Charlene Martin Photography: Blog

#the100dayproject - Nearly Done

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 02:30:03 GMT

I'm still working with family health issues, but a little more relaxed about things. Although my chiropractor says different. All my stress and worry is hanging out in my neck and right shoulder. We have a new grand-daughter, so we've been celebrating her. The #the100dayproject is doing what I'd hoped, not everyday, but for for 78 days so far it's been a touchstone for me to get out of my head and look around with a creative heart. I've started working with folds and sculpture with the prints, but nothing too promising yet. I've also been working on some cyanotypes this summer... just making some prints that might work themselves into "art" before the end of summer.

Hope you're having a good summer... cheers!

Here are a few of my favorites, check out the rest at CharleneyMartiny on IG

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Happy (almost) Valentine's Day

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 21:48:54 GMT

It has been such a beautiful week, feels like Spring today. It's nearly Valentine's Day, and a new show opening at the Lodi Community Art center. I've added to the show with a few Photo-Encaustic pieces. One is a new bit of experimenting that I've been doing combining my kaleidoscopic images with pieces of mirror. I've used encaustic medium to bring them together and added some oil pigment and metallic oil pastel. In the spirit of the season, it's titled "Blushing Valentine".

Others in the show :

Revisiting Projects

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 19:19:35 GMT

I'm going to work on a 365 project this year. Last year, I gave it an attempt, but this time I'm going to get it done. I've got a handy little prismatic viewer and my cell phone with me everyday, so no excuses. What kind of projects are you doing or recommitting to in 2018?

365 Project Photos

20 x 20 Show = Studio Disaster

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 21:24:28 GMT

My must have for creative productivity is space... clear, clean, open space with all my tools at hand. At least that's how it starts. The creative whirlwind commences and the studio is again a disaster. So now that the major push for 20 pieces is over... the clean-up phase begins again. That's how I was feeling post Thanksgiving, anyway.

We made it to the reception at the Blue Line Arts Gallery. Thanks to my hubby for taking this photo of me with the works. If you can, get there! So many terrific artists this year, I was feeling extremely humble to be with them.

I spent more time then I wanted roaming the halls of medical centers and hospitals in December. Everyone's on the mend now, but it was a stressful month. I found some creative inspiration in the halls of healing. I was inspired by Mary Street's mixed media works at the Kaiser in Stockton. I haven't been able to find her on the internet yet. If you know her, please let her know these are terrific! One of the aspects I fancy with encaustics, is texture. I need to look for that old pattern tracing wheel of my grandmothers. Part of the problem with keeping a tidy studio is all the junk that "could be used in an art project" someday.

Creative energy has filled my heart, even if the productivity hasn't been in the "studio". I made the fanciest cookies of my life thanks to an old magazine I came across, Chocolate Pistachio Nut Christmas Trees:

The last few days, I've just bounced around from project to project. Eventually, I had to take a couple of them out into the kitchen, because there wasn't any empty table space in the studio. Here's my favorite outcome from experiments designing wine corks into phone/business card holders. (Did I mention that I've lost a lot of time scrolling around Pinterest?)

I've had some fun with Spirographs, this is sort of relevant in that it allows me to experiment with color. Truthfully, it's just relaxing and fun. Earlier in the year, I was thinking they would be made into unique Christmas cards. Maybe this year. ;)

Then there's this...

The girls are getting along a bit better these days. Dixie (on the right) still doesn't want Molly to touch her, but the buffer zone of tolerance is getting smaller. I've been working on making happy things happen when they are close.

So that's what my "artful" December was like... How was yours?

The last couple of days, I've been working on my journal, getting it setup for 2018. She's a real beauty. I made it in a workshop at The Write Place. Jonel Imutan was our leader and created a very encouraging and supportive environment. Check out her beautiful creations on Instagram at Jonelifish. The Write Place is on my list of places to visit more often in 2018. They're doing all the stuff I'm digging into right now, paper making, book making, printing.

Tons of ideas still bouncing around in my brain, but I'm planning to knuckle down on a few art projects and teach a couple of classes.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and adventurous 2018!

20 x 20 Show = Studio Clean Up

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 00:18:10 GMT

I was so thrilled to be accepted into the Blue Line Arts' 20 x 20 show. I love focusing on a large project with a deadline. I've been working sporadically for the last two weeks, but today I figured out one of the problems - a cluttered work space.

So, I boxed up all kinds of loose ephemera and papers. Now two other rooms are a mess, but I have the breathing room to create. Almost half way there, only eleven days to delivery and I'm making some visible progress.

