Charcoal on 18” x 24” paper

Camera Model Name: Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL

Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Tv (Shutter Speed): 1/125

Av (Aperture Value): 7.1

Metering Modes: Evaluative Metering

ISO Speed: 100

Focal Length: 18.0 mm

Flash: Off

 

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DAY 07: Over night halt – TEGAR

 

Altitude: 3, 048 m / 10, 000ft.

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Kyagar better known as Tegar village (also referred to as Tiger village by the Indian army personnel) is at an altitude of 3, 048 m / 10, 000 ft.

 

About 30–40 minutes drive later the cars stop near a narrow gate covered with creepers and abounded by shrubs. It is not until we enter, that a very large garden bursts on us. The greater part of the plot (on the left) covered by barley, mustard, peas, broccoli, cabbage (red and green), willow, apricot and apple trees; in a corner the newly painted family stupa. Row of tall proud poplars provide veil to the snow-capped mountain range. On the reverse, the stark and smooth contoured peaks act as protective barrier. Another slice of land (on the right) has rose, dahlia, cosmos, poppy, chrysanthemum and marigold blooms. At the tree shaded backyard the special attraction is the hotel pet ‘Pushkar’, a young Bacterian camel! Only scar in this perfect prop, an out of use small Jacuzzi pool hidden amidst the green tangle.

 

We are the sole guests in the hotel for the night, which works perfectly as here too most of the staffs are away in Leh to attend H.H. Dalai Lama’s speech. Andrea and Shalini opt for rooms in the ground floor, while my preference is a corner room upstairs (offering the best garden and mountain view).

 

The spacious clean room has floor to ceiling glass windows on two sides, along with an attached small cozy washroom, which has stylish glass opening in the ceiling allowing natural light as well as sky peek!

 

With mood soaring like Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppellii - the highest flying bird), shower can wait; need to explore the garden immediately!!!

This was Value City's headquarters when Value City closed in 2008.

Value study in watercolour and gouache

4” x 8” (10x20cm)

Thanks to Dana Critchlow at pmp-art for the reference

… we nurture our values, in the past it was the elderly and the sick

For ODC ~ value. Sleep is what I value most these days. Work and life have been absolutely crazy. I apologize for only being able to post a photo most of the time. I hope to catch up on comments sometime soon.

Hasbro - Star Wars "Value" Figures

They are a little shorter than Black Series and typically have four points of articulation but are $8 or less when you can find them

Picked up at Big Lots, Walgreens, 5 Below, and a Canadian trade

Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Kanan Jarrus, Death Trooper, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Rey, Han Solo, Finn, Captain Phasma, First Order Stormtrooper, and Kylo Wren

HM

Final high-speed setup, Olympus E-PL3 replaced by the Nikon D300 camera.

 

Why this replacement:

Better pictures, less noise.

ISO low to 100 better for longer camera capture time with internal shutter open.

Better acces to the memory card and the battery for exchanging.

 

Specs:

Nikon D300 camera in manual mode.

DIY adaptor to mount the Nikor AF105/2.8D macro lens.

Nikkor AF105/2.8D macro lens.

A DIY external shutter housing has the super fast Uniblitz VS14s shutter.

The shutter-lag is only 3.5ms, the opening time is 4.5 ms or 1/220 sec.

A DIY HT module control the 65V to the external shutter. The high power current for the external shutter is supplied by a flash capacitor 740 uF/330V.

Detector depth accuracy: 0.25mm at 310mm from object to front macro lens, frame = 60mm.

The 2 flashes are SB-80-DX types (or SB800). They works in TTL mode and are controlled via my hardware modules. Via the keyboard all settings can be changed and stored into a flash eeprom. So the flashes are all controlled from the controller and no more individual on the flashes itself.

The hardware core is a FPGA module from terasic, the DE0-nano. Very powerfull and small. All high-speed timings are controlled from this board. More then 81 I/O pins are used.

All modules in this unit can be reprogrammed via an USB connection.

