by Susan Lobb Porter | Photography, Portraits |
Shadow.
Shadows. Mystery of light. My airy doppleganger.
Shadow Portrait, Hay Shed
Susan Lobb Porter
Moi, captured against the wall of the hay shed. Rough wood in the glare of a single compact fluorescent bulb.
Shadow Portrait with Trees
Susan Lobb Porter
Moi again. Striking the cameo pose against the late afternoon sun.
I am becoming emboldened by these shadow portraits, by these images of me-not-me. I’ll be sharing more with you from time to time.
Technical info: These were created on my iphone 4s while enrolled in Catherine Just‘s online class, In Plain Sight. Do yourself a favor, check out her classes. It’s not photography, it’s transformation.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Everyday Ordinary, Photography, Porterosa |
Oh my sweetums, one day, right here at the Porterosa, I went in search of hearts. Because sometimes a girl needs signs of love from the universe, just sayin’.
And I found them EVERYWHERE. A veritable plethora of love signs.
On the ground.
Fallen from trees.
Cast by shadow.
Created by fleeting light.
And spun by Charlotte (with a little help, perhaps, from a pony nose. Or not.)
Lessons learned:
- Open your eyes.
- Open your mind.
- Whatever you’re looking for is right there in front of you.
Technical info: All photos taken using an iPone 4S. Point. Shoot. Dat’s all.
As always, my best best BEST beloveds, if you like what you see here please tell me about it in the comments below. And share it with your friends. I’ll be your best friend if you do. Really. I’ll sit with you at lunch. Play with you during recess. And if you pin it, I might even do your homework.
Pinky swear.
XO
by Susan Lobb Porter | Photography |
“Summer in the deep South is not only a season, a climate, it’s a dimension. Floating in it, one must be either proud or submerged.” ― Eugene Walter, The Untidy Pilgrim
Last week the weather was so HOT, so sticky sultry all consuming miserable, I could’ve been in Florida. Or Texas. Or some place sane Yankees don’t venture to in July. I know because back when Daddy was alive and my parents retired to Florida I used to have to go there every summer for his birthday. For his ‘this might be the last birthday’ guilt-trip vacation.
I’m NOT a fan of Florida. NOT. At. All. But my children have fond memories of those southern summers: beaches with holy roller baptisms and alligators all in the same day, giant grasshoppers and cute little armadillos squished into the pavement alongside the highways and back roads.
But the thing that impressed them the most was the exploding cow.
She was dead, lying in a field and puffing up in the summer heat like a bovine balloon. Until. She. Popped. I kid you not. And let’s just leave it at that, okay?
So I know something about summer. Sultry heat. Know something about what Eugene Walter means by that quote up above. And last week, in the hills of northern California, far far from the deep south, I let the heat get the best of me. Let it wring me out like an old sweaty rag and leave me shuffling through life limp and cranky.
I’d walk into the studio, look around and walk out again. Over and over and over. Couldn’t think of what to do, couldn’t get the creativity rolling when simply being worked up a sweat.
Just when it looked like my life was one big creative sputter (drumroll please) ta-da… I started another online photography class with Catherine Just, In Plain Sight.
Handsprings! Backflips! Da Muse is back in town!
The assignment: pick a topic and photograph it for 30 days. Well, you know what happened the last time…the pony series. Which is still going strong 170 something days later.
I had to pick a new subject for this class. But I was hot and cranky, remember, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. On the first day I had to run an errand downtown and I came across this.
Shadows and Reflections #1
Susan Lobb Porter
The lines and shadows intrigued me. I thought of all the ways I could take that concept. Shadows. Paths that I walk. Lines. Convergence. The possibilites were making me crazy until I decided to let the photos lead the way.
Day two took a slightly different turn. I woke up early, around 6. The sky was yellow and heavy with smoke from a distant fire. I lay in bed thinking so much for shadows.
But I was wrong.