I've been hemming and hawing about the subject, but after reviewing my notes on best practices from last year, I decided to stick with my initial theme of Desert Blooms. I took two trips to the California desert this Spring, so thought I had enough images. It's a bit dreary and wet, so a little revisit to the desert has been uplifting.

Hope to see you there at the reception for the show, it's always a super show with tons of variety and inspiration.

Blue Line Arts - December Shows

Photography Show

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 21:23:23 GMT

Received notice that three of my photographs are accepted into the Lodi Community Art Center's annual photography show. I've been procrastinating on printing up photographs in the studio. I know the printer is going to be temperamental, she gets a little fussy when she's been left to nap to long. Please think good thoughts for a stress free studio session this week.

Looking forward to the reception, please add it to your calendar. :) Photography Show & Sale Reception - October 7, 2017

When you really really love a photograph

Wed, 30 Aug 2017 14:30:00 GMT

So you don't get the wrong idea from my last post, photographing is not usually the "fun" part for me. In fact, sometimes when I'm struggling to come up with my next project, hubby says "Go out and take some pictures!" I do tend to get comfortable in the studio enjoy spending more hours working on processes with a photograph than actually working on taking photographs.

One of my photography exercises is to use a slow shutter app on my phone. I especially love this for long drives. Occasionally the results are abstracts, but sometimes I can simulate a childhood game of stopping and starting freeze focus of the things that pass by the window. This is what you play when you're an only child and there's no one else in the back seat for "slug bug". :)

Charlene Martin

When you really love a photograph, why not take it in every direction you can think of. So this isn't the greatest technically professional photograph. However, I feel a lot of emotion with this one. The incredible sky that day, I'm always a sucker for the warm and cold colors of a sunset. The sunset and the cattle make me feel the satisfied tiredness you feel at the end of a long productive day. The strength of the oak always makes me feel the security and comfort of home. But not a great photograph.

So let's try something else...

Charlene Martin

In black and white with a little cropping, it maintains the soulfulness. I also liked the way the telephone wires become more of the composition. I feel a sense of loneliness and longing for home with that more enhanced element.

The motion and lack of sharp focus makes me think of an impressionist pastel or water color. This was one of my first selections for the 30 x 30 series of photo-encaustic pieces I did for the Blue Line Gallery show last winter.

This Spring, I was in a group show at the Stockton Art League. I wanted to stay with the natural subjects, but take them back towards more traditional photography. One of my favorite alternative or historic processes is Cyanotype.

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This process brings back a little more of the cheerfulness of going home. The cyan is just a happy spring color and the telephone wires are a little more subdued.

Continuing my search for a more hands on approach with my art, I've started exploring a couple of different mediums, scratchboard and relief printing. When trying something totally new, it's comforting to have a familiar friend along with you...

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I'm still struggling with how and when to flip the print and when to inverse the image. I did the carving on a clear PVC printmaking block. I'm fairly satisfied for it being one of my first tries. I printed it with water based ink and a brayer. Hoping to have a few more blocks ready to go and some free time for the next open studio at the Write Place/Tuleburg Press (http://www.facebook.com/tuleburgpress)

2017 Charlene Martin

Kaleidoscopic Images

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 19:33:27 GMT

I've been working with a little tool I made from mirrored plexi-glass this summer. Thank you Tap Plastics! I lucked out and found what I needed in the "scrap" bin last year.

I was initially thinking of a much larger piece to use with my Canon 5D, Mark II. I put that all together too, but found it just too unwieldy. I made a few images in May of last year with it, but tired of it quickly, So I'd put them away away for a while.

Oak

Funny thing is that nearly to the day a year later, I thought... why not try it again, with the smaller version of the prismatic viewer and my phone? I'd been thinking about kaleidoscopes and mandalas; and wondering how I could create something like them with a camera.

WOW! So much more fun and interesting this time around. Of course the desert in Spring and lots of alone time for creating helped too. My trip to the desert and the impact of Manzanar along with how I've been feeling about my country inspired most of this series of photographs. I feel the crazy views align with the crazy thinking and actions I'm seeing around me. Fourth of July2017 Charlene Martin

I've experimented with various lenses and I really like the fisheyes with the prismatic viewer. These give a much more kaleidascope look. Using a narrower lens, I'm able to get more control over the image and make something more intentionally mandala-ish.

