[ Detail of 88teeth’s revamped “Manoid” ] Longtime friend and fellow-DLa member ThaneC recently has updated his personal/portfolio site, eightyeightteeth.com. ThaneC’s site has been completely redesigned and reorganized, featuring easy navigation and generous presentation of core content. Every page is overflowing with creative juice — thumbnail galleries of artistic works, digital photos, and custom wallpapers are a pleasure to browse. Full-size versions of each creative piece “pop-up” upon command. ThaneC’s unpretentious wit and artistic sincerity furnish each page with insightful commentary and inside information concerning each delicious offering. Designed according to the principles of modern web design, ThaneC’s site now employs the efficiency and flexibility of HTML and CSS, rounded out with a touch of unobtrusive JavaScript to make it all sweet.

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Aside from an occasional gang squirt, Moses Lake, Washington has no graffiti art scene of which to speak. Yes, there are many vast, open walls available for inspired artists to develop into colorful statements of creative expression. However, city officials and general public opinion frown on graffiti art as worthless, wicked vandalism. Granted, the city does offer several commissioned murals, mainly scenic visions of the ordinary rural variety. Unfortunately, those of us craving authentic expressions of genuine creativity must travel elsewhere to enjoy such diverse cultural fruit.

Imported graffiti art, picked fresh daily Or so we thought. Recently we discovered a daily supply of local, fresh graffiti. A short drive out Moses Lake's Wheeler Road reveals a west-coast freight-car loading station. And, as any connoisseur of aerosol art is aware, graffiti artists love to paint on freight cars. Sure enough, a quick drive into the loading area manifests a colorful line of beautifully decorated railcars. To see such dynamic and intense expressions of deliberation and purpose is like opening the window of youth and shooting up a truckload of rainbows. “..an unexpected pleasure — we are honored by your presence..”

Better still, the railcars are there on business, meaning they are constantly showing up, getting loaded, and taking off, thereby making room for the next set of traveling canvases. Every day, there is a fresh selection of imported west-coast graffiti art ripe for the pickinz. And pick I do — at least three times a week, every week, I drive out to the station early in the morning to examine, admire, and capture the daily gallery. For several weeks now, my collection of high-resolution digital photographs of west-coast graffiti has been growing.

Soon, the collection will be available at perishable.biz, which will feature artwork, digital photos, video chunks, audio turdz, and now, imported graffiti art. Why two Perishable websites? While perishablepress.com focuses on written material, code, and other text, perishable.biz presents creativity as expressed via aural, visual, and digital media. "You gotta keep 'em separated."

Indeed, this segregation of Perishable content enables us to consolidate an online resource (perishablepress.com) for news and information concerning everything associated with all of our creative endeavors. Further, an informational repository such as perishablepress.com enables us to focus entirely on artistic and other creative content at our other sites, such as perishable.biz, deadletterart.com, and artspacemagazine.com.

For the past several months, I have been carrying a digital camera virtually everywhere I go. Keeping a camera continually available optimizes potential for capturing choice pictures. Also, a camera within reach provides countless opportunities to sharpen skills while experimenting with camera options. Indeed, the consistent use pays off — I am learning many new photographic tricks simply by playing with settings during free time. Further, increased familiarity with the device enables greater agility when reacting to spontaneous, time-critical photographic events.

The content of your photographs is greatly influenced by where you take your camera. Quite simply, exposing your camera to new environments and perspectives will vastly increase the diversity of your photographic content. Using your camera in fresh locations provides insight and new ways of looking at things. Suddenly, a drive to the store becomes a thousand photographic opportunities. A day at work evolves into a mindful exploration of potential photographic subject matter. If you are serious about learning the fine art of photography, maximize the variety of subject matter available to you by carrying your camera everywhere.

Sony DSC-V1 Cybershot Currently, I carry a Sony Cybershot DSC-V1 5.0MP digital camera. The camera records on proprietary "memory sticks", which are nowhere near as expensive as they were even one year ago. I recently upgraded to a 1GB memory card, and now also carry a 125MB card as backup. For my purposes, I find that 1GB is more than enough storage capacity, and have not yet needed to use the backup card. The camera provides a built-in flash, nightview, and nightshot, as well as infrared focusing, red-eye removal, and many other optical features ¹. The camera also records MPEG video and animated GIF sequences. The camera's options and settings are extensive, including an automatic, "quick-shot" mode, as well as a complete manual mode and several other preset modes.

Time constraints typically determine the type of photographs captured. Generally speaking, the more time available, the more creative the photograph. For example, when time permits, time is taken to study the subject matter, exploring perspectives and considering strategy. On the other hand, rushed moments tend to restrict photographic considerations such as composition or lighting. Such photos serve well as rough drafts, preliminary studies, or even spontaneous journalistic exercises. When no time is available to actually use the camera, it is beneficial to mentally explore the environment for future photo opportunities.

With continued exposure to new subject matter, the mindful photographer will gain much experience and greatly improve essential photographic skillz.

References

• ¹ Additional Sony DSC-V1 Information:
• DSC-V1 at Digital Photography Review
• Sony DSC-V1 at Sony Support

I have been drawing and sketching for over thirty years. The process of setting up for art, developing ideas, and letting the pens flow, really gets my juices flowing. Once that flow hits, and the music fades, hours disappear, manifesting imagination. This process is so familiar as to happen automatically, as a natural consequence of internal inspiration, artistic creativity, and the desire to express the subjective experience of my subconscious mind.

Another important aspect of exercising a creative lifestyle involves the observation and study of the natural world. Drawing from nature, or the practice of representational translationalism, serves this purpose well, as the concentration and discipline required to objectively witness and record visual experiences heightens the degree to which awareness and observation feed visual understanding. It is this comprehension of the visual world that enables the artist to effectively manipulate artistic elements to successfully convey the intended expression of creativity.

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One of the best things about living among the sand people..