photography by Sienna

when my grandfather left me his beautiful, capable camera (along with more lenses & attachments than i know what to do with), i decided right away that i wasn't going to worry about taking too many pictures * i figured the more i took, the more chance i had of getting a few good ones * cost is nothing compared to capturing a memory visually * when i finally broke down & bought my digital camera (love love love it!) i was thrilled to realize that i can take a hundred -- 200! -- pictures a day at a very low cost * what freedom!

i've tried to describe (& i'll keep trying) how Viggo's photographs & the detail-loving, momentary, accidental vision behind them have inspired me in my own work * since that first time when he tapped me on the shoulder & pointed out the yellow growing on the bridge (i like to remember it like that, why not?), my vision has grown into something new, something much larger, more accepting * now if i stop to look at something & wonder if it would make a good picture, i take it * it catches my eye, it's a picture -- no further thought necessary * i don't delete anything & that's how i get some of my favorites: by accident *

select from the shows below (the show on top is the most recently posted) or for some of everything try the sample show (then just click the picture you like to see more from that show) *

slide shows

Trinity Alps, July 2010

a lovely hiking trip up Canyon Creek in the Trinity Alps

nine twenny-five, 2008

happy birthday again my friend!

nine twenny-five, 2007

happy birthday to Kyle * this year was the first time i was at home to make this show (& this is the only birthday show this autumn) * i took 400+ pickies & most of them were completely silly, but what a blast!

Easter Holiday: April 2007

inspired by the Easter Holiday with Roy & Bean * we spent a little more than a week wandering the top end of the South Island, from the lovely West Coast through the colourful Abel Tasman & the stunning Marlborough Sounds, back down the East Coast, past a town where the snow-capped peaks reach right to the edge of the boisterous sea...

on the left: April 2007

inspired by my wanderings near Dunedin * i braved the left side of the road (learning to drive all over again) to see the Moeraki Boulders & to explore the Otago Peninsula...

Fiordland: March & April 2007

inspired by a weekend trip in Fiordland National Park, one of the most stunningly gorgeous places in the world (& one of the wettest!) * i fell in love with it half a lifetime ago & now i've fallen in love all over again...

in the land of the kiwis: March 2007

inspired by the gorgeous land of New Zealand, as shown to me by the delightful kiwi Roy...

5th January 2007

happy birthday to Scott * my high school sweetheart & i used to wander around our neighborhood playing that trust game where one person pretends to be blind & the other one gets to lead * on his birthday i kept my eyes open, but i let the mood guide me through this show for that boyMan, truefriend o' mine *

  

3rd October 2006

happy birthday to Dirk * my river trip took me from one dear leftie Libra birthday to the next * our last day on the river was Dirk's birthday, so here's a show for you, brother, jetboat pictures, how funny is that?

nine twenny-five, 2006

happy birthday to Kyle * this year it was the first day on the river & i have included every picture that wasn't a repeat * here it is, friend, my day, how was yours?

ten twenny, 2005

for a second year i set out on 20 October to record a few Viggo-ish visions with the idea in mind to step back & let the pictures come forward * not to look for them, simply to pay attention *

  

return with new eyes

inspired by the headlands i've always known, headlands i meet again everyday because they are never the same twice in a row -- & neither am i...

beyond Canyonlands (the way home)

inspired by the journey home along the stunning loner roads of southern Utah, dipping into some of the juicy treats along the way, showered (not literally, & i smelled worse off river than on, believe me) by sudden gems of camp spots that popped up just as i asked for them... & also, i must admit, so saturated by the seeing of Canyonlands that it took a real vision, like those sleeping rainbows, to pop my eyes back into focus *

short on time? ponder sleeping rainbows *

nine twenny-five, 2005

inspired by Canyonlands & by Kyle's birthday * last year i started the ancient tradition of putting together a birthday slide show * i don't know if it's a promise to myself or to him, but Kyle will always get one * on Kyle's birthday this year. . .

  

Canyonlands 2005

inspired by Canyonlands, a place which is deliciously impossible to photograph, perilously tempting to describe, & which has utterly stolen me back into myself *

short on time? see a sweet sixteen *

  

spring brings inspiration

last Tuesday out on the headlands was one of those days when it just really feels like i'm in exactly the right place & enjoying exactly the right time * i'm lucky enough to feel like that most of my life (it's all about the attitude) but i hadn't felt quite so right since the night we camped below Turks Head * i saw all kinds of pictures all over the headlands & for the first time in weeks wished i had my camera with me * when my feet hit the wet sand down at the beach i laughed out loud... this is it!

