Maryanne Gobble Photography

Bone Collecting and Other Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

I've been a little under the weather for several days but I've been trying to make it a point to get outside despite my lackluster motivations. It's always a little leap of faith knowing I'll be rewarded by the experience once I'm out and about having mini adventures.

I let myself be thrashed by the coastal winds and rain while exploring a dark forest and sea bluffs. I crouched in the trees watching them sway wildly while rain drops periodically blurred my vision contributing to the all consuming swirl of motion. It was wonderful!

My boys and I shared dinner over a beach fire letting the driftwood become play guns, collecting heart shaped rocks, and delighting in the lone rib bone camouflaged in the wood piles.

It's been a good few days.

P.S. Until I'm settled in St. Louis later this year I have been posting more often on Facebook and less often on Blogger. You can follow the random tidbits over on my page if you wish.

Self Portrait Double Exposures - Whaleshead Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:07:00 +0000

I spent several hours this morning getting lost inside my head. With so many variables in my future right now I am really concentrating on living in the moment. I may not be in control of next month or next year, but I'm in control of today. That is enough.

Sea Bird

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:16:00 +0000

If you've been following this blog you know that all I own at the moment currently fits in my car. Maybe the oddest item I shoved in my trunk is a shawl made of rooster feathers. The necessities you know...

Several months ago I was watching a Lindsay Adler workshop on Creative Live and won a Glamtastik gift certificate. Awesome right? But I didn't know what to do with it. I've actually been dreading making images with it because I knew it would push me out of my comfort level and I've been playing chicken for a few weeks.

Fear... Somedays you need to just saddle up and kick it in the face. Over and over and over. Things I fear: looking stupid, ruining my new feathers, applying make up, my own style, being free. Yes, I said being free. Fear is what keeps me from running down the beach carefree. Fear is what keeps me from jumping in the water wearing pantyhose. Fear keeps me in the parking lot reading a book and my camera in the trunk.

So I gave it a ya and a hiyah. I dropped my boys off at school. My oldest looked at me then at the crosswalk guard and says. "they are going to see your hair!" I was the first person to the beach this morning. Scattered along the shore were large patches of white sand that had washed up the night before. I kicked off my shoes and ran through the mist with all my gear bobbling behind. I posed for my own shots (big awkward fear) and let the ocean wash around my feet.

It's called living. Fear gets in the way. Don't let it.

Row Your Boat

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:01:00 +0000

Basically there are no ideal situations. I have a terrible habit of looking at photos and thinking how easy it would be to take equally stunning images if I had the same amazing model, location, equipment, time, or any other number of resources I perceive the other photographer had. But when it comes down to it these people are pushing through and working hard for their images. Am I willing to do the same?

Recently I took an photo in a huge redwood tree. I started to wonder if other people view it the same way I look at their work. "Must be nice to have access to the redwoods..." So I laugh when I recall what a pain it was get the shot.

I woke up around 5 am to pack my kids lunches, plan out the location, and gather all my gear. Once they were off to school I drove 30 minutes then hiked with everything loaded on my back for another hour or so running half of the way from all the bees that kept buzzing around my face. I took the wrong trail then backtracked to the intended location I had scouted out the year before in the rain. That location was now collapsed on itself and too dangerous to enter. Everything was wet and cold. I would guess around 40 degrees. Several times along the trail I changed into the dress and tried to take self portraits. None of which turned out. At all.

While driving out of the area I pulled over one last time at the above pictured tree. My tripod broke during set up robbing me two feet of height and I forgot my wireless remote switch. The setup consisted of setting a delayed timer on the camera then sprinting through mud reach the tree. All while shooting on the side of a touristy road making me quite self conscious (yes, it's always awkward!) Then I took several more shots of the tree so I could stitch it together and fix the perspective in Photoshop. I cleaned the mud off me then got in my car just as the engine light popped on.

We are all in the same sort of boat. Some of us are rowing.

Lucky 13 Series Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:42:00 +0000

No time for chit chat, these public computers have time limits! Just wanted to post a quick update of photos for my Lucky 13 series. All photos are taken at 1/13th of a second. The series encompasses the mystery, motion, and child play of life on the coast. I'm pulling the single parent gig this Spring with my two little lovies. But I always feel like a better mother when the ocean is close by.

