Trip to the Butte

The ravages of time are on elegant display at the Coyote Butte - at the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah. A product of wind erosion, the buttes are a flamboyant exhibition of the most fragile sandstone rock formations which are constantly perishing as they yield to the unrelenting forces of nature.

Volcanicity

The ancient Hawaiians thought of the volcano as the manifestation of a goddess. Pele - the fire/volcano goddess - was a volatile, temperamental, yet irresistible woman, known for dramatic shifts in mood. She could be a raging, unpredictable, destructive force, but was also revered as a creator - of new land, and new life.


Over the past year, I have tried to seek Pele out, and she has rewarded my efforts by offering glimpses of her many moods and faces (the pictures below are a compilation from these encounters). As I have gotten to know Pele better, I have realized why the Hawaiians thought of her in the way that they did. I have also learned something that the Hawaiians do not seem to have stressed - that words and images do no justice to her beauty.

Cinder cone and lava field, Hale'akala

Cinder cones, Mauna Kea

Lava lake, Pu'u'o'o vent, Kilauea

Lava tube (aerial view), Kilauea

Into the Void, Hale'akala

Geothermal pool and travertine terraces, Yellowstone

Geyser runoff and thermal springs, Yellowstone

Volcanic olivine green sand, Mahana Beach

Cloudscapes

Hale'akala and Mauna Kea are two of the most sacred peaks in Hawai'i. Located at elevations higher than 10,000 feet, the summits of these peaks are almost always above the cloud cover. Here, the sun rises from, and sets into the cloud cover - something I had never witnessed before, except from airplane windows. The result is a constantly changing 'cloudscape'.

The interplay of these constantly changing cloud patterns and the light of the rising or setting sun is impossible to capture in any meaningful way. The pictures below are but a representation of experiences too powerful to even describe, much less photograph.

To be there and witness these moments, is to gain some insight into how certain places might have come to be regarded as sacred to begin with!

The Grass Project

I have been meaning to put these photographs up on the blog for a while but did not have the right words that would resonate my thoughts to describe them. I heard this beautiful song from the motion picture soundtrack of 'Away We Go' and thought was evocative of what I might would have wanted to say.

See the clouds are creeping towards the sun
and I'm slipping away
I'm seen by anyone
the light it turning grey
the day is done
The water is so cold
and heavy on my mind
I dreamed of walking with you
but I fell behind
looking for a road
I could not find
 

And now the ice is starring
and spring is near
there is no one calling
but the sound is clear
no, I'm not yet gone 

I'm still not here 

 

 

Retro Getty

We have featured images of the Getty Center on Lensored before, but not using retro photography. On a recent visit, I left the digital camera at home, and took only the analog Diana F+ and a cellphone with the 'Retro Cam' phone app. This is intended to be the first of two posts comparing 120-film black and white analog photographs (the real deal) to faux-retro digital photography (less authentic, but far more convenient and cheap and with instant gratification). The reason for this being an "intended" rather than "actual" post, is that 120-film takes a week to develop and frankly, I have no idea how the pics will turn out...

Assuming everything turns out fine, this may be how we settle the debate on which retro photography technique is preferable...or perhaps it will just get more heated.

Either way, here goes....

Retro NYC

The HTC EVO Android phone as I discover it is a thing of greatness. After suffering the setback of losing a classy Nokia E63 gifted to me by dear Adelphius Vikramis in an NYC yellow cab, I was needless to say, overcome with immense grief and guilt. That combined with a set of circumstances favouring my decision to go for an Android phone led me to the EVO. Which in turn led me to the awesomeness of Retro Camera. An app on the Android Market that does pretty much what Hipstamatic can pull off on the iPhone.
These are images I've been taking over the course of the past few days. Oft repeated NYC themes as you can clearly see, though refreshing when seen through the lens of the Retro Camera.
I virtually took no effort to take these pictures, nor time, which to the chagrin of many an SLR purist are both expended in the mere setup of the right frame. That combined with a nifty 8 megapixels of clarity makes for some pretty enjoyable photographing experiences.

http://www.urbian.biz/apps/retrocam/