Photographer, Writer and Spiritual Counselor, Paul Hood

Soar!

2011-09-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Another photo I shot back in Bellingham, in an overgrown vacant lot. The swallows were flying all around me and I just kept shooting and shooting, trying to track them as the swooped and zigzagged across the sky. Amazing creatures, swallows. I only got a few shots which came out. Getting them in frame at all and anywhere close to focused was a real task.

I'm King of the World!

2011-09-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Another shot taken in Bellingham, Washington several years back, but recently re-edited. I'm pretty fond of cormorants. They're tough and successful. Swimming birds. After they've been underwater for awhile they have to dry out their feathers so that they can fly again. They typically choose a prominent spot and often face into the sun and wind if they can do both at the same time. It's a striking sight, and even though I know it's strictly pragmatic-- it's the sort of thing which goes along with their personality when you get to know them.

Going to California

2011-09-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

This photo is called "Going to California" and it was taken in Kingman, Arizona where we stopped for the night on our somewhat arduous move from Santa Fe, New Mexico, back to California where I have lived most of my life.

Santa Cruz Lighthouse at the harbor

2011-09-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

Took this shot years ago in Santa Cruz, of the lighthouse at the Yacht Harbor. Only got around to editing it tonight, which is a good thing because I don't think my editing skills were as good years ago. Years from now hopefully the skills will be better still.

Sandpipers in Santa Cruz, California

2011-08-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

Took this photo of sandpipers doing what they do in the sea foam of the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz, California.

Model Mayhem or Flake City?

2011-08-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, there is really nothing at all wrong with Model Mayhem. In fact it's a really easy to use website, quite seamless to do the standard things you'd want to do like upload or arrange photos or send messages. The website exists to put models in touch with photographers mostly, but also make up artists, clothing designers, hair stylists, etc. It's a very good site and I'm not knocking it at all. In fact, here's a link if you want to check it out modelmayhem.

So far the only problems I'm having are with the people. I've asked several models so far if they've been interested in doing a shoot, they've all responded positively to that. So I go "Great, here's my contact info lets meet over coffee and plan it. Do you mind if I bring my partner, Sheryl?" And that's about as far as it ever gets. Some of them say, "I'm coming to your area this week" or that they come around here all the time. Some of them contacted me in the first place, and then flaked. True, I've only had contact with 5 or 6 so far, but I'm getting the sense that it's a trend.

I doubt it has anything to do with Chico, or Chico State, which is known to be a party school. It might have something to do with the general age of these models--- most are around age 20 or so. Maybe the idea, the concept of being a model is "I'm good looking, so maybe somebody will pay me to stand there and be pretty." When I'm pretty sure, speaking as a photographer and also as an all around older- -than-20-years-old guy, that there is a lot more to it than that. It's not the hardest work around, but it is work, and some people can play to the camera well and some can't.

When it comes to getting paid to model-- you might have to know something about that. You might need an agent or an agency, because paid modeling work is serious business, not a fairy tale. You've got a crew of professionals working collaboratively to produce a very fine product on a schedule, not "bang bang, shoot shoot, here's a wad of cash, now go home." But you've got to get started somewhere, and so Model Mayhem could be a good start. It could also be a place to just fart around and play fantasy games, without every having to pony up and actually do something, like follow through and show up, or at least follow through with making a plan which actually involves showing up.

Lest you think I'm naive, I didn't expect everyone on this site to be a professional, not even close. Most who do anything do TFCD at least for awhile until a decent portfolio is established. TFCD is a trade wherein all those involved are trading their time and effort for the end product: the photos themselves. It used to be called TFP which is "trade for prints" back in film days. I just didn't expect the first half dozen contacts to come up zilch, especially when they are expressing interest, have seen my portfolio and presumably my website and then. . . nothing. They did put themselves up on the site. They do state that they want to improve or add to their portfolio, that they are willing to do TFCD. Many have really woefully inadequate portfolios: a handful of fuzzy, grainy, red eye snapshots and could really use my help. I may not be the #1 fashion or even portrait photographer in the region, but I can do much better than what many of them have right now, and my portfolio shows that. If they don't like what I've got, they're under no obligation to respond or to contact me in the first place. So what's with the flake factor?

Either I get it or I don't. In a vacuum I'm going to have to make my own assumptions. The first, and pretty much undeniable one is that the vast majority in this venue aren't even the least bit serious, and that it is just a fantasy or a game to them. Maybe we should blame the mass media for this one too-- that's not my favorite thing to do, however. Have our younger generation gotten the idea that being and young and pretty is your entire one-way ticket to Moneyville? That all you have to do is hang out a snapshot or two and the mavens of fashion will swoop down upon you, raining dollars like manna from heaven because you are the one in a million who is in possession of the perfect pout? Wow. I hope that's not it.

Strange days in Chico, or OM is a dirty word

2011-08-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Having a few issues here and there, probably have little to do with Chico but it is where I happen to be. I left here back in about 2004, partly because it's too damn hot in the summertime, partly because I've always found Chico to be an "affable" place, which does not distinguish itself in any way other than it's overall "pleasantness". And I was a little bored, so I left.

My partner interviewed for a minimum wage job, and that's not so philosophically central to Chico either, just fallout from our "great recession" when somebody so highly qualified and educated as she has to do that. However it may be considered a little more "acceptable" here, in that it's a fairly small town with a lot of recent college graduates: many if whom stay here because they like it here and will accept pretty much any wages offered. But again, that might be true across the country right now, I just don't know.

Still working at generating some "buzz" for my photography business here in Chico, whereas I was getting better results back in the bay area previously with a portfolio less developed than what I have now. Strikes me as a little odd, since we were in Santa Cruz which has about the same population as Chico.

In the meantime I sometimes put fun or inspiring messages on T-shirts and bumper-stickers and such, and for some reason lately the print company has rejected some of my latest designs; like the symbol for "OM" or "AUM". Is somehow considered offensive. . . on what, a post-card? A sticker or a keychain? Why? yes I wrote them about it, because they also once rejected my "Ganesha Loves You" design as well, and there have been others. Bear in mind that a simple search of their website reveals such gems as "F---K You!" and "My God can beat up your God, so s---k my d---k." Except without my censorship of dashes where the real letters go. Imagine what I'd find if I really looked.

One thing I've had to learn about email, even though I rely upon it heavily, is that not everyone gets their email in a timely manner. Sometimes they aren't received at all. So you can't really judge people based on the stuff they don't answer. Like, maybe they forgot. But when you're newly arrived back in a small town, you want some connection, and anything can feel like a rejection. Same goes for facebook friending; not everyone has the same criteria. Some folks only want family on the list, or just people from work, or whatever. We're all different.

Now, for some reason i was able to put some stuff on black t-shirts but not other things, and I may never know why, so here goes. If the image below disappears, you'll know that the PC police have deleted it. I didn't

AUM OM by paulnsheryl
Be a t-shirt affiliate with Zazzle.

It Takes A Village To Sell A Self-Published Book

2011-08-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

We live in Chico now, and I have been primarily focusing on my role as a photographer, but I have a whole other life as a writer. Sheryl and I spent two years in eastern Arizona, living in the high desert, off the grid about 20 miles from the nearest town. This came immediately on the heels of living in ultra liberal Santa Cruz, California and making our way as spiritual counselors. We decided to write a book about the experience-- this book is mostly Sheryl's doing and she's written and published several other excellent books, but I had a part in it. So, I'm "guesting" something from Sheryl here in order to get the word out and around Chico, Oroville, Paradise and in general around Butte county or anyplace else that this blog may reach.

It Takes A Village To Sell A Self-Published Book

by Sheryl Karas on Thursday, August 4, 2011

We could use help getting the word out. Whether this is a book you want for yourself or not, surely there are people in your lives who would be interested... if they knew it existed.

http://www.healingcommunication.com/myproducts/Waking_Up_In_The_Great_Recession_Mormon_Desert,_Book_by_Sheryl_Karas_with_Paul_Hood.html

What book?
Waking Up In the Great Recession Mormon Desert
Written by Sheryl with additions and editing by Paul. Read all about it at the link above.

Who might be interested?

Memoir lovers, and lovers of true-life adventures.
People curious about us.
People who love storytelling mixed with humor and philosophy.

Self-employed people.
Artists and writers.
Alternative health practitioners.

Gays and lesbians, their allies, people who support gay rights.
Santa Cruz folks, Californians, people from Arizona.
People making community online, marketing their goods and services online, or those attempting it.

People who care about community, love, peace, and social justice.
People concerned about the currently, horribly polarized political scene, and what might shift things.
People living through their own Great Recession sagas.

Spiritual but not religious folks, New Age thinkers, meditators, Hindus, Pagans, Buddhists, progressive Christians, Jews, Mormons and anyone who cares about freedom of religion (or freedom not to have one).
People who still care about life purpose and wanting to contribute to the highest good of all concerned.

Please send them to this link where they can see the book cover, find out more about it, and read excerpts and the fantastic reviews it has gotten. They can buy it as an inexpensive pdf ebook instant download with full color photos and art or as a conventional text-only physical book with a color cover, autographed by us, of course!

http://www.healingcommunication.com/myproducts/Waking_Up_In_The_Great_Recession_Mormon_Desert,_Book_by_Sheryl_Karas_with_Paul_Hood.html

David Blair, Poet Extraordinaire.