Shadows and Reflections # 2
Susan Lobb Porter
I caught sight of this on the wall as I went to take the dogs out. Aha! Heat, dull sky…mystery. Time to sacrifice another chicken to da muse. (Disclaimer: No chickens, except for the one that went into last night’s chicken salad, were sacrificed to the cause)
Day three dawned bright and sunny. And hot. I did say hot, right? First thing in the morning, probably between 6 or 7, I went down to feed the horses. But my shadow wouldn’t cooperate, she stayed behind me.
Shadows and Reflections #3
Susan Lobb Porter
No matter how fast I moved, how much I twisted, she was there where she wanted to be. As long as I remain in the light my shadow self will always be there.
Day four. 6 AM. Same time of day, same wall but look at the difference between this and day two.
Shadows and Reflections # 4
Susan Lobb Porter
The sun was bright, the light against the wall shifting and changing by the minute. I hurried to take a few shots before taking the dogs out. But the windows needed to be shut against the promise of the morning heat as well.
Dogs won.
Day five. Puppy potty break before bed. I never noticed it before but the lights on the patio cast two shadows. Two illusions of me connected , overlapping at the lower legs like a couple of conjoined twins.
Shadows and Reflections # 5
Susan Lobb Porter
Bean decided to come between them. Did he prefer one over the other, I wonder? Did he even know they were there? Oh man, getting way too existential here. Whatever. I think this is an interesting image.
Day six. Early morning. On my way to feed the horses. I stopped at the top of the front porch steps and thought holy crap! Visions of good stuff all around me!
Shadows and Reflections # 6
Susan Lobb Porter
Shadows. Lines. Angles. I was AWASH in creative inspiration.
Day seven. DearDaughter’s birthday. It was evening. I was in her old room, the one she painted hot pink the year she was 16. The only light came in through windows to the north and east. There wasn’t much, just enough to catch me sitting on her bed.
Twenty-six years, almost to the minute, that she was born.
Shadows and Reflections # 7
Susan Lobb Porter
And here I was twenty-six years later, sitting on her bed taking pictures of my shadow. Thinking about the time that passed. Wondering where it went. My baby’s milestones…learning to walk, learning to talk. Going to school. Graduating from Berkeley. Where she’s been. Where she’ll go. Future milestones she’s yet to define.
And then I realized those memories were like the shadows, shifting and changing over time. The only thing about them that remains consistant is the love. And that’s good enough for me.
Because no one need the daily reality of exploding cows, now, do they?
Technical info: All photos were taken using an iPhone 4s. There was a little tweaking involved in PhotoShop with some of them but not too much.
So that’s it, m’dearies. What I did on my summer vacation. Oh wait, I’m not on vacation. Okay, what I did the first week of July, the first week of In Plain Sight. There’ll be more next week. Perhaps some painting as well. So come on back and check it out.
Meanwhile, as always, if you liked this post please share it with your friends the world the whole freakin’ UNIVERSE. I’ll give you a pony if you do. Or chocolate, yes, chocolate. Which I’ll eat for you and enjoy very much.
XOXOXO Heart emoticons here because you are my best best best beloveds.
But you KNEW that, didn’t you?
Now go share this post, okay? And thanks for the chocolate.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Cool Apps, Photography, Ponies in the Morning |
In my desk at work I have a photo, looks like it was from the 40s. Maybe 30s. It’s a woman cantering a horse in an outdoor arena. It’s taken from a slightly higher vantage point, looking down a little and straight on.
If I remember right, the woman is wearing a plaid shirt and jodphurs. She’s riding in an English saddle. Or should I say on an English saddle? Whatever…
I have no idea who she was. It’s just a photo given to me by a co-worker who found it in a stack of old photos she’d bought somewhere. Maybe a yard sale. Memories sold to strangers.
I always thought I’d do something with it someday. There’s something about old photographs that intrigues me. Mysteries faded by time. But now I don’t have to violate other people’s images…
Because (drum roll please) I CAN MAKE MY OWN, my very OWN, faded, crumpled vintage images…from photos I took this morning!
