tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83683581415415910072024-03-14T03:21:23.512-07:00One Day, One Man, One BeachThis simplified design presents all of my sculptures made from the year 2010 and forward. It also includes other sculpture-related projects, such as sand macrophotography. The "Blog Archive" sidebar gives you access to all the articles here.Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-44566846585426589622021-08-15T14:03:00.002-07:002021-08-15T14:03:20.097-07:00Absent, but not idle<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Since my last post, I've completed a choreography course, done some dance shows in Second Life, and helped others with their shows. I've written and read some poems, and some stories.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">With the beach being closed last year until late June, I had tome for other activities. Once the beach reopened I went for walks but sand and tide timing didn't work out all that well.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Early this year I went to see Timothy. Since the beach reopened he has been going every day to work on his construction, with Mark accompanying him most days. He always brings an extra shovel or two. One day a friend of his was there with a concrete float. It seemed effective as I watched him work, so I tried it myself.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">It's a marvellously versatile tool. Floats differ from trowels in that the bottom surface is curved transversely, so it can be used to smooth out the surface with less digging in. It's good for big, soft, non-detailed sand works, like the earthworks I sometimes do but on a larger scale. I've done upward of 30 of these so far.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">One day there were many pebbles on the beach. After making my earthworks, I gathered pebbles and used them to make mosaic designs on the sand. I liked this, so the next time, because I can't count on there being pebbles down there, I brought some with me.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">There will be photos eventually. I just wanted to send an "I'm alive" signal. Once I get some editing done, I'll add images.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p>Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-15293499562752270672020-03-30T10:31:00.003-07:002020-04-03T12:14:12.686-07:0020F-4 (March 27) The Conquerors ConqueredThere were four members of the Happy Band of Goblikitepe Shovelers when I arrived. Hamish tossing up a storm, Veronica with what had been Hamish's shovel, which fitted her well, Mark with his earthworks, and Timothy doing details and supervision.<br />
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Four people can move a lot of sand. The lifeguard came by to deliver a Stern Lecture about Depth of Holes. Justified, I think, as I've nearly fallen into some deep holes people have dug. Timothy's usual practice is to make his trenches wide and shallow, but once Hamish gets a shovel in his hands he's hard to stop.<br />
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There was a tide-cleaned spot on the south, sand nicely dampened, so I set up there. Everyone else concentrated on their task, and the central pile assumed immense proportions as I slowly filled my form. By the time I was into carving, they'd done their day's work and were making plans for the next.<br />
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There was hilarity and an obviously non-compliant Official Builders Photo with the mound in the background. What would tomorrow bring? I held up my tiny carving tool while they brandished their heavy shovels. Congratulations! Another day of accomplishment, bringing smiles to beach-goers.<br />
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I went on with my carving. I wanted more of the sinuous ridges that I'd had in F-3, but they are surprisingly hard to bring out in the real sand. I learned more about this coarser medium, and started thinking about the next one as I cleaned up. By this time I was alone.<br />
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While walking around, looking for good photographic angles, I found the shovel Timothy had said was missing, left lying on the beach below Mark's earthworks. I picked it up. I'd bring it to him the next time I came to sculpt.<br />
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While I was loading equipment back onto the cart, I saw something familiar mostly buried in the sand. When Timothy's previous build was bulldozed, he lost both of his "Palladions," the finial logs. Up from the sand I pulled, with effort, the Lesser Palladion, disguised as a chunk of eucalyptus. I carried it over to the mound and placed it where Timothy would see it the next day; I'm not qualified in dealing with palladions.<br />
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Saturday morning I thought about going for another sculpture, but was still pretty well beaten up so I went to a poetry reading instead. After that I thought about taking Timoth's shovel back to the beach. I brought up the surf cam... and there was no one on the beach. Late, perhaps? I checked again an hour later. No people.<br />
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Then I thought to check his Instagram page. There was a reference to the Trojan horse, and some comments that suggested the beach had been closed. I dug for more info and discovered that yes, the government has decided that beaches are hazardous, so they're all closed.<br />
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The good point is that my sculpture stood for two days, getting knocked down by people not obeying the closure sometime Sunday afternoon. The bad point is that the Happy Band of Shovelers is sitting at home, prevented from the daily worship of the real world.<br />
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You can take a look at Timoth's Instagram accounts at goblikitepe. Maybe that builder photo was just too much for the powers-that-be.Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-20082090994138508662020-03-29T14:05:00.001-07:002020-03-30T10:32:57.057-07:0020F-3 (March 25) What's Recovery For?<b>I've edited this post to correct the title. It really is about 20F-3.</b><br />
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Monday passed in a blur. I haven't done back-to-back sculptures in many years. Post-Sculptural Syndrome is cumulative, and eventually one pays. On Tuesday I was still paying and drifted through the day.<br />
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I woke up early Wednesday. I could walk and think. The cart was mostly loaded. In the predawn gloom I headed for the beach.<br />
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Timothy had added a new person to the Band of Happy Shovelers: Hamish. Young and strong, he went to work with a will. They were well along by the time I got there, and left before I finished. They'd moved a lot of sand. I moved less.<br />
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I've had this idea for a sculpture with curving ridges for a while now. It has proven to be elusive. This one was the best start on it, although it soon diverged.<br />
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The overall idea now is that I want sculptures that look like one piece, flowing. That also is proving elusive. Fortunately, practicing is enjoyable, out there under the morning sun.<br />
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I debated making more space, but wasn't confident enough in the sand to carve. I liked the contrast of the very complicated aspects with the simpler western side. There are so many ways to do this. One just has to choose a way and go. I can't make every idea in one sculpture. I planned on coming back Friday. Maybe this one would still be standing, so I'd have a multiple.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-56755327113114391452020-03-28T10:33:00.000-07:002020-03-28T10:33:00.610-07:0020F-2 (March 22) Magnetic MovementI told Timothy I'd probably not be back on Sunday.<br />
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He wrote that he woke up Sunday morning and found he could walk, although "...we'd left it all on the beach yesterday."<br />
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I discovered the same thing. Slowly. But I could walk. So, I did.<br />
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Timothy and Mark had been at work for hours, and were close to being done by the time I arrived. I set up and got to work. Before he left, Timothy shot a round of video for his Instagram at goblikitepe. </div>
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No fancy base work this time. I was pretty much out of it, so did the basic basal clean-up and called it finished.<br />
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It takes some experience with new sand to find out what can be done with it.I was a little more familiar on this day, so pushed harder... and it didn't fall over. I haven't done any monolithic sculptures in coarse sand since 1995, and my skills have improved since then. In 1995 this wouldn't have been possible.<br />
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I was exhausted on all levels. Sand sculpture takes everything, mental, physical and emotional. I was pleased with our efforts and how the people on the beach encouraged us. A good day.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-59442612075826887772020-03-26T08:15:00.001-07:002020-03-26T08:15:30.372-07:0020F-1 (March 21) Past, Present and Future in the blender"Social Isolation" or "distancing" aren't much of a problem for me. I've been crowd-averse for years, and have always preferred being outdoors. Beach walks are permitted by the public orders, not that I've been deterred from closed beaches before. Lightning is a better reason for staying away than is a writ.<br />
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I ran into Timothy again on Friday. Venice Beach was newly levelled and smoothed by the scrapers, and he was reaching for the sky again with economical tosses of his shovel.<br />
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My first sand sculptures were done with the sand immediately to hand. I didn't know better, although I did have a bit of dawning impression that there were differences and finer sand seemed to work better. Where I worked in those early years, there wasn't much difference to detect.<br />
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In 1994, after a seven-year hiatus, I returned to sand sculpture. I sampled various places, looking for better sand. Note that I didn't really know what "better" meant in the context of sand. An impression in the hand, and how the pile felt while I was carving it.<br />
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The revolution came in steps that were nearly imperceptible until they reached a new point on the learning curve and I looked back and saw how everything had changed. I discovered fine sand, made better forms and custom carving tools. The size of sand grains makes a big difference. Starting early in 1996 I carried fine sand from low on the beach to a building site above the coming high tide. The resulting sculptures were more finely detailed, and a delight to carve.<br />
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Then I got the idea for multiple sculptures. These were intended at first for contests as a way to be seen on a large contest plot. Soon the idea took on its own life. Given that I was now making three sculptures in one day, I had to save energy by using native sand from the building area. The result, at the time, was disappointing. Coarse sand can't hold details, and the sculptures looked heavy. It all left a bad taste in my mouth, so the multiple era ended in early 2003.<br />
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Not until 2018 did I come to a new appreciation for these. I was going through my images for a slide show and gradually realized that many of the sculptures were beautiful. My first impressions had been shaped by fatigue and comparison with the more detailed sculptures of fine sand.<br />
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In the meantime I was mainly doing free-piled sculptures because I could just go for a walk, and, if there were good sand, sit down and make a sculpture with hands and a mussel shell. But I had to take a camera to satisfy friends, and there is a pocket on the camera bag that will hold a few small tools. The system worked well.<br />
