Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Cloud of Dust

(Click on the thumbnail for the bigger, better version)

I love watching a horse just turned out and eager to work out the kinks. Here, Night was feeling especially good and relishing every moment of his freedom. You can almost hear him snorting and whistling as he kicked up the dust—coiling and uncoiling those muscles, celebrating his power.

When I work on an image such as this one, I always think of Mark Graf, since he has mentioned on numerous occasions revisiting images. This is one of those that I shot years ago and have always known that eventually I would know what I wanted to do with it. Finally, in late last year, I could see this one and knew where I wanted to go with it. In the past, I wasted a great deal of time worrying an image, attempting to force it to give up its secrets. Over time, I finally found the patience to interrupt these struggles, listen, and discover, finally, what is locked inside an image. It is amusing to me that when I finally have found my way, I can't imagine why I didn't see it all along.

As usual I have gotten myself into all sorts of things in the last couple of weeks. To top off the distraction angle, we have a houseful of guests arriving in just over a week. During my nasty cold, I let the house devolve into chaos and now it is catch-up time. As if that weren't enough, I have been on a roller coaster with my back: getting dramatically better; no, snapped back into deep mind-numbing pain. I stubbornly cling to optimism about this all being a positive sign. I went for a walk about a week ago and, while I could barely put one foot in front of the other by the time I got back to the backyard gate, it was exhilarating and I can't wait to do it again. I am determined to improve during this coming year.

I can't blame all of my absence on pain, house cleaning and rehab. My recent distraction is partly due to the influence of Roberta Murray. I caught on immediately to the fact that Roberta is a very smart lady. Thus, when she mentioned an article on art marketing, I ran to the site and was almost immediately hooked. I have been soaking up information and not giving anything back. That is nothing to brag about. My fascination isn't just with the articles about selling. Many of my favorites are about painting techniques and, since I never studied painting, my mind has been awhirl with some new-to-me and wondrous information, as well as some validation of my own blundering discoveries. Thank you, Roberta.

Of course, there is always something going on in the computer department. Recently, The Husband and I spent one fun afternoon, rewiring the maze of cables under my desk. Oh, boy, that was a fun time. It was well worth the effort, however, because I have better access to some switches and little things such as this simplification can make a big difference.

Although I have only scratched the surface, I will resist the effort to talk about all the things I have cooking now—such as working feverishly on some new pieces. Instead, I will save the rest of my jabbering for another day.




18 comments:

  1. Glad to hear that your under the desk rewiring went so well. I still have a small dent on the top of my head from my last rewiring job.

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    1. Steve, I thought everyone who crawled around under a desk got a dent on the head—at the very least. If the dust doesn't choke you (that's at my house), then the bumped elbows, or dents on the head will.

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  2. Oh, I just love that image; imagine being that immensely playful and powerful at once...

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    1. Thank you, Ove, for that comment. This has become one of my favorites.

      I like your observation. That is an exciting combination—to combine the playful spirit with such power. And, of course, horses manage to add the capacity for graceful movement as well. Hey, no wonder I love to fill my hard drives with these images. These animals make a terrific subject for study. ;-)

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  3. I love what you did with this image of Night. It communicates a lot of energy along with the beauty. Perhaps I missed or have forgotten an explanation somewhere but how did he get the name of Night with his coloring?

    No physical project, such as rewiring, seems to go well for me until I draw first blood. A scraped knuckle or skinned head will suffice and then things go well.

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    1. Thank you, Earl, for the kind words.

      Well, rats! I missed an opportunity for a post to accompany a picture of Night. His name certainly is confusing. His registered name (from birth) is Night ’n Day. He is a dapple gray. That means when he was young he was quite dark, then turned a lighter and lighter gray as he matured. The breeder knew from the horse's breeding that the charcoal foal would end up completely gray—thus Night and Day.

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  4. Wow! Wow! And one more Wow! I am glad you listened to what this image wanted to become. It is so powerful and dynamic...and beautiful. I think I'm going to leave this open and look at it throughout my day. Truly amazing work.

    Thank you for the mention too. I'm sorry for the distraction, but glad if it helps.

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    1. Thank you, Roberta for the triple Wow. I have a big smile on my face. I sincerely hope this brings you joy throughout your day.

      I have to giggle about the way I plunged headlong into all the articles as FASO. I have even dug back into archives—like a child with a new toy.I am grateful for your having pointed me in that direction.

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  5. I love your equine images Anita. Keep 'em coming! Putting an image on the shelf for a while is an effective way become objective towards it. It gives the emotions time to settle down. Writers will often do that with a story - once it's written they'll shelve it for a while and when they come back the mistakes, discrepencies, overall value can be more accurately assessed.

    Thanks,
    John

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  6. Thanks, John, for the encouragement. I can't stay away from the equine pieces very long at a time.

    I know that "resting" period certainly works for me. Sometimes, I get too excited in the beginning and try to force the work. Taking time off let's me back off and return with a more open mind and senses sharpened.

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  7. This is another great shot in your beautiful portfolio of equine images. As a city boy, I never had the opportunity to be around horses and photos like this remind me of how much I've missed.
    There is a snakes nest of wires under my desk and I can see them all. It's a constant reminder of what a lousy house keeper I can be when I apply myself. Your courage is admirable.

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    1. Thanks, Ken, for the kind words. I do enjoy watching them. But, they aren't always exciting. They spent a great deal of time with their heads down, eating. Still, when they are "putting on a show", it is a heckuva show.

      I never thought of housekeeping in that way. To be as bad at it as I am, I really have to apply myself. ;-) The courage was actually more like desperation. A part of the old arrangement had become down right painful.

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  8. I know little about horses, but I recognize this image as quite a dynamic one. I'm glad that you let it incubate for years, finally to see the dramatic light of day. I'm also pleased to see that the photographer and implied rider writes well.

    Elsewhere you mentioned wanting to visit the Texas Hill Country: I live at the very eastern edge of it, and many of my photographs show nature in it (when I'm not portraying subjects on the prairie a little to the east).

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    1. Thank you, Steven, for visiting and my apologies for being so slow to respond. I visited your site and reveled in your beautiful photos of Texas Hill Country vegetation. You can expect me to keep up with you. It will be lovely staying in touch with that part of the world. Thank you for your kind words about my work. I hope you will visit again.

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  9. I waited a few days to see of the comment would show up, I guess not. I did post a comment on this, so I'll just do it again: What a fantastic shot of Night! Very creative and I'm sure that if you put this into your next show, it will sell FOR SURE!

    I'm glad that you went back and had a look. And yes, it is interesting that we didn't see 'it' the first time. When we go back, it seems so obvious, but apparently, it wasn't.

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    1. I wonder what was happening in Blogger-world when you first posted, Paul. Yet another collection of thoughts floating around, lost, out there in cyberspace.

      Thank you for those wonderful words of endorsement. I will look forward to seeing who that next buyer will be. It does amuse me that we can scour our files so carefully and still overlook jewels. Or, as in the case of this one, know a jewel is there, yet remained stymied as to how to release its power. I think there is a life-lesson there.

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  10. This is definitely one of my favourite pictures of yours. I hope your back gets better (and stays better) soon.

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    1. Thanks, JP, for the visit. How nice to know this one made it to your favorite list. My favorites list on your site has become quite unwieldy.

      Thanks for the good wishes re. my back. I continue to improve in ways to manage the problem. It is mostly my stubborness that gets me in trouble.

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Anita