2011-07-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

I was sad to hear of David Blair's death, apparently in a hotel room in Detroit. I heard a rumor that he had checked into the hotel to escape the heat, and that he was not feeling well. But another report said that he was found in his home, so don't quote me. It's said that a maid found him, and the preliminary cause of death is presumed to be heat-stroke. He's gone, and it's very sad. And that he is gone can't be undone by knowing more. He was 39. I only met him once at a reading in Bellingham, and shot a few photos when I was just about done shooting at that particular venue. He had an amazing voice and presence and his poetry was powerful and thought provoking.

Photographer's Favorite Portraits-- I am in Chico now.

2011-07-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

A cafe portrait, not from Chico, but shot in Bellingham WA about 6 years ago.

Another portrait not taken in Chico, yet. Getting noticed in Chico as a photographer seems to be a task on my list yet to be completed adequately. But I'm working on it.

This is Julia from Bellngham, WA. Originally from Sequim, actually. I did a bunch of informal family photos and printed them on the spot as gifts to my "models" for posing. I probably wouldn't do the same today, because I'm a but meticulous about retouching. But I'm sure if I keep putting myself out there as a portrait photographer in Chico, things will work out. Visit my website for more, here's the link http://paulhood.com

Some basic photography tips.

2011-07-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Cameras do lie. They lie a lot. They like to lie. One of their favorite ways to lie is by having very shallow dynamic range compared to the human eye. Dynamic range in this case means the ability to handle extremes of light and darkness. HDR ( high dynamic range ) photography attempts to overcome this shallow range by using multiple frames of the same image, shot at different exposure values, and then recombining those frames to compress said range into a single image. It's still a lie, but it can look pretty cool, or it can look pretty bizarre and ugly.

In the old days before HDR people like Ansel Adams used some pretty tricky techniques in the field and the darkroom to get very similar, ( but typically more artful ) results to HDR photography, including the combining of multiple frames shot at different exposures. "unsharp mask" was also created in the darkroom, "dodging and burning" and so on. A lot of the stuff that you see today in photoshop was originally discovered or invented, or at least studied by photographers who died before we were born. We owe them some respect if we're going to call ourselves "photographers."

The art of photography is the most important thing. It's a human art. Technique and technical matters come second. That being said, if you aren't going to learn anything about how your tools work, why not? You learned to read, you learned math, so what's the problem?

Cameras have parts similar to the eye and parts not so similar.
The general sensitivity to light is called "ISO" or formerly as film speed "ASA". Think of it as how well you can see in the dark, or how much bright light is more than you can stand. High ISO like 1600 means very sensitive to light. Low ISO like 100 means not so sensitive, but can handle bright light.

"Aperture" is very like the pupil of your eye, it also helps to control how much light enters the camera to be utilized. A smaller aperture lessens the transmission of light. Larger apertures let more light in. It's that simple; except that small apertures also increase "depth of field" which means more of an image will be in focus from front to back. A very small aperture, such as a "pinhole camera" has such great depth of field that it doesn't even need a glass lens, just a pinhole. You don't have to focus a pinhole camera, everything is in focus. Small apertures can also help a crappy lens look a bit sharper.

"Shutter speed" is the last aspect of controlling the quantity of light entering the camera. This is also similar to your eye, sort of. Did you know that 24 frames per second was discovered to be "persistance of vision?" This is the rate at which your eye can basically stop motion. It's pretty slow. This is one area where cameras tend to beat the human eye on two points: a very long (slow) shutter speed can allow a camera to see in the dark. Your eye can't do that. You can stare at the same night scene as long as you want and it won't get any brighter. Conversely a fast shutter speed, say 1/4000th of a second can freeze motion like your eye can't. They call it "shutter speed" because it's very like opening and closing a shutter. In the old, old days some cameras had no shutter-- you simply removed the lense cap, and then put it back on again. You can still do this, especially with a pinhole camera. It's fun. Shutter speed generally does not affect image quality such as depth of field, like aperture does, but this confuses people because a slow shutter speed can cause images to come out blurry if anything moves or if you shake the camera. That's why so many pictures shot in low light tend to come out blurry. Moving on. . .

You can buy a camera and put it on "auto" and take a lot of pictures. Now that we have digital cameras, you can shoot thousands of pictures and it costs you nothing. Sooner or later you will get lucky and get some nice shots. You won't know how you did it. You won't be able to do it again without taking a lot more pictures until you get lucky again. You will miss a lot of great shots because your camera on auto will make some dumb decisions which ruin the shot. One of the dumbest decisions a camera can make is choosing from about 2 dozen autofocus points all over the frame. Cameras can make many many many dumb decisions. Wouldn't you rather make your own? At least you can be proud of them after the fact.

Oh yeah, "f-stops" are aperture measurements. A big number is a small aperture. Like F22, it's small but not a pinhole. Memorize that. Big number is a small aperture, lets in less light, but has greater depth of field, also called "depth of focus" but don't say that, because other photographers will peg you as a novice. A big aperture is a small number, like f2.8, or f1.4 or f1.2. It lets in a lot of light, but the depth of field will be shallow. With a big aperture like f1.2 a portrait photographer can have your eyes and lips in focus, the tip of your nose soft, and the background all nice creamy blur. The out of focus blur is called "bokeh". The quality of this blur is like fine wine to a photographer. Don't ask me why, we're funny that way.

If you can remember that big numbers in f stops like f22 are small apertures which let in little light, and that big numbers in shutter speeds like 1/4000th of a second are fast shutters which also let in little light, it will be helpful to you. ISO is the opposite. Big numbers means more light sensitivity. Somewhere a photographer invented this system just to confuse the hell out of you.

I brought up f1.2 in case you wondered where they get those strange numbers. If you had a lens whose maximum aperture is f1, that means that the ratio of the focal length of the lens relative to the internal diameter of the lens is a one to one ratio. Not exactly, though, I've simplified it for you because it involves the focal length of the lens relative to the film plane, but close enough. An f1 lens is a FAT lens ( literally and figuratively ). If you have one, send it to me.

So, those are most of the basics of how a camera controls the quantity of light used to produce an image, and the why of it: a camera with with a much much wider "dynamic range" would not need any of these controls but even our eyes have limits like pupils ( aperture ) persistence of vision (shutter speed) or ultimately the sensitivity of the "rods and cones" and the optic nerve ( ISO or ASA referred to as film speed )

If any of this confuses you just remember that a simple camera is just a box with a hole in it, and every other camera is just a variation on that theme.

Next time maybe, "white balance" AKA "color temperature" expressed in "Kelvins" if anybody wants to know.

Some favorite portraits of mine.

2011-07-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Jen Martin Owen at her wedding in 2005.

A musician whom I barely knew, taken at a cafe in Bellingham in 2005. She wouldn't recognize herself here.

Some photos and musing on manipulated images.

2011-07-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

I took this shot back in 2008, outdoors with supplemental lighting. The model is named Vivian. Vivian had some concerns about certain camera angles that she thought wouldn't be flattering. I had pretty much no idea what she meant. It is taking me rather a long time to get used to the idea that many people are concerned with how they look on camera. In fact I used to sharpen every detail even on my portraits. I don't really have a problem with wrinkles or freckles, but I'm having to learn to remove "imperfections", or accentuate certain features and subdue others. It's difficult in a way, because I find people so interesting, so beautiful that I don't want to change a thing. But the camera puts in it's own bias. So does the light. So do a lot of things. The portrait is not the person. It's a frozen moment in time. The best compliments I get are those which speak to capturing a person's "essence" and i just heard another photographer say the same thing exactly. I think it's what we strive for in one way or another.

This is an older photo from 2005, taken in a cafe I think. her face and the angle of her pose, the tilt of her head reminds me of someone who might have posed for a renaissance era painting. I also like the contrasting feel introduced by the Ramones t-shirt. The Ramones were a pioneering punk rock band.

This was one of my favorite "Poetry Night" portraits when I shot for a weekly open mic poetry event. This young woman had a very quiet, calm and charismatic presence. There were a lot of people at Poetry Night who impressed me very much.

This is a current "portrait" of a cappuccino. Yes, that is the correct number of p's and c's, I had to look it up. Shot in available light which was nearly 100% artificial and from numerous sources. Luckily the weird mix of color temperatures didn't ruin the shot. In fact I think the reflected yellow light from the upper left corner was an enhancing element. I have far fewer hangups and attachments about retouching a cup of coffee than a person's face or body. I can push the envelop quite a bit on a landscape or a macro. People are another story altogether.

Another street portrait.

2011-07-03T01:16:00.000-07:00

This is another shot I took on the street in Bellingham around 2005. Charming young woman.

New Inspiration from old works

2011-06-30T01:28:00.001-07:00

In the name of keeping up my artistic interest I am revisiting some old photos like these. The one above I shot in Bellingham in about 2005. My main reason for shooting this was to spook a dog who was charging me by popping my flash unit at him. It worked, and he stopped. Then I discovered that I liked the image.

Bellingham Bay is a beautiful little body of water. Deceptive in that it seems sheltered and calm, but there are some serious currents. I understand that kayaking at the wrong time of day can leave you swept out to sea and unable to return. Nonetheless a lot of kayakers take the trip, and of course so do fishermen. Some do not return. The shot above is of a kayaker returning home at dusk. He's assisted by a companion seagull.

Another shot of Bellingham Bay, this time a fishing boat is shown in soft focus due to the long exposure. I like the dreamy, soft feel of this shot.

The old days lead to the new days.

