The Heel Press - All Front Page Pieces

Kiwanda

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:33:46 -0800

Zeb Andrews published a new piece under Photography:

And it's true, most artists don't daydream about making great art - they daydream about having made great art. What artist has not experienced the feverish euphoria of composing the perfect thumbnail sketch, first draft, negative, or melody - only to run headlong into a stone wall trying to convert that tantalizing hint into the finished mural, novel, photograph, sonata. The artist's life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because he imagines it to be fast.Another piece from Art & Fear. I have to return it to the library soon but I think a trip to Powell's may be in line.I particularly like the final line of this excerpt as it embodies a lot of the frustration I have felt at times, as well as that I have seen in most other photographers who strive to make their photography something more than it is. We all know that success, in its varied forms, takes hard work, perseverance and often years, if not a lifetime, of dedication. Nonetheless, this does not prevent us from oft wishing otherwise. I am reminded of a RMSP lecture I attended once. The lecturing photographer, Craig Tanner, gave an inspiring speech, the kind that makes you want to rush right out and accomplish your own great images. He had just completed a coffee table book of images from Georgia that was quite impressive and I remember thinking how much I would love to do such a book. Then he explained that (disregarding all the other years he had spent in photography) this book alone was the product of shooting around the state of Georgia exclusively for over five years. Which sounds like a long time, but relatively speaking, considering some works of art are literally the product of a lifetime, is probably still a seductively short amount of time.We all know that patience is a virtue in photography. But generally when we are discussing the virtues of patience we usually are referring to short-term patience. The kind that keeps us in a specific location taking photo after photo. Or the kind that gets us up every day for two weeks to catch that one spot in just the right conditions. When we discuss patience though, we rarely talk about that kind of patience that keeps us doing that over years, the kind that carries us through our dry spells and setbacks. That allows us to push forward with the same momentum we did when the excitement of first beginning still rallied us.

Sunset at the Cape. 60 seconds

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:33:20 -0800

Zeb Andrews published a new piece under Photography:

This is another sunset from this evening. I was lucky enough to be borrowing a Zero Image 6x12 pinhole camera that day and I used it to take this image. The panoramic format has always spoken to me. I think it mimics eyesight more closely than the standard rectangular format, that is, if you account for peripheral vision. My dream camera to own one day is the Fuji 6x17, but until then an occasionally borrowed 6x12 camera suffices pretty nicely.This cape is pretty easily one of my favorite spots along the entire Oregon coast, a coast that is unbelievably full of amazing locations.

Found at Lost Lake. 240 seconds

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:32:55 -0800

Zeb Andrews published a new piece under Photography:

I don't do many self-portraits. And I post far fewer than I take. This isn't because I have an aversion to my self-portrait, I just find my photographic brain doesn't quite always click in that way. I don't take too many selfies because I don't see all that many. If I saw more, I would probably take more. Nonetheless, I do actually enjoy them when I can find them, particularly when taking them with pinhole such as this.It does present a bit more of a challenge as my camera has no self timer, so I have to hurry opening and closing the shutter with the shorter speeds or I will blur out, and with the longer ones I have to be patient enough to stand still for 2 or 4 or 8 minute stretches.But I did see this one, and I was able to get an interesting image of it with my pinhole. This was taken on my first trip up to Lost Lake. We were pretty amazed at the tranquility of this lake. I had meant to get up here for quite some time and had just never quite made it. So on this warm summer day, we figured to give it a shot and were well rewarded with a jewel of a lake. The water was warm enough that you didn't even notice you were standing in it after about 20 seconds. The lake was full of newts lazily swimming by. And we had a great view of Mt. Hood.My pinhole for the day was loaded with Efke IR film as the skies were pretty clear and bright, conditions that I tend to prefer shooting infrared. The slow film, combined with the Red 29 filter in the camera made for some long exposures despite the very bright light. 4 minutes in fact, and it is still about a stop under I think. Not by much, but a little.I really like the roots in the foreground and the light on them, perhaps my favorite part of this image. The tricky thing about self portraits with the pinhole is that they have such a wide field of view it is tough to figure out where to stand as to not be either too large or too small in the frame. I think I did alright here.

Explanations on a Vacant Tuesday

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:30:48 -0800

Jayde Byrd published a new piece under Poetry:

I know I will not be Shakespeare, Nauruda, Millay, or even Anis Mojgani,so I writeto release this dam, to tap this well, to brush the defeat, insomnia, and bulimia from my veinsand give my corrupted angel a pair of worn and si...

How I got my Acrophobia.

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:26:12 -0800

Katelyn published a new piece under Poetry:

I listened ardentlyAs you poured your thoughts Into my head Like water from a pitcher ...

that has always been . the question

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:19:54 -0800

anahitawrites published a new piece under Poetry:

The candle casts a ring of light onto the glass table its ring of light is filled filled with its own shadowThis observation interruptsmy dramatic and private break -down; in a sudden - I grow qui...

Time. it opposes me

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:30:30 -0800

emoney236 published a new piece under General:

Libraries overwhelm me. Philosophers intimidate me. Jeopardy! contestants mock me and grad students irk me. Friends misunderstand me, employers avoid me and coaches dislike me. My wife, she loves me, ...

I Know Our Love Can Never Bloom Again

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:50:27 -0800

BroadwayBaby17 published a new piece under Poetry: