Photographic meanderings

I make a really mean hot buttered rum. How mean is it? It’s the kind of mean you want on your side. Today was my seventh consecutive day in a row working, which means that I am going to have a kick-tuchas pay check come January 8th. It also means that I may possibly be working for 9 days in a row, and possibly even longer! But what it means right now is that I was tired and sore and cold when I got back to my little closet-room. After shucking the heavy boots, peeling off the uniform and turning up the heat, first order of business was to fire up the tiny drip-coffee maker with some plain water.

Then I went outside and had a smoke with the Highland court denizens around a lovely warm briquet fire, emptied my gigantic coffee mug, and recounted old Navy/Army/Marine stories with the old codgers.

Back inside, my little melita coffee maker chugged and gurgled, and when I returned I had a small carafe of very hot water.

A teaspoon of real butter, a double-spoonful of dark brown sugar, a splash of rum. Are you paying attention? We’re almost at the sekrit ingredient. Pay attention!

Rum is important. For choice, I prefer Pyrat, or Goslings. Captain Morgan Spiced Rum will do in a pinch, especially when the nearest place to get Pyrat or Goslings is 2-5 hours drive away. It should be dark rum.

OK, so I’ve got my coffee mug with the dollop of butter, two dollops of dark brown sugar, and a healthy splash of dark rum. Add the hot water, and stir briskly until the butter is melted.

Still paying attention? Here it comes, the sekrit ingredient: A sprinkle of “Garam Masala” spice mixture from Whole Foods.

Sip slowly. It will erase the aches and pains of the day. Ahhhh…bliss. Happy New Year, everybody!

No clue what RSS, ATOM, or WTFBBQ mean? Don’t despair! Now you can subscribe to View From The Little Red Tent via plain ol’ email! Take a look on the right side, and you’ll see a handy link that will ask you to provide your email addy. Not to worry! I PROMISE I will only use my powers for good, and not for nasty spam. Cross my heart.

ARbitrarily chosen favorites from 2009. Enjoy!

It’s Christmas Eve here at The Little Red Tent, I’ve got a full day of work ahead of me. Tonight I’ll pop my bottle of champagne-style sparkling wine with friends, and then possibly do some night photography.

Here’s an image I made at Carmel Mission in 2007. Starting next year, I hope to do a lot more black and white images.

No matter what you celebrate, please do so responsibly. May the new year bring you joy and prosperity, and may we have peace on earth.

If you’re not familiar with TED talks, they are remarkable people giving 15 minute talks; They’re taped, and then put up on the web for free access. This particular TED talk is by David Griffin, Director of Photography for National Geographic.

Griffin begins by showing some of the great photos from National Geographic; The first is of the Afghan refugee girl, by Steve Curry. He notes that National Lampoon is going to parody National Geographic, and he dreads what they will do with this photo.

Take 15 minutes to watch this fascinating talk on photo journalism. It might make you a better photographer.

Digital photography has really become an art form; The creative possibilities are seemingly endless. With the advent of personal computers, GIMP/Photoshop, and affordable digital SLR cameras, photography has experienced a huge boom. Some of it is pure dreck. Some, however, is pure platinum.

Enter today’s blog; Brooke Shaden is a young woman who uses her own body as her model, and presents captivating, intriguing, thoughtful images.

The images border on erotic at times, troubling at others. They reach into our childhoods, into our pasts, and into our bookshelves; Red Riding Hood wanders in a sodden cloak through a swamp, basket lost along with her clothes. Sylvia Plath appears with her head in a cupboard instead of an oven, and a strange fruit brings to mind a story by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Persephone emerges from the Underworld in her nightgown holding (and dropping) a crop of oranges. Brooke presses her upper body against a wall, her hand flung over her shoulder, dribbling chocolate syrup down her swayed and curved back. I have to remind myself not to lick my computer screen.

Ms. Shaden draws on subconscious archetypes, whether she knows it or not. How I would love to work with her, to witness the process of creating one of these images from inception to birth.

What a remarkable talent, definitely worth adding to your RSS feed reader.

http://shadenproductions.com/blog/

ATOM feed to her blog.

BrookeShaden on Flickr

As a resident of Yosemite, I am fortunate to meet extraordinary people who also have a deep connection with this place. This ongoing series is meant to spotlight remarkable people who’ve had a positive impact on my life in this glorious park.

Twitter has introduced me to all sorts of folks here in Yosemite. One such person is Jeffrey Trust, a ranger here in Yosemite who usually is up late at night, chasing bears out of Housekeeping Camp. For a brief time this year, though, he was the stand-in supervisor for the Interpretive program, and I had a chance to meet up with him when another Twitter friend showed up to visit for a day.

Jeffrey writes a fascinating blog, but updates it far too seldom. He’s also addicted to chocolate.

They don’t stay on all the time like incandescent lights do!

Loyde Schutte has been writing the inimitable Yosemiteblog.com since before I arrived here in Yosemite in May of 2005. Although he doesn’t live in Yosemite, his intense focus on the park is remarkable. He once remarked to me that he turned down a programming job in Seattle (was it for Microsoft?) because it would have meant moving away from Yosemite.

Loyd is going to be self employed at the start of 2010, once again giving up a job to remain close to the park.

I am always delighted when one of my images makes it to his Picture of the Day; Loyd’s taste in photography is good, and I’m always flattered when he includes my work.

Loyd is married, and has two small children. You can follow him on Twitter either as @LoydSchutte or as @THEYosemiteblog

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending a holiday concert at the Ahwahnee; Andrea Daniel was one of the performers, and had a voice like an angel. Thank you so much for the wonderful music, Ms. Daniel!