Looking Up

It’s hard for me to not anthropomorphize the behavior of animals looking up to the sky as being spiritual. There just seems to be a natural interpretation of any animal with their eyes searching the “heavens” as seeking guidance or being lost in a sense of wonder.

As someone who spent their college career in the study of animal behavior, any form of anthropomorphizing was unscientific. As an artist now, I don’t have to fight that urge. In fact I think it has become a part of my image-making process. I look for the “expressions” in animal subjects that relate to my own emotions and feelings. My work isn’t just about the animal in my image, but also about how their behavior speaks to our own lives.

This little kit Red Fox was part of a den I worked at for over a week. I  feel like I caught it in a private moment of youthful contemplation of the universe. Color isn’t important to the image, so I rendered it as a black & white. To instill a sense that it was unaware of my presence, I composed so that it blends into its surroundings but made sure that the eyes and ears (pointing forward with its line of sight) are clearly visible.

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Warrior III – The Yoga Bird Returns

I have selected a new image to accompany Downward-facing Dog, an image of a Great Blue Heron stretching in a posture that reminded me of the famous yoga pose of the same name. This new print, which is of an image made the same morning as Downward-facing Dog, is of the same bird in yet another yoga-like posture – Warrior III. Warrior III is a more difficult position to achieve, at least for me, though this heron seemingly does it with little difficulty.

As you have probably guessed, the new print will be titled – Warrior III. Like Downward-facing Dog, I use the  reflection to create a Zen-like symmetry in the image and the overcast lighting (acting like a huge softbox) to eliminate shadow and harsh reflections. My composition does not reveal any real horizon line so the bird and it’s reflection almost seem to be floating in air. The tree limb that breaks the water’s surface and a few water bubbles are all that “ground” the bird to a terrestrial sphere.

"Warrior III"

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Kutztown University – this weekend (Oct. 29-30)

According to the weather forecast it may be feeling much more like the Holidays this weekend than typical for October.  That sets the mood well for you to come out to Kutztown for some holiday shopping! I will be with the Reading-Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen this weekend offering my work to patrons for their own collections and as holiday gifts.

A new print of mine that is now available is entitled Hidden. It is an image of a Red Fox hidden among the golden grasses in Bucks County, PA. Look carefully and you will find this fox licking its lips suggesting either the completion of a good meal or anticipation of a meal yet to come.

The image was composed to place the fox high in the frame and centered in order to add attention on to the face (especially the eye which picks up the sunlight). I wanted most of the image to be about color and texture with the fox alone breaking the pattern of the grasses. The fox’s right eye is hidden behind the tall grasses which further emphasizes viewer attention onto the visible eye. The fact that the tongue is also seen on the same side of the face as the visible eye of the fox further draws the viewer’s eye.

It is an image I made with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and Canon EF 500mm f4.0 L IS lens on a Gitzo tripod with Foba Superball tripod head and Wimbley Sidekick.

 

(c) Paul Grecian - http://www.paulgrecianphoto.com

 

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Reverence

It is certainly a powerful word – “Reverence”. Honor, respect, adoration, they all in part describe what we mean when we speak of  ”reverence”. It is reverence for nature that has driven me to spend as much times outdoors as I can, to support conservation causes, and to make photography my expressive medium of choice.

“Country” is of course one of the things many think of when speaking of reverence. The idea of country can be abstract, and so symbols of country that are more concrete are often revered as well. The American Bald Eagle is one such symbol.  Our national bird symbolizes strength and freedom, but also wilderness. It’s a beautiful creature, majestic really, and wonderful to see with its wings outstretched.

Wonderfully, the American Bald Eagle has been making a comeback to this area of the country. Over the last several years I have been able to observe the eagle and create imagery of it right here in Bucks County, PA.

This image was made last spring just as budding was beginning to occur. During an early morning field session, I spotted this magnificent bird from a distance and began to work my way to a position where I could work with it in the warm glow of sunrise. The tree upon which it was sitting is one I have photographed before. It’s an amazing tree with long stretched out limbs that appear to almost bow toward the perched national symbol. The eagle in return, to my mind, seemed to be returning the honor. Without the wings outstretched, I do not believe the image has near the impact.