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I'm figuring out how exactly I want to print them. I'm leaning towards the black backgrounds around the circle images. I'm also thinking there may be a way to have them as semi-transparent circles and hang them as a mobile. One idea is to mount them and use encaustic medium to add elements of glass and mirror. I've ordered some little mirror triangle pieces. So maybe in a week or two, I'll have some more experimental images to share. My friend, Sam introduced me once as someone who "makes terrific photographs and then does something wild with them." It can be illuminating to see yourself though someone else. And so the journey continues...

Farmers' Market Lumens

Fri, 11 Aug 2017 00:26:29 GMT

I've scanned in the lumens from earlier in the week.

I had a bit of a breakthrough this week. Initially, I was thinking that these flowers were on the way out, so I'd better use them fast! Knowing that I could get them again at the next market, I created the initial compositions thinking that they were a "test" and that I'd really be looking at them more as pieces than a total composition. So I've been zooming in and taking a closer look at the parts. It's turned out that I'm liking they even more the closer I zoom and the more abstract they become.

What do you think?

Lumens in process...

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 02:56:28 GMT

Last week I had some super productive days. Getting the patio cleaned up really elevated my mood. That along with some farmers market flowers that were past their prime gave me some super lumens. I'll be sprucing them up soon, but here's what they look like as they just get started in the sun. Scanning the finished exposures into the computer tonight.

Photo-Encaustic - A Step along the Journey

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 20:55:06 GMT

This is one of my favorite photos from my series of photographs exploring motion and speed. It all started with boredom in the passenger seat on a long drive. It keeps me quiet. :) I've printed up a few of these images here and there. Seeing how the stokes of the encaustic medium simulate the flow of the movement of these images... I put the two together. Just found this little Adobe Spark story that I made some time ago. It walks you through the process from the image to the finished encaustic work. Let me know what you think.

This is the finished photo-encaustic work that I titled "Passage". It's an 8" x 10" work on cradled board, priced at $125.

Field Trip to Ruth Bancroft Garden

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 01:34:17 GMT

Spring always puts a spring in my step... Last weekend, I joined some fellow photographers from the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center on a field trip. We met at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. It was an easy drive over on a quiet Saturday morning. If you want to check it out for yourself, here's their website http://www.ruthbancroftgarden.org/. They were all so friendly and the garden was busy, but it wasn't too hard to photograph around other visitors and photographers.

Fall Finish

Fri, 09 Oct 2015 01:31:55 GMT

Fall already? We've been traveling quite a bit and enjoying the vacation homes of family and friends. I've got a couple of projects finishing up. I did the editing for a crew of photographers with San Joaquin Art Expressions. They are having a grand opening this Friday. I'm going to miss it, sigh. You should still go. They are a great group of artists and the project is commemorating a unique San Joaquin charity, Gospel Mission. They've been helping people get sober and off the streets for 75 years!

One of my favorite charities is the Friends of the Lodi Public Libray. All libraries in general, but these folks are dear to my heart. We're letting people know one of Lodi's best kept secrets - gently used and inexpensive books are available at the Friends of the Library bookstore. It's just off the lobby of the library. The best part? You get to feel great about buying knowing that your money is going right into programs for fellow citizens at the library.

I've created a little calendar with images from the downtown Lodi Farmers Market. 12 - 5x5 inch prints worthy of framing after the year is done. You can pick one up at Lodi Community Art Center for $30. Drop me an email if you're interested in more.

Virtual Hugs

Tue, 05 May 2015 21:00:00 GMT

Thanks for all your support during my show at Hutchins St Square. It was a lot of work to make sure there were some new images framed and ready for display. I had great support from my family in helping me transform one of our guest rooms into a framing and storage space. It was quite a few steps bringing 25+ framed pieces up the stairs. Getting together that much work all along those beautiful walls felt like a real accomplishment. I get a thrill out of seeing them together like that and talking to people about them. The other two "solo" shows I have this year fell through, but I'm almost always at the Lodi Community Art Center and the Elsie May Goodwin Gallery.

I'll have a booth up at Heritage Oak Winery Art Fair, June 20th. Come on out, enjoy some wine and art.

Enjoy your summer!

Venturing out...

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:53:47 GMT

I've been working up the courage to send my art further out into the world. Well, I'm taking baby steps this spring. Three different friends suggested I enter in upcoming shows in Elk Grove. Granted, not that far. The first to get back was the Art of Excellence show by the Elk Grove Artists. All three entries were accepted into the show! It's going to be a busy weekend for me, with the Art Hop reception on the 1st and the Elk Grove show on the 2nd and 3rd. Come out and enjoy a weekend of art with me.

