Early Summer 2011

Often it is the time spent around, on, and contemplating water wherein I find images that resonate for me. Such is the case here with these photographs taken recently. I'll start with the most recent and work back over the course of a few weeks.

Sailing into the afternoon sunshine...

Bright sunlight, reflective water, dark shadows and the sharp angulation of a sailing vessel ~ all of which are enhanced here with a young woman riding the wave tossed bow of the boat. Really enjoyed bringing this image into focus. One of those moments when you pick up the camera and know the shot in the can is going to be a good one.

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Lake Roosevelt and the Kettle River Range...

The continuous interplay between sky and water often fascinates me. The varying detailed textures of this image caught my eye as the sunset and the clouds changed so too changed the water's surface.

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Watersprite...



I am delighted to have captured this image of the woman and the waterfall. The subject here appears to be communing with the continuous flow of pure water cascading down the moss cover rock face.

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The Sailing Vessel AQUILA and 1st Mate Catherine Brown...



I really like this image for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that Catherine had just run the vessel through her paces in a pre-regatta sea trial during a substantial breeze. Thus seen here she is fully at ease with her vessel and ready for what's to come. The dramatic evening lighting lending to the silhouettes adds to the over-all affect of the composition.

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Three Mergansers lining a log along the waterfront...

Mergansers are some of the most intriguing of the waterfowl. Not only do their distinctive appearance set them apart from other aquatic birds but their behavioral patterns are also unique. From the perch aboard our vessel we have watched a swimming flock on Mergansers hunting as a pack, curving their approaching line to trap small fish against the shore line and taking turns diving into the trapped fish. Here they are at rest upon a floating log as the morning sun warms and drys their fluffed feathers.

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A cluster of sailboats crossing the starting line of a regatta race...

The shape of a vessel under sail is something I find pleasing to the eye. The concept of harnessing the wind to travel has led to this ancient practice amongst humans. Technology changes the equipment and design but the movement and reflection of boats in the water remain the same.

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Crescent moon reflected in the lake...

This simple image captured my attention and became a photograph while we sat aboard watching the start populate the evening sky. Often I find myself drawn to simple compositions of light and dark with shadows in between...

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Northern Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, the Columbia River, NE Washington State...



It was the pastel colors of this dawning day which caught my attention and led to the creation of the photographic image. A calm body of water and the promise of a new summer's day. Doesn't get much better.

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Storm Cloud Sunset...

I've chose this one to close with as I find it to be a powerful image. As a firefighter, sailor and outdoors photographer the weather is not far out of focus for me at any given time. When nature gives one of her brief showings like these few moments were I am always thankful to be there to capture it. 

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Nautical Art from 2009 Cruise...

It has been a few months since I've posted to the FIREWATER IMAGES blog. Fire season has ended along with the passing of summer, an autumn, which distinctly has the feel of winter, has begun, and I've completed a month long cruise on my 30 sailboat. It is that cruise which has provided the images presented here.
I've been working in the FIREWATER blog and have posted the story of the cruise and many more photographs there. All told over 1,500 images were shot over the course of the month long cruise. About half of what I'd really like to have. The 12 part installments of the cruise used approximately a hundred of those photos. Here I offer the twelve photographic images, which through their composition, use of light, subject matter and energy, passed the test and can stand as independant photographs.
GULLS ON DOCK, NEWCASTLE ISLAND, NANAIMO B.C.
I was delighted to find this image in the camera. Of course I had taken a number of shots with this curious gull searching the docks. Patience paid off as the bird walked further onto the dock it's shadow appeared on the hull of CANNIBAR, the sailing vessel moored adjacent to us. The crisp lines of the vessels brightwork, white hull and triangle of blue water all add to the overall composition of this image.
If you've followed the FIREWATER blog and the cruise some of these images will be familiar but not this one entitled SUNSET OVER CANADIAN GULF ISLANDS. There was another photograph of this sunset with the Patos Lighthouse that I used in the story since it fit so well. Yet I knew this picture was special. It may be the best sunset shot I've had the pleasure of capturing. That warm, red glow almost kissing the water in the center of the image in the distance against a far island really makes this shot work.

This image SAILING THRU PEAVINE PASSAGE, SAN JUAN ISLANDS captured the feel of the late summer, early morning passage which we were making that day. There is a texture to the water, the mists, the landscapes and morning sunlight that inter-acts together rendering this image and setting it apart from the rest of the photographs of that day.


