Mojave Light Musing

This week, I had the privilege of spending a few days in Santa Barbara with an artist friend and her son. What brought us to share the adventure was the Sketchbook Tour, a mobile library of art books - coming from Brooklyn and landing in Santa Barbara for a couple of days as they toured the United States. My friend and I had both submitted art books we each made so we thought it would be cool to see our own touring books along with all the other creations, like over 27,000 of them, traveling the country in the mobile sketchbook library. (And, no, we didn't even scratch the surface of viewing the art books in this traveling library....) Here is the link to the project:  The Sketchbook Project  in case you want to know the origin of this fantastic opportunity and, perhaps, join in the fun and submit your own creation. Art books are usually due mid January in order to prep for their nationwide tour. After the tour, they are housed, permanently, in the Brooklyn Art Library . For...

Took a night hike last night with some new trekking pals. The weather was more than bearable. The horizons were lined with receding storm clouds after having deposited some much needed moisture on our parched landscape. Here is a bit of what we saw. At the beginning of the trail, this....... ....and later on, this..... I never get tired of the light in my desert. Breathing space.

Ah, summer time.... Yes, I know I mentioned my next post would be about the pros of hiring a professional photographer. But I am feeling semi-productively lazy today - I'm working on it! My windows are wide open. French Cafe is wafting around me from Pandora . Thunder is rumbling in the distance. The smell of wet desert permeates the house. Heaven..... I was playing around with some ideas, spawned from my recent respite up the coast with my son and our dog, today. This was our first vacay with the pooch - who is a very energetic 2 1/2 year shepherd mix - mostly Belgian Malinoise with something else with a floofy curled tail and strong herding/snuffling-for-small-varmits instincts, we think. And I am very happy to report that Toby did exceptionally well on this trip - which means that we had a great time, too. There is nothing like spending time away from home in a place that resonates to everyone and everyone has a great time - simultaneously. If you travel with family or close...

In search of.... This morning found us shrouded in this stuff. Thick. Wet. Beautiful. And very much needed as our local mountain wilderness area, San Jacinto, is engulfed in a week long, raging fire. We desert dwellers get as excited about clouds and rain as a Northwestern dweller cheers for the sun. The most magical scenes emerge through the mist. However.... I lingered too long at home. Charged my battery. Yakked with my visiting daughter, trying to talk her into recreating our fog capturing escapade last January. Hedged on what camera, what lens to bring. Just had to post my pending adventure on Facebook . THEN, I ventured out - in search of that unique capture of my mystical desert. Like it was going to wait for me? I piddled an hour too long. Here is what I managed to capture. Still unique-ish but not the spectacular find of last winter. The smell of sage and creosote and cedar and wet rock was prize enough for this early, but not early enough, morning in my desert...

These 'easier' summer days afford me the opportunity to play and perfect some new skills. This week was spent learning more techniques with photographing children. I was happy to see that many things I have already been practicing were presented in the workshop. That is always validating. And, it's always great to pick up something fresh as well. Every photographer develops their signature style. I tend to want my images classically simple with black and white or sepia-ish tones or faded color. I don't care to sit in front of the computer for too long to 'fix' images - preferring to accomplish my vision using available light or using fill flash, diffusers, and reflectors while composing the scene in the camera. However, looking at the trends in more casual photo shoots, it is good to have an arsenal of skills and styles for clients to choose from even if it means using the processing programs for what they were created to do - make an image. Sometimes, just a ...

A different kind of musing today. Someone very near and dear to my heart sent me the following piece. No particular reason other than to share something that had meaning for her and, in turn, probably for me.  It brought tears to my eyes.   Hope you are having a beautiful day. Start with looking in the mirror.... "A flower doesn't stop being beautiful just because somebody walks by without noticing it, nor does it cease to be fragrant if its scent is taken for granted. The flower just continues to be its glorious self: elegant, graceful, and magnificent.  Our Mother Nature has provided us with these immeasurably valuable teachers that blossom despite their short lifespan, stars that continue to shine even if we fail to stare at them, and trees that don't take it personally if we never bow down in gratitude for the oxygen they provide.  We also have an incredible and unlimited capacity to love, but the question is: can we do it like a flower? Without needing t...

Hello dear Readers, I have entered my photo, Desert Fog, in an online contest sponsored by Fine Art America. Today is the end of the first qualifying phase which means getting at least 250 votes on your image. Next is the juried phase. The winners have their images shown on National TV in FAA's commercial starting this September. I am currently needing 220 more votes (at the moment I am typing this). The qualifying phase ends by midnight today - I think Eastern Standard Time. Please, please, check out the link and vote for my image. You don't need to sign up and do any gimmicky thing other than go to the site and click the button above my image. Here is the link: Diana Shay Diehl: Desert Fog And here is the image: Other than a slight sharpening and taking the flat gray out, this IS what I was standing in on that rare winter day last January.  Please pLeAsE PLEASE vote for my image!   Diana Shay Diehl: Desert Fog Many thanks in advance, Diana

The desert is warming up and has driven me inside from about 10am until close to sunset. This morning, I was organizing files and came across some photos of various canine friends - mine and others I've had the pleasure to meet in my sojourns. There's something about dog people....they don't mind talking about their 4 legged family member, proudly showing off all their doggie-human traits. It's irresistible to animal lovers and an instant friend builder. You can hear tones and attitudes change for the better when people gather around these extensions of ourselves. It's a good thing. "A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his." ~John Grogan / Marley and Me Here are just a few shots around my favorite haunts in Southern California: This gentleman and his long time friend take daily morning walks at Balboa Park in San Diego, CA                 ...

Leisurely summer days. For me, it means catching up on things left undone from a hectic work period. Purging. Cleaning. Sorting. Interspersed with reading, fiddling with camera gear, day trips, and meandering up roads forgotten in the cooler parts of the day. Sprinkle in visits over long breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with friends. Carve out working in the studio time with occasional afternoon naps - a necessary and rare treat. Creating heart space. Today, I stumbled upon some photos from a hiking group I began several years ago. I got tired of hiking alone. Not many of my friends enjoyed daylong treks in the canyons and arroyos of this beautiful place I get to call home. So, I decided to see who I could find to join me via an online social group called Meetup. At that time, I was very active with the education segment of Joshua Tree National Park Association - the Desert Institute. I had the training to take groups of people out on field classes - safety being paramount. I knew ...

Several months ago, I had the pleasure of spending a morning at a most wonderful ranch where horses are used to heal people of all ages from a variety of issues - from physical and emotional trauma to birth defects to temporary physical setbacks. The love and patience at this ranch are phenomenal. There are no excuses. There is no enabling to remain a victim of circumstances. Just lots of love and patience and encouragement and praise and celebration of progress and accomplishments. Being there was an instant mood lifter. The place is Hippotherapy, Inc  ( Horses Helping to Heal Ranch ) located in Pioneertown, California. Please check out the website via the embedded link. They can always use help by way of donations. They are a nonprofit organization providing healing services regardless of financial ability. The folks who staff it are certified physical therapists. It takes at least 3 people for each rehabilitation session - one to lead the horse around an obstacle course, ...