebook page and Instagram (dpoinskiphoto - if you want to follow me on IG), and I may try to get a blog post in while I am gone. I am not promising anything though. I may just wait until I get back and post a summary of how the trip went.

I am feeling very grateful right now that I don't have to worry about setting up a booth or anything. My agent at Montage Licensing handles everything at Surtex. I get to walk the show and attend a couple of seminars while I am there.

I have been noticing the flurry of activity online from people I know that represent themselves, that are exhibiting at the show.  Art festivals were tough enough. I can't imagine what preparing for a national show on the east coast would be like! I get anxious just thinking about it.

So anyway, off to get ready for my adventure! Enjoy your week!

Blowing in the Wind..................

Project 52 - Week 18 

©2013 Dianne Poinski

It was windy last week and I was miserable. Red eyes, runny nose.........not attractive.

Windy conditions and photography do not mix very well, however, after taking a wrong turn and missing my original photographic destination, I decided to stop at this urban field of lupine to satisfy my desire to photograph something that day.

While crouched down, low to the ground with my Nikon, a fast shutter speed enabled me to freeze most of the movement. I used the "Daguerreotype"edge from Flypaper Textures on this image and added a little soft filter.

It's a simple image and one of only a few photographs I took last week, but it's ok. My trip to New York is fast approaching, and soon, I will once again be able to spend more time photographing than on my computer............

But don't feel sorry for me. It's not all work and no play...........today, I am off to a Giants game! (My neck is very grateful......)

Artful Blogging & Volkswagens................

Exciting news to share this week! I was featured in the Summer issue of Artful Blogging!

I have been a fan of this beautiful magazine since I first discovered it in 2009, and while there are many reasons to celebrate this, one reason in particular stands out for me.

During our 2010 road trip, while waiting for our window to be replaced in Portland, OR (click on the link for the story about that adventure), I hunted down a bookstore because I knew the latest issue had hit the stands. Later, as I thoughtfully perused that issue over coffee, I declared out loud to my husband, that "someday I will be in this magazine"! Remember........words are powerful!

The other reason this is super special is the article I wrote is all about my iPhone experience last year and the fears, insecurities and then joyful acceptance of my increasing passion for that art form. The whole story is in there, including my acknowledgment and gratitude to all of you "for cheering me on"when the voices in my head would not shut up!

Since it is the title of the article, I share how I came up with the tag line "Celebrating Photography with Joy & Gratitude" (covered in my post on July 17th), and talk a little about my feelings as my Project 365 came to an end.

recognize any of these images??

I found out about this back in January, but did not want to say anything until I had the actual magazine in my hands!

Project 52 - Week 17

Funny thing happened last week...........I took very few photographs. None with my DSLR and only a few with my iPhone.........

But I have a favorite.................

I am a Volkswagen fanatic and have owned during my life, a red 1972 beetle, a 71 square back, a 64 Karmann Ghia and a 68 orange Ghia (none of which were convertibles). So when I spotted this car, I knew I had to take a photo of it!

©2013 Dianne Poinski
all iPhone

I do believe my next VW will be a Eurovan. I said as much out loud recently and you know what that means.......................

Believe...............

Project 52 - Week 16

©2013 Dianne Poinski
Nikon/Photoshop

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."................

                                                                                                            ~Theodore Roosevelt

Short post today.......I am a few weeks away from my trip to NYC, so my computer marathons will be ending soon. My body is ready for a break, but oh my......... I have been having fun! 

I made a quick trip out to the Sacramento Historic Cemetery last week, but took far fewer photographs than I thought I would. The wind was one of the main reasons for my short visit.

I have been noticing these blooming around my neighborhood (I don't know what this is.......anyone?), so I thought I would use the opportunity to shoot a few frames without walking on someone's front lawn. I was glad I did..................

PS: I would love to start printing some of my new work, but I am overflowing with inventory as it is. So..........to help make some room, I have original hand colored photographs on my website for sale until May 1st. The prices are crazy low for one of a kind pieces, but it's spring and I have a strong urge to declutter and clear things out.

Here is a link if you are interested in helping me with this: "Originals"

Where Flowers Bloom..............

It happens every spring............I am filled with dreams of having a large cutting garden where I can simply step out my back door and choose from an assortment of blooms to carry back into the house where my camera will be waiting to get to work.