Art Hop - Friday, May 1, 6:00 - 8:30 PM, Hutchins Street Square, 125 S Hutchins St, Lodi. Pianist, Sue Frueh will be performing, and we'll have Art, Appetizers & Beverages - Bring a friend or two. ;) Big thanks for funding and support from Lodi Arts Commission, City of Lodi and Lodi Arts Foundation! /http://www.lodiarts.org/

Art of Excellence - May 2nd & May 3rd 10am-5pm at the Elk Grove Park Pavilion 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Rd, Elk Grove. The indoor Pavilion at Elk Grove Park is transformed into a gallery with framed artwork hung on professional show panels and sculptures placed on draped tables. http://elkgroveartistsca.org

Hummingbird Cutting the Grapes - Triptic Boots

Procrastination

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 23:54:18 GMT

It's always a new years resolution... less procrastination! This is a special issue with photography. If you don't take the shot when you see it, next time the light won't be right, or the scene could be completely gone. There was a beautiful vineyard with a handsome oak just perfectly set in the middle. I'd talked myself out of stopping for years, then one day - it's gone! The tree, the vineyard, everything has been taken out and a new vineyard is being installed. sigh.

Several times a week I drive through Victor, California. Every time I look for these shadows. It's interesting to watch how they change with the seasons and time of day. Finally, one fall morning I stopped to make a photograph of them. There was a small works show at the Viewpoint Photographic Center that I'd been working up the courage to enter. These shadows and starkness of the buildings and palms seemed to have great potential. I wanted them to be really special, so I decided small cyanotypes would be perfect.

They weren't accepted into the show. :( I always tell people, try it... you never know what the judges will like... Just enter your best or favorite work and see what happens. Don't take it to heart if it's not selected. Ha! Great advice, but hard to practice. I really do love these little works and when they weren't accepted, I put them away in a drawer.

A few months later, here's the Spring Show entry form... well, I had a couple of works that have been shown before and had received great feedback. So while I'm entering them I start thinking about those little cyanotypes again. Well, why not? Cool, they were accepted. So I'm thinking, yea! I'm going to get them "professionally" framed. Time goes by and sure enough, the last day to enter I'm cutting a mat for them. I'm pretty good with one window, but three!?! That's a stretch for me. I was close to just taking the others and putting these back in the drawer. But I kept at it and got a pretty nice looking presentation.

So, guess who received an honorable mention! Another reminder to not give up, stop and make time to take those images you want and enter you favorite works. Each day is a new opportunity to start again.

Hope you get to see them in person at the Spring Art Show, at Woodbridge by Mondavi, 5950 East Woodbridge Road, Acampo. The preveiw gala is April 10th at 7PM and the show is free to the public April 11th and 12th from 11AM to 5PM.

Palm Shadows - Triptych

Woodbridge Uncorked

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 18:30:28 GMT

Twice in less than a week, we enjoyed celebrations at Woodbridge Uncorked. We had a wonderful time at Woodbridge Uncorked's St. Patrick's Celebration. Then again last night, we celebrated their membership in the Lodi Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting. Always a spot to enjoy the company of old friends and meet new friends.

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Cheers!

March Already?!?

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 23:18:36 GMT

January didn't appear to be a very creative month for me. I did get my encaustic studio area setup, but not much production from that yet. February was mostly an iPhoneography month. I tend to post those on Facebook, but I might create a little portfolio of that work here too.

Art hop venues for the year are booked, May, August and October. More info to come soon, or check out Facebook.I’ve done a couple more commercial jobs recently, portraits of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce staff and some sample for a new winery and event space.

I’m getting excited about an artist retreat this month out in the desert. Initially, I was thinking, “oh, great, I’ll be wanting some warm weather by then.” But, we’ve had some beautiful spring weather. We've had a couple evenings of just enjoying a glass of wine and the sunset. Ahhhh, love Spring in California.

Cheers!

Welcome into my studio

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:57:39 GMT

In November, my friend Suzane Hambleton at http://www.rightlightimages.com/ made a video of me working in my studio. We looked at weaving images, cyanotypes and a little more in depth on my Lumen printing. It was a great experience and has inspired me to keep the studio "video" ready. In preparation, my mom and I went through a cleaning frenzy. We took out everything that wasn't part of a project that I'd be working on in the next three months. So nice to have a space that works for me again. Even more of a challenge as this week I've got my encaustic studio area setup and I'm working on creating with that medium. But that will be another post. ;) Hope everyone has love, laughter, health and success in 2015.

studio, cyanotype, lumen, artist Alternative Process PhotographerInviting you into the studio to see me at work.