 

For high-speed in-flight insects capture I use a laser system to know when an insects come in focus. This laser system is very accurate and quickly. In just 50 us I know when an insects stay infocus. Thereafter the high-speed external shutter is activated into 3.5 ms to take a picture. Even super fast flying insects at macro closeup stay in the picture frame with this ultra short detecton delay and shutter-lag.

 

The detector has a 128 pixel line array to readout the laserbeam. A distance change of only 0.25 mm can be seen by the line array. Each pixel has an 8 bit value. The value, the position and the noise can be set into the parameters for optimal picture capture. Even super small insects of 0.5mm can be detected at 500 mm from the macro lens and this into the super short time of only 50 us (1/20.000 sec)

 

I use a power-pack module to powerup all the hardware. The racing pack module gives 7.5V @ 4200 mA. Multiple DC/DC convertors converts this to the correct voltage with high efficience. More then 10 hours autonomy is provided.

 

List of frame versus distance (object to frontside macro lens):

 

Free Distance ...... Frame

410 mm ............... 80 mm

360 mm ............... 70 mm

310 mm ............... 60 mm . . . Detector depth accuracy 0.25mm

280 mm ............... 50 mm

235 mm ............... 45 mm

215 mm ............... 40 mm

190 mm ............... 35 mm

165 mm ............... 30 mm

147 mm ............... 25 mm

125 mm ............... 20 mm

112 mm ............... 17 mm

 

Extra added the ringflash Nikon SB29s. The flash is also drived via TTL mode to setup the correct power. I've connected this extra flash parallel to the flash2 SB-80-DX flash with the same power control due to the limited outputs of the central controller. If need is can also set this SB29s flash manual into 1/4 power or 1/32 power. I use 2 diodes in series to connect the flashes parallel. This works perfect. I've added this ringflash due the high flash power needed to works in full sunlight and much better light distribution in closeups.

 

Functioning of the optical detector.

 

The detector gives a signal when an object arrives at the correct focus area. The beam of a green laser pointer is reflected by the moving object (insect) and is received on a 128 pixel line array detector. According to the distance of the object the laserbeam give a signal on a group pixels on the linearray between 1 and 128. One pixel position corresponds to 0.25 mm distance change in depht. Setting a detector range on the controller can change the focus zone and the focus distance. Ambient light is calculated over the full 128 pixel line array during a scan, the detector signal show a peak value when the object is in the focus range. The normal working distance from the front side of the macro lens to the object in focus change with the macro lens ratio. The normal range with the external fast shutter system is from 112mm to 410mm. The integration time to measure the light vary from 50us to any desired value, practical limited to 850 us. The most use scan time is 50 us at daytime.

 

This detector work very fast, only 50 us or 20.000 samples/sec. A digital filter algorithme can be added to avoid unwanted triggers. This digital filter can be set from 1 to 8 samples before a valid trigger is assigned. This is especially important during the day when there is plenty of sunshine. Once the detector signal validated the external super-fast shutter is activated. This take only 3.5ms to full open time.

 

Optical detector versus cross-beam interruption:

 

Cross-beam interruption work also very accurate but there is a limiet on the acces to the insects. No other objects may interrupt the beam and the position of the laser-detectors are in front of the insects. Shy insects are less likely to fly here between and there are a lot of limits from unwanted objects between laser and object. My optical detector can even look inside a hole to capture the insects. The full distance between front of the lens and the insects is free with the optical detector. So I can record many more species.

 

Another advantage with the optical line array is the dynamic focus control without adjusting again the macro lens. Just change the "FOCUS" value ( normal set at 64, the centre of the 128 pixel array) to set the detector point further or closer. The "DOF" value set the detector tolerance (depht) and the "NOISE" parameter set the sensivity, or signal above the ambient value valid for detection. At night to detect super small insects I can increase the integration time given a super boost for the sensivity to detect black and small in-flight insects. Insects of 0.5mm body are suitable for detection.

 

Total weight unit : 6.6 kg inclusief all batteries.

