Masonboro Island

Has finally warmed up enough here to get out on the water and what a beautiful day it was. Is that sunburn? Curtis and I paddle, photograph and solve all the worlds problems whilst dodging kayak eating dredges and tugs. Here are a few pics from the day. Some have been "messed with" in case you didn't notice. The large pipe that I have a shot of Curtis in, was at least a block long. He got on one end and I on the other and we could talk to each other in regular conversation voices! The echoes were CrAZy cRaZY!!!

The pipes, doZer tracks, dredges etc, are a part of the dredging operation in Masonboro Inlet.

aNd for good measure, a common loon in winter plumage.

Downtown Wilmington

New Addition

In June my niece Tara, gave birth to her first child, Wilhelmina. On new years eve I pulled out my phone to show pictures of her that my niece and sister had sent to me. That was the first time I have ever shown baby pictures. I finally got to see my grand niece in person last week and took some candid images of my own that I wanted to share. Here are two, but be warned that I shot hundreds and there may be more to follow. And just for fun I've included a shot of Chica, a puppy my sister and her husband adopted in Puerto Rico

Sand Art - truly amazing

Don’t miss this amazing Video Clip . . first read it properly..

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about £75,000.

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.


Kseniya Simonova says:
"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."

and it is...

I had a lot of good emails with guesses and a few got it correct. It's an "art car" here in Wilmington. The colored patches are actually duct tape! How much fun would it be to drive it around!

Any idea what this is?

Happy New Year!

Hopefully my first good omen for the year is foretelling of 2010. I have recovered most of the files I lost from the afternoon shoot at Bete Grise last fall, and as I scrolled through them I noticed this image. It's been a while since I've said that I really like an image I've taken. I like this one. (If you click on an image it will open larger.)

My very best thoughts for you and your families this year.

day 2 (Christmas eve)

My front door. A good place to start ;)

Happy Holidays everyone!

May your stockings be filled with peace and goodwill. (and some chocolate)

If you don't run you rust

Camera? what camera? oh one of those in my bag.

So I'm living in downtown Wilmington and I walk here at least once a day but I have never taken a camera along. The Historic district is a better homes and gardens photographers dream. I however mostly seem to be focused on detail and design for some reason. A typical scenario whilst walking is, hmm nice light, neat subject - wish I had a camera. Today I took a camera along and hopefully will continue to do that on a daily basis. I thought as long as I am shooting I would try to share some on a daily basis. Well see how long this lasts ;)

Thank you so much

The last post elicited quite a number of heart felt emails. I want to say thank you to all of the thoughtful readers who responded so warmly. Your kindness was so welcoming. So, Thank you for all your thoughts they meant the world to me.

I once again have made the 1500 mile journey to my Southern home in North Carolina. I am excited to be living downtown two blocks away from the Cape Fear river in the Historic District. I am still unpacking and organizing ( I heard some of you laugh at the thought of me being organized) and hopefully will soon regain some resemblance to normality.

I have a Epson 7800 up for sale. It is in great condition and has had very light use. Please email me for details if you are interested.

Selected works from Steve Brimm will be shown exclusively at Porters Neck Yoga Spa through the holiday Season. Go enjoy some art and get a massage or another wonderful service while you are there. They also sell gift certificates which make wonderful stocking stuffers!

Stay tuned for Blog exclusive Holiday Print Sales

Of life and photography

Prompted by my good friend and fellow photographer Jeff Richter, I finally got out and shot a little. We Hiked up, over and around Bare Bluff, a Michigan Nature association preserve near Bete Gris. We also shot on the beach at Bete Gris and on the Hunters Point preserve in Copper Harbor. My blood has evidently thinned a little since my dog sledding days - brrrrr. I have had a lot on my mind since may and especially this last week. Walking along the Lake Superior shore and through the Autumn woods certainly helps to put things into perspective and clarify thoughts. Not having shot much over the last year I am quite rusty and found myself going over all the aspects of creating good images. One thing that immediately popped out was something that I recognized as paralleling some other things in life. A common mistake photographers make is to go into the field, driven to come home with a certain image. This can be fine sometimes, but often it’s like wearing blinders and we fail to see the many other beautiful images right under our noses. Relationships are very similar. If we concentrate on small details of our friends, lovers, family and even strangers we miss their essence, their whole, all that combines to make that person. I have recently been guilty of this and my heart is heavy because of it. A lesson that I remembered too late was one I learned from my Daddy. When I was a teen I ask him “ why don’t you teach momma how to drive a clutch right, she’s going to burn that thing up” he replied “ what’s a clutch among friends”

Another lesson that I just learned is pay attention when you are reformatting a hard drive. I accidently reformatted the wrong drive, the drive with most of the Images I was going to share from those shoots. I think they can be recovered and if and when I do I will share.

Rebecca 1967-2009

Rebecca is on a new journey now. Like the light from a long burned out star that is still visible here on earth, her light will shine in the souls of those she has touched for the rest of our lives. Thank you everyone so much for your kindness over the past two years.

Biodegradable corn plastic?

When Al Gore made "Green" the word of the day, I was worried that the fad that was sure to follow would actually weaken the real movement. But I thought it would at least bring it onto more peoples radar. I believe I was right on both accounts. With the complete and thorough lack of ethics in advertising, corporate America didn't disappoint and stuck a "Green" label on everything they possibly could. Being the skeptic that I am, I question quite a few things.

Spring has sprung here in SE North Carolina and I have been out getting some dirt under my fingernails. While digging in a flower bed I found this plastic bottle made from corn that I buried back in 2007. Now I'm sure that making a plastic bottle out of corn is more than likely better than making it out of petroleum, but this bottle obviously did not return completely to the earth in 60 days as advertised. I remember leaving the bottle out in the sun for a month or two then I partially buried it, where it has remained until now. Is it actually made from corn? Was any testing done?

I don't really have a point. I just thought a bottle buried for a couple of years deserved to have it's story heard.

Keweenaw's 4th Annual International Migratory Bird Day in Copper Harbor

If your into birds or Copper Harbor or Brockway mountain or all three you should make it a point to get there for the birding festival. If you've never seen two thousand Hawks, Eagles, Osprey and Accipiters in one day, not to mention loons and every passerine in the book, then you need to go. Besides, there will be music, food and a bonfire in the Community park. It's a jolly good time. So polish up whatever $1100 or $30 pair of field glasses you own and head on out. Oh, I almost forgot about you Photogs. Eye level shots! Merlins bouncing on the thermals right in front of you. You can't miss!

May 15th & 16th

Go to the website for more details.

or call Karen @ 906.289.4588

Welcome to 2009

Hola! Well another year has past and hopefully it has left you with some really great memories. My year has had its share of wonderful memories with the last one being a family vacation to Costa Rica in December.

I have put together a slide show from that trip to share with you. Even though I managed to grab a few shots along the way, a lot of  those images were from a moving vehicle of some sort - planes, boats, cars and horses(if you can call a horse a vehicle) I was only going to carry a point and shoot this trip, but ended up not being able to at least bring one dslr and two lenses. Both lens were images stabilization lens which really made it possible to shoot from moving platforms. The one critical piece of equipment that somehow did not make the move out of my main camara bag was a polarizer. With all the rain that we had, the plants and everything else really had a sheen on it, which a polarizer would have been a huge asset in removing those bright reflections. Speaking of rain, it did rain - a lot. At one point I was sure that I had pretty much ruined a camera body and lens.  A lesson to carry better weather proofing. 

Here is a toast to 2009 and all it has in store for us.

Cheers

Steve

click here for Costa Rica slide show.