FROM THE UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU

This is yours truly, the photographer, standing in what we call our back yard. We live at about seven thousand feet and have a grand view of the Cimarron Range to the east and the San Juan's to the south. This is a more up-to-date photograph of the artist in his own natural environment. It's nothing but us and the critters. Peace and quiet with all the outdoor amenities we need.

In the background is about a third of our woodpile which was cut right here within a hundred yards of the house. Someone recently asked me what sort of chain saw I used to saw up all this wood. I had to chuckle and showed him my 21 inch bow saw. I also have a twenty four inch which gives me another option for the larger logs.  It was all sawed by hand, the old fashioned way. No noise and little chance of having an accident. I enjoy cutting wood, and consider it to be healthy exercise. Besides, it's fun.

I am almost to the point of being able to say that I am eighty-two years old, and I still enjoy my wanderings with the camera and dogs. Some of my images find their way to this blog, with short essays about the image and where they were made. Feel free to enjoy some of my art work. Some of it goes back at least fifty-five years when film was considered the king of photography.

To view a larger image of the artist, click on the image above.

Cheers!

To visit my web site and pick up a lot of other good stuff, do a Google search for:  jeffersfineart.com

 It's a bit out of date, but some day I'll give it another going over. It's still filled with a lot of interesting information and a few of my old articles. And yes, some of my old collectable black & whites. They too have found new homes in various museums and institutions.
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The city of Montrose, Colorado just recently opened a Railroad Museum, although most of the collectables fall in other categories.  This outdoor display caught my eye. I can actually  remember most of this stuff from my early childhood days and as a teen. I have sharpened an ax on an identical peddle driven grind stone. The circular saw blade is also a familiar piece of equipment. No guard bars in those days. An elderly neighbor who I often helped with his wood cutting accidently put his hand out to stop a fall one day and lost his right hand. You never forget images like that. He did survive but it was a bad experience. This was about sixty five years ago, and I still vividly remember that day on the farm.

To view a larger picture, click on the image above.

FULL MOON PRIOR TO ECLIPSE September 2015

This event took place on September 27, 2015

I was preparing to watch a rather rare eclipse of the moon. Blood moon. Red moon. But what I ended up photographing was the moon as it just peeked over Storm King Mountain which is directly across from our back patio. It is a good thing that I was set up with a tripod or I would have missed this preliminary event to the actual eclipse.  I could see the light from the moon just moments prior to it's appearance over Storm King Mountain. And it was evident that it would appear directly in line with a noticeable notch in the mountain ridge. Perfect! All I had to do was make the exposure just as it was in the process of rising into the evening sky. I made five exposures, and this was the best, because the mountain ridge actually shows in the image. You could not see the ridge in the rest of the exposures. This was it. One exposure, and one beautifully striking image. Being in the right spot at the right time was critical. This was the "decisive" moment.

All to often, a great image is missed because the photographer is not totally prepared to make the exposure at the absolute critical moment.

To view a larger image, click on the above image.

FALL COLOR IN COLORADO September 23,2015

Last Wednesday, I took to the high country to check out the color change. This would be to the east of Montrose and up a Forest Service road just beyond Cimarron, CO.  From here you go back into the mountains and soak up the fresh air and fall color.

I was a bit early, but there was more than enough color change to go around. This is but one image of several dozen which I took home with me. From our place along the Uncompahgre Plateau, this is a circular loop of about ninety miles and that makes for a real nice day's outing. Lots of time for photography and other outdoor activities.

The height of color in the high country is supposed to be today, but I plan to go out again tomorrow when the mass of humanity have returned to their more normal routines. I dislike crowds and dust so I will always opt for a time when the masses are thin or nonexistent.

Today is sunny and nice with a beautiful sky of mixed clouds. It's a great time of year to be out and about.

To view a larger image, click on the above image.

IF I'VE SEEN ONE SUNSET, I'VE SEEN A THOUSAND

   

 

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago we were sitting beside a campfire enjoying the peace and quiet of Ridgway State Park in southwest Colorado.

As the sun set, a cloud formation started to form over the Cimarron range to the east of us. Then it put on quite a show as the colors started to change rapidly. This was one of the most spectacular sunsets that we have seen in this part of the country. 

I made a fast hustle to grab my camera out of the trailer, but I didn't think I'd have time to grab the tripod out of the truck, so I flipped the camera to total automatic and made several exposures of this most unusual sunset. No, this is not a Photoshop image. This is very close to how it really was. 

If I've seen one sunset, I've seen a thousand. But this one was different. Enjoy!  

Click on the image to enlarge the sunset.   

ADOBE HILLS IN OCTOBER

This image was made several years ago, just north of Montrose, Colorado.






To view a larger image, left click on the photograph.

CAPITAL REEF NP UTAH May 2015 Landscape

 

On the first of May 2015, we headed out to explore some of the National Parks and Monuments of eastern Utah. Capital Reef was number one on our list. And, in our opinion, it was the best that Utah had to offer. The weather was mixed, and lovely clouds were plentiful. During our four days in and about the park, we captured a number of fine images and there was always a nice sky and perfect lighting to add that final touch to the image.

This is one of the many nice images that was added to my western collection. And this is a National Park which could accommodate a large number of people during the busiest month of the year. Unlike Zion and Bryce, we never had other tourists in our line of sight or crowding the highways through the park. This has to be one of Utah's hidden treasures, and we took advantage of it.


To view a larger image of above, left click on photograph

BEAR IN A TRUCK 2014

For two years, I drove by this old truck parked in a neighbor's yard. At first, there was a shaggy dog hanging out the window, and then later on, this colorful bear showed up. I could not let this opportunity pass me by without making a photograph. The background was great, and all the elements came together nicely. I simply waited for a bright cloudy morning and captured this image.

It's nice when you don't have to go out of your way to capture a nice image. This was only a couple of miles form our house and we drive by it every time we go into town. I noticed a short while back that the shaggy dog was back in the passengers seat.

To view a larger image left click on the above image.

SON JOHN FISHING DISMAL SWAMP IN SE VA; circa Mid 1960's

This was one of my early camping trips with my son John. At the time, I had my 16-foot home-made kayak and we had many fine lake and river trips during his early years.

The only practical way to get into the Dismal Swamp was to take the east feeder ditch into the lake from Rt. 17, and this meant paddling against a rather strong current. The best time to go in was during the early spring before the bugs ate you alive.

This image was copied to a digital image from a 35mm slide many decades later when I made the transition from film to digital. It is still one of my favorites from my early days of photography.

                   
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OLD FISHING BOAT 1975

This image was made during the summer of 1975 near the small village of Reedville, VA. It was a part of my Chesapeake documentary, and it is one of several old menhaden boats that had been grounded in one of the creeks along the bay.

You can barely make out the name of the old vessel, but if you look closely you might spot the words FIRE ISLAND. Shortly after I completed this documentary, the state of Virginia came in and tore them all up and burned the pile of old timber. As far as I know, this is probably the only documentary ever made of these old work boats.

I just recently donated what was left of this collection to the art gallery at Radford University. In addition, they will also receive what is left of my Appalachian and Western Collection. There comes a time in life when one must find a good home for their life's work. And Radford is just one of several recipients of my silver images.

To view a larger image, click the mouse on the above image.