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And then I met Timothy. He works above the high tide cusp. Native sand only. On a Friday we got to talking about making something side-by-side. I remembered, hazily, those old native-sand sculptures and, early the next morning, was on my way to Venice Beach with my cart.<br />
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Timothy is more por-active socially than I am on the beach, necessitated by the scale of his project. He gets noticed, being well beyond human scale. People stop and talk. The sun rose, the clouds sailed overhead. The indoor, television-driven gloom doesn't hold up out here where there are three men flinging sand and other people walking. People told us they were glad to see us out there, making stuff.<br />
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Mark does earthworks right at the tide line. Tim does his megalithic worship. I come in with my engineered equipment and make curving vertical structures. There's something for everyone in this exhibition, and we're dead center on the Venice Surf Cam. We made a lot of people happy.<br />
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Timothy hadn't worked hard enough on his own project, so he went into some earthworks on mine. A gift of defining space.<br />
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In the end, I said "I won't be here tomorrow. I'll be a wreck. And I have an event to do later."<br />
"Whenever you can come back, that's fine."<br />
Mark added his thanks. An amazing day. There was an echo of Rich Johnson in the whole process, a bubble of sanity and stability that we made on the beach.<br />
<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-26400009218960792642020-03-26T07:41:00.000-07:002020-03-26T07:41:13.573-07:00Zooming into the Future (March 15)You walk the seashore and come upon ancient ruins. No people are left. The only evidence is their structures standing in windblown, sea-girt isolation. They'd been there. Where did they go? What was on their mind? The standard modern interpretation is "worship of the unknowable," but who really knows the mind of the disappeared sculptor?<br />
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Several times, walking Venice Beach, I'd come upon massive (truly) structures of heaped sand. Sometimes there was writing on smoothed areas around the base. Often there was a log on top. These could be seen from a long way off, in their splendid isolation on the morning beach. I approached, looked, found no clue in the footprints.<br />
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The 24-70 F/4 zoom I bought recently is said to have close-focus capability. I used to use a 60mm "Compact Macro" as my main walkaround lens. For the 8-megapixel 1D Mark II, it was fine. The 30-megapixel 5D Mark IV soon showed the lens' weakness, so I replaced it with the 100mm F/2.8 macro L. Magnificent lens, that one, and the stabilizer enables hand-held macro photography. Good reach, but hard to get a wider view, hence the new 24-70. But how good would it be? Let's go for a walk and find out.<br />
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I wouldn't know how well it performed until I got home. I'd read reviews and looked at samples. For years, while dithering on what to do.<br />
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The tide was low. There'd been flow out of the Rose Avenue major storm drain. I love the patterns left in sand by the flow of water, and the morning light produced great color and shadows. <br />
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And then... I came up over the isthmus behind the Venice Breakwater and saw the megalith on the south curve below the big storm berm. Not only that, but there was someone moving around it, seeming to be centered on the towering mound.<br />
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No longer just an artifact left in mystery, it could be seen now as one man with a shovel bringing forth a vision with muscles and thought. There is an art to the use of a shovel. Use it well and your project goes up. Use it clumsily and your body fights you every step of the way. Like watching a good runner, watching a skilled shovel-user is fascinating. Every motion just so, with just enough energy to accomplish that little part of the task. You don't run a marathon as if it's a sprint. Turning a few shovelfuls in a garden isn't anything like moving three cubic yards of sand by hand.<br />
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And so I met Timothy, who comes to the beach just about every day to work on his project. Each day starts with the remnants of the day before and goes on from there.<br />
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This would be the last day for this particular build, he told me. The bulldozers were coming in the next week to level the storm berm. He was right; farther south the 'dozers were roaring in defiance of the sea as they did in hours what Neptune can do in minutes. A few days later I walked through Venice and saw them at work flattening the beach, pushing their puny blade-loads of sand. A tractor with a Fresno scraper smoothed out the grouser prints.<br />
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And Timothy was there, although I missed him that day. Farther north, defying the power of diesel and steel, standing against gravity and Beaches and Harbors with a shovel. <br />
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I went on my way south until the blather of bulldozers at the Venice Pier turned me back. There were more lovely patterns in the sand. Before too much longer I would see Timothy again, and worlds would collide. Megalithic determination met NASA-style engineering and, perhaps surprisingly, proved to get along just fine while others cowered indoors, watching the battlements for the viral invader.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-85744300042995407862020-03-07T18:00:00.000-08:002020-03-12T07:39:54.909-07:0020P-9 (March 7) A bit rushedA couple of years ago, I bought a 100MM macro lens for my digital single-lens-reflex camera. I intended to use it for making sharp photos of sand, whose many beauties I'd discovered. That it has a built-in image stabilizer was a fact that didn't affect the decision to buy it.<br />