The truth is, I don't know the first thing about gardening. I have stacks of magazines that promise to show me a quick and easy way to make my fantasy come true, but you actually have to do the work to make it happen.

There is a short window of time however, where I can pretend I have that dream garden and that happy time was last week.

My backyard is a mess and is slated to be overhauled (some day.....), but every year during early spring, a few delightful surprises pop up back there, and this time I was ready!

The first blooms I picked were these bluebells. These appear every single spring, but I am almost embarrassed to admit that this is the first time I have ever photographed them. I do absolutely nothing to guarantee their appearance each year, (which is how I like to garden). I am not even sure how they got there!

©2013 Dianne Poinski
This is also my "Project 52" image for week 15

I do know where my irises came from though. A good friend and an excellent gardener, brought over (and planted!) a large number of bulbs as a birthday present a few years ago. The gift that keeps on giving!! Thank you Jill!

©2013 Dianne Poinski

The calla lilies that show up every year are also a mystery. They appear out of the rocks, with the driveway on one side and my "container graveyard" (empty pots that at one time held possibilities), on the other.

No sense leaving them there.....

©2013 Dianne Poinski

I can only imagine at this point what it would be like to be able to experience this bounty all season long. Maybe one day..............................

In closing, I would like to offer my favorite "flower" quote and send along good thoughts to those affected by the tragedy in Boston.

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope" ~ Lady Bird Johnson 

Chasing Clouds............

Last week was all about the clouds................. We have had a very dry winter and now spring, but last week we were treated to quite a bit of rainfall, along with a display of impressive and dramatic clouds.

There was also a cloud of sorts hanging over my head.  A relative of mine was hospitalized and had to have surgery on Monday. Early that morning I received the text letting me know the surgery had begun. Living too far to sit and wait at the hospital, I did what I do when the going gets tough. I go out and photograph.

For awhile I just drove around listening to music, waiting for the overcast sky to break up a little. At one point I decided to go visit the UC Davis Arboretum, a place I had never been to before. As I pulled into the parking lot, I received the news that the surgery went very well! I breathed a huge sigh of relief, shed a few tears and relayed the information to other members of my family.

I wondered around the arboretum for about an hour. The sun came out as if to confirm that all was right with my world. Here are a couple of iPhone images from that short visit.

©2013 Dianne Poinski

©2013 Dianne Poinski

Before going home I decided that what I really wanted was a cloud/wildflower shot. After spotting a few fields of wild mustard, I got off the freeway but soon found myself lost in a suburban area filled with apartments and strip malls. I turned around to head home but then noticed a vacant lot, colorfully out of place in the middle of restaurants and gas stations.

I pulled around to the back of one of the parking lots and was rewarded with a field of possibility, bursting with a beautiful display of billowing clouds mixed with blue sky.

©2013 Dianne Poinski
This is also the "image of the week" for my Project 52

I debated whether or not to share the details of how I made this image, but I am all for full disclosure.

At first it looks like a bucolic hill where possibly Julie Andrews could show up any moment, arms wide and the "sound of music" in the air.

But no.............I am in a parking lot, viewing up and over a vacant lot, my heart filled with joy and gratitude.

I do not recommend this - don't leave your camera on a tripod and walk away!

There are really two stories here. The first one about love and family, fear and worry and how I deal with these sorts of situations.

The second story demonstrates how keeping your eyes and heart open to possibilities sometimes leads you to overlooked vacant lots that to many people are just that; vacant lots.

Borrowing inspiration from Dewitt Jones, I spent a lot of time in that parking lot simply saying "Thank You" and clicking the shutter.................

Week 13 - Dogwoods............

Early last week I took a walk. This use to be an almost daily occurrence, but lately I have been lax about making that a priority.

While on this walk I noticed that the dogwood trees in my neighborhood had begun to bloom. I took a few shots with my iPhone and loved what I saw. This began a week long obsession that had me cruising the streets with my Nikon in the car, searching out possible locations that I could get to without trespassing.

It was an enjoyable quest that I am not sure is over, but I wanted to share one of the images as this week's photo for my "Project 52".

©2013 Dianne Poinski

Spring has most definitely sprung in my part of the world and I am loving the visual feast it is providing! If you can, get out and walk your neighborhood. It's the best way to slow down and notice the show nature is putting on..........