Photo ABCs

B is for (more) Birds!

If you missed my recent show, Birds of Southern California, at the Mission Trails Park Visitor Center, you have another chance to see the 38 bird images.

The entire show is now hanging at the new Pendleton Eye Center, in Oceanside, California. There will be an open house and reception this Friday evening, September 25, from 6-8 p.m. Dr. Pendleton will be showing off his new office, which is one of the most nicely designed ophthalmology offices I have ever seen. It was also designed specifically to showcase artwork. I am pleased to be chosen as their first featured artist!

Dr. Pendleton's office is located at 3637 Vista Way, Oceanside, CA, 92056. (760-758-2004)

All photographs are for sale, and $25 of each purchase will be donated to the Flying Samaritans Tecate Eye Clinic.

I hope to see you there!

Preening Little Blue Heron, Famosa Slough, San Diego, California. ©blakeshaw

I is for Image Doctors!

I have just listened to the 100th podcast by the "Image Doctors" Rick Walker and Jason Odell, an educational and inspiring interview with photographer Joe McNally.

If you are a Nikon user, you owe it to yourself to listen to Jason and Rick's podcast, produced every other week, for the Nikonians website. Their podcasts are a blend of photo-tips, gear news, interviews, and more. Each podcast lasts about an hour. 

Although I have been shooting for many years, it never fails that I learn at least one excellent tip each podcast, and it helps me keep abreast of the features of the latest Nikon equipment.

Jason and Rick go the extra mile, though, and encourage listeners to email their problem images for critique or technical suggestions. I recently had an image which I though might have a technical issue which they had recently discussed (axial chromatic aberration, if you really want to know!) Rick gave me a rapid response, which I greatly appreciated.

Although the podcast now has sponsorship, Jason and Rick clearly do their podcast as a labor of love. Do yourself a favor and tune in!

Congratulations on podcast #100!

Kildeer, Imperial Valley, ©blake shaw

 

B is for Blurb

I'll be teaching a class on self-publishing with Blurb books at the upcoming Sierra Club Photography Section's annual Laguna Mountain Lodge Weekend (September 26-27).

There is still time to sign up for the weekend. These weekends are an inexpensive way to rekindle your photographic inspiration. There will be classes for beginners and experts alike, and lots of time to share ideas and images with enthusiastic photographers. Other instructors will include Steve Cirone, Ken Rockwell, Stephen Burns, Donna Cosentino, and others.

 

And there's lots of good food!

 

Hope to see you there!

 

The road to Foster Lodge:

 

 

 

 

V is for Valli

Enjoy some beautiful black and white photography of one of the loveliest, most intelligent faces to grace the silver screen.

Alida Valli mostly starred in Italian movies, but made a lasting mark with her roles in The Third Man, We The Living, The Paradine Case, and other English language movies.

She stars in an upcoming Turner Classic Movies airing, Walk Softly Stranger, co-starring Joseph Cotten. (September 21) I've set my recorder!

p.s.: the movie was great! Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli have the same hard-edged chemistry they have in The Third Man.

E is for Egret

Whenever I am out photographing birds, it seems that I always end up photographing egrets. I am trying to increase the number of bird species that I have photos of, but still, when the light gets good I find myself leaving the other birds and heading towards the egrets.

Here are two recent shots of snowy egrets from the San Diego River at Robb Field, one of my favorite bird photography locations.

For more of my bird photography, look here.

For a slide show of some remarkable bird images, look here. (photos by bird photographer Alan Murphy)

C is for Color (Magazine)

Color is a relatively new magazine devoted to color photography, published by the publishers of B&W Magazine.

Their latest edition features a six-page portfolio of my abstract bullfight pictures, including the one below.

Check it out at a newsstand or bookstore near you (I found copies at Borders today), or better yet, subscribe. 

There has been a huge need for a magazine devoted to mainstream, fine-art, color photography (like Lenswork and B&W are devoted to black and white photography.) There are more than enough magazines devoted to cameras. A magazine devoted to color photography is desperately needed! We can only hope Color is successful in its endeavor. 

N is for Nadal

Rafael Nadal returns to the US Open this week after being sidelined from his knee ailments.

And my photograph of Rafael Nadal, taken at the 2007 Indian Wells Pacific Life Open, is now hanging at the La Jolla Library at the Allied Artists Association of San Diego (AAASD) Annual Members Show. 

This juried show features some wonderful art of all types by some very creative artists. 

The La Jolla Library is located at 7555 Draper Ave., La Jolla, California.