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I'm not as steady-handed as I used to be; I could hand-hold at a 15th of a second and get reasonable sharpness. Now, especially after sand sculpture... not really. So, one day I mounted the macro lens and used it to take some photos of a sculpture I'd already shot with the usual 24-70 zoom.<br />
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The difference was astonishing. I used the 100 macro for all subsequent sculptures.<br />
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But... the photographic tail was wagging the sculptural dog. That long lens required shooting at some distance, and pretty much precluded making multiple sculptures or even earthworks, even when shot horizontally to suit my Second Life image display device. I loved the sharpness, though, so stayed with it.<br />
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I did, however, start looking in two directions. One was a compact camera with stabilization, the other being a stabilized wide-angle lens for the big camera. After much dithering, the answer became "Yes." I bought a 24-70 F/4 zoom with stabilization, and a compact camera with stabilization and an electronic viewfinder. The latter was intended to come with me on walks when the big camera was too much to carry.<br />
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First up in testing was the zoom. I took it with me for this sculpture. I intended to do earthworks, and had a plan, but I allowed myself to be rushed. I was getting the sculpture in before a gig in Second Life, and I don't have a watch. The earthworks are rudimentary.<br />
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It's bean clam season. The sculpture was full of them. Not big, but still made carving a challenge.<br />
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On my way home, the post-sculptural dazed walk north along the beach with the low tide whispering on my left, I saw this clump of drying kelp under the very hard light. With the 100MM lens, I wouldn't have gotten the shot. Without stabilization, it would have been very blurry. The stabilized zoom worked very well. Not so sharp as the macro, but sharp enough that the GIMP's unsharp mask makes it look great on the big Second Life display. This shot is unsharpened, except in the effect of being scaled. I love the colors in this.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-17001588266985899662020-03-06T12:39:00.001-08:002020-03-06T12:45:37.230-08:0020P-8 (March 4) Might have had one ball too many...The tide window opened on Tuesday, but the morning was dry and windy. I bagged the plan.<br />
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Wednesday was much better. Calm, cool. Would there be sand?<br />
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I had two new tools. One was a modified cake decorating spatula; I'd given it some taper, and sharpened the edges. The other was a good-sized clam shell, sturdy, for making earthworks. It was small enough to fit in the camera bag.<br />
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The sand was decent, much like what I've had this year. The pile ended up having an elongated plan, which became part of the design. With a start time of around 9 AM there was no lack of time.<br />
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I worked carefully, but not as slowly as I thought. Carving was done in about two hours.<br />
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The shell was much too small to work in making the earthworks I'd intended. I bagged that idea and started making balls.<br />
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The shelf up near the top seemed to call for a ball, and reminded me of the sculpture I made in 1996 which had little shelves carved in to hold balls. I was thinking of it from the south point of view. When I got around to the east, I realized it was about as anthropomorphic a sculpture as I've ever made. Felidomorphic, yes, but never anthro-. Well, mostly. Unintended here, but I liked it even if it does come close to violating my non-representational sculpture contract.<br />
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I like this one, from all angles. The new spatula worked well on the larger surfaces. I replaced the clam shell with a bigger one that should make earthworks possible. I'm also thinking about a new kind of tool for that. We'll see.<br />
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The "Burning Sandwoman" image, reminiscent of the Burning Man effigy and the Lamplighters' Lantern Man they have at the Village. I've felt for a long time that sand sculpture is partly a dance, but seldom have I made a sculpture that dances this nicely itself.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-80969623761800240202020-02-25T08:00:00.003-08:002020-02-25T08:00:46.309-08:0020P-7 (Febrary 24) Where did the week go?Intending to go for a walk on the beach, I looked at the tide chart and noticed the tide going down in the early afternoon. How could the window still be open? I did a sculpture two weeks ago!<br />
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I have become involved in many projects in Second Life. Most of these involve writing and performing. Time becomes fluid when doing those, and February 20, when I did the last sculpture, felt like a long time ago. On my way to the beach, camera slung over my shoulder, I realized it was just four days back.<br />
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There was construction going on behind the Breakwater, with all its attendant noise and stink. I was tempted to bail, but the sand was better than expected so I started building. The process was a bit rushed by not wanting to be around all the machinery, and my mind wasn't on the sculpture. It developed some default designs.<br />
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Later I realized... no, it's not state of the art, but it was done in two hours. Start to finish. Not that long ago, a sculpture like this would have taken much longer... and before that, it would have been impossible. So, a good day. The earthworks are desultory, as I didn't have a good scooping tool like a big Pismo clam shell.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-11168806129358603722020-02-24T08:52:00.001-08:002020-02-24T08:52:14.090-08:0020P-6 (February 20)After a season of writing poems and working on a longer story, I needed to do some sculpture. Winter brings unreliable weather, so I went lightweight with just the camera bag with some small tools. This day turned out to be very nice, although the sand wasn't quite what I'd hoped for.<br />