2011-06-26T23:26:00.000-07:00


Add caption

In 2005 I lived in Bellingham WA for about a year. I was working as a photojournalist/reporter right around the time that newspapers started crashing and burning (figuratively) left and right. Needless to say, I was a newsman for less than a year, but during that year I was given the opportunity to take a lot of street portraits, and as I did I became more and more enamored of people, of faces, and in general of the beauty in the world which so often goes unnoticed or at least under-appreciated. I had been trained as a photographer when I was a kid, but having a new digital, plus a "license" to shoot: "Excuse me, I'm a reporter with the Whatcom Independent, do you mind if I ask you a question. . ." opened up a whole new world to me. In my off time I also pointed the camera at every bird, bug, flower, plant that I could, or in general, every instance of interesting light cast upon anything which struck me as beautiful. A short time later I was shooting live shows, especially "Poetry Night", "The Cody Rivers Show" the odd live band that I came across, plus a few after hours candids in bars and burrito joints around Bellingham. It was a pretty lively time, until I discovered my photos being copied and posted all over the internet without my permission, and that getting paid for my work in most circumstances was a whole other story. Live and learn.

Years later now and I find that I don't have as much enthusiasm to shoot just about anything in sight. In some ways it's a good thing, and the lulls in inspiration often lead to change and growth as an artist-- out of necessity. You're going to be miserable or you're going to grow. There's no use in pretending that taking yet another photo of a bird or a sunset is exciting to you if it really isn't anymore. You have to change. Everybody is different of course, so while I may be burning out on landscapes, the next guy is just getting warmed up, and a month or a year later I might be seeing landscapes through new eyes, but only if I'm honest I think, and heed my own muse now, even if it means putting one or two things down so that I can pick up fresh elsewhere.

I've been looking back through some of my older stuff too, and I find that this leads me also. What did I do that I forgot about since? Where did my wonder used to be? It's all there if you look for it, including "gems" which somehow slipped through the cracks. Dust them off and have another look.

Old dog, new tricks.

2011-06-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I lose some enthusiasm for photography, and that's a good thing because the next step is trying out new things. I haven't shot flowers much in a long time, partly because they don't sell very well. I don't know why. I like them. Anyway for the image above I tried some new techniques involving a high pass filter as a layer, a blurred image as a layer, some color tweaking as layers, a black and white version as another layer, etc.

The above is the smiley version of my dad. Lighting conditions: backlit. I used fill flash on the above. It took some fair amount of tweaking just to undo some of the nasty effects of fill flash, like those little pinpoint reflections for example which pop up everywhere on the teeth, eyes, even pores of the skin. These are pretty much just snapshots which I then touched up. from a human, everyday point of view, the above is pretty much the image/impression you'd get of my dad in person and that's what I was going for. I know some photographers want to make every image "pop", but I seriously don't always find that appropriate. I want people who know Bruce to look at a picture like this and go "yeah! That's the Bruce I know."

Now this on the other hand, isn't really Bruce. Any photographer can catch an odd image and run with it. Diane Arbus was particularly good at this. I thought I'd give a try at something dramatic. This is the same snapshot conditions as the other one, but instead of fill-flash I overexposed by one stop and purposefully blew out the background. Then I proceeded to use a bunch of editing tricks. I find the light much more interesting in this one. My dad was a good sport, it's not terribly flattering.

Sycamore Pool at one mile, twilight, bidwell park.

2011-06-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Took this the other day at Bidwell Park in the one mile area. I believe it's called Sycamore pool, though everyone calls it "One Mile".

Little things in Bidwell Park

2011-06-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

The cracks in this tree bark remind me of dancing Fair Folk.

Hearts of ivy.

Chico is a pretty place

2011-06-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Some random but fairly accurate views on Chico above. I don't know those folks, or that company, Build.com but. . . I wouldn't mind knowing them.

Long overdue for an update here. We left Santa Fe in the middle of April to a promised job and housing at an Inn in Grass Valley. It was a somewhat arduous trip. The night before our journey I found a large nail and a screw in the front tire of our moving van-- after we had loaded it to the gills. Emergency service came and changed it out in the driveway that very night. The trip from Santa Fe to Cali includes some 6% grades, high winds, bad roads and high temperatures depending on the time of year that you travel. Finding the cheapest moving van, loading it down and then towing your jeep with same: in this case meant that tired old truck kept heating up on the grades and that makes me very nervous. But we made it. I was mostly too busy driving to take pictures. However: Tehachapi, or the hill country around it is a really beautiful place.

Long story short, on arrival in Grass Valley our employer reneged on the agreement. I'm not naming names, but first she tried to talk us out of unloading the truck within 24 hrs of our arrival, then she tried to scare us out of taking the job at all but we weren't about to quit. Within a few days, and more than a week before our actual start date we were "fired" and being told that we were "too good for the job." Further discussion revealed that this person considered themselves "very intuitive" and that she knew we were wrong for the job the minute she met us. In fact they ( a couple ) decided that they were going to work the job themselves and put the whole Inn up for sale. That, in fact, the Inn didn't make enough money to support them plus a housekeeper. Yes, but we drove all that way, incurred a lot of expenses and because of this sudden reversal, were going to have to incur a whole lot more. That's about all I want to say about that.

Having no backup plan, and essentially being put out on the street days later we took refuge in Chico, where we have some family. We spent about 3 weeks in a Motel 6 before finding new living quarters. Things are looking better now. We're making some changes in how we do the things we do, and like a lot of people we're also looking for jobs.

Chico is a pretty place. I've lived here before; got my 3 college degrees here and rather enjoyed it. It's half the living expenses of living in the Bay Area or for that matter the Los Angeles area. We've had a couple of interviews already, and some of our business interests have picked up. It gets hot here. We didn't escape the Arizona or New Mexico heat, just traded it for California heat.

Upper Bidwell Park, Chico, California.

A macro I am titling, "The Still Point". Also shot in Bidwell Park.

Big Chico Creek as seen from a footbridge. This river runs through the center of town and the center of Bidwell park which is a good five miles long not counting the the increasingly rugged upper park.

"Wild Oats."

"Entwined"

Midnight Sun

2011-04-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Midnight Sun by paulnsheryl

Still enjoy putting images on products.

Two Santa Fe's

2011-03-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Even though we're still in Santa Fe I decided to dig back through my collection a little and see if I had neglected anything. Found this shot from our time in Turners Falls, MA, and decided to work with it. Turners is one of many mill towns along the Connecticut river. We took a liking to it, especially to the people there. But we had left all of our belongings back in Arizona, including the jeep, and we needed to come back and deal with all that.

So now we find ourselves in Santa Fe, having decided to come here for specific reasons-- low unemployment (in theory, though the employment is very seasonal and about 78% of the money here comes from tourism in the Summer months primarily). We also came here because it's not Arizona. Of late that State has been gaining national recognition for far right wing politics, bigotry and paranoia. But most of all Sheryl and I came to New Mexico for the art market of Santa Fe; the second largest in the US, despite being a rather small city of about 70,000 souls.

But there are two Santa Fe's, at least. The art market is a small grouping of galleries along Canyon road, The Plaza, and to a lesser extent the Railway District. All that is very nice and fairly upscale and touristy-- not so slick and polished as Carmel, but for sure a destination for the art buyer or the art tourist. The rest of the city sprawls all over the place, is not terribly pretty, and seems to have nothing to do with the "art core" of the place. Besides the money from tourism the rest of the place is sustained by government jobs, as this is the State capitol. As far as countryside, views etc, most of the place feels closed in upon itself. The topography is "high and dry". If you like sunny weather, there's a ton of it. If you like lakes and streams, there are none. None. Dry river beds full of sand. I adjusted pretty easily to the 7000 feet altitude, but I think we expected some kind of magic here, and we aren't particularly experiencing that in "The and of Enchantment". Maybe that's our fault, and maybe that's OK too. We've been learning a lot and the people here are pretty marvelous, just as they have been everywhere we go.

Beacon, Santa Fe

2011-03-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

People come to Santa Fe for a lot of reasons, most are just visiting. In fact, tourism supports about 78% of the local economy, give or take. . . it's an interesting small city. I'm taking pictures to illustrate some of what I see and some of what I think about.

Vertical Obstructions

2011-03-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

You can see this much better if you click on it to enlarge. I got intrigued by the fact that most of Santa Fe includes all kinds of obstructions to the fantastic views all around the city. I decided to go ahead and include some of them into the composition.

Sway the Jury

2011-03-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

Saw these striking trees looming above the courthouse here in Santa Fe and took a few shots. It reminded me of a jury of peers being swayed by a convincing argument, and the sky appeared to be involved also.

New Work, titled "Small World"

2011-03-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today's work titled "Small World". This was shot a short walk from where we're currently staying Santa Fe. I was struck by the small oasis of land populated by a lone Teepee, within city limits and with the enchroachment of other structures nearby. I'm frequently confronted by history and the joining of cultures here; sometimes harmonious, sometimes not, always interesting.

Still in Santa Fe

2011-03-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

The above is a detail crop of a much, much larger image that I did titled "Winter Promise, Madrid" and while I do a fair amount of editing my photos I rarely "paint" to the degree I've done here. Really I have not seriously painted since I was a teenager. But I am getting inspired to paint, draw or sculpt from my exposure to all the wonderful art around us here. Below is the wider view;

Winter Promise, Madrid by Paul Hood

This is a very large old cottonwood tree on Canyon Road which is the original art gallery district here in Santa Fe. This district began as just a row of houses where artists lived and began putting out their own artwork for sale on the street. It's a bit more developed now as professional galleries, the rent has consequently been driven up and few artists can afford to live right on the row and sell their own work. I was inspired to produce this image of what has to be the oldest tree in the area, but I added in a red root structure spreading across and obliterating the road. The roots appearing as rivulets of red paint, or blood, or flame depending on how you see it.

