For all those who were wondering were Pete Downs has been in the past few days wonder no more.. I have had Pete slavishly working on his portfolio, well maybe his bio. I would like to welcome Pete as the artist of the month for July. It is appropriate on two levels Pete’s has been one of the greatest supporters of artist in the challenge so it is only right we support him but more importantly than that his work deserves the exposure. Please trip on over to Pete’s pages and have a look http://home.cogeco.ca/~challenge/ArtistinResidence.html — Grant
Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.
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Same goes for me. When I joined in, Pete was amongst the first to welcome me! His pictures are beautifull, beaches and the sun.. Can’t wait for vacation time!
Congratulations Pete. Shall we call you Sir as of now? 😉
Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.
Pete, These are great ! Can’t believe you told me you had nothing to show or say. I loved every bit of it. BTW, I think you look prrrrty in that suit 😉
Pete, congratulations! Your love for nature and the beauty that surrounds you are very apparent…beautiful sunsets! And, of course, the humor you bring to the Challenge always adds something special!
I would also like to add my humble congratulations and hooray for this well deserved honor. Have viewed your gallery and enjoyed. It shows more of the type of person you are than I think you know. The birds show you love for gentleness, the sunsets show beauty, the stampede shows strength, and many, your sense of humor. All of us here can appreciate you help and participation in this forum. It is great people such as yourself that make this such a nice place to visit.
You know there was a comedian about a decade ago that made a whole routine about his name….Ray. Ever hear of him? "You can call me Ray,… or you can call e Jay.." was part of it.
Very Good!!… Its been years since I heard him. I don’t think he ever came up with another routine that was even close to that one.
Pete (and Ray): Here’s a link to let you hear the "You Can Call Me Ray" routine in all its glory….(click on The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour) http://www.tvparty.com/variety2.html
Pete, Lighthouse pages ?? Yours or the challenge entries ?
Sorry i have not been around. I haven’t been in my ‘happy’ place this past week and I’m trying to deal with it. From past experiences I tend to ‘hide’ during these times. I say what i have to and do what i have to but spriritually i’m away, lost, fallen. Trying to dig myself out, again.
Pete – I really like the bird pics – what sort of equipment (particularly lens) do you need to get those sort of images? – apart from patience and talent that is!
Susan, What equipment? Seriously and joking at the same time..whatever was handy!
Most all the pictures were taken with a 35 mm Nikon N70 with a 28-80 and usually set to around 50 to get the best out of that lens. Some, like the Osprey flying from the nest were shot with a 70-300 zoom set to the max (No tripod handy so I was laying over my car and "hugging" that lens as tight as I could). But the "bird in the wave" was shot with a Fuji 35mm point and shoot I happened to be carrying on the beach that day 🙂
I find myself using aperture priority a lot at the beach to get more background….. and regret that when I see a bird. I seem to recall the gull in flight was shot with an automatic "action" setting and the Great Blue Heron a shutter priority (he was flying slow enough to get a lock on him)
Over there a walk on a sandy beach at first light and making the first footprints of the day is so very invigorating.
Very true, and at least we have many less people on the beach around here. I didn’t go walking yesterday because last 4th of July I went for a two mile walk and passed almost ten people–much too crowded on holidays. 😉
Crowded and…. noisy! That was great last night, and I did not mind the last month of celebrating by exploding things and/or burning them…. but tonight this constant banging, whistling, and the scent of burnt gunpowder in the air is bothering my concentration. Will this ever end? I am thinking no because all the stands that sell the fireworks are having half price sales!! Tomorrow we can expect twice as much:(
But at least all the snowbirds are gone…Ahhh, six months of peace (and being able to easily find a parking space:) Now only the occasional elderly driver going the wrong way down the street:) But that is OK; they will be going only 13 mph and easy to "sidestep".