Caspar: November 2004

inspired by the headlands & beaches to the north & south of me * the walks to be had, near & not so far, are an endless source of entertainment & inspiration *

ten twenny: birthday wishes for Viggo

inspired by Viggo, all the way * in honour of Viggo's birthday, on 20 October 2004 i did what i always do, only with less thought, more open to the accidental magic of lens land light * i took the same photograph over & over, hundreds of them, in different places angles moments, snapped & snapped as if i was blind, as if the camera was my only eye *

  

Caspar: October 2004

inspired by the land... that's what it's always about * i'm always trying to capture my surroundings so that i can remember better later, experience it all more fully over time * i'm trying to wring a little bit more life out of each precious moment, appreciate each individual beauty -- piecing the whole together -- more carefully * i've taken over a thousand photos of this patch of land & if i'm not underestimating that number already (how many photos in a lifetime?) it's going to get outdated fast * once in a while i drag out the pictures from years past, remembering the way things used to be (& the way i used to see them) * i can see the bones of the place better the next time i go out, discovering a new series of photographs to keep me entertained, wondering once in a while about the future views & viewpoints to be created revealed inspired ...in all honesty, mostly i take pictures because it's fun, because i love to catch them as i walk -- reasons enough for me (as you know by this site) -- but sometimes it increases the enjoyment to pin down a more explicit motivation * i love this land... these photographs are the remnants of my worship *

nine twenny-five, 2004

inspired by Canyonlands & by Kyle's birthday * one year, the year he made a big deal about it (roasted a pig & everything), i missed Kyle's birthday * this year i swore to him i wouldn't miss it because it was another, erm... important number * wouldn't you know the next day my dad invited me to run the Green River at the end of September * i did try to reschedule, really i did, but there's no turning down a river * so on Kyle's birthday...

  

Canyonlands: September 2004

inspired by Canyonlands, the Green & Colorado Rivers & by the people involved in my river trip, this is the longest slide show in my virtual art gallery, with 62 of my favorite photographs from a 7 day taste of heaven in Canyonlands National Park * we went 52 miles by canoe down the Green River to where it joins the Colorado * if you've been to Moab (or, better, live there) you'll laugh at me when i say i never thought i'd want to move to Utah... if you've never been, see the sweeties at Tex's Riverways to arrange a trip *

short on time? see 12 of my favorites *

swim: Willamette River

inspired by Viggo? the swim series is just like the walk series (inspired by the Ride series) but it all takes place in the same place, a good gravelly chunk of shore along the Willamette River * this series recently broke 200 to become my longest so far -- sadly enough, it's also the first one to end * not by my choice or Pippin's mind you, but because some idiot had to throw his bottle in the rocks at the side of the river & Pip stepped on it & sliced open his foot * we're to stay out of the river for 2 weeks * severe punishment for both of us at any time, but especially in the hot middle of the summer when 2 weeks means the rest of our time living along the Willamette * hopefully he'll heal quickly & we can disobey the vet with one or two more hours of stick-chasing, photo-snapping fun before we move * next stop? the Pacific Ocean!

mariposa

mariposa was the first word i learned en español & it's still one of my favorites * butterfly is a great word but it's got too much humour in it to match the delicate beauty of the creature it names * in the last year my friendship with Julia Alvarez has brought a new depth & strength to the word * the art is all mixed in with the living... for this series i'd have to say that i owe the greatest debt to my digi for giving me the freedom to stand on my porch watching butterflies & come in 20 minutes later with 65 photos *

the walk series

inspired by Viggo? totally: walk is the first series i started after reading The Horse is Good * yes, i know it's mostly just pictures but i read every word (although every time i see more/differently so i guess i haven't read every word -- & never will, isn't that great?) * originally it was only pictures taken while Pippin was on leash but they name themselves (really, the name flashes through my mind as i snap the photo) so some without the leash got in (one mustn't be so strict that it sends away the muse) *

the red series

inspired by Viggo? Green #2, Painter, Blue #2, Green #13, Ride 4... i love Viggo's love of color & his knack for seeing it & naming a photo for it whether the color is 99% of the picture or 3% * color me inspired *

shake: Willamette River

inspired by Viggo? this is another series roughly inspired by his Ride series * i've almost given up on it a time or two because i waste a lot of pictures to get a few treasures -- even now it may be a series only a mama could love * but some of my favorites of Viggo's photographs don't have obvious mass appeal & so i am inspired to follow his example: just do it because you love it, who cares if anybody else does?

the flower series

inspired by Viggo? the sharing is all inspired by Viggo *

the cookie series

inspired by Viggo? that Ride series, that way of mixing a new viewpoint &, especially, motion to see things in a new way... that really rocked my world *

tree time: Willamette River

by Viggo? very much so * in Recent Forgeries there is a series of photographs of Henry at various moments in a day (many days?) in 1998, though it's obviously an old idea * the first (not the first, i'm sure) is my favorite: 6:10 pm, 1995 *