Harold Davis's Blog, page 94
January 12, 2018
A Sunset and Two Camellias
This year, 2018, has been a little sparse for me photographically so far (but see Red Tulips and New Year’s Day Design). I think of this as a “pause that refreshes” after the whirlwind that 2017 was for me, with some exciting plans for 2018!
I’ll discuss an additional reason for this sparseness, and also outline some of my 2018 plans, below a few images I have made already this year. One is a sunset from Indian Rock looking out towards San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate. But instead of the expected landmarks, what you see are bare branches, with the sunset behind. The other two images are of camellias in our garden, photographed using the Lensbaby 85mm f/1.6. We have an old-fashioned camellia bush that always flowers right around my birthday in January (lucky me!).
Sunset in Winter © Harold Davis
Birthday Camellia © Harold Davis
Camellia © Harold Davis
In my New Year’s Greeting, I wrote “with the world standing on the knife’s edge of authoritarianism, it is important to remember that a kindly civilization that values people and their differences is ultimately better for everyone. To paraphrase John Donne, no one is an island apart, and when one person is diminished so are we all. For the sake of our children and our children’s children, we should not passively accept a world that is less than it can be.”
I believe this fairly anodyne message is worth repeating because it brought me hate emails, and folks who wanted off my email lists. So I am herewith doubling down. As a patriot, and someone who loves his country, I cannot be silent, because silence is being complicit and borders on collaboration. I am entitled to my viewpoint on the events of our times and the festering evil of our “not my President.” I am prepared to accept that there are divergent viewpoints, but if someone cannot accept mine then I don’t want them on my email lists or in my workshops.
Here are some of my plans for 2018: In April I will be leading a small group of photographers in the southwest of France. Following this destination workshop I am going to spend some time solo walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. From Santiago de Compostela, I’ll head to Menorca as one of the Masters for PhotoPills Camp.
In June, I’ll be leading the only session of Photographing Flowers for Transparency in 2018 here in Berkeley, California (there are still a few spaces left).
In August, I’ll again to Maine to teach a week of garden photography at Maine Media, then to Germany to teach once more in beautiful Heidelberg.
Also please keep in mind the Dark of the Moon night photography workshop in the eastern Sierra (in September, with a few spaces left).
I also want to highlight my early November destination photo tour to the ancient country of Malta in the southern Mediterranean.
My full upcoming Workshops & Events calendar can be found here.
January 5, 2018
Red Tulips
Flowers are beautiful, and the blossoms are always special! But sometimes the stems and leaves are what creates a special composition, and provides the underlying structure and musical harmony that makes it all possible.
Red Tulips © Harold Davis
Tulips on Black © Harold Davis
Some other images where the stems and leaves are vital to the composition: Salutation to the Sun; Tulips on White; Iris Friends; and last (but not least) Frilly Tulip (shown below, from early 2016 and never blogged).
Frilly Tulip © Harold Davis
January 3, 2018
New Year’s Day Design
I spent part of my day on January 1, 2018 making a floral design on a light box while listening to Bob Dylan (still hard to think of him as a Nobel-prize laureate!). Phyllis helped me separate Alstromeria petals by color and shape, and I arranged the petals in concentric rings around an Asiatic Lily. This is somewhat the same idea as A Palette of Petals.
Ring Theory on Black © Harold Davis
Ring Theory on White © Harold Davis
January 1, 2018
Registration is now open: Dark of the Moon Night Photography
Registration is now open for Dark of the Moon Night Photography in the Eastern Sierra with Harold Davis and Steven Christenson. September 7-10, 2018. Meets in Lone Pine, CA. Space is limited. Registration: https://www.meetup.com/Harold-Davis/events/244904313/
More info and registration via Meetup (enrollment is now open, but space is very limited!).
Registration is now open: Photographing Flowers for Transparency with Harold Davis
Registration is now open for Photographing Flowers for Transparency with Harold Davis, June 23-24 2018, in Berkeley, CA. Space is limited. Registration via Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Harold-Davis/events/243890530/
This will be only session of the Photographing Flowers for Transparency with Harold Davis workshop in calendar 2018 anywhere in the world. Info and registration via Meetup (enrollment is now open, but space is very limited!).
December 27, 2017
Happy New Year from Harold Davis and family
Our very best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous, and creative 2018 from our family to yours!
For a somewhat less anodyne New Year’s message: with the world standing on the knife’s edge of authoritarianism, it is important to remember that a kindly civilization that values people and their differences is ultimately better for everyone. To paraphrase John Donne, no one is an island apart, and when one person is diminished so are we all. For the sake of our children and our children’s children, we should not passively accept a world that is less than it can be.
December 26, 2017
A Palette of Petals
On Christmas Day, the guests had left. The presents were unwrapped and enjoyed. OK, I admit I’d heard the yodeling pickle (a gag gift that Julian got for Mathew) one too many times. The chocolate coins had been unwrapped and demolished. The kids headed for their headsets and computer games of galactic conquest.
Floral Mandala on Black © Harold Davis
In the peace that descended, I got out my light box and placed it on a low table in the living room. Phyllis helped me work through two bunches of Alstromeria, gently taking the petals off the flowers, and separating the petals into four categories.
Floral Mandala on White © Harold Davis
With my “palette of petals,” I arranged the mandala shape shown here. Nicky and Mathew helped me carefully lift the light box to the floor. With the added height I was now able to obtain, I photographed the composition with my Zeiss 55mm Otus using my Nikon D850, and processed a blend of photos for high-key HDR. The white floral mandala that resulted is shown immediately above.