YAY!!! Thank you geeks who grew up to be app designers…I luvvvvvv you!!! Indeed I do. Because with a little bit of digital manipulation I can turn a crappy snapshot into something fun! interesting! And in this case, vintagely ARTY!
Like this one. The three of them were hanging out up by the barn. In the original photo Saki is blurry from a head shake. But throw some aging grunge into it and it turns into something more. Mysterious. Arty.
And this one…I’m calling this one Secrets. Partial faces. Communication. What are they saying? Why am I ignoring them?
Are they whispering behind my back? Maybe talking about my hair???
That’s the writer in me talking. The reality is they’re both checking to see if I gave the other one a treat. And I’m trying to snap a photo before someone moves.
Now this one is a bit self indulgent. A terrible snapshot, all blur and no substance. Then I arted it up and something in it works for me, the sense of movement coupled with the angle of the walls. Every time I look at it I find myself liking it even more. Maybe because it makes me dizzy. Reminds me of when I had vertigo…but that’s another story.
You’ve seen a lot of these, with Saki or Lana standing behind me. But this time we’re both looking off in different directions. Well, you might think that but look again. His eye is soft and he’s watching me. My eyes are in the front of my head but I’m really watching him in the monitor.
Aww geeze…it’s all smoke and mirrors, isn’t it?
As always, my best beloveds, I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments below. If one of these photos jumps out and screams luvvvv to you, tell me about it. And why.
And if you like this, please share it with your friends.
Technical Info: There were all taken on my iPhone 4S using the basic photo app. They were digitally altered in Vintage by Jixipix.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
The first time I walked through the doors of the Neighborhood Center of the Arts I was blown away. Totally blown away. Over the years I’ve watched other visitors have the same reaction. Because the art created there is raw. Authentic on a level you won’t find in an art school.
It is amazing.
I started working there shortly after that first visit. I teach mixed media three days each week. Been there nearly fifteen years.
I’m not there because of the money, trust me. This is a nonprofit that serves developmentally disabled adults, people who were either born with their genetic wires crossed or who suffered a life altering injury before their eighteenth birthday.
I’m there for them. Because I’ve learned to see beyond their disabilities. I’ve learned to see their abilities. I’ve learned to see them as people, like you and me.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn’t see them that way. The state of California sees the most vulnerable among us as the most expendable. Our budget has been slashed over and over throughout the years.
We make due without raises. We scrounge for supplies. We’ve learned to make art out of damn near anything.
But there’s one client I haven’t been able to reach. I cannot tell you her name or show you her photograph due to confidentiality restrictions. But I do want to tell you about her as best I can without stepping over the privacy line.
She’s a young woman. Autistic. She spends her time in my class on the floor, half under a table. I put paper, paint and markers next to her on the floor. Somedays she’ll write on the paper, copying words from whatever reading material is handy. Some days she’ll paint. But none of this activity lasts longer than ten minutes. And that’s on a good day.
If I’m lucky. Some days she won’t do anything.
One day, in desperation, I pulled out my iPhone. I have it loaded with art apps because, well, why not? I’m an artist. I handed it to her and she immediately began exploring the apps. I was amazed at her intuitive grasp of the programs, some of which I haven’t even figured out yet.
The iPhone kept her busy for over an hour, until it was time to go. I was amazed. Totally. These are a couple of designs she made with an app called Type Drawing. She had to type the text, pick the colors and draw.
A few weeks later I brought in my iPad. Same reaction. It was as if someone had flipped on a switch. She lit up and immediately began exploring the possibilities. She wasn’t the woman hiding out from the world, she was a young woman interacting with something outside of herself.
It was an amazing transformation, one I’d dearly love to see continue. Because something like this can change a life.
But an iPad is completely out of our budget. I know, I’ve put in the request, spoken with the powers that be. So now I’m putting the seeds out into the universe. If any of you have a connection to Apple, or belong to a service organization looking for a project or want a tax write off or just have an iPad lying around that you’re not using…well, feel free to contact my boss, Amee M. ncadirector@nccn.net (530) 272-7287.
Because you never know where you’re going to find an angel.
