Peter Essick

http://www.rolphoto.com/galleries.html

I really love his images. They are not only colorful but the other element that strikes me is the composition. It seems to be a common thread of what catches my eye. It is a great exercise to look at other work and see what it is you like or don’t like and how you can enhance your own work. I need to work on bringing out the color in my work.

Andy Small

www.xn--bwg.com

I love this image. He really has taken his images to another level. The cropping and the color is very beautiful. I love the way that all the color and textures work together. And the symmetry is so strong.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/135831/36b7eb092b08fa01f8741a8860b7d060

Donald Miralle

http://www.donaldmiralle.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=22&p=3

I am amazed at the angles he uses in his photographs! I feel that I can do a pretty good job when it comes to composition, but I certainly could use some angle work. I think you have to be wiling to get into a lot of different positions and be aware in your setting of how to reach new heights or lows.

Jason Benito my classmate

http://whocutdacheez.blogspot.com/

I really like Jason’s work. The color and the panos that he has done are amazing to me. I know that he has spent some time working on them and he has done a great job. I would like to have more color and or least bring out the color in the photos that I have taken.

Rebecca Siminou

http://www.phototrekker.com/

I love Rebecca’s work. I think I can relate to her composition of shapes and textures, that is what I am drawn to in her work. It is what captures my attention first when photographing.

Camp Winaka - Julian

Burned Ironwood

Interesting flowering plant on the trail.

Coast Live Oak

I was on a camping trip with my daughters brownie troop in Julian. The drive was beautiful. We drove down highway 79. I saw so many flowers that I have been photographing, and they were everywhere. It was wonderful to put a name to them. When we were hiking it was nice to be able to tell the girls what we were looking at. We say a lot of Coast Live Oak and Manzanita.

Tree of Life Nursery

Gooseberry

Coast Live Oak

Hummingbird Sage

Big Berry Manzanita

Coast Sunflower

This was a very nice trip, a pretty drive on Ortega highway and a quite area to walk around. It was not very busy when we went, we arrived there right after they opened. Everyone there was very nice and offered a lot of help

Appreciating My Surroundings

I have always appreciated nature and its beauty surrounding me,

but now more than ever I see it.
These are just a few images that I
have found around my job and home.
I think my favorite is this Matilija Poppy.
and the California Poppy.

Rock Art

It was great to hear all the information that Steve Freers had to share. What an amazing adventure he has been on to discover and record these works. Two of the most important thoughts that came to mind as Steve was speaking are the connection people had to the earth. It made me think about the saying “its not the destination, its the journey.” And the other being the potency of the knowledge of the elders, they are often not appreciated for their knowledge of life. The art that I liked the most was the mazes and the drawings that represented 3 and 5 digits. The last but not the least was when he spoke about preservation. Not to seek it out, to leave it be, so that it may have a better chance of lasting through time.

Daley Ranch

I am not sure if this is a California native, but it was amazing!

This is a California Lilac. They are not as fragrant or full like 

the lilacs I am used to growing up in Chicago.

I have to figure out what kind of berry this is.

This is Black Sage, (even though it was full of white blooms) 

it was everywhere, 

and there were a lot of bees too.

The Coast Live Oak was magnificent!

My daughter and I went to Daley Ranch for a hike. 

It was lots of fun! I think we should do it more often. 

While we were hiking around I found lots to photograph.

Camp Pendleton

Las Flores

It was fun using the photomerge feature in PS, great and effortless results.

Coyote Bush, it is a great place for birds to hide out.

Wild Radish

Coyote Willow

White Sage

I loved the open spaces at Camp Pendleton. I loved photographing the house. For some reason I am attracted to old living spaces. Sometimes when I am traveling I just want to pull off the side of the road and photograph an old barn or an abandoned house. It was also nice to learn the history of the house and the area. It would have been nice to see more of Camp Pendleton.

Quail Gardens

I am not sure if this is a Torrey Pine?
I really love the swirl design that is presented from the branches below.

This is Yerba Santa

This is a lemonade berry.

This is Catalina Ironwood, what a great contrast from the trunk to the leaf.

Quail Gardens was a great place to go. It was very helpful that there was a specified section for natives and that they were identified. It really helps knowing what you are shooting and being able to research more about the plants. I went with my daughter and we investigated a lot of the different areas, it would have been nice to spend more time there, I am glad I have a chance to go back on one of our field trips. It was really windy that day, and it was very challenging to get some good shots!

Pechanga

This is the onion plant.

This is Indian Potatoe

This is deergrass after it has been burned.
It is done to allow for it to grow back in more abundance.

This white sage was located around all the natural housing that we were able to see.
It is great that the local youth are able to learn and participate in their culture.

This is yucca fiber which has been processed by stripping and soaking.
The fibers are used to make nets, carrying baskets, sandals, skirts and more.
It is a very versatile plant which supplies food from the flowers and fruit.

I really like this Eucalyptus tree because of the texture of the peeling bark
against the smooth underside. It in not a native plant.

Chaparral, once many, now few. I wish I could have seen them in abundance.

Page design

This is what I am proposing as a page layout for my book. Not sure that Blurb will support my design?

Layers

This photo shows a technique adding layers, black and white, blending layers and gaussian blur.

Photoshop CS3

First I worked Bridge and enhanced the rock to bring out more detail. Then I combined two of my photos and added the gaussian blur to enhance the merge. I loved learning about the gaussian blur on the masks. What a difference!

Indian Rock Native Garden

This is Black Sage

I liked being able to touch and smell the different plants. They smelt so good, and it was interesting to find out what they were used for. It seems like our culture now is so far removed from just the simplest of things. It was wonderful to have all the experts that joined us that day and shared their knowledge and passion. I was surprised to learn that the flower is more important in identifying the plant.

James Nachtwey

What an amazing body of work.

My first thought is how well he captured the human spirit in the form of a photograph. I am most impressed by when he said “A photo doesn’t have to sell, it can also give.” To me he is referencing the positive side of the human spirit, it is the reason for his work. It is what is important. A lot of his photos gave a voice to those who did not have one. His photographs made that possible.

Best Time Ever!

I really liked this one too. I liked that the story was just as important or more important than the images themselves. To me it is important to tell your story, especially for the members of your family, now and in the future.

Ruff Spots

Wow, it is really hard to choose. I have only been through a few pages of samples and there are already a few that I like. One is Ruff Spots. It is images of dogs. I like this one especially, because sometimes you just have to wonder, what’s on their mind?

I am excited about making my very own book!

today is the first day

Today is the first day to learn something new.