Autumn in the City of Subdued Excitement

My friend Nichol suggested a photo walk around Bellingham this afternoon. The City of Subdued Excitement did not disappoint!

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Stop and Stare

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Jolene’s Gold

Curb Appeal

It never fails. If I don’t have my D90 with me, I’ll find something to photograph.

A few days ago, I was walking around Bellingham and saw these leaves upon the green-painted curb of a shaded sidewalk. I have a Smart Phone, but it’s definitely not in the same league as the fancy iPhones out there in terms of camera quality. Why should that matter? The camera shouldn’t limit my ability to be creative. The best camera is the one you have with you, right? A slight adjustment with a Photoshop app, and voilà!

Deserve

All I had with me was a camera phone on my walk this afternoon when I found this.   I enhanced the color a tad with my PicSay Pro app and voilà!  Since I haven’t mentioned it in a while, if anyone is looking for a good app for your smart phone to do quick, but quality photo editing, PicSay Pro is the way to go.  It far outshines the Photoshop app I found.  I paid about $1.99 a year and a half ago for it.  It may be a tad more now, but it’s worth it.  You can do all the basic editing like adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, etc.  But, you can also layer your photos or use Faux HDR, posterize, pencil sketch, duotone, B&W, sepia, tilt shift, etc. etc. and pick from several borders.

Visit Harris Avenue Cafe

2010 was tough, but a creative gold mine.  I took thousands of photographs this past summer and fall!   I was scheduled to display my work at Harris Avenue Cafe this month, so I had to narrow it down to my 10 favorites.   This was quite the challenge.

After much debate and buying a $5 Home Depot hammer, I nailed my 10 framed choices to their walls.  So, if you happen to be up in Bellingham, Washington…and in the Fairhaven area…and if you happen to be hungry, you should visit Harris Avenue Cafe!   I personally recommend the Eggs Toulouse with smoked salmon.  

Here are the 10 I am displaying.  Which is your favorite and why?  I ask because, as a photographer, I’m always curious as to what moves people. 

Fallen
8×10 Print; $50

Bellingham, Washington

Madrona
8×10 Print; $50
Bellingham, Washington

Magenta
11×14 Print;  $75
Whatcom County

Pursuit
12×18 Print;  $85
Bellingham, Washington

International
12×18 Print; $85
Mount Vernon, Washington

Twisted II
11×14 Print; $75
Bellingham, Washington

Vanishing Point
11×14 Print;  $75
Dublin, Ireland

Rusted
8×10 Print; $50
Bellingham, Washington

Closed Door
11×14 Print; $75
Whatcom County

On Edge
11×14 Print; $75
Sedro Woolley, Washington; Northern State Hospital

You can purchase prints from my website at jolenehanson.com.   If you are interested in any of the above photos, which are already framed and matted, visit my website for contact information.   I am willing to print, frame, and mat any photo of your choice from my galleries.  Canvas prints are also an option (much less expensive if you purchase from me directly than from the website).  

I love doing this stuff!

Village Green

Although it may feel like it, and the snow has been falling already, Autumn hasn’t called it quits yet.   I spotted the Fairhaven Village Green sign on the way to Daphne’s in Fairhaven for hot toddys the other day.   The colors were still so vibrant.  Sometimes the quality of my Motorola DROID camera phone really impresses me. 

This may be the last time to appreciate the colors, though.   More high winds are expected tonight, which will probably clear out the remaining foliage.

A Piece of Dirty Dan

Yesterday afternoon ended with a London Fog from Tony’s Coffee (always done to perfection) and a stroll through the Village Green in Fairhaven where I stopped to read my new book, The House of God by Samuel Shem.   Chapter I of this book made me wonder if medicine is a good field to go into.  The jury is still out on both the book and on medicine. 

As I left the Green, I noticed the accumulation of autumn leaves around the Dirty Dan statue.  Photographing it is way overdone, so I tried to look for a new perspective on it, and decided upon this.   Sometimes, the smallest fraction of an object is more interesting than the whole.  

Camera:  Motorola Droid, 5 mega pixels.
Apps:  PicSay Pro;  I increased the saturation and played with a new feature called Faux HDR and Instant Film.

A Dose of Political Incorrectness for the Weekend

Here is how my mind works.  I was looking at this picture that I took between Boulevard Park and Fairhaven – which reminded me of autumn.  This reminded me of Thanksgiving, which made me think of Indians…erp, Native Americans, which then caused me to free associate over to thoughts of my friend David and a conversation we had one morning on our way to coffee.   

Me:  It’s cold outside, Tonto.

David:  Tonto? 

Me:  Yeah, cause you’re an Indian…

David:  ~rolls eyes~

Me:  When I was in elementary school, we used to sing this song in music class that went like this, “One little two little three little Indians, four little five little six little Indians, seven little eight little nine little Indians, ten little Indian Boys!”

David:  (shocked silence)  Dude, that is so wrong.  We sang it too, but it ended in “ten Indians in a row”.

Me:  In a row for what?

David:  (Shrugs) But, how would it sound if it were “One little two little three little white boys?”

Me:  No one would ever sing that.

David:  Exactly.  And you wouldn’t hear black boys or any other ethnicity either.  Why is it okay to pick on us Natives?

Me:  Good question.  One little two little three little white boys…

David:  ~Rolls eyes again~

The baristas over at the Starbucks in Burlington Fred Meyer probably think we are insane.