Joe Decker Photographer

I was first interested in Joe Decker's work because of the photographs that I saw of the California Coastline. I was immediately captivated by the surreal, dream-like quality of many of his shots. I also loved the high contrast and vibrant colors that he captures, which make his work appear very emotionally charged. This is a good example of the level of photography I would love to achieve.

I was surprised to learn that Decker and Atkinson worked together in the past, and that Decker was mostly self-taught in the beginning of his photography career. He has won many awards for his photography, and he teaches photography workshops in the Western part of the United States.

Bill Atkinson Photographer

I was pretty impressed when I came across Bill Atkinson's work. He photographs nature with a great eye for beauty and style. Atkinson was actually one of the original members of the Macintosh team at Apple Computer, and he took part in creating a lot of the interface and artistic software. Now, having been part of the development of such technologies, he is able to use the digital technology for his own creative endeavors. Many of his photographs are of rocks and stones, but he also does a lot of site photography in the outdoors, which is just as impressive.

I really appreciate Atkinson's work because of the obvious attention to small detail, which is something that I strive to achieve in my own work. He is able to capture intimate details that they eye may fail to see, and produce a work that appears to have a very abstract quality. His work inspires me, and makes me want to have access to better equipment so that I can attempt to create something as beautiful as his photographs.

Entries For Funes Art Competition

Daley Ranch

On April 9th, I had the morning off of work, so I decided to go on my trip to Daley Ranch. Unfortunately, I decided to do this somewhat spontaneously, so I was unable to go with anyone else. That was fine though. I was glad to have the time to myself so that I could really focus and enjoy the quiet. It was a pretty cloudy day. It actually looked like it might rain, but by the time I got to Daley Ranch and began walking around, the sun started to come out a bit more, creating a really great light for photographing.


As I walked up the dirt path toward the trails, I decided to head right. Honestly, I chose this trail because the other one looked like quite a work-out, which is not what I was there for. There weren't too many people around, so most of the time I had the trail to myself. I also had many close run-ins with dog poop, which could have turned this trip into quite an unpleasant experience.


I think that the best part of this field trip for me was seeing all of the yuccas. There are so many at Daley Ranch! I got to see them in all of their stages of growth. I hadn't ever realized before that the blooms are so beautiful. I really like the big, white flowers that bloom from the tops.


The wild cucumbers are another one of my favorites. All of the spiraling, twisted vines remind me of the art nouveau style. The little white flowers and spindly green pods are really fun to photograph as well.


I definitely enjoyed this trip to Daley Ranch, and I had a hard time pulling myself away when it was time to leave. I started to drive away, saw another thing that I wanted a picture of, and pulled back into the parking lot to steal a quick shot of it before going home. On my way down the hill, I also noticed a lot of tree tobacco where the road meets the avocado groves.

Quail Botanical Gardens 4/3/09

Over the spring break, I decided to use some of the little free time I had to head over to Quail Botanical Gardens. I was somewhat concerned about the weather when I left because it was very cloudy in San Marcos, and it's usually even more overcast towards the coast, which was the direction I was heading. I prepared by bringing a jacket in case it was raining in Encinitas. The night before, I had fixed the camera settings just the way that I wanted them, so the camera was ready to go when I left home.

Upon arriving, I was shocked to find that it was bright and sunny in Encinitas, and it gradually got warmer throughout the time I was there. It would have been a great day to go to the beach, if I was the kind of person who liked going to the beach.

I easily found the native plant area at the gardens. Their maps and directions were easy to follow, and I never found myself losing my way. I also appreciated all of the signs that marked the type of plants that I was looking at. There had been so many plants whose names I was unfamiliar with, that the signs were quite necessary. I was happy to find so many different varieties of plants as well, and the conditions for taking pictures of them were excellent. By the time I got back to San Marcos, the sun had made its way through the clouds, and it was a beautiful day there too. This was definitely one of my favorite trips this semester.


Cleveland Sage (salvia clevelandii)


Wild Cucumber (marah macrocarpus)


Lemonadeberry (rhus integrifolia)


Mountain Mahongany Rosaceae (with bugs all over it :p)


Eriogonum Fasciculatum, California Buckwheat, Polygonaceae

Ceanothus Tomentosus, Ramona Lilac, Rhamnaceae

Polypodium Californicum, California Polypody, Polypodiaceae

Chalk Dudleya (dudleya pulverulenta)

Flannel Bush (fremontodendron) -- Sterculiaceae Chocolate Family (I thought that was interesting)

The images at the top are the plants I was unable to identify.

Indian Rock Native Garden

March 23 turned out to be a great day to go on a trip. The weather was great. I started preparing to go to the Indian Rock Native Garden by checking out a camera from the school. Once again, unfortunately, I did not get the camera that I had hoped to get. I got a Panasonic again. Nevertheless, I was optimistic about using this camera and taking some great photos. Since Andy lives in Vista, we decided not to carpool for this trip. I left the school and drove straight to the site in Vista. I drove right past Indian Rock the first time down the street because I was looking for it on the wrong side of the road.