Ah well, Pete. When I lived in Miami they celebrated EVERYTHING with fireworks, or more. My apartment building had a list of rules for the holidays that included things like "bag your tree before you trash it," and "Don’t fire rifles in hallways or on balconies."
<<"Don’t fire rifles in hallways or on balconies.">>
LMAO ROTF 🙂
That is hilarious. I lived in Youngstown Ohio in the "glory" days there and it was quite similar. Talking about which ankle holster was the best was a common barroom topic of conversation:) (How the He** did I survive those days?)
On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 20:31:28 -0700, "Barbara Brundage" wrote:
Ah well, Pete. When I lived in Miami they celebrated EVERYTHING with fireworks, or more. My apartment building had a list of rules for the holidays that included things like "bag your tree before you trash it," and "Don’t fire rifles in hallways or on balconies."
Your images were lovely. I have always admired your entries in the Challenges for the original content. Thank you for sharing your creations, I will go back to your gallery for a longer visit but wanted to be the first to say…
Congratulations on being selected as Artist of the month. Grant must have knack for picking the most talented and pleasant folks for that honor. Or is it just obvious. Toured your wonderful gallery and found it to be quite pleasant. I to share the love of dogs large or small. Horses are really amazing creatures and make great photo subjects. You must also have a talent for writing. Read your bio twice and find that I want to read it again because it is so well done. Maybe you should consider writing as an extention of your talents.
I’m glad that Grant posted this accolade that got my attention, because as a "newbie", I wasn’t aware of the "artist of the month."
I want to say that not only did I enjoy reading your bio (you have the gift of the written word)—but your photo gallery is wonderful. It is full of the "warm & fuzzy" type photography that signifies that family–(both the two and four-legged variety) are very important to you. I so much appreciate those types of photos.
Can’t decide between the "step-mom one" and the "I love you grandma" for my favorite. I also enjoy your entries in the challenge, plus we have similiar "no peek"work styles.
Congratulations all around Marilyn, for all of your fine work!
Thank you, thank you–Grant, Pete, Nancy, Marty, Terry, and Jodi–for both your nice comments on my pictures and on my "mini-novel," and for all I’ve learned from each of you over the past several months. It’s also been very entertaining, I might add, reading your back and forth chats on the forum covering everything from Art to Zen! Really makes my week.
Pete’s beautiful beach scenes and waterbirds are a hard act to follow. I told Grant that he should link up my gallery to a Midi file to add some pizazz to my pictures, but he didn’t take me up on all that extra work 🙂
Marty, the little girl in the scruffy shoes is my sister, Vaunda. We’ve both added a few years since that picture was taken, as well as the picture of me in my "commando" hat 🙂
I was a little apprehensive when I saw I was making my debut along with the battle scene Challenge ;} so thanks for taking the time to write. Always appreciate everyone’s encouragement.
Patty – Looks like I was writing while you were writing, so missed you on my previous post. My immediate family has become quite small (you’ve seen about half of them on my gallery), so perhaps I treasure them all the more for that.
I think by "no peek" work style, you mean that we don’t take a look at other pictures before posting our own. Let me know if I misunderstood. I guess if I had to describe my "picture" style to someone, I’d have to call it a button-down-collar style, more graphical than fine art–kind of like me 🙂
I can tell by your pictures that you, too, love our fine four-legged members of the family. It’s nice that the Challenge gives us the opportunity to include them for others to see from time to time.
I’m glad you discovered the Featured Artist link. Just wish you could have seen Pete’s pictures which preceded mine. They were awesome–beautiful beach sunsets and close-up pictures of shore birds and birds in flight as well as some of his past Challenge entries, both funny and serious.
I appreciate very much your comments on my "bio" and on my pictures. Thank you!
Last night I went to bed early and I missed all the important things. Congratulations!! Those are wonderful pictures and a great bio. Also, I feel honored to be mentioned in there. Again, cheerful congratulations!
Marilyn, here i am again, listen, the second one..the harnessed work horses..that image could win awards ! It’s perfect in every way shape and form. ‘mazing !