Finding a Routine Again

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:55:00 +0000

It's easy to forget that living a creative life isn't just about riding the ups and downs of brain surges. There is a certain discipline that must be installed to prevent overload and the subsequent pile of creative barf. No one likes looking at your barf. I'm trying to get back into the groove of routine.

I have not been sleeping as much so it seems a good time to resume my morning pages. Putting the barf down on paper... It's safe there. I threw away all my notes and journals before the move so this will be a fresh start.

This morning consisted of writing, black coffee, running through the redwoods, and a long drive through the fog while listening to Snow Patrol. I feel recalibrated. Now to wake up each day and pursue similar routines then see what happens. Maybe my mind will become clear enough to organize my scattered thoughts into real work.

Self Portrait at Indian Sands State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:59:00 +0000

Lucky 13 - Life at the Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Adjusting to coastal life is just that, an adjustment. The landscape is in a constant swirling motion yet life itself feels stuck in a foggy dreamlike state. It's hard for me to capture this in photos. They either look too static or agonizingly cliche. How do you capture child's play under the heavy grey sky? Along with a constant muffled racket... the whipping winds... the gulls crying and the waves echoing off the sea-stacks.

Motion blur. It drives some people up a wall. But I have come to realize an advantage I have this Spring. I can do my thing. I have minimal access to view others work for these few months. You know how that goes. You take some pictures then second guess yourself when you see what everyone else is doing. Yup.

If I were to spend a day at the beach with my kids and camera I would set my shutter to 1/13th of a second then twist, turn, or zoom during every hand held exposure. We would build forts, climb rocks, find rainbows, and look for beach treasure. So that's just what we did.

Brookings Oregon Spring 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Well I arrived on the coast where I will be until sometime in June or so. Had a great Spring Break exploring home again. Here is a quick summery in photos. The first misty set involved hours of driving lost through the woods with 3 kids in the car and ending with impassable snow. Snow that just happened to have lots of animal tracks and blood. Oh memories!

The last landscape image is a field of flowers overlooking the ocean. The first place my husband kissed me 13 years ago. I've always wanted a photo of the place. And the flowers just happened to be in bloom with and sky blue just like I remembered.

March Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:06:00 +0000

February's goals went alright. I did have a little hitch in the caffeine department. I finally weaned myself fully off caffeinated coffee settling proud into my decaf way of life. My husband went to pick up a new canister once it was emptied. He gets home and says, "I was getting you some decaf but first I want you to do me a favor. Pull out your blue canister and read what it says." Dark Roast! I flippin weaned myself to to dark roast. Argh.

Now for March. March madness... Details are vague... But I think within a few months I will be living in the Midwest or East Coast. We are selling everything and embracing this new found adventure. So this month I have a very short but challenging goal list.

Sell Everything
Be Giving
Focus on Compassion
Don't freak out... too much
Photos... no goals there... just going with the flow

I had another photographer recommend reading The Alchemist. Best book ever for anyone on a journey.
“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”

Another kind person I met this week told me to watch Ed's Story. On a notecard I now have an Ed quote written:
"When you are worried about the future it's hard to find God. When your living in the moment he's right there with you"

About that compassion I like Henri Nouwen's take: "Compassion...is the way to the truth that we are most ourselves, not when we differ from others, but when we are the same"

Nopales

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:16:00 +0000

So I had really hoping to photograph the volcanic rock bits and oak trees in the Iron Canyon Trail area before the trees bloom. Halfway there I spotted a dry river bed full of cacti. We drove down a dirt road, hiked under the hwy and up the river. Fortunately once we arrived there was still a black shadowy area behind the cacti creating a simple clean background.

At one point I planned on breaking off some cactus paddles so we could make nopales tacos for dinner but all those thorns were intimidating.

Anyways, I've always wanted to photograph a male nude in cacti. It just seems a good masculine combo. While I had difficulty controlling the contrast I do like how all the paddles are catching the light at different angles. A really great learning experience.

