It felt as if the forest were on fire today, the last burst of glory of the leaves, who become so beautiful when they die. Fire is a hard word these days, so many people out west are suffering from the real thing, but as I walked down the long deep path in the woods today, it felt like I was witnessing the last beautiful outburst of the leaves, most of them fell while we were in New Mexico.
It was a riotous blur, it enveloped the path with red and yellow and greet, it seemed an altar of trees was waiting for us at the end of the path.
On the path downhill, it felt as the leaves were signing off with glory, my Petzval art lens caught the feeling for me.
Maria and I walked out into the deep woods, all of the leaves had fallen, we found one last one with color and Maria held it up to the light. My Petzval 58 lens captured both the feel of the darkness and of the light. We said goodbye to the last leaf and let her drop.
Got a lovely welcome home video from Robin, my granddaughter. She is a happy and genial kids, since I last saw her, she has started walking and making animal sounds. Come and see my welcome home from New Mexico.
For the first time, I’m offering a small number of photographs for sale as a holiday or Christmas gift. Most of the photos are 8 1/2 x 13 1/2, this one wants to be smaller, I think, 5″ x 7 1/2″ signed and unframed on the highest quality rag paper and shipped in secure tubes. If any are damaged or unsatisfactory, they will be replaced or the money refunded.
The photo was taken with my new Daguerreotype Archomat Art Lens. A number of people have asked for some of my photos as Christmas gifts, so here they are. There is plenty of time to get them printed and out for the holidays.
This is one of the very few smaller ones, and they are $75 plus shipping, a good price for a museum quality print. Most of the photos are 8 1/2″ x 13 1/2″ and sell for $130 plus shipping, like the one below.
Bedlam Farm Pastoral: $130 plus shipping.
Finally, after years of experimenting, I’ve figured out how to sell my photographs and not be driven mad or forced to charge too much money. No more expensive photo shows for me.
People are responding to this new idea, and I thank you, most of my photographs are free to use, but it is nice to be paid for my work, an idea I have been slow to grasp.
You can see all of the photos for sale on my new photo gallery on the blog. Maria is handling the sales, she is [email protected], and she is receiving a commission on each photograph sold.
We bought some gifts for people, and a few things for the farmhouse, but I only bought this one thing for me, at Maria’s urging. We went to the open market in Sante Fe’s main square and walked along the row of Native-American artists selling jewelry and other works.
A salesperson at the Museum of Indian Culture in Santa Fe suggested we go there, she could see me eying the beautiful silver bracelets I saw at the museum. but not finding the right one .I have never worn much jewelry – I like necklaces with crosses that only I can see – and was not willing to spend hundreds of dollars for silver or gold pieces.
Maria thought I might find something at the market, she insisted on our going, so we parked and walked through the beautiful square. I came across a Navajo artist named David Ponte and he asked me what I was looking for and I said I wasn’t sure.
I liked the idea of a bracelet, but the silver and gold pieces seemed too flashy to me. He showed me this copper and silver piece that was under $200 and I liked it, the colors seemed down to earth and his craftsmanship was striking.
Still, I was reluctant. Maria urged me on, saying the piece was beautiful and she could see that I liked it. And I did. I also wanted something to remind me of New Mexico, which I loved.
Everyone around me was haggling, and I sometimes love to haggle, but not there, not with Mr. Ponte.
I am not comfortable haggling with gifted artists, it seems cheap and unpleasant to me, I think I saw my mother do too much of it.
So I met his asking price, and then, he stood up to shake my hand, and thanked me for that. He showed me the best way to put it on easily, and it has come to mean a lot to me. Every day I wear it, I like it more.
I’m glad I got it. I don’t ever have to take it off, either, unless it makes Maria cold at night. I can wear it i the shower or bath.