I agree. The second one, the horses, really stands out. Indeed it could be an award winning image. Nice composition and an exceptional good choice of the background colour.
Jodi and Leen – How very nice of you both to say what you did about my draft team picture! I took the original photo at a local parade–it had a background of trees, pavement, and the tailend of a car. I’m so glad you liked my edited picture :):) Thanks!
Juergen – I’ve always thought your pictures had such extraordinarily rich colors and great composition. You create wonderful scenes! And thanks for the pronunciation of your surname in the Challenge 25 thread. Now when I tell people to check out your pictures, I will pronounce both your first and last names correctly (or pretty close anyway 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to look at my pictures and for writing. I appreciate it.
Ray – The picture of the lighthouse with my father’s mother when she was a young lady will always be one of my favorites. I thought she was quite beautiful; she stands so tall and straight, just like the lighthouse. I’m so glad you liked it, too.
Barbara – The panoramic mountain view on the bottom of the third page was taken from the south-facing slope of Grand Mesa in Western Colorado. It is part of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, is 10,000 ft. high, and it is reputed to be the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. The top is covered by alpine meadows, blue spruce, and approximately 200 lakes, many of which you have to walk to. The sides are blanketed in aspen, changing to oak brush and then to juniper/cedar as you go down. My mother and sister live in the green valley towards the top of the picture in a small town fittingly called Cedaredge. I live around the corner of the Grand Mesa in a larger city about 60 miles from here. The bluish mountains in the background are the West Elks, which is also a fitting name as there are a lot of elk, as well as mule deer, bear, and other wonderful wildlife, that call that area home. We feel privileged to have this beautiful country in our backyard!
Thanks for writing and for looking at my pictures!
Chuck – I, too, love my Canon A-1 camera, even though by today’s digital standards, it weighs a ton 🙂 I use only print film, used to be Kodak Gold 400 which they renamed to MAX. I haven’t yet purchased a digital camera; we have one at the office that I use for employee ID’s, equipment inventory, etc. But I find the delay time from focus to snapshot to be difficult to get used to, unless you are taking posed pictures or a picture of a router. Also, for horse photos, you need to be able to adjust your lens to specific focal lengths to avoid the huge head (an absolute no-no for Arabians) or tiny hindquarters (an absolute no-no for Quarterhorses); and each view requires a different length. Can’t afford a $1500 digital camera body 🙂
Appreciate your writing and your comments. I always enjoy reading your contributions to the forum.
Chris – Thank you. I really look forward to your Challenge "originals." I will always be looking for more hidden creatures 🙂
And thank you for being a good sport with my Elements totem pole balancing act. It’s nice that you enjoy a bit of fun. By the way, your new Artist pic is neat. Another original!
(I would have anyway) but since there is only a few pages of challenge pictures I have gone back to your gallery a few times.
…….The crack in the rock (guy on top of mountain), I think I would have an uncontrollable urge to "lean" back towards what looks to be solid ground if you know what I mean:)
Pete – The man on the cracked rock is a picture of my husband when he worked at the Grand Canyon as a mule guide and packer. He had ten years of experience looking down over those 500-foot drop-offs. In the old days, everything had to be packed on the backs of green mules to Phantom Ranch, about 8 miles down the trail at the bottom of the Canyon. In order to avoid hikers, the packers left the canyon rim around midnight when it was so dark you couldn’t even see the last mule in your string. You developed a good "feel" for where the trail was 🙂 "Everything" included groceries, hay and grain for the mules, fuel oil, heating stoves, building materials, and even camera gear when "Brighty of the Grand Canyon" was filmed there.
By the way, don’t believe the stories that the bottom of the canyon is toasty warm in the winter. I was down there one February when the Colorado River was almost entirely frozen over and the temperature never got above 12 degrees. Sitting on mules, our feet in the stirrups were dragging in the snow when we left the canyon rim. The mules are shod in the winter with long caulks (metal spikes)on the heels to give them grip on the slippery trail. Fortunately, mules are very sure footed and no dude rider has ever been lost.