When I arrived, I started taking pictures immediately. The rock was really cool to see, and everyone was climbing around it. The battery in my camera went out quickly, so I went to my car to switch it with the other battery. When I came back everyone had gathered to listen to our speakers. I was amazed at how much they new about native plants! And I thought it was neat that this site served a ceremonial purpose in the past. I always wonder about what the area that we live in looked like in history, and it was very interesting to have that curiosity satisfied in one way. Once they finished telling us about the plants and the site, we were able to shoot some more pictures, now well informed about what we were seeing. Some of the most interesting to me were the yucca ("Our Lord's Candle"), white sage, black sage, lupine, elderberry, and lemonade berry.

Andy, Cameron, and I stayed near the rock for a while after everyone went down the hill to eat. It was nice to have the chance to take more photos while it was quiet up there, and there weren't many people around. It was a really fun field trip, and I really enjoyed the clear, concise information that we were given. On a less positive note, I was very disappointed when I got home and found that my pictures were all very grainy because something was set wrong on my camera. What a waste of so many good pictures and such a great opportunity! I did the best that I could to recover them in my editing, but there was only so much I could do.

Rincon

On Monday, March 16, our class took a field trip to the Rincon reservation. That afternoon, I began getting ready to go. I put on some clothes that I didn't mind getting dirty, since Deborah had told us ahead of time that we were going to be planting some native plants. I would have brought a shovel with me, but I didn't have access to one. After I got my things together, I left home and headed over to the school campus. I parked and walked quickly to ARTS 239 so that I could check out a camera. When I got there, Zane was also getting a camera. He got the last Canon, so I had to go with something different: a Panasonic. He waited until I was finished, and then Zane and I walked back to the front of the school. He was meeting with his carpool group and the turnaround, and I had to go meet up with Andrew in the lower parking lot. Andrew was already there when I drove down, so I parked and jumped into his truck.

The drive there took a little longer than we expected because of traffic, but we still managed to get to Rincon in time. Our directions were a little bit confusing as well. We didn't have too much trouble finding where to go because other students from our class were driving near us.

When we arrived, we unpacked and headed over to the site where we would be planting. After everyone showed up, we were given a brief introduction and instructions for how to design our landscapes. We were divided into groups, and then we began planning where to put our plants.

It really turned out to be a fun experience. I couldn't even remember the last time I had picked up a shovel before that day. Zane and I helped each other plant close to half of the plants that our group was given, and we had a really good time. Once our group had finished, Deborah took a few of us on a walk to look at native plants near the river, which was dry at the time. I am having trouble remembering all of the native plant names, but I know that we saw Mule Fat, Wild Mustard, and Tree Tobacco among others. There were also still some burnt tree trunks on the hillside left over from the 2007 wildfires.

Soon, it was time to clean up and head home. We were given mugs from the reservation as gifts for helping out. Andy and I got walked back to the car and headed back to the school campus. We were both exhausted and ready to go home to a nice dinner! All in all, it was a great trip, where I had the opportunity to do something that I'd never imagined I'd be part of.

Pechanga

Last week, on Monday, March 9th we took a trip to Pechanga. I went to the school campus a bit early again to check out a camera. I ended up with the Canon Rebel again. I like this camera because it's proven to be pretty simple for me to use. I met up with Andy a little bit before 2:45. I had forgotten to bring a jacket with me, so we stopped back by my apartment on our way to the I15. We took Deer Springs Rd. to the I15, got off at Temecula Parkway, and turned onto Pechanga. We found the gas station easily, and Deborah and some of our classmates were already there waiting. Andy and I went inside the gas station to buy some snacks.

It was so windy while we were waiting! I was worried that I was going to get too cold, even having stopped to get a jacket. It took quite a while for everyone to show up, but once they did we all boarded the shuttle, and we were off.

Our first stop was at the Great Oak. It was really neat to see something so huge that has been around for at least 900 years. I loved the way that the light came through the branches. The huge limbs reached down to rest on the ground. I was a little disappointed at how difficult it was to take pictures of the tree without having a bunch of people in them, but it was a really cool thing to see.
We all piled back into the shuttle, and our next stop was at a small pond. Here, we got out and walked around for quite some time. Willie Pink talked to us about the camp that takes place there every year, and all of the structures that they build and tear down every year for that occasion. There were two different types of structures that they built. It was interesting to walk around and see all of the native plants that were growing there. I especially liked the wild cucumber, which has a pretty, little white flower, but I also saw white sage, mojave yucca, deergrass, and a small, yellow flower that I didn't catch the name of. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I also enjoyed hearing about the ringing rock. I had no idea that something like that existed.
We got on the shuttle once again and our last stop before going home was at the nursery. By this time I think we were all freezing in the wind as the sun went down. After Willie Pink showed us several things there, we got back on the shuttle and we were dropped off at our cars. Andy and I were both pretty tired and hungry at this point, so we just decided to get home as fast as possible. Luckily, it was still relatively light on the drive back because of the time change the day before.

I was really grateful for the privilage of going to this site and hearing Willie Pink talk about all of the native plants and trees. It was a great experience.