Taking the image on white, I used an L-channel inversion in Photoshop’s LAB color to place the mandala on a black background, as shown at the beginning of this story.
Happy holidays to one and all, and may good will reign privately and publicly!
December 24, 2017
Romanian Portraits in Black & White
Alone © Harold Davis
Woman with Bucket © Harold Davis
Gypsy Boy © Harold Davis
Portrait of a Gypsy © Harold Davis
Roma Man © Harold Davis
December 23, 2017
Seasons Greetings from Harold Davis & Family
We wish you a great holiday season, and may prosperity and the light of creativity shine forth for you in the coming year. Peace and goodwill to all!
Check out my “Best of 2017” by clicking here!
December 22, 2017
Harold Davis—My Best of 2017
Any compilation of one’s best work for a given time frame has to be somewhat arbitrary. With 2017, for me this is particularly the case. Once again, I’ve been at home abroad, and abroad at home (the latter particularly the case considering the illness in our body politic).
More specifically and geographically, I’ve spent time and photographed in Budapest, the Eastern Sierras, France, Maine, Majorca, Malta, New York City, Romania, and Vietnam (as well as in my studio, of course). Most of these places are well-represented in my archives from the year. But with all of my peregrination, I’ve hardly had the chance to look through, let alone edit, my work—and of course there is also a great deal of variety in subject matter and approach. I’ve made an eclectic selection based on my personal taste; you may prefer one kind of my imagery to another, and that of course is your privilege.
In case you are interested in learning more about the context of an individual photo, with many of these images, I wrote a blog story fairly contemporaneously with the photography. Where there is a blog story, which is much of the time, I’ve linked to it, below the image. (Images that I haven’t written about have a title below in italics that isn’t linked.) In cases where I have series of related images, I’ve typically only presented one of the images; if you want to see others in the series, you can click the link below the image.
The images are presented chronologically by date posted, which translates with some variations to more-or-less chronological order in terms of when made, starting in January 2017.
Cherry Branches © Harold Davis
On the Brooklyn Bridge © Harold Davis
White Rose with a Blush 2 © Harold Davis
Long Bien Bridge © Harold Davis
Thap Rua (Turtle Tower) © Harold Davis
Mountains near Meo Vac © Harold Davis
Lady in a Local Market © Harold Davis
Scale and Wonderment © Harold Davis
Portals © Harold Davis
Han River, Danang © Harold Davis
Entrance to the Warlord’s Palace © Harold Davis
Entrance to the Warlord’s Palace
Garland © Harold Davis
Hang En Campsite © Harold Davis
Hang En Campsite
Nets in Halang Bay © Harold Davis
Perigueux Cathedral © Harold Davis
Tables and Chairs, Valletta © Harold Davis
Blue Grotto, Malta, from above © Harold Davis
Blue Grotto from Above
Valletta © Harold Davis
Sea Cliffs of Gozo © Harold Davis
Sea Cliffs of Gozo
Sapa © Harold Davis
Matilija Poppies – Variation II © Harold Davis
Flower Petals © Harold Davis
Mariposa Lily © Harold Davis
Mariposa Lily
Bouquet of Neighborhood Flowers © Harold Davis
Bouquet of Neighborhood Flowers
Design for a Stained Glass Window © Harold Davis
Design for a Stained Glass Window Made of Flowers
Pink Peony © Harold Davis
Wisteria Leaves © Harold Davis
Wisteria Leaves
Purple Succulent © Harold Davis
Purple Succulent Flower
Magical Floral Medley © Harold Davis
Magical Floral Medley
Son Doong Cave © Harold Davis
Gone to Seed 1 Monochrome on Black © Harold Davis
Summer Experiment 2 © Harold Davis
Summer Experiment 2
Mooring Lines, Rockport Harbor © Harold Davis
Mooring Lines, Rockport Harbor
Pink Dahlia © Harold Davis
Disturbance in the Force © Harold Davis
Disturbance in the Force
Fireworks in Budapest © Harold Davis
Budapest Apartments © Harold Davis
Sunrise in Rural Romania © Harold Davis
Alone © Harold Davis
Portrait of a Gypsy © Harold Davis
Bran Castle © Harold Davis
Umbrellas over Bucharest © Harold Davis
Nucleus 1 (on Black) © Harold Davis
Tulips and Lobelias © Harold Davis
Blue Danube © Harold Davis
Hunedoara Castle © Harold Davis
LAB Rose © Harold Davis
LAB Rose
Floral Composition © Harold Davis
Chorus of One © Harold Davis
A Simple Twist of Fate 5 © Harold Davis
Inside the White Rose © Harold Davis
Inside the White Rose
Rose Eye © Harold Davis
Rose Eye
Lonely Road © Harold Davis
Lonely Road
Autumn Poplars © Harold Davis
Under the Sheltering Sky © Harold Davis
How Long Must Eye Wait? © Harold Davis
Grizzly Falls © Harold Davis
Down in the Valley © Harold Davis
Petals of the Rainbow © Harold Davis
Spitfire Lily © Harold Davis
Spitfire Lily
Stars of Petals on Black Variation 6 © Harold Davis
Stars of Petals on Black Variation 6
Mottled-leaf Paphiopedilum © Harold Davis
Amaryllis Unfurling © Harold Davis
Yellow Tulips on Black © Harold Davis
Yellow Tulips on Black
So it begins © Harold Davis
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking through some of my images from 2017. If you are interested in comparing 2017’s crop with previous years, you can check out:
Best of 2016
Best of 2015
Best of 2014
Best of 2013