 

Nail technicians and skin-care specialists (the salon workers who do the most waxing) earn a mean annual pre-tax wage of $22,150 to $31,990. This figure doesn't include tips, which can total another $4,430 to $6,398—a clear financial incentive to befriend your clients in this service-based, nonreciprocal way.

 

And yet. When it came to 38, I wanted the cash, not the compliment, to show the value of my abilities. And maybe, to compensate for how she got to leave feeling so clean and sexy—but I could still smell her body on me, ever so faintly, even after I threw away the gloves and washed my hands.

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........***** All images are copyrighted by their respective authors ........

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I’m not sure what the phrase “owning your sexuality” means to you, but for me, one thing it entails is responsibility: doing my best to make sexual choices that are sound for me and a partner. (That’s also part of doing consent well.)

 

If I am offering something sexually light and fun but anticipate that it will be emotionally or interpersonally complex–or if I’m feeling stressed, confused and worried about it–then I can know that easy-breezy is neither what I can expect nor earnestly offer.

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You are here: Home / Health / Can Sex “Just for Fun” Be Emotionally Healthy?

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Can Sex “Just for Fun” Be Emotionally Healthy?

October 11, 2011 by Heather Corinna

 

msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/11/can-sex-just-for-fun-...

 

This week’s installment of Heather Corinna‘s sex-and-relationships advice column tackles the issue of casual sex.

 

...Q: So excited for this new blog spot! Can you discuss whether it’s emotionally healthy to have sex outside of relationships? I want to own my sexuality, but all of the advice around me seems to be no-sex-outside-of-relationships-or-marriage. I know this depends on the individual, but any insight would be great! I’ve been toying with asking an ex–whom I am friends with–to have sex just for fun. I’m 98 percent sure he’ll agree, but I am worried about emotional health consequences. He has always wanted a much closer relationship than I do. I’m worried I’ll feel guilty for possibly leading him (or myself) into wanting more.

 

You’re right: this is a very individual and situational decision. To give some context, a recent study found that, on average, for 20-year-olds, casual sex and committed relationships led to the same level of psychological health. But individuals aren’t averages. Not everyone wants or is comfortable with sex in the same kinds of relationships or scenarios (including committed relationships). Context and interpersonal dynamics factor in, too.

 

There are some guidelines, however, that everyone can apply. When a sexual situation is likely to be sound, we usually feel good heading into it, as does anyone else involved. If we feel uncertain or predict negative feelings on anyone’s part, those are strong cues not to proceed.

 

I’m not sure what the phrase “owning your sexuality” means to you, but for me, one thing it entails is responsibility: doing my best to make sexual choices that are sound for me and a partner. (That’s also part of doing consent well.) If I am offering something sexually light and fun but anticipate that it will be emotionally or interpersonally complex–or if I’m feeling stressed, confused and worried about it–then I can know that easy-breezy is neither what I can expect nor earnestly offer.

 

Even when I’m having sex-for-sex’s-sake–which I would define as sex that takes place outside of a larger intimate relationship, without any agreed-upon, intended or implied commitment–that doesn’t mean I have zero responsibility for my emotional health or that of others. My partner (or wanna-be partner) and I still owe one another respect, care and consideration, which includes considering possible outcomes, even if we don’t intend to be there with each other for them.

 

It sounds like you’re on board with that, and you’ve already voiced your own sense that this specific situation probably isn’t sound for you or your ex. While he’d likely agree to sex, clearly some of this wouldn’t be fun for him or you, and could be an emotional landmine. While your romantic relationship may be over, you two are in a relationship: you have a history and a friendship, and it sounds like you have strong feelings for and about one another that are not only or primarily sexual. If what you want is just a roll in the proverbial hay, this isn’t likely to be it.

 

It also sounds like you’ve been curious about sex outside of romantic relationships, but you haven’t felt supported in or exposed to alternatives. So you might also want to give yourself more time to take a bit more stock of what you want and to find people to talk with who aren’t all saying the same things. If that’s not currently available to you, Sex & Single Girls is a great anthology with a diverse array of women writing about various sexual experiences. I also think Jaclyn Friedman’s new book, What You Really Really Want, could be just the thing for you.

