Nude With Tree

'Nude With Tree' © 1975 & 2006 - jim otterstrom
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This image was created in Photoshop from a picture I took in 1975 on a grassy hillside beneath a huge oak tree in Woodland Hills, California.

Earth, tree, and human, all one, integral to each other.

Yes, 30 years ago I used to photograph naked women like I do birds, bees, and flowers today, all the same thing really, just the beauty of nature.

I was still in my 20s then, relentlessly creative, indefatigable, and hopelessly enchanted by the graceful form of the opposite sex.

I hope some of you enjoy this little excursion into my artsy-fartsy side today.

20th Century Crucifixion

20th Century Crucifixion

Click on image to enlarge - © 1977 & 2006 jim otterstrom

I took the photograph this image was made from in January of 1977. The location is on a ridge bordering Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles just above Dodger Stadium. The model's name is Janet and we are still friends today.

The photo has been altered in Photoshop and turned upside down for effect.

Here is a vulnerable human female, naked to the world, the weight of that world on her back, as gravity presses her up against the planet and the concrete slab, amidst the backdrop of smoggy sprawl that was Los Angeles 29 years ago.

When I made this image from my original photo a few years back I enhanced the color to suggest the heat of global warming.

The inspiration for this came from Salvadore Dali's 'Christ Of St. John Of The Cross' painting, where Jesus is suspended face down beneath a monolithic cross floating in the sky.

The Digital Paintbrush...

'The Ghost Of Annie' © 1974 & 2006 - jim otterstrom
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This image was created on the computer from a 32 year old (October, 1974) black & white photograph.

Annie is an old girlfriend of mine and the expression on her face in that photo haunted me for a long time after she left. What I finally came to understand was that she was already emotionally gone from our relationship when I took the picture, which explained her distant and vacant stare.

Some years back I scanned the picture into the computer and started tweaking it in Photoshop to see if I could bring out the essence of the moment captured in the very poor quality low contrast photo. After a few hours I came up with this image that I call the "Ghost Of Annie", a depiction of her ethereal presence that still lingers within me somewhere.

I find the computer painting hauntingly beautiful, and maybe just a bit Dali-esque.

We've been getting some winter-like weather so I've been indoors going through some of my old photos and artwork and will be posting more of it in the next couple of days.

Springtime In Big Bear...

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Rain fell lightly all Monday night, and most of yesterday, turning to snow last evening, and we woke up this morning to a couple of inches of new snow.

Happy Hens!

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This weekend was devoted to the chicken yard. We ran a course of 5' wire fencing around the inside of the 4' picket fence which should keep the young hens in the yard now. The old hens never jumped the fence (not since they were youngin's anyway) but a few of our current youngsters are still full of spit & vinegar!

A little snow removal and a couple of fresh bales of alfalfa on the muddy ground make for some happy hens, and when the hens are happy I'm happy. It's these simple things in life that I enjoy the most. Just knowing that a few good hens peck & scratch contentedly in our yard is a comfort.

Good Morning!

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The first Sunday of Spring found us working around substantial mounds of remnant snow to do some spring yard clean-up. The chicken yard fence needed to be heightened because Corrina and a couple of other Black Australorp hens have been flying over it and wreaking havoc in the native plant garden.

And this reminds me that, once again, I must rave about the egg-laying talents of these birds. The chicks we bought last year started laying in September and produced a steady reliable supply of eggs right through the shortest coldest days of winter.

Despite the recent and much appreciated snow our spring fever is growing stronger by the day. Warm daytime temps are melting the snow rapidly, and events like the return of our Violet Green Swallows from somewhere in Central America on this past Thursday, the third day of Spring, have me outside most of the day, so I just haven't been in much of a 'sit at the computer and blog' mood.

Which reminds me that I'm itching to get back outside and play in the dirt!

Later...

In Loving Memory...

Click on photo to enlarge - photo credit unknown
Athena Aspiotes 1989-2005

Posted in loving memory of Athena, our good friend Mike Aspiotes' daughter, who would have been 17 years old today.
She was lost to a car accident this past December 30th,

March Miracle!

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Finally, winter has arrived bringing over two feet of snow to our part of Big Bear. It started snowing Thursday and didn't let up until late last night. Some parts of our yard are under four foot drifts and the picnic table on the deck has nearly two feet piled up.

Snow On The Deck...

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We won't be having lunch on the deck today, but is that beautiful or what?
;~)

Playing In The 'Garden'...

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Dallas demonstrates his love of snow in the yard today.

Signs Of Spring...

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Willow catkins emerging along the shore of Stanfield Marsh on Thursday, March 2, 2006.

For Norene and Clairesgarden, who own the same model camera, this was shot in the manual setting, super-macro mode, f/3.5 at 1/1000th of a second.

...and again

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Same camera settings as above, except the shutter speed was 1/1250th of a second.

Water Attraction!

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A week ago yesterday I cleaned the ice out of the waterfall pond, re-installed the pump, attached the solar panel, and watched this Robin land a few minutes later to take advantage of the refreshing trickle.

I intended to post the photo that day but never got around to it, so here 'tis.

Mmmmmmm...

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A female Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) at one of our suet cages on Saturday.

...and she brought her boyfriend too.

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Snowcone...

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We got another light dusting of snow on Friday as evidenced in this photo taken Saturday morn.

Blue Skies Above Our Rooftop...

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In the snow flurries of Friday, or under these clear blue skies of Saturday, there is much beauty to behold among the pines.

Peace It Together

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This is the quilt we usually have on our bed.
Some years before Peggy retired from the Post Office one of her customers gave her the beautiful "Peace It Together" print that makes up the center section of the quilt (out to the first narrow ivory colored border). Peggy was saving it to use in a quilt when her step-mother, Gladys, who loves quilting, offered to make it for us. That was about 7 years ago, and Gladys, who will be 87 years young this year, is still quilting away (and gardening) in Indiana.
This morning, over the phone, Gladys said her rhubarb is already 3 inches out of the ground.