Pilgrimage, Santa Fe by Paul Hood

And in this shot I was lucky enough to have somebody walk into frame while i was shooting. He's way in the background but it makes for a more interesting shot.

Outside the window: new work

2011-02-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

New work just developed from our time back east in Turner's Falls, MA.

Santa Fe

2011-02-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

Partway to Santa Fe we stopped over in a Motel 6. We basically drove in a blizzard, and it was a bit nerve wracking. The following day we drove on into Santa Fe and there were several wrecked and stranded cars on the median, including one precariously balanced on it's side in the snow. Yeesh. We could've picked a better time to move, but we got there.

One of the sights outside of Santa Fe in a tiny town called Chimayo.

Happy Holidays from the Virgen De Guadalupe ( AKA Tonantzin )

2010-12-25T22:49:00.000-08:00

Thinking about where we move to next.

2010-12-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

It would be nice to have it figured out by January, if not sooner.

House on a hill

2010-12-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

One of very few shots taken on a recent trip, scouting Cottonwood, Sedona and Flagstaff. This one is the view from our motel in Cottonwood in the early evening, albeit a pretty heavily modified photo. Click the photo to see it larger/unobstructed

Copperwood Sky ( AKA Cottonwood )

2010-12-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

One of very few photos I shot on our latest scouting journey of Sedona, Cottonwood, and Flagstaff AZ.

A couple of self portraits of Paul hood and Sheryl Karas

2010-12-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

So. . . our friend Alys, suggested that we take a few photos of ourselves instead of always shooting landscapes and macros and such. Since I'm pretty fond of natural light, we went ahead and shot in open shade as the sun was starting to go down.

Waiting

2010-12-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

This is one of very few shots I've taken since returning to Arizona. Still getting our bearings here and preparing for our next step. Currently we're strongly considering moving to Flagstaff. It's one of the closest reasonable places to relocate to, and we liked it there last time we visited.

Small Town Castle, New England

2010-11-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Had to photograph this small town castle in New England. Unusual architecture.

Reaching Beyond

2010-11-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

Vines and barbed wire intertwined. A single strand and leaf reach beyond.

More photos from Turners Falls

2010-11-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Shot this one weeks ago, late Fall, early evening. Took me a while to get to work modifying the file.

Just got this one the other night. The sun had just gone down and there was still some light in the sky. This was the last shot I took that night, actually a combination of two images.

I got this one at the Turner's Falls pumpkin festival shortly before Halloween. I asked permission first and got it, but then forgot to ask their names and so this father and daughter didn't get a copy. Oops.

Through the trees.

2010-11-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

From a few weeks ago when the leaves were still doing the full glory thing.

White Chair

2010-11-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Just finished this one of a White Chair on a glorious Fall day in Northampton.

Latest Images from Turners Falls, MA

2010-11-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

A few Images I've been making here in Turners Falls lately. Turners Falls is a small village in the town of Montague, which consists of five villages. I don't think we've been around to all five villages yet. We originally set our sights on Northampton, which is about 22 miles down the road. We're midway between Brattleboro VT and Northampton MA.

I'm putting all these images and more up for sale at this link.

What I'm shooting lately in Northampton and Shelburne Falls

2010-10-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

A little street art from downtown Buckland, MA.

A scene I shot through the window this morning where we are staying in Northampton.

A Wall at Shelburne Falls ( Ivy Covered )

2010-10-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

An ivy-covered wall in the tiny town of Shelburne Falls.

Natural Bridges State Park at sunset

2010-10-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

A scene I shot back in Santa Cruz, California at Natural Bridges State Park. I've always liked that particular place around sunset. It gets very quiet and whomever was hanging out during the day tends to take off and the beach is deserted, making for a very quiet and serene transition into the night.

We're no longer in the Arizona high desert and it's been quite a while since I have seen the ocean. I think I miss is some. When we get a chance we're going to head over to the East Coast from here in Northampton, Massachusetts. I haven't google-mapped the trip yet, but I'm guessing it's a couple of hours drive to see the ocean. We can walk from here to the Connecticut river, and there's a wonderful bike path which crosses that river and we're told will take you all the way into Vermont if you've got the stamina. No pictures yet.

Fine Art Photos I shot in Easthampton, MA

2010-10-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Looking down the hallway of an old converted Millworks in Easthampton. This one is titled "Yellow Balloons."

Another shot I "discovered" in the same building. Didn't have to set anything up nor do anything with the lighting. It was just there. I'm calling this one "Plans and Objectives".

Spillway at Shelburne Falls, and what we've been up to.

2010-09-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is the spillway area at Shelburne Falls. Shelburne and Buckland, just over the bridge, compared to Northampton is pretty quiet and serene. Northampton is more like the bustling center of activity with a thriving downtown. Smith College takes up a major potion of Northampton, but it took us a while to walk onto campus because it's somehow seamless and unobtrusive the way that it fits into the town. Maybe the town grew around it. It's not THAT bustling, being that it's a town of only 30,000 population, but recall that Sheryl and I are fresh from middle of nowhere, AZ. We don't see cars much.

For about two weeks we stayed in a restored colonial home in Northampton, until the rental car needed to be driven back to Sharon about 100 miles (2.5 hr drive) and returned. We'll be heading back to that same colonial, I think it was built in 1884, tomorrow. I really should get some pictures of it. We have some new friends there, so it's a good arrangement, it's also an easy half mile walk to downtown. Our house stay is also the headquarters of Remineralize the Earth, and if you care about sustainable farming, you might want to check that out.

It's funny how you can get different impressions of towns all in the same vicinity. Amherst is a short distance up the road, maybe ten miles. It's all about the colleges, with 30,000 students and only 35,000 total residents. We weren't that wild about the downtown there, and the overall feel was a lot different. Northampton is more mixed and diverse, and it seems to fit about everything that we figured we wanted from a town: it's a lot about art and alternative lifestyle, including alt spirituality (that would be us). It's sort of like an East Coast Santa Cruz (CA) but not exactly. Oddly, Sheryl had had an intuitive hit about Amherst as the place to be, so we have not figured that one out yet because we more immediately took to Northampton.

We've been spending some time with other healer types, having a lot of conversations with Brett Butler and his partner Ramara. We also spent half a day way out in the woods with flower essence practitioner Kathrin Woodlyn Bateman and her partner Joseph Dicenso and their pygmy goats who were leaping about and climbing into our laps while we talked, which was very fun.

More Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls

2010-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Backlit view of the Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls

And the classic side view of the Bridge of Flowers.

Magic Mushroom

2010-09-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

Magic Mushroom by Paul Hood

I actually have no idea what kind of mushroom this might be. The spin blur was achieved by using a slow shutter speed and rotating the camera around a central axis point. A subsequent shot without the spin was layered in in photoshop to get a sharp image of the mushroom itself.

We had chinese tonight, here in Sharon MA.

2010-09-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Noodles by Paul Hood
I actually took this shot back in Northampton, at a place called "Noodles." But we ate Chinese tonight at a place called "Not very good Chinese food but plenty of it." Not complaining. We ate it and it was ok and we weren't the ones paying for it.

The Tin Man at Three Sisters Sanctuary and Woodstove Haven

2010-09-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

"It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year I stood there I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one. If he does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her."--- The Tin Man, from the Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Sculpture by Richard Richardson, at the Three Sisters Sanctuary and Woodstove Museum, Goshen, MA.

Forest Buddha at Smith College in Northampton, MA

2010-09-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Came upon this scene at Smith College when we went walking one day.

Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls, MA

2010-09-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sheryl helped me out by giving a little scale to this photo of a huge yellow Dahlia on the Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls here in Massachusetts.

And this would be the entrance to the Bridge of Flowers. Not sure if it's the Shelburne Falls side or the Buckland side. I think it's Buckland. I didn't take any pictures there but we ate at Buckland Pizza and it was excellent.

Suspension- the new word for us in Northampton.

2010-09-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Suspension by Paul Hood

I took the above shot at a fountain in Northampton MA, at the Smith University Campus. Yes, they let men on campus, but only if you're accompanied by a woman ( just kidding ). Still. . . Sheryl was there to protect me from harm. She was on our borrowed cell phone which surprises the heck out of us every time it rings, and she didn't even see this fine frog. I had enough time to snap only one frame and then he disappeared.

Love doing the photography around Northampton. Lots to see. Working on lining up some gigs when people figure out that they can hire me. Right now we're back in Sharon, MA because we had to return a rental car here. Otherwise we'd still be back in Northampton scouting around and applying for jobs in the Western Massachusetts area. We love Northampton. Some of the surrounding areas are very nice too-- the last place we checked out was one of Sheryl's long time favorites: Shelburne Falls. Greenfield is near there, and we'd get into that too, plus there's a couple jobs there which look really good to Sheryl.

Mermaid at Three Sisters Sanctuary

2010-09-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is the mermaid at the Three Sisters Sanctuary. Click on her to see the image larger. She's just one beautiful work of art at this amazing sanctuary which has been built over 18 years (and still in progress) by owner and principle artist Richard Richardson. I have a lot more pictures which I may put up here, but really you must, absolutely must go there to really experience it. It's also a venue for weddings, concerts etc.

"Scuse me, while I kiss the sky."

Herrell's Ice Cream in Northampton

2010-09-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

Would you buy an ice cream from this man? Yes. Yes you would. This is Steve Herrell of

Herrells Ice Cream Co

This is Sheryl, who has told me many times how New Englanders would line up outside in a snowstorm just to eat some of Steve's ice cream. He's been making it for 30 years and it's world famous.