 

My best advice is that you hold out for an opportunity to explore casual sex if and when you feel a lot better about it. That will also likely entail a partner or scenario you don’t feel so conflicted about; that feels more likely to be explosive in the ways you want, rather than the ways you don’t.

 

Check out last week’s advice about lube blues.

 

Have a sex, sexual-health or relationships question you want answered? Email it to Heather at sexandrelationships@msmagazine.com. By sending a question to that address, you acknowledge you give permission for your question to be published. Your email address and any other personally identifying information will remain private. Not all questions will receive answers.

Photo from Flickr user skampy under Creative Commons 2.0.

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.....item 2).... Ms. Magazine blog ... msmagazine.com/blog ...

 

You are here: Home / Life / When the Sweet Spot Becomes a Sore Spot

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When the Sweet Spot Becomes a Sore Spot

October 31, 2011 by Heather Corinna

 

msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/31/when-the-sweet-spot-b...

  

Q: I’m a 21-year-old lesbian. A problem has popped up in me and my girlfriend’s sex life. When we practice tribadism with just skin, after a while a very small raw spot will show up, bringing with it a sharp pain. Both of us have this problem. Neither of us is clean-shaven, but we do trim–would shaving help? Is there anything else we can do?

 

A: Ah, friction. Sometimes it feels so awesome. Other times it hurts. Part of what makes genitals so sensitive is that genital tissue is far more delicate than other kinds of skin on our bodies. With genital friction, there’s a tipping point after which a wowie can turn into an owie.

 

To avoid being rubbed raw, first make sure you and your partner are always very well-lubricated. Lube from a bottle tends to do the job better than our bodies’ lubricant when it comes to friction-intensive sex.

 

Apply lube before you start and add more as needed throughout. Be generous and don’t skimp.

 

I checked in with Searah Deysach, the fantastic owner of Early to Bed, to see if she had any specific lube suggestions; she keeps up with brands and types like nobody’s business. She suggested a high-quality silicone lube, such as Uberlube or Sliquid Silver–they tend to be longer-lasting and slicker than water-based lubricants. But if you prefer water-based, she suggests glycerin-free brands such as Sliquid Sea or Liquid Silk (my fave), which are kinder to vulvas and vaginas than those with glycerin.

Searah and I are of one mind about hairy issues. She says, “Hair that is growing back after shaving can be especially irritating, as stubble can be vicious on delicate tissues. “ I agree. Stubble from hair removal is more likely to irritate than the softer pubic hair we tend to have when we don’t shave. If all you do is trim, chances are hair isn’t the problem.

 

Consider positioning. I’d suggest experimenting with an eye for reducing how much weight is being put on each of your genitals. Try finding ways you can scissor without anyone really being “on top” at all, like lying on your backs toe to head. Searah suggested straddling your lover’s thigh as an alternative. Similar feeling, less pain. If you do like a missionary-style V-on-V position, whoever’s on top can try to balance so less weight rests on the other person’s tender bits–e.g., by bracing their hands on a headboard. Mixing up positions often helps, too. And if and when either of you start feeling raw, don’t keep going with the activity that got you there–take a break from genital sex or at least consider that spot done for the day. If it remains raw the next day, lay off the intense pressure for as long as it takes to heal.

 

Now and then this still might happen, especially because, when we’re very aroused, pleasure can cause us to space out on signals of pain. But with these adjustments, you can probably make it a rarity instead of a norm.

 

Check out last week’s advice to a woman whose fiancé monitored her vagina’s size.

 

Have a sex, sexual-health or relationships question you want answered? Email it to Heather at sexandrelationships@msmagazine.com. By sending a question to that address, you acknowledge you give permission for your question to be published. Your email address and any other personally identifying information will remain private. Not all questions will receive answers.

 

Photo from Flickr user Gray Marchiori-Simpson under license from Creative Commons 2.0

 

Line drawing from Wikimedia Commons.