I used the lines of the tree to visually draw the viewer to the eagle which, though small in the frame, still dominates the image. Placing the bird at a compositional power point gives it visual strength but also lets the sweeping lines of the tree play a more important role. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark III camera body with a Canon EF500mm F4.0 L IS lens coupled with a Canon TC1.4X teleconverter.

"Reverence" 9.75"x13.75"

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Lancaster, PA is all about the Art and Craft …

Lancaster has really become an arts and fine craft destination. This is no more true than this weekend (Nov. 13-14) as the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen holds their annual holiday time Fine Craft Fair . I will be a part of this group of approximately 120 of the regions finest offering their work to patrons from near and far. I always enjoy being in the same space with the talent which is so evident at these Guild shows. I won’t be leaving empty handed myself.

"Winter Wonder"

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Baby Sitters….

Sometimes its just plain tough to find someone to watch the kids. If you’re the mother of some young ducklings and no other ducks are available to keep an eye on them, what do you do? It seems in this case the mother duck selected to leave a few of her own with neighboring turtles, over 20 of them! It made for a rather cute image and offered an interesting contrast between the downy feathered ducklings and hard-shelled reptiles.

It was actually a challenging image to make because this humorous scene was actually a bit further away than I like to work from. The composition required some width because I didn’t want to leave any of the turtles out. As a result, I had elements in the  foreground and room above the log that I didn’t think added visually to the image. The scene was also in fairly heavy shade and so the light level was lower than I liked. Even using a sturdy tripod, image stabilization on the lens,  and a somewhat elevated ISO, keeping the lens (Canon 500mm f4.0 lens with Canon TC1.4X = 700mm of glass total) steady was tough.

Ultimately I had to do some levels and curves adjustments in Photoshop and some color correction to overcome the somewhat muddy tones from all that shade. I do like the image though, it has a lot of character and tells a fun story. As a print, it fulfills the visualization I had in the field of a panoramic representation. The finished print is 7×14″ and will be mounted and matted to a standard 16×20″ ($79).

"Baby Sitters" 7x14 inches

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Kutztown Folk Festival – Day 5

Writing this one day behind, it’s been that kind of week. Day 5 saw temperatures in the area as high as 102 degrees! That anyone at all was at the festival is impressive, but it didn’t last long before the fairgrounds felt empty. By noon, most people had left.

The print I sold first today is one of 2 young red fox, they are called “kits”. The image was made in Bucks County, PA

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Dance of the Fireflies

I’ve always been enamored with fireflies, or lightning bugs if you prefer. These little beacons of summer have always held a childlike fascination for me. My memories of them as a kid and of time spent with my own kid, catching, releasing and just being bewildered by their glow and maneuvering, are among my favorite. In years past I’ve made efforts to create images of them with a camera to little success. As I’ve learned more and new tools have lent themselves more to exploring these little bugs (beetles really), I’ve begun again to try to make images that represent their almost mystical nature.

My most recent attempts were enlightening (sorry), but I have other approaches I want to try. The image below was one I made this week using a 30 second exposure. I think is has elements that convey some of the magic of the firefly. I have more work to do…..

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Red-Spotted Purple

One subject that I never seem to spend enough time with are butterflies. We have them of course here in Bucks County, but I don’t see them often. Even more rare is coming across one that is willing to model for me.

On this occasion I seemed to have a very willing subject and quite a beauty at that. It was very content seemingly, to just rest on the ground of a bridge I was working from. It is a Red-Spotted Purple butterfly, a not-uncommon variety that has magnificent color on both sides of its wings. In this posture below, it is the blues and purples that dominate, the undersides of its wings have the red spots.

I worked from above with a macro lens making sure I was as parallel to its wingspan as possible so that I would keep all of it in focus. the warm tones of the ground add tonal contrast and a textural contrast to the delicate scales of its wings. Composing to maximize symmetry both simplifies and balances the image.

 

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Peddler’s Village Fine Art and Contemporary Craft Show

This weekend, June 5-6, come out to Peddler’s Village  in Lahaska, PA for their annual show featuring fine art and an array of contemporary crafts. Stroll through the walkways inside this village of shops and find me on the main green near the Cock and Bull restaurant.

"Delicate Balance" available as an 11x14 matted print - $47.

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