My Influences - Imogen Cunningham
I’m sharing one of my favorite artists and someone who inspired my own work!
“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM, 1925/Imogen Cunningham
Sometimes it is hard to place where or when you learn about an artist. I can’t quite remember where I learned about Imogen Cunningham only because I took A LOT of art history while in school. I learned about her in either my photography art history class or my women’s art history, but it is very likely I learned about her in both classes. I know for sure, though, that I learned about her again in my photography art history class in graduate school and this is where she made the biggest impact on me and on my work.
Anyhow, all of that said, I have loved her work for, well, forever! Imogen Cunningham photographed flowers, nudes, still lifes, and self-portraits. She was part of a photography group f.64, with many famous names that I just ohhhhhhed and ahhhhhed over wishing I could have been there to learn from them. which was a progressive group that was pursuing sharp focused images.
I have been inspired by her work with the subject matter of her work, as I have photographed many of the same subjects throughout my photography career, but most certainly her floral work. I love the way that light falls on her sharp focused images and how, even though her work is in black and white, you can almost visualize the colors of the flowers. Her work inspired me to take a look at flowers close-up, but in my own way, discovering my own photographic voice.
Is there an artist, or someone who works your the field that you are in, that inspires you? How did that person influence your work? I love when you find someone or something that inspires you to find your own ideas!
Father's Day e-cards
Father’s Day e-cards are here!!!
Father’s Day is this coming Sunday! Are you ready!? I made e-cards for Mother’s Day and I wanted to share some new e-cards for Father’s Day to share with your loved ones!
All you need to do is download your favorite, or favorites, to send to your dad, grandpa, uncle, or even your good dad friend, everyone needs a reminder that they are appreciated and loved!
How to Download
Save your favorite e-card, or all of them, to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.
June 2022 Calendar
The June desktop calendar has arrived!
June is here and the June wallpaper is full of colorful spring cacti! These purple prickly pear, Opuntia macrocentra, are one of my favorite cactus because the pads are full of greens and purples, and the flowers are soft yellow with the lower parts of the flower a bold red. There is just color everywhere, no way to go wrong with that! This type of cactus grows in specific areas such as Arizona, New Mexico, Southwestern parts of Texas, and Northwestern parts of Mexico, so if you live around there keep an eye out for these beauties in the spring when they are full of blooms!
Happy June!
How to Download
Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.
Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that month’s calendar? Just sign-up below with your email address!
Cactus Blooms
“A creative person has to create. It doesn’t really matter what you create. If such a dancer wanted to go out and build the cactus gardens where he could, in Mexico, let him do that, but something that is creative has to go on.”
I was driving home the other day and felt like I needed to take the longer way home and so I did. On the way down my street, at the end that I don’t normally drive past, was a cactus with these brilliant pink flowers! One of the things I have come to learn over the last bit while falling in love with cactus flowers is that they bloom for one day and then close back up. I knew I had to get up there and take some photos. So, there I was, the crazy neighbor ringing their doorbell to find out if it was alright to photograph their flowers and they said yes!
I know the owner of the house told me what kind of cactus this is but I can’t remember. I also took a picture of it with my phone but it didn’t give me a definitive answer. So, if anyone knows what sort of cactus this is I would LOVE to know. I really need to up my cactus collection!
Mother's Day e-cards
Happy Mother’s Day to all of my friends out there! You are loved!
This year I have just fallen in love with the cactus that are all over Arizona! I especially fell in love with cacti as they have come in bloom! (Shocking, I know!) The resilience that cacti have, enduring the heat and the sun, and they are still producing these magnificent colorful blooms!
With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to share some new e-cards of these beauties! All you need to do is download your favorite, or favorites, to send to your mom or to your good mom friend, everyone needs a reminder that they are appreciated!
How to Download
Save your favorite e-card, or all of them, to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.
May Calendar
The May desktop calendar has arrived!
What a fantastic time of year! The cactus are in bloom and it is sooooooooo beautiful! I have never fully appreciated the beauty of the desert, in the nearly 30 years that I have lived here, but it finally clicked, and now the desert is calling me to come out and photograph!
Enjoy the prickly pear cactus this month!
How to Download
Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.
Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that month’s calendar? Just sign-up below with your email address!
Positive Reminders
Positive reminders on Instagram and Facebook.
Every year I try to think of something new that I could add to my photography. Sometimes it is a new product, a freebie, and this year I have added daily positive notes to my stories on Facebook and on Instagram. I have a notebook where I have pages and pages of positive messages and quotes. I find that I need to hear and read these thoughts, and so I am now sharing them with you, alongside my photography.
Do you have a favorite positive message or quote that you would like me to use? Please feel free to send them over to me!
National Monuments - Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
My family trip to Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot.
“It is better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”
This year is the start of our adventuring to all of the National Parks and National Monuments that we can possibly visit! I have wanted to explore all of these places for many years but, as we all know, something always seems to come up. But this year we started out by learning more about our state and the history that is all around us!
During the kids’ spring break, we had an adventure going to visit two National Monuments. We explored Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot. Both are ancient ruins of the Southern Sinagua people living in the Verde Valley in Central Arizona.
Montezuma Castle
These locations are thought to have been built around 1000 to 1300 A.D. Montezuma Castle is a five-story apartment-style building built on the side of a limestone cliff. This structure had around 45 rooms, Montezuma Castle is nestled into a cliff recess which is around 100 feet from the valley floor, and was accessed by a series of ladders. There is a diorama there that shows what life could have looked like, including one wild child running away from his mother. I can only imagine the panic that a mother would feel with living up high and having a rambunctious child!