Notice how everyone is smiling? This is a happy place.

Everyone, even the girl pouring water from the big red bucket is happy.

They have plenty of toppings and Waffle cones with lots of chocolate.

Sprinkles.

More toppings and. . .um . . . ice cream-- which we ate so fast I didn't get a picture of an ice cream cone. I had the mint chip, which is pretty amazing. So, you know, go there and eat some: #8 Old South Street, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 586-9700 or FAX (413) 584-5320 www.herrells.com

Prosperity Issues with Brett Butler

2010-09-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

That's Brett Butler on the left, he's looking so concerned because he's working with a client via the internet. No, it's not the comedian Brett Butler nor the baseball player Brett Butler. This Brett is the one we recently met whom we're so impressed with. He's in pretty much the same line of work as a healer and spiritual consultant. In the background is Sheryl and Ramara and we're hanging out in their cavernous, one-room studio for the evening. Brett and I seem to have a lot in common.

Closer snapshot of Ramara, whom I asked to hold very very still because I was shooting in the dimmest imaginable room-light. Brett and I have been talking so much that I barely know Ramara as yet.

Closer view of Brett. Sheryl received a session from him tonight concerning issues of prosperity. It went well I think. I just observed, really. He's still developing a website or I'd link to it here, but he's currently working with local clients here in Northampton and so are Sheryl and I. Very unusual for me to meet somebody whom I feel so sympatico with about spiritual matters.

Northampton, MA in pictures.

2010-09-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hibiscus flower at a front porch in Turner's Falls, MA. I couldn't believe the size of it. I had never seen a flower like this before.

This is an old graveyard in Sharon, MA. Many of the stones have shifted and tilted over time. I don't know but I assume that the American flags are about war veterans. I posted this picture originally on 9/11 on my facebook page.

This is an interior shot of the living-room of Sheryl's parents house in Sharon, MA where we visited for Rosh Hoshana before continuing to the Amherst and Northampton MA areas.

Sheryl got two job interviews right away. This is the morning of one of the interviews taken in Northampton at the "Friendly's" which i guess is sort of an institution for Sheryl. Sheryl hates this shot. It's not very flattering but it has something I like.

We took a trip to Turner's Falls to check out a couple of job openings. I had the camera with me and shot this one of a city sunflower.

Also took this shot in Turner's Falls MA.

Right in the neighborhood we're staying in in Northampton there are architectural wonders everywhere. This is just one of many. We're staying in a restored house built in about 1880.

Rush

2010-08-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'm calling this one "Rush."

Photos I have been working on lately

2010-08-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

Calling this one "Mustache Rock"

Face to Face-- I can see several faces in the bank of this wash


This one is called "Spring Thaw" a depiction of tiny flowers floating in a partially thawed frozen lake.

And that's pretty much it, I haven't been shooting much lately. Concentrating more on photo manipulation.

Sunflower bridge

2010-08-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

Shot this photo of a sunflower in front if a bridge at Lakeside several months back. We need to get up to the lake more often. Who doesn't like wild sunflowers?

Bees, Miracles and Science

2010-08-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sold a version of this print to Elizabeth in London, today. Always nice to wake up to that. That's a detail view at the top. Different versions get different treatments, it's hard for me to leave a file alone, therefore the print which ships to England isn't exactly what you see here, and next time it will probably be different again. I like pictures of insects and other wildlife because it's like going into another world. I think as far as the creature is concerned he's in his own little world and nothing outside of that matters. It does matter of course. We're all connected and we're all in this dance with our environmental factors all the time-- we affect the environment, the environment affects us, all the time. We're never completely outside of each others influence. Change one thing, everything else changes-- or it should.

Somebody just brought my attention to this quote from Abraham Hicks - "Stop  looking for anything other than your mental and emotional state of  being as answers to why you feel how you feel in your body. It is all  Vibrational - no exception! And when you get that, then it doesn't  matter what diagnosis has been given to you—it doesn't matter—it's  temporary."

That may be true, but it only works in a perfect vacuum, unconnected to anything else. And in our society this particular point of view is not generically accepted in the mainstream as true.

What's theoretically possible doesn't always meet expectations, especially among the "educated", because our education in these matters, mainstream education, does not comply with the energetic model for health, in fact it opposes it. As a result you're more likely to witness or experience so called "miraculous" healing in a culture where strong faith predominates over these educational influences.

The culture of the miraculous tends to support itself within that environment, the culture of what we call "science" tends to do the same and unfortunately this often opposes the miraculous. The scientific method is one of doubt, scrutiny, control and repetition, and so essentially lab testing of miracles is the same as saying "let's see if this energetic effect happens when we remove the energy". Even if it does work and the "miracle" happens, they'll repeat the experiment until it doesn't anymore. Every repetition is an act of doubt, which reduces the energy available to do the work.

Pretty obvious really, but somehow our best scientific minds don't see the flaws in their own methods. I do think that the two worlds can come together with greater understanding, but mostly we aren't there yet. At some point in the future I think that the science of the miraculous will be much better understood.

Pelican in flight

2010-07-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Pelican Clear by paulnsheryl

Seeing the poor oily pelicans in the gulf coast saddened me. I got inspired to share a photo of a clean and healthy pelican which I shot back in Santa Cruz, California a few years ago. In this case I put it up on a bunch of functional art items like clothing.

New Images of Lightning

2010-07-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Strike by Paul Hood

Say Your Prayers by Paul Hood

Just shot these last night. I managed to get more strikes but haven't edited any of those shots. It was both easier and harder than I thought to get these. I thought longer exposures would be better, but not really, only to a point. I think one of these is a ten-second exposure. When the exposure is too long, the lightning strikes just don't register, much like doing a 30 second exposure and walking through the frame-- you'll find yourself invisible in the final shot. Lightning is bright so it registers better than that, but it's extremely brief in duration, so balancing exposure and aperture to hit "just right" is important. Too short of an exposure and you're simply unlikely to have the reflexes necessary to trip the shutter at exactly the right time. Too long means your aperture is small, and the lightning is too brief to register-- even though you might get multiple lightning strikes in a single exposure, it does no good if you can't see them. Through some quick trial and error I got some acceptable shots in the 8 to 10 second range with my camera resting on a handrail, but next time: tripod. If I remember right I was shooting aperture priority with the exposure compensation at -1 stop with aperture in the f10 range or so. Elsewhere I have read advice to use larger apertures and a cable shutter release set for manual "bulb" exposure: the idea being to trip the shutter open as soon as you see a strike and then close the shutter as soon as the strike or strikes are over. I just didn't take the time to try that.

Harrier Hawk, North of Santa Cruz

2010-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to see it bigger

New image up in my gallery. I shot this photo of a Harrier Hawk flying low over a field of tall grass, "harrying" for prey. It was quite the surreal experience, near the ocean , North of Santa Cruz, to enter the domain of this remarkable creature. At one point he came over to check me out, and hovered above me.

Only the right actions are the right actions:

2010-07-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

There is one and only one singular set of right actions to bring about the absolute best results.

I don’t think I could arrive at that set of actions through the means of limited-mind, “rational thinking” or “common sense”. No, it needs to be through commitment to divine mind and unlimited consciousness. “Miracle mind” is when a person connects strongly with this source of ultimate intelligence, love, strength, power, the “all good”. This is the “hole in one” in Golf, the last split second full court shot in basketball which wins the game, the lucid moment when Einstein ‘sees’ relativity in it’s full glory, in the instance of a dream.

I am not afraid of color, I am not afraid of color, I am not afraid of color. . .

2010-07-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

New treatment of an image I took in Santa Cruz a while back.

Santa Cruz Sahara

2010-07-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz Sahara by Paul Hood

The is my Santa Cruz Sahara image from a while back. I gave it a slightly new treatment and put it back up for sale. I've always liked this shot. Unusual atmospheric and light conditions really set it off. I happened to be walking along West Cliff with my gear, and this image just presented itself.

White tail deer, pelicans and happy sun.

2010-07-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

White Tail with Pelicans by Paul Hood
Yeah, that's what it is all right. Pelicans, white tail deer and a happy, happy sun. Shot in Big Sur, mostly.

Four Feathers

2010-06-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

Four Feathers by paulnsheryl

New image shot in the last few days.

Jerome, Arizona

2010-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jerome by Paul Hood
A while back we visited Jerome, Arizona. A very small, former mining town then a ghost town, then rebuilt to suit a group of artists who came in and took it over. Although by appearances not a lot of rebuilding was done. Part of the charms are the strange angles, cracks and old buildings still standing (mostly) after all these years. We were told that it's either a "Art town with a biker problem or a biker town with an artist problem, depending on who you talk to" today. On clear days it has fantastic views. It's always a good walking town, has a few taverns if you like that sort of thing. The worst espresso in the country probably, but that can be said about most of the places I have been in AZ. Despite all that I wanted to move there, sell my art to the tourists and show everyone how real espresso is made. The place charmed me, as did the people we met.

Coyote at Twilight

2010-06-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Lone coyote walking at twilight through the tall grass. Click on the image to see it better.

Raven Paint, or Color Raven

2010-06-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Raven Paint by paulnsheryl

On a clear background for products.

Raven Paint by Paul Hood
And a variation on a granite blue background.

Made a new image titled Color Raven, but was undecided abput calling it Raven Paint instead. Oh well, titles aren't everything. Specifically designed this to go on products. I find that borderless designs tend to go better, which makes me have to re-aquaint myself with clear backgrounds and how to work with image selection in a more refined way. This, while I am trying to find the right combination of precision and control and letting go of precision and control. I love doing art.

