ARCHIVE 3: April 2009
DAVID'S
PERSONAL NEWS PAGE
and JOURNAL
In this Archive:
Easter & Easter _Bunny
Oregon _Trip/Nelsen
04/24/09 - San Diego: Further MOPA Meetings
We had our next meeting with MOPA (the Museum of Photographic Arts) to discuss how we might work together to serve both our students and their needs. A wide range of ideas was discussed and included both short and long terms associations and cooperative ventures. We think this will enhance our ability to offer the pre-eminent photo education in the region and are looking forward to hammering out details and getting projects underway.
04/21/09 - San Diego: Search Engine Strategies
A partner with Adorama is offering a free Search Engine Optimization Cookbook for photographers. If you have a web site and want to drive potential viewers and clients to it this has some incredibly valuable data in it. You can go to the page where you can order this free material by clicking here. This opens a new page; to return here simply close the page.
04/18/09 - San Diego: Tashi Choling
I've finally had the time to work on recovering some of the shots from the first day of the Oregon trip. On that day we visited a place just south of Ashland called "Tashi Choling." It is a center for Buddhist Studies. In the meadow below the main building is a brilliantly painted prayer Garden.
Visitors are welcome to walk through the garden, encouraged to spin the prayer wheels (clockwise) which, it is believed, will send the prayers for peace written on the rolls of paper inside towards the heavens and into the universe.
The bright primary colors against the clear and deep blue sky demanded a shot. I was so discouraged when it first looked like the entire flash card was corrupted. But happily this is one that I was able to save.
04/16/2009 - San Diego: New Handouts and Demo
I just added some new datasheet/handouts to my SDCC page on simulating matted prints for portfolios, books, and web sites. These are:
You can download them by going to the SDCC page or clicking on them above. Each is a PDF file so it should open on any platform.
I also have uploaded the demo shot during the lighting class on Wednesday. You can reach it via the Lighting class section of the SDCC page or by clicking here. This opens a new window; when done viewing it simply close it to return here.
04/12/2009 - San Diego: HAPPY EASTER!
A beautiful day for Easter once again. Did you ever wonder where the word "Easter" came from since it has nothing to do with the celebration central to Christianity? Or for that matter, where the concept of the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs comes from. It appears it all comes from the same place..
There is some mild controversy surrounding this but the most accepted story is this. From pre-Roman times, the Germanic Saxon tribes in Europe and what is now the British Isles had a Spring harvest festival in honor of Ostara (OHG) or Eostre (OE), a goddess associated with the harvest, fertility, and sunrise. Her festival started with a sunrise event. Additionally two symbols associated with her worship were the hare and eggs. Can you see where this leads...? In Old High German and Saxon the month we now called April was referred to as OstaraMonath which became Eostremonath in ancient English. Crossing the channel 'Ostara' became 'Eostre'. It then took little time, historically speaking, for 'Eostre' to become 'Eastre' and then the 'Easter' we now use.
By late the Roman occupation of the Isles the cult of Eostre had all but died out and been replaced by Christianity. As with other celebrations, the early church found it easier to combine and then sublimate an existing celebration into their own. The ancient Eostre celebrations were marked for their colorful spring festivities, another thing appropriated in our celebrations of Easter including Easter bonnets and Easter parades.
Meanwhile on the continent, by the 1600s in Alsace the Easter bunny was well established bringing eggs and gifts to kids even though few remembered the association with Ostara. And in the 1800s the first edible Easter Bunnies (as pastries) were made in Germany.
Well that is about the time Photography got going so in the interests of historical associations, go out and make some colorful Easter photography.
04/10/09 - Back from Oregon
Wow,
what a great trip I just had. It was wonderful to visit with my
in-laws and to go around on several day trips into the Oregon outback
looking for photos just waiting to be taken. The weather mostly
cooperated with the project and yielded great light. The last day was
overcast but we were deep in the forests along the rivers and streams and
though any overviews suffered from the flat light, it was nearly perfect for
details and close-ups. To see some of the
photos from the trip
CLICK HERE. To return simply close that page.
OK, now it is time to get my mind switched back into school mode. Tomorrow is grading, grading, grading, then finish off taxes, and then hope for a few hours to relax before school starts again on Monday.
04/03/09 - On The Road North
Spring Break has started and I'm headed north to Oregon to visit my ex in-laws. It may seem a bit odd but we have stayed "family" over the past 16+ years and it has meant a great deal to me. I'll only be gone a few days then have to head back down so I can get prepped to hit it again in classes following the break. My hope is that we will get in some photography since both of them are into it, especially Wanda, my sister-in-law. The weather is supposed to be good over the weekend then rainy (well it IS Oregon after all) but some really superb images have been taken in the most wretched of weather and, it has been my experience, that I am not water soluble, at least for no more than a rain can accomplish. With cameras in rain covers all should be well. With luck I will return with some interesting stuff to post here.