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......item 3).... Slate ... www.slate.com ... HOME / DOUBLEX : WHAT WOMEN REALLY THINK ABOUT NEWS, POLITICS, AND CULTURE.

 

My Year in Waxing School

Naked people don't tip well, and more tricks of the trade.

By Virginia Sole-Smith|Posted Friday, Nov. 19, 2010, at 12:08 PM ET

 

www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2010/11/my_year_i...

 

The 38th client I worked on at Beauty U. was my first full Brazilian wax—the kind where you remove all (or almost all) of your hair below the belt. I'd waxed many bikini lines and other body parts. I'd also assisted on Brazilians, handing my teachers wax-dipped Popsicle sticks the way nurses hand over scalpels. But now, it was my turn to wield the wax, solo. "I know—I'm a hairy beast!" Client 38 apologized, hopping onto the waxing table, clad in disposable thong. "You have to fix me. I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend."

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She spread her legs. I put on some vinyl gloves and worked down and across her pelvis, twirling clumps of hair and trimming them free. You have to trim any hair longer than eyebrow-length to prevent "locking" with the wax. You also have to act like this is normal, even though a part of your brain is thinking, "Pubic hair, pubic hair, oh my God, pubic hair." But I was getting better at trimming, and also at acting. And so clouds of hair piled up on the paper-covered table while 38 chatted about her vacation plans (the Poconos; if she was lucky, a proposal), her C-section scar, and how she liked my red glasses.

 

The $1.8 billion business of superfluous hair removal is our most intimate and uncomfortable kind of beauty labor. When I enrolled in a 600-hour aesthetics program at my local strip mall beauty school, I knew the standard feminist rhetoric against hair removal: Women wax because we've been culturally indoctrinated to hate our bodies in their natural state. I also knew the women's magazine defense, that removing excess hair celebrates our femininity and increases sexual pleasure. And I'd been in 38's position enough to know that waxing can make you feel vulnerable in ways feminists haven't even considered and hurts more than women's magazines (or at least, their beauty advertisers) let you believe.

 

But being on the other side of the waxing table turns out to feel simultaneously more exploitative and more empowering than I ever expected. There is, for example, the moment when your client shuts off from you, closing her eyes to "relax." Your client is in charge, having commissioned you to perform this service. And yet they are also terribly vulnerable, half naked, exposed and—eyes closed—hoping for the best.

 

After I trimmed, I tested the temperature of the hot wax on the inside of my wrist and painted a stripe along 38's inner thigh, quickly covering it with a muslin strip. She tensed before I ripped, then relaxed even as her brown skin tinted pink: "That hurt so much less than last time!" I watched some spots of blood well up. "I'm going to have you do my eyebrows, too," she added. And as I waxed my way along the crevice of her inner thigh to some very sensitive parts, 38 closed her eyes, drifting into that blissful state we enter whenever a spa service goes well.

 

With most Beauty U. clients, I liked offering this respite from their harried lives and from the even more harried relationship they had with their bodies. Before beauty school began, I hoped this body shame part wouldn't be so true. Instead, I saw women hating their bodies—in subtle ways, like 38's matter-of-fact "I'm a hairy beast!"—with every spa service I performed. So I saw my role as providing a kind of safe haven of acceptance, where a client could feel comfortable enough to drift away

 

Two hours into 38's appointment, I was the one who could not relax. I had waxed right through my dinner break and my back ached from hunching over the table. I removed all the hair 38 had asked me to (all but a delicate landing strip) and cleaned up her brows. I held a hand mirror between her legs, angling it so she could decide if she was satisfied. I'd snipped off her paper thong, so we looked together like those consciousness-raising women's groups from the 1970s. Only with me still wearing my vinyl gloves, now sticky with a layer of wax.

 

By that time, I knew that 38 had two kids, was divorced, and was going back to college. I liked 38. I wanted her to enjoy vacation and get engaged and have a good life. But we weren't friends. There was nothing reciprocal in our conversation. We were taught to avoid sharing personal information about ourselves whenever possible. "Customers don't care about your life," teachers told us. "They're buying your full attention." And that seemed to work. Once clients relaxed, they told us all sorts of personal things, like when they next expected to have sex and why their mothers made them crazy. And we learned that letting clients share these intimate details was good for business. "Remember to mention something about them or their life that they've talked about previously. Keep notes about each customer on file if you need to," advised one handout. It was much like being a therapist, serving soul and body.

