John Lehet Photgraphy -- Picture of the Week

Cliff, Redrocks Colorado February 2010

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:34:54 -0400

I recently traveled in Colorado. Redrocks is cool for a number of reasons, most notably the red rocks. But in this case I'm in love with the silvery rocks. When silvery tones combine with the imprint of years and centuries, some kind of magic results. I used to think it had something to do with some mysterious and elusive magical property of the silver crystals in large format negatives. But even when those crystals don't come into play, the magic still carries through, whether in pixels or pigment inks. I guess it's something about tones, textures, and time.

Basalt Columns, Waterfall Panorama, Iceland 2007

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:52:30 -0500

Winter is a great time for photography, but also a great time to be at my desk and dig for nuggets from the vaults. This is one of many photos from the Iceland 2007 trip that I hadn't dealt with. I want to go back there and take even more time.

Mist in the Woods, October Snow, Vermont

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:43:14 -0500

The third image from a single walk posted here. This was the same worthwhile, if soggy and cold, walk on which I exposed this panorama from the last Photo of the Week, and also the Sunflower in Snow . This is near my house, a lucky place to live. This is also close to this spot.

Aquatic Grass, Leaves, October

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:06:42 -0400

This image is a few weeks old now, and it's holding up well. I like it more and more. Lately life has been a bit hectic, to say the least, and I find this memory of a moment to be refreshing.

Apples on Tree, Autumn Panorama

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:25:02 -0400

I'd like to glue the leaves on the trees and stretch the quickly shortening days. Can't hold on to this beauty, and it's going fast.

Five Water Striders, Autumn, Vermont

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:02:30 -0400

Last week I was stalking an old ruin of a bridge near this pool (stopping my car between a client meeting and a very late lunch – I was starving). I quickly saw that the bridge wouldn't work out photographically, but this pool was more than a little interesting to me. It was hard to choose from among all the good exposures I made at this spot. Next week might continue the flow of new Iceland images, or maybe autumn in New England will continue to take the stage.

Abandoned Farm, Vapor Trail, Iceland

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:06:29 -0400

This needs to be a big print to see the ruin of the farm clearly, or the plane at the leading edge of the vapor trail. This is another Icelandic scene where a mind-boggling vast space is full of only elemental energy. Humans are just a passing trace.

Empty Boat Panorama; Iceland

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:03:10 -0400

Though it's not the same kind of boat, it reminds me of a story.
A man is in his boat by the shore on a foggy evening. Through the mist he sees a boat coming at him. He shouts at the oncoming boatman, getting more and more agitated. He yells, and is ready to clobber the guy in the oncoming boat. He's getting more and more worked up, ready to have a stroke. "This is my nice new boat! I just painted it! You're an idiot!""
The other boat gets close enough to bump him, and he finally sees there's no one in it. It's adrift, and the other boatman -- so vividly stupid, obnoxious and worthy of a whack on the head -- was only in his mind.
When the empty boat is about to bump you, you can start flinging nukes at Iran. Or you can wake up and see what's real, and sort that out from your own projection and the advice of your inner or outer Cheney.

Eighteen Cows, Sunset, Farm: Iceland Panorama

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:26:00 -0400

Another cow panorama, though quite different from last week's. This of course needs to be a huge print for scale, and to see the cows. Interestingly, we were in a hurry to get somewhere else while the light was good, to see the icebergs breaking off a nearby glacier. As is quite often the case, the amazing place is right here, maybe not there. Or maybe there too. But certainly, quite often, here, now.

One Cow, Thirteen Hay Bales: Iceland

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:58:58 -0400

I need to go back to Iceland to extend this panorama to the right a bit. I have other exposures from related series that include the interesting spires and island off beyond the right of this composition. What was I thinking? Maybe there was a method to my madness. I like the sense of space here.

Two Horses, Iceland

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:21:06 -0400

The horses in Iceland seemed in general to have a good, strong spirit. While sometimes I saw them fight, I more often saw signs of love and friendship between them.

This fits my mood on coming back, one facet I'm glad to have resonating in me still -- the great spirit of animals on the land; hills and light; space and energy.

And thanks to Kate, my new bride, traveling through light, space, and energy with me, patient when I want to stop the car. She fills the world with light.

Three Beauties

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:27:08 -0400

The photo of the week will be taking a week or two off to celebrate and relax. See you in a bit!

Queen Ann's Lace, Monks, and Giant Horns

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:43:28 -0400

It's really high summer when the Queen Ann's Lace starts to flower. It always takes me by surprise. It's all changing so fast -- the weeds, flowers the light. We often think of summer as somewhat steady, but it's just as ephemeral and transitory as winter, with its morning frost and new snow on trees that's gone by noon.

This was last Sunday, 7/29, in Hanover New Hampshire. Monks were in town to chant and meditate for peace. This was a procession of the sand from a sand mandala down to the river, with the hope that good wishes, good energy, and peace would spread through the river to the ocean, and to the whole world. I made a lot of exposures of the monks; tonight this is my favorite. It candidly shows their dignity and serenity.

Three Cows Panorama, Canaan, New Hampshire

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:02:33 -0400

Luxuriating in the space that the panorama format allows. This was exposed a few days ago.

Yucca, Hills, Evening Panorama

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:15:33 -0400

Getting to the backlog, back to April in the desert. This image shows some of the pitfalls of showing images online instead of printed. On my desktop calibrated monitor the thills on the left show detail and subtle, rich tones. On my laptop, with a similar calibration, those hills are showing up as dark. I'm going to have to look at this on some more systems and maybe re-do the online jpg.
I think that working in panoramas lately has changed the way I'm using space in a composition. I can use a sort of tension between the edges, and then there's a lot of space in between. I'm going to use a lot of paper and ink printing these big when I get a chance.

(new) Round Hay Bales Panorama, Canaan, NH

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:54:19 -0400

This was from the same session as last week's round hay bale infrared panorama. The light really looked like this, though the infrared makes it a bit more dramatic. The meadow was in cloud-shadow, with the trees and hills beyond in full sun.

Round Hay Bales Infrared Panorama, Canaan NH

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:09:40 -0400

I was waiting for some friends to finish the part of the party I wasn't invited to, a hundred yards away from this spot. Or maybe for this exposure I ducked out of the party to photograph. I can't remember. Indoors was great, outdoors was great. I have several panoramas of round hay bales from that day, which I'm still evaluating and processing. The indoor photos feature people laughing, hard, and they won't be posted here.