Photo Weaving - "Shades of the Harvest"

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:42:46 GMT

Thanks to everyone who came out last weekend for my reception at the Goodwin Gallery. I don't show works there very often, so it was great to celebrate at that beautiful venue. As the featured artist there this month, I thought I'd show examples of my journey over the last year and a half as a photographer. Rather than physical journeys through space, I've been making a journey through processes in photography. I've been working with both digital and handmade processes. One of my experiments in the studio has been with weaving photographic prints together to create another view. Here's a few images of how one of my more successful works was put together, "Shades of the Harvest".

"Resting in the Shade" prepared for weaving.Print with horizontal slices ready for weaving.

"On the Vine"Print with vertical slices for weaving.

Close up of the first few weaves.

Agent! @ Lodi Grape Festival

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:48:45 GMT

I had a busy weekend... well, mostly it was a busy Saturday and a lazy Sunday to recover. I had the chance to spend the day in the studio to finish up the photographs of a local Lodi band, Agent! These are the types of jobs I love: beer, good music and fun people. These guys have been playing music together since high school. I won't venture to guess how long ago that was. Although, once they start playing, it's fun to see these "grown ups" transform into fun loving kids. Especially, when they played hard like this for nearly four hours. Playing favorites from back in the day as well as some original songs.

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Inspired by band's creativity, I tried to get some creative angles and applied some different looks to the final product. If you want to get inspired of just have a hell of a good time check out their Facebook page for upcoming gigs.

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The Vineyard at Night

Thu, 11 Sep 2014 18:30:06 GMT

Yea! I made it out to the vineyard a couple nights ago. Making photographs of the machine harvest at night has been on my wish list for a long time. Harvest started early this year, but this is my first photography trip into the vines. I get a bit nervous going out there... I have a terrible sense of direction and I tend to feel lost every time I go deep into the vineyard. I'm always amazed at how everyone else just seems to "know" where they're going. I was lucky to arrive at the same time as some of the workers, so I just followed the dust trails from their cars to the harvester and tractors. Then I followed the dust trail of them as they moved to the block being harvested. All the way, I tried to look back at the turns so I would be able to recognize them on my way out... in the dark.

I enjoy learning something new every trip into the vines. I learned a lot from talking with Gy Thomson from Garton Tractor Inc. He explained that each time the machine harvester starts in a vineyard, it needs to be adjusted for the vines. Over time, each vineyard will get a different lean or size and from block to block they can be different. I made a few photographs of the workers inside the harvester doing these adjustments. It took some time to get the harvester ready, so I wandered and made a few photographs with the full moon. However, in the switch from the little car to the pickup truck, the tripod got left behind. A very bad thing for a photographer hoping to make some low light photographs.

I also learned not to stand behind the harvester once it's started. As the driver climbed up, everyone around me quickly moved back with a least one row of vines between them and the harvester. I followed, then saw why.... a sticky, wet, dusty, cloud shoots out from the harvester as it shakes the fruit off the vine onto the conveyer belt. Larger items, leaves, twigs, etc. flew out as well. You definitely don't want to get too close.

It took awhile, maybe 30 minutes to go up and back a row. Once they moved over the hill, it got very quite. I could hear coyotes not very far away. It was a deliciously cool evening. I climbed up in the back of the pick up and used the cab to stabilize my camera. I loved watching the little cluster of lights and the team of people working bit by bit along this vast quiet vineyard by the light of the full moon.

As it started getting chilly, I packed up and said my good byes and thank you's. Driving slowly back to retrace my steps, I was hopeful that I had something terrific in the camera. There are some more images that need some work. I'm editing out some of the dust and grain from the environment and lighting. I enjoy working on them during the 100 degree afternoons, when they can take me back to a cool moonlit night.

August Works and First Friday Art Hop (September 5th)

Sat, 30 Aug 2014 18:37:24 GMT

August has been a wonderful month of creating and connecting.

I've been working on a commercial project with the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. I had the opportunity to make environmental portraits of the students at Lincoln Technical Academy. One of my very favorite portrait approaches. Collaborating with kind and creative people has me feeling very energized.

On the "fine art" side of things, sales out of the Lodi Community Center have been good. I had a fun time demonstrating transfer techniques at the Stockton Art League. Volunteering with them on the show at the Haggin Museum was a great opportunity to meet other artists.