 

In April, the New York Post reported that "NYC Women are Strangely Bonded to the Beauticians who Wax Their Brazilians," quoting smitten spa-goers who viewed their waxers as surrogate moms. But the story didn't explain how this one-sided friendship is made all the more awkward by socioeconomic differences. No matter how friendly their relationship, the client still pays and the waxer still needs that money. Nail technicians and skin-care specialists (the salon workers who do the most waxing) earn a mean annual pre-tax wage of $22,150 to $31,990. This figure doesn't include tips, which can total another $4,430 to $6,398—a clear financial incentive to befriend your clients in this service-based, nonreciprocal way.

 

Before starting, I assumed that most clients tip the industry's expected standard of 20 percent. They don't. I wasn't surprised, for example, when 38 tipped me just $5 (under 15 percent) because we never got big tips when clients got naked. Like johns who mistake their hooker's acrobatics for true love, clients can put such emphasis on the girlfriend-bonding time that slipping us a wad of cash would destroy the fantasy.

 

If her tip had been bigger, I would have been more delighted that 38 had taken time to write a "Client Kudos!" card about me: "She was professional and friendly at the same time. … Thanks so much!" She even drew a star on top next to my name. "That makes up for the bad tip," said my classmate Campbell about my Client Kudos. "Look how happy you made her!" Most salon workers say making clients feel good is their biggest source of job satisfaction. But I'm not convinced it's enough to balance out the often exhausting, difficult, and underpaid labor. No matter how much we liked our clients, we still had to brush stray pubic hairs off our sleeves, pick seaweed-stained disposable thongs out of the shower, and work around the occasional menstruating bikini wax client.

 

But it's also true that many waxers find this work empowering because the services require such skill and our clients are so thrilled with the results. Even if we don't totally return our clients' affections, we feel a kind of sisterhood with them and our fellow salon workers, because we're all toiling away together to meet some impossible beauty standard. When Campbell and I practiced our first Brazilian together, she rubbed the back of our "client" (another classmate), singing songs to distract her from the pain. We all traded stories about waxing and then, childbirth—that other time when a woman spreads her legs in pain and the support of other women gets her through.

 

And yet. When it came to 38, I wanted the cash, not the compliment, to show the value of my abilities. And maybe, to compensate for how she got to leave feeling so clean and sexy—but I could still smell her body on me, ever so faintly, even after I threw away the gloves and washed my hands.

 

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Portland, OR;

roadsidenut.wordpress.com/2016/08/06/summer-trip-day-2-we...

*my parents taught me the values of life, Kerra, my best friend taught me how to live life, another friend, Aizati, taught me how to document life (she's a talented photographer), my flickr friends taught me how to look @ life fm a different POV, my darling husband taught me that sharing 1 life is the greatest thing in the world..I learned frm them not to take life for granted, I thank life for all the little treasures I find along the way...

 

I'm suppose to post another 'band' shot, but I really like this as blue Tuesday! he he

  

web

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was initiated by the late president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure which unites the cultural diversity of Islamic world, the historical and modern values of architecture and art.[2] His final resting place is located on the grounds beside the same mosque. The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007.[3] It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. The building complex measures approximately 290 m (960 ft) by 420 m (1,380 ft), covering an area of more than 12 hectares (30 acres), exclusive of exterior landscaping and vehicle parking.[4]

As the country's grand mosque, it is the key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid it can be visited by more than 40,000 people.[1]

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center (SZGMC) offices are located in the east minarets. SZGMC manages the day-to-day operations, as a place of worship and Friday gathering, and also a center of learning and discovery through its educational cultural activities and visitor programs.

