10 on 10: August - Textures and Tintypes

This month I did something different for my 10 on 10 post.   I learned about making some unique textures from the amazing fine art photographer, Jennifer Hudson.

All it took was a National Geographic magazine (only those after the year 2000) and a bottle of the cleaning solvent, Citrasolve, from my local health food store.

The combination of the two, makes the ink run in strange ways, and when it sits for a bit, it ends up with a tintype effect.   When I heard Jennifer talk about doing this the other day, I had to give it a try.  Here are some of my results.

To me, some of these are art in themselves, and I found that once the Citrasolve had set (about 15-20 mins) each turn of the page was a big surprise!  In the end, I created these two images, blending a couple of these tintype textures with my own photography.   

I felt these images needed that special tintype frame vignetting, so I grabbed a couple of freebies from flickr.

Please check out the work of Kristina, the next photographer in our 10 on 10 circle.  This will lead you to the links of all those in our group.  Thanks for stopping by!

10 on 10: May

I love my iPhone.  Yep, I do.

It's hard to believe there once was a time when I couldn't go anywhere without my fancy-pants DSLR camera.  I didn't want to miss a thing and in fact, I wouldn't even go for a walk on the beach without it.  It was exhausting carrying around this heavy gear and I honestly hated being stopped and asked what I was shooting all the time.

I saw people using their iPhone cameras but it seemed it was for things like a photo of one's Starbuck's drink that morning or what they had for lunch.  When I met the Shutter Sisters at Oasis last year I was asked over and over again, "what's your handle on instagram?"   I realized I was way behind the times.  Not only was I not on instagram, but I never used my iPhone for taking photos.

I recently joined instagram and as I browsed through people's images I was blown away.   With all of the apps available, and various lenses you can attach to your phone, I learned that I can still give images my special touch.

These days when I go for my walks on the beach, I still always have a camera, but most of the time it's my little 8 megapixel iPhone and I love it.   I stay inconspicuous, even with my zoom lens, and I can even take photos of myself without anyone ever knowing!  Ha!

Here's ten iPhone images from a day in La Jolla.   On this day, May 10th, the clouds were breathtaking and changed drastically from morning to sunset.

Please take a look at Micah Hewett's 10 on 10 post for May here, and follow the links around to see the images from all the women in our 'ten on ten' circle.

Windansea Beach

Little girl at play at La Jolla Shores

Bowing to the great Ocean

Egrets dancing in the Pier's reflection

Close-Up on the Waves

La Jolla Shores

Scripps Pier

La Jolla Shores

A closer look inside the doorway to infinity

Before Sunset at Windansea

Seaweed Antlers

Sandcrab Art

You can find me on Instagram here.

10 on 10: March

The cure for anything is salt water--sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dineson


I was honored and so excited to be included in this amazing group of photographers in a project called 10 on 10.

The idea is to take 10 photos on the 10th of each month, post them and then link up with a different photographer in the circle each month.  I feel it is a fantastic way to share and explore the work of others who have different styles and genres, and who live in different parts of the world.

I missed the first month for our circle unfortunately, but here I am now sharing two of my photographic passions--portraits and the ocean.   Fortunately I had the time to visit with and photograph my young, beautiful, model friend, Lily.   We went to one of my favorite beaches in La Jolla.

Although I love photographing nature by itself, there is nothing more beautiful to me than bringing nature and people together.

When Lily and I arrived at the beach, the skies were perfectly clear and blue, but within an hour the clouds came in adding that drama to the sky and to the reflections in the wet sand that I absolutely love.

The seagulls and the sandpipers appeared as happy as we were on this beautiful day.  It was as if they wanted to play, so Lily happily obliged.   Wherever she went, the birds seemed to follow.

Lily and I left the beach feeling refreshed and filled with joy, and as always, a little wet!

Please carry on the 10 on 10 circle by visiting Kristina over here...    I'm so grateful to her, especially, for being the one to start our circle and for getting me to blog more!  May it continue!

You can see much more of my portrait work (and much more Lily) on my website.