New Mexico Skyline, just outside of Taos

2010-06-24T11:13:00.001-07:00

Stitched panoramic image from a trip to New Mexico back in September. Click on the photo to get a better look.

New Image "Quill"

2010-06-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Quill by paulnsheryl

This is just a detail view (above).

New image today titled "quill" modeled by a raven feather found out here in the desert. The details won't resolve well on a monitor, so I'm including a detail view. Need to print it soon. It will be nice to see the whole image properly.

Chloe the warrior kitty versus gopher snake.

2010-06-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

Bull Snake by Paul Hood

We wondered why the cats were out in the yard acting all excited, Chloe meowing-- she never meows. Discovered this large gopher snake floating in the pond where he probably fled to from the cats. His mouth was open and he was hissing, coiled to strike at Chloe, who just kept inching closer despite everyone yelling her name to come away. Brave, crazy cat. She gets protective, territorial, we've seen it before. Don't let her sweet appearance fool you, she is muy loco. Don't mess with Chloe.

Grass Abstract

2010-06-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Grass Abstract by Paul Hood

Sheryl gave me the idea to do a more abstract image of grass. This is as close as I (so far ) get to doing an abstract image. I've been returning to this image for a long time before I finally decided to edit it last night. I'm pleased with the result, but it really shines in full size and full resolution. Like a lot of my pictures lately, it's the subtle touches which really make the image, and those can only be seen printed out, preferably large. 72 ppi screen resolution just can't do justice to a 300 dpi image.

Tree Dog

2010-06-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Tree Dog by Paul Hood

Ok, so I was going to call it "Tree Spirit" but to me it looks just like a dog.

Raven Holds the Seed of the World

2010-06-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

Raven Holds the Seed of the World by Paul Hood

New image created today-- after a long and rather disappointing trip to Saint John's, Arizona. I discovered that there isn't a whole heck of a lot that I want to take pictures of there, at least not at first sight. So, we drove home and I notice that the ravens were out playing in a tree just off the front porch. Got the long lens on and started shooting. Only managed to get a few shots. A lot of the ravens around here don't really trust people. They probably get into trouble raiding gardens and such. in our case, we feed them, along with a lot of other birds but they still don't usually like for us to get too close. In this case I noticed the seed, probably a juniper berry, in the beak of this guy after I downloaded the images to the computer. Made me think of the title and I'm not sure whether it actually has any real existence in folklore. I'll have to start looking up Raven myths.

Snail, a new image from the garden collection.

2010-06-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

Snail by Paul Hood

Spent a little time with a relatively common snail shell. I like the way that macro images get us to look at the small things and appreciate them more.

Raven Ascension

2010-06-17T13:13:00.001-07:00

Detail view: click the image above to see it a little better.

Raven Ascension by Paul Hood

New Image up of a raven ascending across a sky of texture and cloudy shapes. The top image is a detail view so that you can get a better sense of the texture.

Poppy Landscape

2010-06-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Poppy Landscape by Paul Hood

Decided to put this up for sale. It's long been one of my favorite poppy images. I'm calling it "Poppy Landscape". Spend much time around California poppies and you'll find them endearing.

"Quail" a new image in my bird gallery

2010-06-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Quail by Paul Hood

I took this shot probably a few years ago back in Santa Cruz, California. I don't think I really saw the potential in it until recently. I have, for the most part stopped taking bird photos in favor of more artistic landscapes and such. The name of the game in the bird photo genre seems to be hyper sharp close-ups and a while ago I got tired of that. This is more of a medium shot and the overall composition is what made me want to revisit it, especially since I am gradually getting more creative in treating backgrounds and foregrounds. At some point it struck me that "super-real" impressed me on one level but left me flat emotionally. This is an issue which pushes me more towards other art mediums and to some extent away from photography.

"Lala Sunset" and "Raventree"

2010-06-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

Lala Sunset by Paul Hood

Raventree by Paul Hood

A couple of new images. I took both photos the same day about an hour apart. Obviously both are pretty "tweaked" in post processing. "Lala Sunset" is so named because when I showed it the first comment I got was that it looked like a sunset in "Lala land". Good enough for me, a title is born. I didn't have a lot of emotional investment in the shot, I just thought it would be fun to do. I'm experimenting with some of the more extreme filters in photoshop, mostly under the "artisitic" and "brush strokes". Most of those filters strike me as completely unusable, but I found a few that are fun to play with. Raventree looks so much like an illustration that it somehow bothers me, and I don't know why that should bother me. Of late I am moving more towards photos which don't quite look like photos.

New image, a photomanipulation titled "Reach"

2010-06-08T21:48:00.001-07:00

Reach by Paul Hood

The general concept is "as above, so below" with this image of tree branches reaching to bridge a gap between heaven and earth.

Little Dog in black and white.

2010-06-08T12:38:00.001-07:00

Click on the photo to see it nice and big.

After printing this one out I decided to try it out as a black and white. I'm pretty pleased with it, it's moody. . . I don't think I could sell it as a greeting card. This tiny dog was making a stand in the middle of a big gravel road. We had walked past his house I guess, which surely does not happen very often on the edge of town. He came out late after we had walked by and wanted to check us out. I turned around and there he was--- I only got one quick shot before he decided that being back in the house might be safer than out amongst the wildlife of two big strangers with big black cameras.

Skybranch fine art photo

2010-06-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Skybranch by Paul Hood

This one is called "Skybranch" I had to lay on the ground flat on my back and shoot straight up in the air to get the shot. It was early evening and the light was fading fast, hand-holding the camera was a challenge. Lately I am really loving the luminous blue to turquoise to pale green shades. Pretty big on vivid colors anyway, except when I'm not.

New Photo of Sagebrush with a watercolor sky

2010-06-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sagebrush by Paul Hood

Took me several tries to get this one right but I think it was worth it.

Latest Southwest Photos

2010-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

Contrail Tree by Paul Hood

White Bench by Paul Hood

Arizona Pit by Paul Hood

Pink Gravel at the Mormon Stake by Paul Hood

Horse Dream by Paul Hood

Claret Cup Cactus by Paul Hood

Paint the Sky 2

2010-05-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

Click to see the image larger than I should have uploaded it. But don't steal it. I hate that. If you want to buy it, contact me or you can go through my imagekind website here.
http://paulhood.imagekind.com/http://paulhood.imagekind.com/

Paint the Sky, Latest work.

2010-05-18T01:12:00.000-07:00

Paint the Sky by Paul Hood

Took this shot tonight, nice diversion from whatever else we were doing. It took a while to get a good shot. I like this one. I call it "Paint the Sky" becuase it reminds me of a Juniper tree getting a second chance at life, painting the sky with it's many brushes as it goes by every day and every night. The particular lighting and clouds give the sky the appearance of an orb or a planet.

San Rafael Church in Concho

2010-05-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Rafael by Paul Hood

Reflection by Paul Hood

This is a detail view from the photo above. It should print up very nicely overall.

Todays Image, Title: "House"

2010-05-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

House by Paul Hood

Drove by this scene today but didn't get a shot, so when I got home I dug through my images from last year and happened to come across this one from last time we drove to Concho. Enjoyed editing it.

Dead Tree, Today's photo. Couldn't think of a better title

2010-05-14T22:17:00.001-07:00

Dead Tree by Paul Hood

What I'm shooting lately

2010-05-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Grandmas House by Paul Hood

Little Dog by Paul Hood

Dove by Paul Hood

Tulip Dream by Paul Hood

Hitcher by Paul Hood

Moment of Recognition by Paul Hood

Imogen Heap is what I'm listening to lately.

2010-05-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

Arizona's Archaic Immigration Laws

2010-05-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

I’m so sad for Arizona right now. In one week they passed themselves two archaic laws, tried to pass a third, and handed down racially biased edicts on their school system. The first law encourages, or perhaps requires, police officers to demand proof of citizenship from anyone who “looks like they might be an illegal immigrant.” Governor Jan Brewer was asked point blank by a reporter “What does an illegal alien look like? Do I look like an illegal alien?”

That same week Arizona made it legal for any of their citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. I said archaic, because it’s true. Do we need to walk around carrying guns in our pockets and purses? Really? In what way does this lead to a safer, saner, more civilized society? I already know for a fact that the vast majority of gun murders are carried out in this country using pocket pistols. Those murders far outweigh the same statistics of personal handguns being used successfully and legitimately for self defense. Point of fact, too, that if you own a gun and anybody gets shot with it, the most likely statistical candidates are you, your spouse, or your kids. As you may have guessed, having that gun on your person raises the stakes against you and yours dramatically. I encourage you to check those stats for yourself, and I say again that those most likely to die by the gun are those who are personally closest to the gun owner: husband, wife, kids, in descending order to close friends and business associates. And yet with all this I tell you that I’d rather the good people of Arizona can carry guns legally as long as they are banned from passing more stupid, racist laws.

But maybe something did happen in Arizona that I’m not aware of--- maybe Billy the Kid suddenly resurrected and I didn’t hear about it, formed a new gang and he’s a riden’ agin', robbing stagecoaches wherever he may go.

Also that same week the Arizona House passed the “birther law," the one which legitimizes a crazy conspiracy theory that our president is not an American citizen and would seek to require of him to provide proof directly to Arizona of his citizenship before he can campaign for re-election in the state in 2012. So far, the law has only passed the Arizona House and not the Senate, but I see no reason to hide the fact that it was authored and passed by Republicans -- the party of “I don’t know what” at this point. Last but not least, Arizona has mandated to cut any ethnic studies classes across the state and to fire any English teacher who speaks with a foreign accent deemed “too thick”. All this in about one week, and all taken together, these things paint a very vivid picture of a state which slept through the last century keeping their un-evolved values perfectly preserved. There is a point at which it behooves leaders to be leaders and not to pander and encourage the basest of all human traits: fear, anger, or hate. Understand that it's not any one law or act or bit of legislation -- it's the combination of events painting this state one monolithic shade of ugly.