The library, located in the north/east minaret, serves the community with classic books and publications addressing a range of Islamic subjects: sciences, civilization, calligraphy, the arts, coins and includes some rare publications dating back more than 200 years. In reflection of the diversity of the Islamic world and the United Arab Emirates, the collection comprises material in a broad range of languages, including Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Korean.

"How Deal Between Dow and DuPont Could Create Value" by ROBERT CYRAN via NYT t.co/rniKA0rcPX (via Twitter twitter.com/felipemassone/status/675006307703877632)

thewantonwardrobe.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/the-value-of-d...

I could barely see anything in this room when I first entered. My eyes slowly adjusted as I unpacked my meter, loupe and other gear only to discover that my meter would really only return values close to where the light was entered the room from outside. I dicovered that about 6-7 steps from the top was metering at about 2 minutes or so, as was the rim lighting on the doorway under the stairs. I guessed at 6 minutes, started the exposure and stood in the just-below-freezing cold, waiting.

 

Camera: Wista 45DX

Lens: Nikon Nikkor SW 90mm F/4.5

Film: Ilford FP4+

Exposure: ISO 125, f20, 6 minutes

Movements: 1/2 front rise

Developer: Blazinal agitated first minute and stand developed for 49 more at 22 degrees

So much has worn me down health-wise this year & I’ve felt so far from myself because of stress.

 

I’ve finally been able to verbalize and admit to myself that this has been the hardest year of my life since 2010 when my mother died. I knew selling a home & buying in another state would be stressful no matter what. What I don’t think I could have anticipated was a year like 2024 where we both got Covid for the first time (which had lasting impacts) and the genocide in Gaza ravaging the world. I fundamentally changed and that year left me a different person than who I have ever been. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

 

Following that with a year that started with 70 days of varying degrees of headache to all encompassing migraines (leading to an MRI and medical action plans).

 

Then we started in earnest to do the home dance. Allowing people into my home repeatedly with no real control turned me inside out. My agoraphobia sky rocketed and everything felt impossibly hard.

 

From the start of the year we’ve had to face a new type of nightmare in our news, US domestic government, and life overall. Everything feels surreal most of the time.

 

I’ve had such a fog in my mind while I more or less had to shut entire parts of myself down and compartmentalize until I could get through other more immediate needs on my energy and time.

 

The stress, the uncertainty, the discomfort lead to me more or less giving up on having a human body. I rarely drank water, I stopped moving my body entirely, I spent every moment I wasn’t actively doing The Things I Had To Do™️ (or occasionally taking photos) laying down or crying. I could barely wash my face, brush my teeth, or take a shower. I know my photo stream gives one of those picture perfect storylines of how the last year has gone because I am pretty ok at composition and framing (and admittedly take good self portraits).

 

The reality is I’ve struggled more overall than I had ever let on.

 

This week I’ve been sorting photos & found some that dusted my brain off. Photos that reminded me of how even when some years like 2017 (the photos with just my torso) when I had just bought my first house with my ex and realized the relationship may not last because my sobriety hadn’t really changed anything between us. Or 2020 (the photo of me lying down in a Skeletonwitch tshirt and the 3 photo collage) the year of Covid and the year I finally ended that relationship after giving it everything I had for 3 more years while that global pandemic was happening.

 

Both were unimaginably difficult I was still able to lean into reflection, listening to my body and mind, and working to find the life changes I needed to be a happier and more balanced Nix. The photos feel like a talisman or a magical catalyst to remind me of my power. My routines are returning to me and I can feel the joy they bring. I am waking up.

 

If you’ve read this far, thank you. This is stuff I usually keep for my online blog, but I was feeling verbose and brave and wanted to share here too. I really value the connections I’ve been making being back on Flickr and the site and the people have been one of the bright spots for me through all of this.

That lowrider logo was huge and dope!

Taken: NJ, USA.

 

It was windy.

 

Based on the Bright Furrows quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting.

Playing with a possible layout. Not crazy about the zigzag; I'll probably try something else. Mostly Kaffe Fassett prints, but some others sprinkled in -- my main goal was to disregard color entirely, choosing multicolored prints and focusing on value alone.