We learned that visitors used to be able to access actually going into the castle, which would be seriously amazing, however, that practice thankfully stopped back in 1951 after excessive damage was caused to this landmark. This is a good reminder to keep this type of monument around for future generations to see.
We then drove over to Tuzigoot which was built at the top of a long ridge, raised 120 feet above the Verde Valley, that had around 87 rooms. It was super interesting to not see many entryways, and we wondered how they would enter their houses. After questioning that, we learned that they entered rooms from the roof by ladders. It was super windy when we were there and that made us wonder if that was part of the reason behind them entering from the roof.
We learned a lot about things we had never known before and there was so much more to learn! One of the great things we have learned from going to the different monuments is that they have a junior ranger program and that helps the kids, and us, look for and learn many more specific things! These are just little booklets that encourage us all to go around looking for answers to certain questions. In the end, they earn a junior ranger badge. Just make sure you ask for one when you go, they really are super fun!
April Calendar
The April calendar has arrived!
At the beginning of March, I got an annual pass to the Phoenix Botanical Garden. Wondering around in the garden I stumbled upon the succulent section and learned about the wide variety, twenty different kinds according to google, of aloe vera there are! Many of the aloes are in bloom right now and I find it fascinating how their blooms are different in shape and color. I discovered my love for the aloe rudikoppe, which was also called a Little Red Ridinghood aloe, and am now on the lookout for one for my yard!
May these blooms bring you joy throughout April!
How to Download
Save the image to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.
Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that months calendar? Just sign-up with your email address!
Random facts about me…round two
Round two of random facts about me on my birthday!
It is birthday time again! Happy 42 years of living to me!
I did the random facts about myself back in 2020, which was hard, and here I go again challenging myself to tell you 42 random facts about me.
1. I love the smell of the rain in the desert.
2. I have lived in four states - Minnesota, California, Arizona, and Colorado.
3. When I was a teenager I jumped off of a 50-60 foot cliff, at Havasupai, without hesitation, shocking everyone (including myself!)
4. Bryce and I have seen The Midnight, an amazing synth band, three times in concert.
5. I love hanging out with my kids.
6. My cat will be 19 years old this year.
7. My favorite type of ice cream is Thrifty ice cream. My favorite is a double cone with chocolate chip and mint chip. We used to get this after school when I was a kid. The taste brings me back!
8. I dream about someday owning a house on a lake. I can imagine the long list of fun times we could have there.
9. I got to study Spanish in Costa Rica, living with a great family, for five weeks.
10. I like to treat myself to coffee as a cure-all!
11. I love flowers!
12. I have three raised gardens in my yard and we are growing strawberries this year
13. Most often I end up watching the same shows over and over.
14. This last weekend I got to see Michael Bolton and Reba McEntire sing at a charity event.
15. I love to garden - both flowers and tasty foods!
16. My kitchen is a rainbow of different colors of Fiestaware.
17. I have three above-ground gardens and am trying to grow strawberries in Arizona, we shall see if it works…the first few have been AMAZING!!
18. I love cloudy and overcast days!
19. Visiting all of the National Parks is part of my bucket list.
20. If I could go anywhere today I would go to Greece.
21. I have lived in Arizona most of my life.
22. If I could go anywhere today I would go to Greece!
23. I have lived in Arizona most of my life.
24. I love taking walks with my dog. She starts jumping around and talking as soon as she sees me getting my shoes or going near her leash.
25. I get really excited to go flower shopping.
26. One of the things I love to do for myself, and everyone in my family, treat myself to wonderful-smelling lotions.
27. I like to listen to affirmations to remind myself to be kind to myself and others.
28. I lived in constant pain, from TMJ, for around 20 years. Almost four years ago my husband helped push me to the right doctor to get it fixed, and I had jaw surgery on both sides of my jaw. I can now, eat, talk, and breathe without pain.
29. The day that Bryce and I got married there were suddenly strong winds. We keep finding that happens whenever we have guests over, or when we have lunch at one of the National Parks.
30. I am a fine art photographer.
31. I love to talk in song quotes and movie quotes. It MIGHT drive some people crazy but secretly they really enjoy it!
32. I like to dye parts of my hair with fun and bright colors!
33. When I was in graduate school one of my images was selected to be on the cover of the photography auction magazine that year. I was, and still am, super proud of that.
34. I love when my kids are on break from school and we get to hang out and spend time together.
35. As a family we love to get to play board games on the weekend.
36. When I am in the car by myself I love to listen to podcasts. One of my favorites is The Art Curious where I get to learn about things in art history.
37. I tend to watch the same TV shows over and over. I am always looking for new suggestions though!
38. I have two sisters and I am lucky that they live close by!
39. When I am was a kid I wanted to be a librarian. My love for books has ALWAYS been there!
40. I have seen The Chicks in concert at least four times and I can't wait to see them on their next tour!
41. When I was in Costa Rica I got to see volcanos, jungles (where I went zip-lining), fantastic sunsets on the beach, and life in the city.
42. My favorite adventures are always the adventures that I get to take with my family. I love taking the kids to new places that fill them with wonder.
And there you are….42 random, and hopefully interesting, facts about me! What fact did you find most interesting? I would love to know!