SCULPTED SANDSTONE OF PATOS ISLAND; again it is the textures that pull me into this photograph. Thousands of years in the making this twisted, contorted, scuplted rock is facinating subject material. Wind and waves over the course of time is the true artist here. I am fortunate enough just to have been there, seen it and taken the photograph.
The artwork of the Salish people has always facinated me. The recodring and telling of stories in such strong imagery...

TO BE CONTINUED SOON Saturday, 11.07.09 Foster

Nautical Art - part 1

I am a sailor. Having been born on the biggest island of the U.S. eastern seaboard seems to have deposited a certain amount of 'salt' in my blood. While I have lived in the dry areas of Texas, Colorado, & Arizona there was always an underlying call to the water. To quote a favorite character, "There is nothing, absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." And that is the point of focus with the visual journey forthcoming - a passion for all things nautical.
















"The Adventuress" above, is image #1 in this series. It was nothing short of delightful to cross paths with the 136 foot, gaff rigged, schooner Adventuress as she ghosted across Haro Straits between the western shores of Canada & the U.S.A. Built in 1913, and recently restored, she is listed as a National Historic Landmark (see link below).









The photograph above; "Trawler", image #2, has been in my collection many years. Taken in 1999, on a foggy day, during a late September cruise through British Columbia's Desolation Sound, it has ghosted back & forth through both my basement darkroom and my digital darkroom. I was never satisfied with the results, until recently that is. This, the final edition of the rendering process of this photo, has finally captured the image my eye 'saw' on the misty day of the photograph. This may be the longest period of time I have had an image on the drafting table. And in the end - I really enjoy the results. See link below for Desolation Sound.











Image #3 entitled "Pilothouse" is a photographed created in 2001. Anchored in a cove off the norwest shore of Matia Island in the Pacific NW San Juan Islands this home-built, wooden classic caught my eye as the afternoon summer sun settled over Sucia Island (in the background). It's one of those shots I wish I knew who the owner is so I could give him or her a copy. See link below for Matia Island State Park.






There are times when the world is yours...
When a single breath fills your existence. A time when the whisper of wavelets curling on a clean, gravel shoal is your sound track. I love those moments and so does the subject on this beach on the west side of Clark Island in the San Juan Island group. Photo #4, above, is titled "Beach Time".


Photograph #5 is titled after the name of the sailing vessel, "Grace". Owned and piloted by my dear friend Marjean, the SV Grace is a 1965 Islander seen here motorsailing her way across the Strait of Georgia north of Nanamio B.C. I recall that when this photo came out of the can I danced around delighted in how that magical light had been captured on film. Now having undergone scanning and a very light rendering there is an even greater feel of the mysteries of crossing a large body of water on a small boat.






"Into the Mists" above, rendered photograph #6 is another of those rare shots that happen if you are in the right place at the right time and ready to engage a camera. This vessel was crossing my path as I solo sailed across the sometimes notorious Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we came close to crossing the skipper of this boat turned parallel to my course and soon vanished into the mists. With nearly 20 miles of open water in front of us not to mention a busy shipping traffic lane, I wondered if he was lost, or disoriented. Not once did I hear a fog horn from this vessel.







A visual break from the vessels, this landscape, above, on the southern point of Clark Island with Lummi Island in looming dark in the background and Mount Baker and the Cascade Range in the left quarter of the photo. Represents a classic San Juan Island view. It is #7 of this series.


I'll close this series with a piece entitled "Gull in Flight". A photograph taken from the deck of a good friend's custom pilothouse motorsailor Chak Chak. On an early spring cruise several years ago.

So ends the first series of Nautical Art on the Firewater Images site. Hope you enjoyed the show and will check in later for more.
Foster

The sailing vessel Adventuress:
http://www.soundexp.org/index.php?page=history

Desolation Sound B.C. Canada:
http://www.google.com/archivesearch?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS245US245&q=desolation+sound&um=1&ie=UTF-8&scoring=t&ei=G-bKScO5IYKOsQPq9NmgCg&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&resnum=10&ct=title
Matia Island State Park:
http://www.stateparks.com/matia_island.html

Clark Island State Park:
http://www.stateparks.com/clark_island.html

Strait of Georgia:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/230264/Strait-of-Georgia