Snow Vole

A discovery in the snow

The meadow vole

A meeting of the minds

The Cerulean Collective

A group of artists...

... with short attention spans? No, just an example of how long it takes me to get a good portrait.

Tiny Toads

The toads have transmogrified from tadpoles and left their puddle in Vaughan Field.

They blend in well with the gravelly soil near their pool and are hard to see at first.

However, with practice they become easier to spot despite their tiny size.

How tiny?

This tiny.

He Has Risen and Mowed!

I happened to be walking past the City Tomb the other day (yeah, I walk around in cemeteries - got a problem with that?) and noticed the door was open!

Have been raised Catholic, all kinds of iconic images filled my head. But as I approached for a peek, I was disappointed to find only two Craftsmen lawn mowers.

The Big-Gulp cup on the ledge should have been a give away.

Portrait

I'm having a show of my photos at the Harlow Gallery in Maine.


It's a joint show and the other artist, Mike, does more conceptual work. This includes filling one of the front windows of the gallery with trash.



It also includes doing portraits of visitors to the gallery. This afternoon, he did my friend Jude's portrait.


The first moments of a sitting are always a bit tense...


Things loosen up a bit when Jude's dog joins her. But where is the portrait going?


It looks kind of cartoony...


Okay, now it's looking a bit more like Jude.


Wait, what's he doing now? Several silver-haired ladies watching the progress of the portrait gasp and go "tsk-tsk".


Um, okay - I think I see where this is headed.


Mike gets out his fine brushes...


Using a stick to add some white. The silver haired ladies go "oooh".


After 45 minutes, Jude gets her first look.


Jude bolts as Mike says "Wait, let me touch-up that nose a bit!"

Rotate!

Bon is a long-haired German Shepherd.


She's not much of a "trick" dog.


She'll sit and lay down and stay (if she doesn't see something she'd like to investigate).


But she excels at rotating.

Out for a Walk in a Snowstorm

There's something about a red door...


...especially in a snowstorm...


...that makes me want to take a photo.

The Pavemen Cometh

It's a know fact that the asphalt plants in Maine close for the winter on Thanksgiving day. Therefore, the first three weeks of the month of November is macadam madness, as every Mainer who's seen one mud season too many, decides to pony up the big bucks and get their driveway paved before spring!

Steaming asphalt - the way life should be...

It's Polka Time!

Always be careful when you accept a polka lesson.

How to Mortify Your Dog

Photographing Dogs

Good girl Olive! Nellie, Zuni! Sit!


Nellie - back up! Sit! Stay! Zuni! Sit!


Zuni - what are you rolling in? Nellie - come back! Olive? Olive?

A Brief Visit by Comet McNaught

The Model

Okay - so you've got a new lens...


and you want to test it out...


Why does it always have to be me??