There are nearly two million Mexican American citizens in Arizona, about one third of the total population of this State, versus an estimated 450,000 illegal immigrants. I venture to guess that nearly all of those Mexican American legal residents bear some resemblance to Mexican Nationals. Just in numeric terms, there aren’t enough police officers in Arizona to question them all. If you were to stop, detain and search these specific US citizens -- a process which would probably extend into the next century -- you will have violated the constitutional rights of two million Americans right there, all for a one in five chance of finding what you’re looking for. But hey, lawsuits, our constitution, and sheer impracticality aside, who have you caught and what have you accomplished for it? At best you’ve apprehended a low wage worker who is in this country for a job. Make no mistake: as long as this “problem” has existed-- decades at least, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of workers in this state, working. In terms of criminal offenses, how bad is that really? I was always taught that labor was noble, and not exactly bad for the economy. How is it that this illegal workforce equals about eight percent of the population, gainfully employed, or at least, employed, when the documented unemployment rate in this State is higher than eight percent? Does this not strike you as peculiar?

This is where the “they took our jobs!” argument would normally come in. But did they really? Show me. Show me that the same employers who habitually hire illegal aliens to do various types of work, who have been doing so for decades, hiring nearly half a million undocumented aliens, would so happily hire an American citizen instead. They can right now, can’t they? So what stops them? They don’t want to. They make a lot more money by hiring illegal labor. They keep their costs down. They compete in the marketplace by doing so. They even compete against foreign markets in the same lines of work. They know it’s a risk, they know they’re breaking the law and they do it anyway because it keeps them in business. Hmmm, and how much easier would it be to bust businesses known to habitually employ not one, but tens or hundreds of illegal workers? Answer: much easier. That’s probably do-able. Ask your local police force where most of the illegal workforce is employed-- think they don’t know?

Next concern: but what about all these low wage workers who aren’t paying taxes? Well what about them? Do we collect income taxes on Chinese laborers working in China? How about the same Mexican laborers working in another state, like California, or what about all those strawberries we buy out of season from South America? But no, you’re right, Arizona. Let’s mock up the scenario of all the illegal aliens in this state, gone. That’s 450,000 jobs suddenly vacated. What a boon to the unemployed US citizen who will obviously and immediately be offered living wage work by these same employers! Why, we’d wipe out unemployment in this State entirely. Ok, Ok, it’s a little hard to write for all the laughing going on at this end, but I’ll indulge the theory: go ahead. Kick them all out. California will be happy to have them. Texas too. California already kills Arizona in the marketplace, why not take it all the way.

These industries, tax paying businesses no less, which habitually rely upon cheap foreign labor in Arizona would not survive the blow to their bottom line. They’d be gone too. Those businesses which are able to relocate most certainly would do so. Those which can’t will surely file for bankruptcy in this fine State of Mavericks where everyone they owe--Arizona banks, Savings and Loans, private investors--all take the hit. Of any single destructive act I could visit on Arizona -- one designed to bury their economy-- removing all the illegal aliens would have to rank in the top three. Truly lock up the borders and every job associated with border patrol in this state is gone too.

The undocumented workforce is here because our businesses want them here, working to keep them in business and keep them profitable. Turn all those jobs legit and legal and the first thing you’ll find is that Americans won’t tolerate those wages, hours and working conditions. Next you see those businesses go belly up, relocate out of State or out of country, or outsource the jobs overseas if they can, just to stay in business. We have always, always relied on cheap labor in this country to stay competitive. It’s a sad fact, but hiring illegally is like getting two employees for the price of one and that’s a big incentive. If our precious politicians want to make a real impact they know right where the law enforcement needs to be applied, and they don’t put the pressure there. It’s absolute hypocrisy. The last thing they want is to drive business from their State. I know it’s a big shock that a politician would pass ridiculous laws which have no positive impact on an issue just to make themselves more popular with voters, but take a deep breath, have a seat, and know that this is true.

I’m sure I didn’t mention it yet but last time Arizona pulled a racist hissy fit and refused to recognize Martin Luther King’s birthday, they lost at least 350 million dollars over it due to boycotts from saner states and more enlightened individuals. Workers and commerce equal prosperity, plain and simple. Disrupt that and how can you be called anything but stupid? I have hardly begun to argue the human indignity of it all. My hypothetical argument is that Arizona be granted their bloody wish and that half a million hard working producers of real results go back to Mexico murmuring apologies for all that rampant productivity. Learn that your final solution is no solution at all. Put real dollar values on your estimates which include the prosperity of your local businesses-- at the expense, in fact, of illegal laborers who enjoy no protection under the law, no overtime, no health care, no workers comp, no paid leave, no SSI, no unemployment. Just admit it already: you hate them, but you need them. You are the threat. The “other” is, in fact, you.

Police State of Arizona Loses it's Mind, Again.

2010-04-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

I thought we lived in America? Not if you're in Arizona.

Here is a nice guy: hard working truck driver born in Fresno, California, pays his taxes. Stopped at a weigh station and ended up handcuffed, arrested and detained because his commercial drivers license and social security card weren't enough for Arizona officials to believe that he is a US citizen.  He was detained for 90 minutes while his wife frantically finds his birth certificate-- and her own-- because she's afraid she'll get arrested too. How long would he have been held if his wife couldn't find the birth certificate? What if they couldn't reach her? Remember, this guy broke no law: he was arrested and detained because he is a Mexican American, but I want to emphasize here that HE IS AN AMERICAN. He speaks with an accent. That's it. No American citizen should be treated like this. This is an absolute outrage. Thanks Arizona Republicans, good one. You're so big on freedom from government interference? You just turned yourself into East Germany before the wall came down, comrades.

Yes, Arizona just voted itself a Police State. They're also trying to vote in a "birther law" which demands that any presidential candidate submit proof to Arizona officials that he is a US citizen. It's meaningless, of course, you have to be born in America to run for president. It's routinely verified at the Federal level. These are Republican House Representatives trying to make some kind of statement by aligning themselves with a crazy conspiracy theory which has already been disproved many many times: so many times in fact, that Hawaii, where our current president was born, is trying to enact their own legal exemption from responding to these spurious requests for verification. What's the Statement Arizona, that it's not OK to have a black president? That you think you have the right to harass our president as well as any free citizen you choose to racially profile? No other US president has ever had his citizenship questioned like this.

My God. The state is 30% hispanic. How in the world can you imagine that there will be no backlash in your home State, as well as from the rest of the country if not the world? You know, if you just want to be racist, you may want to stop short of being cowards. Tell it like it is. Have the courage of your convictions and declare Arizona a "white zone". See how that works out for ya. I'm talking to the Republicans in the Arizona State government enacting these unconstitutional laws. Put on your white sheets before heading off to work in the morning, and then introduce some legislation declaring martial law in Arizona and dissolving democratic rule entirely. Stop hiding behind pretense: you want to make the State over in your own image. All hail the leadership of Arizona. For historical reference: refusing to recognize Martin Luther King day as a holiday did not work out too well, nor did it last. The boycotts worked and you caved.

Not that illegal immigration deserves serious discussion in this hysterical climate-- are we at war with Mexico? Are commercial truck drivers really spies? Are they enemy combatants? How clever of him to have a valid CDL and a freaking genuine social security card then. But listen, I lived in California nearly all my life where an estimated 25% of all illegal immigrants in the country reside: we use and abuse the illegal immigrants as we see fit-- they do not enjoy equal protection under the law and they typically take only the jobs we'd never touch. Want to control illegal immigration? Start busting the employers. It's easy, cost effective, and it almost never happens. Guess why--- because we don't want to pay eight bucks for a basket of strawberries. It's that simple. Study your history: America has always depended upon a huge influx of cheap labor. My own people, the Irish, were titled "the new niggers" after slavery was abolished. I don't know what they called the Chinese when they were building the railroads but it couldn't have been good. I'm sure I'm not the only person who notices that the border issues only come up when elections are gearing up, but it sure would be refreshing if we stopped the hypocrisy.

Comments are moderated here: fair warning. If you want to go and publish your own blog, it's a free country, for now. Respectful, polite and useful comments are welcome, the rest are deleted.

Latest photos and news

2010-04-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Finally started feeling well enough to take a few photos. After 2 rounds of antibiotics-- by the end of the second round the toxicity of the antibiotic itself was mimicking the symptoms of the bronchitis I was trying to cure. So it goes. I don't blame anybody for this, it's just how it is sometimes. Had some pretty bad nights there, doing better now. Oh yeah, and it's pollen season and Sheryl and I both started having allergies in the middle of trying to get well. Still coughing and sneezing some but we're able to get out and take walks and get a few photos here and there. I think that the pollen is starting to abate too, so that's good for us. We're completely surrounded by Junipers and that's the main source of pollen. I don't think I've been this sick for this long, ever. Off and on since Christmas, it get's really tiresome. Of course we've been looking at spiritual/psychological reasons for this, as well as environmental factors. It's not always so easy to solve, and we probably should have turned to help sooner.

Click on the photos above for a larger view. We're happy that things are looking up now.

Complex issues in 2 minutes.

