California Aerials 2

This post will continue and finish a description of the aerial pictures I made in California in February, 2014.

The first ones are: here

As we flew back from the foothills on the wastern side of the Sacramento River Valley we were flying with the sun in front of us. This meant whatever I photographed would be more reflective and more back lit:

I really liked the way the farmers would leave the natural path of the streams and ponds and plant right around them.

This being February, there wasn't much growth yet. This gave me a palette of browns, yellows and pale light greens to work with.

As a kid I used to make drawings with a ruler and a straight edge on white mat board my mom would get me. These above two reminded me of those.

According to Les, the pilot, the farmers flood the rice fields in the winter, not so much to protect the crops but to attract migrating ducks for hunters to shoot.

And finally, we flew through some more tree farms, with the trees almost bare limbed but with pink and blue buds blooming and dropping their petals on the ground below:

If you're looking at these on a smart phone, shame on you. They are bad enough on the 13 inch laptop screen I use when I travel. What you and I need to see is these as prints because that is a treat no man or woman should miss in their lifetime (LOL).

Seriously, the aerials in particular come to life when printed. How can you see that? Well, first I have to print them when I get home, which I will do, then I have to work to get them shown, which I usually do, or invite you to my studio to see them, which I sometimes do. Tell you what, you respond with an email telling me you want to see them and if I get enough responses I will pull together another open studio night and invite you. Not local, live in China or Australia? What a great excuse to plan a trip.

Topics: Aerials,Color,Digital,Northwest

Permalink | Posted February 22, 2014