Light in Dark Places

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:51:00 +0000

"Only when we're brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light." Brene Brown - Daring Greatly

“As soon as we feel at home in our own house, discover the dark corners as well as the light spots, the closed doors as well as the drafty rooms, our confusion will evaporate, our anxiety will diminish, and we will
become capable of creative work.” Henri Nouwen,-The Wounded Healer

Love and Forest Ecology

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:40:00 +0000

Some species need the heat of a wildfire to regenerate.

Third Time’s a Charm

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:57:00 +0000

This tree is a beast. This is our third time trying to tame it. Last time it stood it's ground amid row after row of poison oak. Today the clouds jutted overhead and the dappled noon light tried it's best to ruin the shot. If someone is willing to strip down and climb up then, gosh darn it, I'm taking the shot. Dapples or not! We broke some branches out of the way and I stitched together a few shots to get the final images.

Behold, beast of the forest.

Triple Exposure Nikon Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:14:00 +0000

How do you like how I slipped Nikon into that title? Apparently Nikon and Canon can be friends. I now have one of each. YES! I have two cameras. I've known for some time that if my current camera dies in the next year or two then I would have to give up photography for awhile. I was in the middle of coming to terms with it. Preparing for the inevitable. Trying to win one in a contest, anything. No iPhone, no point and shoot, my Canon was my one and only hope.

Well last week I received an email. Back up for a sec.. Actually I received three incredible emails all within a 12 hour period. It was just a magical day. But one of the emails was from a gal I had not 'met' before. She mentioned she had an extra camera body... would I like it... for free...

She dropped it in the mail that very same day and within a few days I'm opening a box with not only a Nikon D200, but also two lenses, a memory card, battery, and charger! What! people like this exist in real life? She had this really amazing first name which means 'selfless love' on Christianity. So I'm like "whaattt? Who has a name like that and gives away cameras? Not even!" 'Don't you dare give her our home address in case it's a crazy person', my husband called out from the kitchen.

Well she wasn't crazy. Just an incredibly thoughtful and generous individual.

Now if you will remember I had mentioned in my goals for this month I wanted to revisit double exposures. Apparently some Nikon cameras have a multiple exposure mode in-camera. Aha! A challenge. A sign from the heavens. There are actually two modes. Multiple exposure and overlay mode. Basically the same but in overlay mode you can fire off several exposure and then go back into the thumbnails to combine any combination of RAW images on your card. Big time saver.

Before I left the house I took 4 photos of paper triangles I had cut out. I then headed to the Sundial Bridge and overlayed the triangles with the architecture of the bridge. That's another goal. I've been told all photos of this bridge look the same. You walk across the thing and stumble over a tourist every ten steps who is standing with their camera pointed upwards. It's just hard to get something different. I'm not sure if these are but it's an attempt none the less. A start.

My inspiration was some triangular shattered mirror I came across in an abandoned house last year. Which I had remembered after seeing a triangle of light shine on the book I was reading. I thought triangular paper may be safer. Then my husband was sitting at the computer applying for flight jobs causing me to have M.I.A. Paper planes (obnoxious I know!) stuck in my head. And then I'm running around yelling something about photographing paper planes in the sky. That about sums up my creative process.

Bitter Cold

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Way back when I was a newlywed my husband and I would sit on the top of Mt. Ashland in summer and dream about all the snowshoeing and snowboarding we would do in winter. The whole reason I started dating him was because he told me he would teach me how to board. Well we worked opposite schedules then I had a few hard pregnancies and we moved a gazillion times. Josh has played in the snow often. Me? Not so much. I have stayed home pregnant, or with babies, ect... The gear I've hardly used has been lent to friends and family several times. I try to be happy for them. I watched the video clip below and realized there was one thing I had never ever ever planned on forgiving my husband for. Not taking me with him to the snow. I call my friend up. "Out of everything you two have been through, you are most upset about snowboarding?" she laughed.

So I told him I was sorry for thinking deep bitter resentful things about the snow and we made a deal. If there is no money for a babysitter and a second lift ticket then nobody goes next time or we take the kids with us or whatever it takes. "Awesome you agreed because I already made a deal with myself and ripped up the free lift ticket you got!...sorry" (Did I just admit that online?)

The story is more complicated before you think I'm some jealous wife who doesn't want her husband to have any life apart from her. But this is all the basic story you need to know.