2010-03-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I shot the video above 2 years ago, along with a bunch of others. It's a short, maybe too short and too simplistic treatment of the mental/emotional component of being physically ill. I got a few comments on it from people who expected a lot more from a a 2 minute video. I also got some encouragement. Not many comments, but people still watch it a fair amount (compared to some of our other videos). So, maybe one day I'll re-do it longer and more completely. Maybe not. It's short, it's off the cuff, and the issue is one of the largest issues which human beings face.

"Why people get sick" probably should have been called "Some Contributing Factors to Illness". The basic premise being that sometimes people get sick because they need an undeniable excuse to avoid something in their lives. SOMETIMES, being the important word.

Granted, I'm pretty healthy most of the time. I go through long periods being perfectly fine, and then, once in while I get sick and seem to take a very long time to get over it. In my case there are usually some easily discernable psychological patterns there, personal stuff, that's how and why I do any video; to share from my personal experience, as far as that goes and only as far as that goes. Some youtube viewers get that, some get mad when their personal experience doesn't exactly match mine. Or they want to take my "Why PEOPLE get Sick" video and ask me why animals get sick. Not ask, really, but start an argument with me.

In 2 years we've had to learn to simply delete the malcontents, the trolls, essentially anybody who either lacks common sense or just has a chip on their shoulder for reasons which have nothing to do with me. Web 2.0 is not all that it's cracked up to be. Imagine if every TV broadcaster could hear what every viewer across the world yells at their television set. Do you think those "comments" would be worth publishing? That's what happens if you run unmoderated comments on youtube. Actually, it's worse than that: because one comment feeds another comment, and another and another. OK, enough about dogpiling trolls. It looks exactly the way that it sounds, and I'd have to say that it smells about the same way too.

Lately I was very dismayed to find that a video of an older white guy who gets in a fight with a younger black guy got about 1.5 million views in three days. It's still going of course, getting reposted everywhere. I had already come to grips with the fact that any teenage girl in a skimpy outfit doing anything would get far more views than all of our educational videos combined. Maybe that will change some day--- after all, our most popular video is about spontaneous Kundalini awakening and I figured that this would be the most obscure subject of any video that we've shot. Anyway, sex and violence: it's a draw and it's always been a big draw. Even Shakespeare knew how to use that to his advantage, and yet his plays also move in to the profound, some of the highest human concerns and callings. There must be a lesson in that. It's holistic, life includes it all. Don't expect to see Hamlet on youtube anytime soon though, you need to devote several solid hours to really take in the unedited play, and that's the way that it should be.

Sick Again

2010-03-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much I've been sick since Christmas. Near as we can tell, I came down with the swine flu shortly before Christmas. Never confirmed because I never saw a doctor, but all the symptoms were there. Sheryl quite amazingly held off getting sick for the longest time. She seems fearless about this kind if thing, whereas I hate being around contagiously sick people. I've had bouts with pneumonia and bronchitis before, and this was pretty bad-- I ended up sick for all of January. Again, never saw a doctor; partly because I kept thinking I was on the mend, telling myself "OK, well if I'm not much better by Monday--- then I'll go." Monday would come around, I'd feel better, but then find myself feeling punk a few days later. On and on it went.

Around my birthday, Feb 7th, I still wasn't feeling so hot. Lingering respiratory symptoms, tightness and wheezing, and just not feeling up to mustering the energy to watch and enjoy a whole movie in a theater. Not really sure now when it lifted, but somewhere in there I managed to sit through "Avatar" and enjoy it, and gradually felt more and more like I could take long walks in the desert with Sheryl again. And yet. . .

Here came March, and the Juniper pollen started blowing. Last year I discovered I had an acute allergy to Juniper pollen. We are absolutely surrounded by Juniper trees for miles, and not much else. This year the symptoms started in again, though not as badly. And I was determined to make friends with the pollen. It's been a confusing time-- as I did manage, mostly through mental attitude, to slow the response down to just a few sneezes here and there. But then the chest constriction, the wheezing started in again, a deep pain in my chest and a really, really deep cough. In the middle of this we had a house guest who suffers from severe allergies. We assumed I was having a sort of allergic asthma, and when I got desperate I borrowed his inhaler. Suddenly I could breath again. But the following day-- noises in my chest, a headache lasting the entire day, and to make a long story short, within a few days we realized that allergic symptoms weren't really adding up to this, I had chills and a bad cough. . . again.

Enough is enough, I went to a local doctor. Good man, he prescribed me some of the usual stuff: an antibiotic called Cipro, Albuterol in a nebulizer for the wheezing and constriction, a very small does of prednisone (basically an immune supressant for allergic type symptoms). I looked up everything on the net, and have been dealing with all that ever since. Pretty much skipped taking the prednisone, and am good with that decision. I figure when I've got an infection, I'll handle discomfort to some extent in favor of keeping my immune system un-supressed.

Took the Cipro religiously like a good boy, twice a day. I appear to be on a medium dosage. Good news there is that it doesn't give me terrible stomach aches like some anti-biotics have (In case you wondered why I avoided the Doc for so long-- there it is.)

Good news bad news: I can't determine for certain why the Doc chose Cipro, and can't tell if it's actually doing anything good. In the past when an antibiotic "hit the mark" meaning it was eradicating the particular bugs I was infected with, I've generally felt a hell of a lot better within about three or four days. Besides that, there were always obvious changes in the nasty mucous; from nasty thick yellow/grey to a less noxious clear and watery. Not so this time. In fact as of Thursday (four days on the Cipro) I was having so many new noises in my chest it sounded like a haunted house. It seriously scared me, and Sheryl and I determined to call the doc back the next day.

We did, got another clinician, and in my opinion, a pretty weird response: "The Cipro is working" she said, "It gets worse before it gets better."

I though about that, and either she's right, and I just need to give it more time, or she's wrong--- and the Cipro isn't hitting my particular bacterial infection. We can research these things now, and it turns out that Cipro works well on gram negative bacteria, but not gram positive (whatever that means). No antibiotic is perfect, and I wouldn't want anybody to get the wrong idea either, that I'm critical of medical personnel, or think I know better than they do etc. Further, I'm allergic to Penicillin or anything pretending to be it. And, without a lab culture telling the Doc specifically which type of bacterial bug you may have, the actual drug you get prescribed is just a broad-spectrum killer which will hopefully knock back your particular brand of little, hungry, invading critter.

The more I read about antibiotics, the more impressed I am by the cleverness of the people creating them, but also the more horrified I am about how quickly new bacteria strains evolve, the kind which resist being killed by all the wonderful antibiotics which came before. Doctors have to keep up on what the latest and greatest antibiotics are, because they are the only ones which work, for now, until the new bugs kick their collective asses too. Furthermore, this is mostly the fault of patients who take three or four doses and then quit the rest of the bottle--- no matter how many times they've been told that this is precisely how to build antibiotic-resistant superbugs. There are also many good reasons to avoid antibiotics altogether, if you can. And I usually do avoid them, but comes a time when you say, hey, I ain't livin' in medieval times here, gimme some of them good drugs.

Cipro is a pretty good drug, after several tries, we determined a lot of good reasons why this Doc prescribed it, as opposed to say, Clarithromycin. So for now, I'm good with that, good with the idea that considering how incredibly differently this drug works compared to others, that my past subjective impressions may not apply anymore.

These things can get confusing though: for example, the abluterol inhaler that I borrowed about a week ago was a sudden and amazing godsend. Suddenly I could breath. The next day: I was truly sick. All day. Chalked it up to side effects, but what if it wasn't that?

Here's the thing: my bronchial tubes get inflamed and close up for a reason, they're fighting infection. If I force them to open up chemically, then what? Have I interfered with a natural and important part of my own immune system? Same goes for the prednisone; I'll say this, if you've ever needed a steroid to keep your own immune system from killing you, these drugs are like miracles. You get to not die. And that feels pretty good. Same goes for lesser versions like OTC allergy meds; your quality of life compared to gasping for breath, hiding in the house next to a hospital air filter running full blast on a gorgeous Spring day, is just an amazing difference. Suddenly you're normal. Better yet you can train your body to say "hello, I love you" to perfectly harmless pollen, but we haven't all mastered that yet. Wait and see. We will.

But getting back to some of my other meds: I'm not doing the prednisone. I did do the albuterol, twice I think, on Thursday. I also tended to get real "aggressive" in trying to cough up the stuff in my lungs. Why: because I hate being sick. I hate having stuff in my lungs. I want it out, right now. But around the time I started seeing a little bit of blood coming up along with what little I actually was coughing up, I had to rethink the strategy. By late that same night (yesterday) I seemed worse than ever. My chest hurt, my throat hurt, I was wheezing and rattling like you wouldn't believe, and starting to get panicky.

This is the kind of thing I remember from way back when, had several bouts with similar symptoms in 1998. It's not so simple as "coughing it all up". You can injure your lungs doing that, coughing too hard and too often. You can irritate your lungs inhaling medicine too, no matter what it's supposed to fix: your lungs only want to see clean air, and are built to reject anything else. The response to rejecting what you put it in them are a form of pneumonia right there. Sinuses too: they're delicate. You can't just go nuking them with any old home remedy and expect good results. Anyway it's a balance. There are ways you can assist your body to get you well, and ways which you can shoot yourself in the foot. I'm dealing with that this week. I think I could have a had a much better year, so far, had I seen doctors sooner. I don't think I'd even be sick right now. I'd be done with it. And yet, now that I've got a few chemicals in the house, designed to have some pretty powerful effects, I have to be cautious and careful. You can't employ a scorched earth policy against "germs" when you're the earth.

Peace.