Not a grandmother, but she named the Grandmother Land in High Falls, New York. This is Karen Pardini, midwife, dance instructor, EMT, Search & Rescue team leader -- and guardian of the land. Here, she's doing so in the form of stylishly riding a very large lawnmower. Photos by Eric Francis.Trees west of the stream on the Grandmother Land in High Falls, New York. Photo by Eric Francis.
I am loving these portraits of naturally vibrant, mature women!
sorely lacking in today’s Juvedermed & Botoxed world, unfortunately.
as a Virgo rising, of course, I am keyed into these issues.
thanks for the photo metadata- I had thought you had used the Erase tool on that middle tree.
(my thoughts running wild again)
300mm- the weight and tripod use, I don’t have the patience!
you usually have excellent depth of field, for sure. something I don’t usually strive for because of the usually pro/serious look to the photos. I’m v. quirky and like weird and artifacts too in my own work. but I do admire yours.
high five- (*)
peace.
Brendan,
Only a year and a half; I am 51. Peace to you and yours as well fellow Gen Joneser!
Deep thanks to Karen and all those who serve as guardians of land, from backyard bird sanctuaries to small-scale food cultivation.
If I squint my eyes halfway, I can see those grandmothers wandering among the trees.
I don’t remember how I took this picture, but I think it’s eerie and beautiful and will always remind me of a summer when I spent a lot of time at the land. It was darker out than it looks (just before 6 pm and it gets dark early deep in this little valley); the photo is slightly overexposed. But the trees in the front are dark and shadowy (a clue to how dark it was) and the blur is partly because the camera moved on the long exposure. Another attribute of the blur effect is called color noise (usually considered a flaw). It’s the digital equivalent of grain when you’re using film — though it’s not usually something that looks so attractive, as there is lower resolution than with film grain. Still, because it has a random quality, it can be evocative and visually exciting. I did not try to create this, nor was it done with any effects — it just turned up, looking just about exactly like this. A happy accident.
==
OK just looked it up: here is the camera data. f 5.6 (open almost all the way), at 1/13th of a second (very long, so slightly over exposed shooting in the very late afternoon light), ISO 400 (fairly slow for digital, which helps reduce noise), on a long lens (300mm). This differs from how I take just about every other daylight photo: usually I shoot at 17mm (very wide), I use a faster ISO and I underexpose (so there is no white-end clipping), then push the shadows up in Photoshop.
Oh, and yes, it’s a very mystical picture of the trees, very spiritual even. There is nothing like a forest to make one relax.
Well, maybe the beach…
Carrie – I think I’ve got a couple of years on you, friend – 52 1/2 here… 😉
Peace to Flag and all her chilluns.
I am not a grandmother but old enough to be one. Nice to see someone close to my age on here. Wonderful pictures too.
Love the photo of the trees on Grandmother Land. It seems just a bit out of focus as if it’s vibrating and something mystical about the dark foreground against the lighter background. I feel like I’m looking through God’s eyes, gods eyes…where every little atom exists in its own shimmering universe.
I am loving these portraits of naturally vibrant, mature women!
sorely lacking in today’s Juvedermed & Botoxed world, unfortunately.
as a Virgo rising, of course, I am keyed into these issues.
thanks for the photo metadata- I had thought you had used the Erase tool on that middle tree.
(my thoughts running wild again)
300mm- the weight and tripod use, I don’t have the patience!
you usually have excellent depth of field, for sure. something I don’t usually strive for because of the usually pro/serious look to the photos. I’m v. quirky and like weird and artifacts too in my own work. but I do admire yours.
high five- (*)
peace.
Brendan,
Only a year and a half; I am 51. Peace to you and yours as well fellow Gen Joneser!
Deep thanks to Karen and all those who serve as guardians of land, from backyard bird sanctuaries to small-scale food cultivation.
If I squint my eyes halfway, I can see those grandmothers wandering among the trees.
I don’t remember how I took this picture, but I think it’s eerie and beautiful and will always remind me of a summer when I spent a lot of time at the land. It was darker out than it looks (just before 6 pm and it gets dark early deep in this little valley); the photo is slightly overexposed. But the trees in the front are dark and shadowy (a clue to how dark it was) and the blur is partly because the camera moved on the long exposure. Another attribute of the blur effect is called color noise (usually considered a flaw). It’s the digital equivalent of grain when you’re using film — though it’s not usually something that looks so attractive, as there is lower resolution than with film grain. Still, because it has a random quality, it can be evocative and visually exciting. I did not try to create this, nor was it done with any effects — it just turned up, looking just about exactly like this. A happy accident.
==
OK just looked it up: here is the camera data. f 5.6 (open almost all the way), at 1/13th of a second (very long, so slightly over exposed shooting in the very late afternoon light), ISO 400 (fairly slow for digital, which helps reduce noise), on a long lens (300mm). This differs from how I take just about every other daylight photo: usually I shoot at 17mm (very wide), I use a faster ISO and I underexpose (so there is no white-end clipping), then push the shadows up in Photoshop.
Oh, and yes, it’s a very mystical picture of the trees, very spiritual even. There is nothing like a forest to make one relax.
Well, maybe the beach…
Carrie – I think I’ve got a couple of years on you, friend – 52 1/2 here… 😉
Peace to Flag and all her chilluns.
I am not a grandmother but old enough to be one. Nice to see someone close to my age on here. Wonderful pictures too.
Love the photo of the trees on Grandmother Land. It seems just a bit out of focus as if it’s vibrating and something mystical about the dark foreground against the lighter background. I feel like I’m looking through God’s eyes, gods eyes…where every little atom exists in its own shimmering universe.