Quick value study sketch. I think this may become one of my next watercolors. This was a bright, sunny day and the shapes of these barns creates a scene that caught my eye immediately.

 

Hopefully coming soon . . .

Another interesting reuse of a vacated drugstore location by family-owned retailer Value Drugs. This one is quite obviously a former Eckerd on Long Island.

 

In 1998, Eckerd (owned by JCPenney) had swallowed the largest pharmacy on Long Island, Genovese Drug Stores. Genovese was a family-owned and run pharmacy chain with 141 stores in NY/NJ/CT. JCPenney continued to run the stores as Genovese for 5 years, re-bannering them as Eckerd in 2003.

 

This building was a former supermarket which was taken over when JCPenney relocated the existing Genovese store from a few blocks away around 2002. The standard Eckerd facade was added to the existing building and the name changed to Eckerd soon after.

 

The Eckerd store was converted to Rite-Aid in 2007 when Rite Aid purchased the Eckerd and Brooks chains from the Jean Coutu Group, and it closed soon after in 2009. Value Drugs opened here in 2009 and runs an extremely successful store.

 

Chicago

Stroud, OK.

3100 E Layton Ave, St. Francis, WI

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I thought this repurposed A&P was a neat find!

Former Value City Department store. This was previously a King's department store. This store was one of the last Value City locations to close in 2008.

 

The logo on the building is one I have never saw Value City use before. First of all the sign on the building is orange instead of the orange, yellow, and white sign they usually used on a brown background (see street sign). Second, the "V" in Value City on other signs is the only large-sized letter and on the sign here both the "V" and "C" are expanded. Last of all, the "Value City" sign is usually centered above the entrance with the "Department Store" text directly underneath it.

 

Photo from 1980 with the store as a King's location

vintageaerial.com/photos/ohio/stark/1980/RST/184/18

 

Built in 1968

60,600 square feet

 

1425 East State Street in Alliance, Ohio

Here are my notes to the class that convened on Saint Patrick's Day at PicNic. The value sketches to illustrate value in proportion are below this demo.

 

hi Watercolorists,

Thanks for another fun class. For those of you who were traveling or otherwise unable to join us, we missed you!

But we plowed ahead with our ranunculus, radicchios and other delicious subjects. And once again, great strides were made.

 

Here is my demo of a still life of lovely values, colors and shapes that Lisa arranged with a mildly pesky cloth under the fruit!

 

I woke up the other night and realized that not one of you has begun any of your paintings by drawing in pencil first. That is remarkable, and terrific. When I acknowledged it on Saturday, the class said "But you told us not to!!" Did I? I don't remember that! I know that I don't do it as drawing first can tighten things, and I am delighted and proud that each of you has braved this method. Drawing is the foundation of all art making. It never ever hurts to draw, but I love leaving it out of watercolors. So much can be lifted from watercolors, but once wet, pencil lines simply won't budge. To rely on your brushes to convey what you see is like climbing on a two wheeler and sailing forward without the tricycle stage. Direct attack! Bravo!

 

We talked about value and proportion.

Value is simply the lightness or darkness of ANY color. Yellow and violet - or any color- can hold the same value if mixed with the right amounts of water. It is hard to take color out of the conversation about watercolor, but the only way to really make your paintings soar is to have a strong sense of composition. That goes for any work of art in any medium.

 

*The strongest compositions have distinctive value choices in varying proportions.*

 

Below are some simple sketches to illustrate this. I took three basic values: light, medium and dark, and used them in three primary proportions- proportions being the amount of space each one gets on the sheet- calling those proportions minor, intermediate and major.

This takes some time to really understand, and longer to apply.

 

Can you tell which proportions the values in my color demo above hold? Squint your eyes to see them.

 

S&R #19 Go exploring

Not sure of the reason behind this special edition, yet its still cool. The DBS is awesome, the sound's pretty astonishing!

 

What do you think about this shot? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the editing and shot, to me, they're very valuable.

 

By the way, follow me on twitter!