I'll have two new works at the Lodi Art Center this month. I'm thrilled to be included in the Stockton-Lodi Branch of the American Pen Women show at the Lodi Public Library. I'm showing two of my favorite works from Between the Vines all month and I'll have some copies of Harvest Morning at the reception, September 5th.

Just Do It

"Magnolia" wins 2nd Place

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:17:13 GMT

Charlene Martin I'm so thrilled to have "Magnolia" chosen for 2nd place in the "Everyday Objects" category at the Lodi Community Art Center. I entered it in the Member Show where talented members in all media are competing. One of my favorite photographers is Imogen Cunningham. She did quite a study on Magnolias. Recently, I saw the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the DeYoung Museum. Remembering that these two women knew each other and likely inspired each other, I thought I'd work with the subject in their honor. Not that I'll ever be that famous, I am happy with my result. Flowers can be so cliché in photography, but I loved the challenge. It took me a few days, a couple of flowers as subjects. Big thanks to Pete, my husband for climbing the ladder to pick the blossoms from our tree. Once I had the image and worked with it Lightroom, Photoshop and Silver FX is started the print process. After several runs with the Epson R3000 and a few pages of Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper (cringe) to get the final result. I haven't had a chance to see it in the gallery yet. Maybe tomorrow, but for sure at the reception on Friday, July 11. Hope to see you there.

Photography Workshop @ Lodi Community Art Center

Sun, 27 Apr 2014 16:37:58 GMT

It's officall, I'll be offering a beginning digital photography workshop at Lodi Community Art Center.

Title: Get to Know Your Digital Camera
Schedule: Three consecutive Monday afternoons, 4/28, 5/5 and 5/12 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

Cost: $50 Bring: Your digital camera with a fully-charged battery and your camera’s manual.

Description: Get to know your camera through exercises, visual examples and demonstration. Explore the components of exposure (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) and how these settings affect the look of your images. Delve into manual controls, lens focal length, white balance adjustments and using the camera’s built-in flash. Explore techniques for putting your photographs onto your computer and tools for bringing out their best.

Limited to 10 participants. Checks should be made out to Charlene Martin and sent to her at PO BOX 1552, Lockeford CA 95237. You may call or email for more information,916-600-5769, charlene.[email protected].

Coaching and Classes

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 22:14:52 GMT

I've started scheduling classes and coaching sessions to help people with their own photography projects. I enjoy sharing what I know and helping people gain the confidence they need to learn on their own. Last month, I led a workshop giving "non-digital" artists tips on how to photograph their works for online juried entries. I'm scheduled to deliver it to another group of artists in April.

On Sunday, I'll be leading a workshop at the Lodi Public Library for beginners from 2:00 - 4:00. "Bring your enthusiasm, your fully charged digital camera, make sure the media card is empty, or has enough room for new photos and click away". FREE!

Coaching sessions allow us to work on specific questions or techniques you would like to master. Contact me if you would like to schedule an individual or small group coaching session.

More leaves...

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 01:38:04 GMT

There was a chill in the air this morning, that kept me puttering around the house most of the day. This afternoon, I got out for a bit of a walk. I've been enjoying the dramatic and random color changes in the vineyards. So, before they're gone, I gathered a few zinfandel leaves for the contact printer. With about an hour of sun and a few minutes of manipulation, I got the start of a real beauty.

Zinfandel

First Day of Fall

Sun, 22 Sep 2013 17:37:45 GMT

Fall came into town with a blast of rain. We're all keeping good thoughts that Mother Nature was kind to our local vineyards. Harvest has been underway in the neighborhood for a few weeks now. But, there is still plenty of fruit on vines.

I enjoyed hearing the little bit of thunder and the smell of the rain. On a little afternoon wander I found these little beauties. Hope you enjoy them and happy harvest season.

Press Coverage of Harvest Morning

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 00:41:10 GMT

I've completed some finishing touches and ordered a few of my Harvest Morning, photography book. Here's the link where you can preview it, order it or just get in touch... I may have one for you on hand.

Harvest Morning by Charlene Martin

Love to hear any feedback or ideas for future projects.

Sarah Pohlman from the Lodi News Sentinel wrote a lovely summary of our interview last week. It was published in this Saturday's paper, http://www.lodinews.com/lodi_living/arts_and_entertainment/article_8564653e-1c85-11e3-b38c-0019bb2963f4.html.

I had talked about my experiments and the book that I created just as a prototype and as a thank you to a few people who have been so supportive and encouraging.