Copperwood Sky ( AKA Cottonwood )

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

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

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

Little Dog in black and white.

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

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.

What I'm shooting lately

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

Photo projects of late: Horses, Goat and friends, Espresso

This is an older image from Big Sur, California: some beautiful horses that I came across in very nice light. I had a good image to work with to start out, but my skills at image editing have improved dramatically, and so today I am able to get much more out of a file than I would have years ago.

This is not a new image either, just a reminder to me that it is one of the few framed images I ever sold on Cafepress, back before they turned to the dark side and succumbed to unreasonable greed ( they reduced our income by two-thirds with a stroke of the pen ). Having that shop for as long as we did-- I supposed we learned that cheaper, novelty type items will sell much more readily than a framed print. On more than one occasion I sold a single greeting card or a sticker, and noted that it had shipped overseas, which gave me a laugh and about a dollar profit. Cafepress mostly sells T-shirts, and T-shirts are usually adorned with slogans, sayings, jokes, or political messages. We quit them because they began stealing more and more profits from the artists and designers, but really we weren't doing all that well over there because we didn't participate enough in doing slogans and jokes-- I'm guessing-- we do know that the fine art and photos don't seem to sell well in that venue. I have a lot of appreciation for product design, and clever wordplay. It's just a different skill than fine art or photography.

Again I've had this image for years but never did anything with it until just now. Bit of a visual joke, makes people laugh. I titled it "Friends." So, in a way it's a crossover image: I'd expect to sell it on a greeting card before it sells as a framed print, and yet it's not just a throw away snapshot either. The light is good and I was pretty meticulous with my editing. I think I cropped in this tight because of the subject matter, otherwise I would have tended to frame a bit wider. Selling is on my mind a lot lately. Christmas is coming and it's a good time to be busy advertising and producing.

But something else is nagging at me and I haven't quite put my finger on it. Sheryl and I know that we need to make some changes but it still seems that change happens so slowly and by incremental steps. We went to Flagstaff recently on business, bit couldn't help noticing how much it reminded us of some of the nicer parts of the Bay Area. It felt like home. Maybe that's what started it, and there is more change in the air than we yet realize.

Photos at The White Chair in Snowflake, Arizona

Some of the art photos above may be available at The White Chair very soon, in Snowflake, Arizona.

The White Chair
432 S Main St
Snowflake, AZ 85937
(928) 536-9666

Here is what Sheryl said about the place a while back:

"I'm happy to announce that my Mama Love flower essence aromatherapy healing perfumes are now available at The White Chair, 432 S. Main Street in Snowflake, AZ, near the White Mountains. The White Chair specializes in antiques and handcrafted creations with an antique or country feel. It's a really great shop, jam-packed with all kinds of wonderful stuff. I'm especially pleased to have my work there because the owner, Moli White, really loves aromatherapy, natural healing and the earth. She's also quite an artist and creative person herself and is a big supporter of women and their work. Her daughter just opened up a coffee shop in the space next to The White Chair. Come by and visit the next time you're in town! "

I'm not sure which ones the owner, Moli, will choose to display but we'll know within a day or two. They're all professionally printed and mounted to foam core, ready to hang, hooks included. The prices should be pretty reasonable. I'm glad to put them on display again. Two thirds of this collection are floral, then there are some birds, three scenes from a marine environment . . . I'm not sure what there's room for at The White Chair, because there are already a ton of antiques, Shabby Chic a fair amount of original paintings and some drop-dead-gorgeous hand made jewelry, so some of these photographs may get displayed at Snowflake Coffee which adjoins the establishment. We had a really good smoothie and an iced coffee there a couple days ago. Always like a breath of fresh air to go in and visit there.

Photos I've been working up lately

Sheryl really likes this one of the hammer and spool of wire we found on an unfenced property. Tells it's own story.

I've had my eye on the tree above for weeks now.

Same goes for this broken windmill. Thanks to Sheryl for getting me close enough to it.

This one i spotted right away-- at the time i was suffering from vertigo, the wind was blowing and I nearly fell off a bluff to get this shot because every time I lifted the camera to my eye I got dizzy..
I call this one crazy coleus.


This heart shaped calla lily is, of course, for valentines day.
All these can be clicked on for a larger view.