So we are starting out slow and cheap. We drove to Lassen Volcanic National Park yesterday and took a two mile hike with the kids. We couldn't afford snowshoe rentals for all of us so Josh left his pair home and we hiked it together on foot. During sunrise. It was 20 degrees, gusty, and wonderful. And no one spoke sarcastic biting comments, or whined, or any other undercutting behavior. It was just a great snow day full of kisses, love, and contentment.

The Creative Life - A Link List

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:15:00 +0000

I love lists. One of my favorite things to read on other blogs are lists. So here is my most current one.

I've come to the conclusion I must learn book binding. One search on Pinterest did me in.

Graphite, tape and resin makes some amazing art.

Samsara is on my list of films to watch.

I don't even know where I found this. But it's some sort of Photoshop tutorial demonstrating how to take photos in tourist destinations minus the people. It looks so easy!

Greek yogurt ranch dip, crock pot refried beans, and two ingredient cookies (bananas and oats) are my favorite recipe finds this week. I've tried them all and they go in the keeper file.

A new life goal is to camp out at at least one fire lookout in my life. In particular I want to stay at this one which is just up the road from where my mom lives and next to a lake I've wanted to visit for some time now. The trees, ga! I need to photograph those white trees.

Today I will be making my first batch of homemade laundry detergent.

And a quote from the book I'm reading this week: "Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage" - Daring Greatly

Light and Form

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:24:00 +0000

How do you like the studio set up in the kitchen? I love my kitchen window so much! The sparkle in the photos is the morning sun coming through the wet window screen then Photoshopped around a bit. Basically a quadruple exposure with radial blur applied to one layer. Little more digital than what I usually do, but why not?

I've really needed to take a meaningful photo for awhile and just went with it. Hat hair and all. I had just been reading the poetry of Michelangelo and needed not to pause.

I've craved beauty in a pure form. Last week at my new church they served communion and I've never heard it butchered so badly in my life. Evangelicals can be so embarrassing in their attempts to modernize and sanitize things. Or make them trendy. I was not sure if they were talking horticulture or Christ's sacrifice. "And this cracker... there had to be some death to make it...some heat..." Ha ha! and it went downhill from there.

Anyways, I've been a total book whore lately. That's how I discovered Michelangelo wrote poetry while looking at a used book store. Earlier this week I splurged $5 and ordered The Wounded Healer. From the library I brought home Daring Greatly, Making all Things New, and a pile of cookbooks. The title 'Daring Greatly' is from the following quote by Teddy Roosevelt.

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Hedge Creek Falls Self Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:09:00 +0000

I am just a West Coaster at heart. The way the land gets under your skin and you could not scratch it out if you tried.

We set out as a family on Sunday and ended up at Hedge Creek Falls in Dunsmuir California. While everyone else continued exploring the area I pulled a dress from my backpack and did a quick set up. I ran over to this broken piece of basalt formation and let the shutter fire off several two second exposures. That was it. My fingers went numb and there was no messing with the camera settings after that.

I shot at this location one other time just over a year ago. You can see those here. It rained last year so I was pretty happy to see snow this time around.

Abandoned Trains–McCloud California

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I struggled to make these train photos a set. The final conclusion was to sacrifice the bright blue skies and colored box cars for a black and white story.

What a fun unexpected photo location. We drove down a random road, then I got sidetracked by a huge red building... Thinking I would snap a quick family photo we drove over to it only to discover it was an old train house with several trains parked nearby. The trains just happened to have some open doors so we piled out of the car, ran across the snow, and went exploring.

I didn't get too crazy with photos because we had the kids along. There were some safety issues and it seems people camp out in various parts of the trains. There was a dining car! How did I not photograph the toaster in the dining car? I hope there will be a next time for that.

I Am So Over January

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:31:00 +0000

Notice I have not been posting as many pictures? It seems everything we touch lately breaks. Cars, phones, airplanes... True story. My husband is currently stranded somewhere in California because the plane he was flying last night broke down.

'Seems I have the magic touch'

Uh yea... don't even think about touching my camera.

Today is the first day I've had to myself for awhile. I'll try to act like I'm sorry I got the bed all to myself last night. Finally sent both my kids to school after several sick days.