The Grand Canyon is an awesome place; and there is no better way to see it, in my opinion, than from the back of a trusty mule.
Oh Marilyn is a super fantastic artist ! Every week we are embraced with her natural emanation of talent. Her place here is justified with highest regards.
The Grand Canyon! What a wonderful job your husband had. We took the 2 week rafting trip 9 years ago, and did a lot of hiking there too. What a wonderful and beautiful place. I did take some pictures with the disposable cameras, and here is one, as you say, ‘Looking Down’. <http://www.pbase.com/image/3618720> I was holding onto my husband’s hand when I took it. Jane
I know how hard it is to get a decent image of a horse, lord knows I have created many deformed monstrosities, but you excel at this difficult task! My tour around your site was very rewarding and I always look forward to your Challenges as you definitely have a unique, cool style.
At the end or each month it is almost a shame to take down the Resident Artist, as they are so beautiful. Maybe if I created a new space … but then it would not be an Artist of the Month. Marilyn Lee has been the reigning artist for August and you do have a bit of time to still enjoy her fine work. Very well done Marilyn Lee and thank you for supplying us with your very fine images.
Tomorrow we will have a new Artist and it is a bit of a change so I do hope you like it.
Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.
And "Thanks" Jodi, Jane, Nancy, and Grant (and to everyone else who wrote earlier) for all the nice comments and for your support. It was fun being the Resident Artist for the month of August. I look forward to seeing the pictures of the September Artist and all those to come. There are so many talented people who take part in the Challenges. It is a wonderful place to not only have fun but to learn new techniques and to widen one’s "idea" horizons.
Jane – The view looking down at the rafts (as pictured in your link) is the same one you get sitting on a mule with your left foot and stirrup swinging out over emptiness as you traverse the River Trail leading to the swinging bridge over the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon is a thrill no matter how you experience it–on foot, from a raft, or from a saddle.
I just wanted to take a moment and say once again how much I enjoyed your gallery. I’m looking forward to seeing your work in the challenges to follow.
Again, I have been moved by sincere appreciation for your thoughful direction and execution of the Challenge. Your accomplished masterminding and single handed implementation of a cyber realm has given so much pleasure to so many of us. I feel honored to be part of this exceptional group. Thank you so very much Grant.
* ****I am standing and clapping wildly in recognition of a very special man*****
Thank you are so kind with your praise. I often forget my role in this Challenge as I feel so privileges that so may fine artist want to take part in the Challenge. In my mind it is the artist that deserve the lions share of the praise. Once again thank you for your kind words.
On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 05:42:39 -0700, "Grant Dixon" wrote:
Grant wrote in part to Nancy (?):>
Thank you are so kind with your praise. I often forget my role in this Challenge………………………………
Like everyone else here, I truly appreciate all the effort and time you devote to this forum. It appears to be growing every day. I for one have seen a vast increase since I started with Challange 17
I often wonder though, why did you start this group….did U ever think it would grow as much as it has? I have some idea of the work involved, as I maintain the web site for a Portuguese Historian friend of mine.
Grant — A great idea for Artist of the Month, and an interesting selection of images. It inspired me to go back and look at some of the early challenge originals.
Your choice of my Paris montage is one of my favorites, too, although more for personal reasons than artistic merit. Bob Warren
I would like to take this time to thank Robert Ash for being the January artist of the month. His incredible work will be soon giving way to a new artist so I do hope you wander over to the challenge and have one last drink in of his visual beauty.
I have also updated the past artist page … and I hang my head in shame for letting it get so far out of date.
Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.
This month is drawing to a close and so is the Artist of the Month tenure of John Burnett. If for some reason you have not manage to get to see his fine display please treat yourself.
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