The good news?

I have done a lot of thinking. I'm cementing thoughts about creativity, beauty and art into my innermost being. Moving from thinking things, to knowing things.

I've almost completely weaned myself off caffeine. Which may also explain the lack of photos!

I've had a few photo goals from years ago reawaken in me this month which is exiting. It also means I have to start working out so I don't hurt myself adventuring in the future.

So Feburary goals:

no caffiene
get in shape
eat right Someone try this curry soup, it's amazing.
feed my brain Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks, The Rock that is Higher by Le'Engle, Mink River by B. Doyle
revisit double exposures
stay open to new experiences
make goals I actually want to finish

Green

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:07:00 +0000

“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” - Noam Chomsky

After a whirlwind few weeks life has resumed as normal today. The kids are in school, no one is sick, and I don't have to find a rental quite yet.

The mold is still here but we had another factor thrown in the mix over the weekend preventing us from moving at this moment until we see how factor x pans out. X would be great, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I discovered this patch of green a few weeks back and have been dying to tramp around on it. Horse tracks, bear tracks, raccoon and goose tracks. Now there are Maryanne tracks. The geese were not happy with me, think they own the place or something.

Guilt, Sunlight, and Slums

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:05:00 +0000

I'll be a little bit honest about what riles me up as we look for rentals. Sunlight, guilt and slums.   I need natural light or I die inside. Petty but true, if I had to choose between ample sunlight and food I may choose light.

Our price range of rentals we are looking at run the risk of landing us in a slummy neighborhood. I fear drugs, violence, but also the sense of entitlement I carry thinking I deserve a certain status of living any more than others who live in these shady areas.

When we were newlyweds we lived in a drug infested complex with our newborn. It's where I learned what a crack pipe looks like, the benefits of locking my doors, and no matter how big the gang fight a group of angry moms can break up anything.

Speaking of fights. The biggest, grandest, loudest argument I ever have participated in with my husband happened at that place. One of those that ends with the 'I'm moving out right now'. I stomped down the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks as my neighbor walked out her door. My crack addicted neighbor. The walking skeleton with no teeth aged beyond her years neighbor. She looked at me with absolute authentic piercing pity. Pity for what she just heard go down. Pity from skeleton woman did a number to my sense of entitlement and the I'm not like the others in this neighborhood attitude.

But I still want a safe place, a sunny place, the right place.

I was reading the preface online to the book Everyday Justice. She quoted a paraphrased chapter of the bible (Isaiah 58) Bathed in sunlight? Sign me up!

"If you are generous with the hungry
    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
    firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again."

Should I Be Packing?

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I'm such a stress case right now. We put in our notice to leave the mold and now the race is on to find a low cost rental. Oh, did I mention my husband has just a few weeks to finish two thirds of his calculus class if he ever wants to officially finish his degree? So why he is working full time and spending his off time with a tutor I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

I'm also suppose to be re-applying to medical for my kids and emergency utility bill help. And how do I deal?

I stop everything I'm doing and stare at the light specks on the wall. My youngest puts his arms up and tells me he's like Jesus. The light dances, miniature Jesus is creeping me out and all is well and will be well...with my soul.

Moving on, moving out, roger.

Moving Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Maryanne) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:26:00 +0000

Oh my goodness. 2013 has me kicking and screaming already. Everything is a season and His mercies are new every single freakin kicking and screaming morning.

Goals... I'm doing monthly goals this year. Weekly, daily if I have to.

For January 2013

After punching in the faces of my property management I want to move out of my mold infested rental. "Really? Assault is illegal? So is making me live in this health hazard! Funny you should mention the law, hmm..."

I want to finish reading Quiet. It's pretty awesome and somewhat funny. If you are the quiet type that is.

This week I plan on watching the rest of Pina. It's a German documentary film about the dance choreographer Pina Bausch. Watch the trailer here.

I want to survive motherhood.

I want to pray and or meditate more often. Deliberately. In the morning.

I want to be more affectionate to my family.

I will focus on this quote by Elenore Roosevelt, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" I was reading something she wrote about butterflies one day and one flew out of nowhere landing on my book page. Creepy.

But mostly I just want to punch someone in the face.