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The design is a continuation of what I did in 20P-5. I wanted these not to look like they'd started as free-pile sculptures. <br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-74615583762331923882020-02-06T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-29T09:21:55.054-08:0020P-5 (February 6)The tide window opened, and the weather had been disappointingly calm and clear. That's no guarantee, but an earlier walk on the Santa Monica beach had shown me decent sand there. I miss walking in the rain, but storms do remove the sand. Trade-offs. I decided to go make a sculpture.<br />
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The sand was an odd mix of fine and medium that felt finer than it acted. Water drained out fast. I had to work very fast in piling to keep everything together, and the pile was relatively narrow and short.<br />
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I had this idea for a plan based on a rounded triangle. The sand was good enough to hold edges if I were careful. Then I wanted the spaces to work with the edges.<br />
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I also wanted to hide the sculpture's free-piled origin. The only sign of that left is the taper. The long hollow curve in there because I liked the way it felt, and looked.<br />
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The flat top didn't contribute much, so after a round of photos I made some small balls as a finial.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-53951855557977383412020-01-24T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-24T09:25:49.738-08:0020P-4 (January 24) CompromisesFree-piled sculpture comes from a set of compromises different from that for formed sculpture. There is less equipment involved so it's easier to get one off, but the actual carving is more limited. Sharp edges and thin sections are nearly impossible.<br />
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But... what if we rethink the process so that a sculpture is less dependent upon those kinds of design cues? For this one, I tried some more subtle curves and hollows.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-3230248962347759852020-01-21T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-24T09:17:29.583-08:0020P-3 (January 21)The tide window was still open, and the weather had been calm enough that sand stayed put. Somehow it was cleaner. Less rough material, which made it easier to carve. Why not go to the beach and have a ball?<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-18440497484518470282020-01-18T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-24T09:09:45.735-08:0020P-2 (January 18) Better weather...The weather was great for this one. Gentle breeze, sunlight to keep me warm. The sand, however, had moved due to days of high wind making currents and waves. It wasn't bad, but nothing like what I'd had before. I was able to finish this one, but I didn't have a brush for the final polish.<br />
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The balls are just for fun.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-6321814905623483972020-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-24T09:02:25.824-08:0020P-1 (January 9) Fast RainThe tide window was open. Weather was questionable but good enough to start. This came after a previous attempt that was wiped out by big surf on a neap tide, which left no room for a sculpture.<br />
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The sand was very good. The weather didn't cooperate. It gave me enough time to make the pile and do much of the carving, but rain came in fast and looked fierce. I decided to shoot some photos quickly and leave, not being at all dressed for rain.<br />
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The camera locked up after three photos. Card full. Well, it had been some time since I last archived the images. I put it away and started walking.<br />
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Rain came in, and wind, and cold. I congratulated myself for getting out just in time... but then it all went away. By the time I reached home the wind had calmed, the clouds had blown away, and the arch of blue was over all. Well, I got most of a sculpture done.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-49113405357127382352019-11-11T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-25T15:49:21.357-08:0019P-3 (November 11) Vacation from wordsI like writing. I also like reading aloud, and I've come across places in Second Life where I can recite what I write.<br />
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Sand sculpture is another kind of language. Photography is also. I went to the beach to do photography and ended up making a sculpture.<br />
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I used to take tools and no camera. Then I started taking a camera, but no tools. For this sculpture I tried an experiment: I put three small tools into the outer pocket of the camera bag because I was tired of making do with found tools. This worked well, and set the pattern for future sculptures.<br />
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I also started executing a shortcut for photographs. When I had only 4 megapixels in the image, every one counted. I shot most sculptures with the camera held vertically, and formed a strong habit. With my current camera I can shoot horizontally and still have plenty of detail. The advantage is that the format suits what I use for slide shows in Second Life. This is part of the motivation for adding sand balls: I have a wide frame, so why not put something in it? Plus, they're silly. <br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-42032403149404264432019-01-29T18:00:00.000-08:002020-02-25T08:30:59.386-08:0019P-2 (January 29) I missed the New Year due to being too cold to try anything on the beach. By January 9 it was warmer so I took a walk to look at the sand. No tools with me, no camera. Naturally, I found good sand at the Breakwater, and built a classic catenary arch from the sand. It's good to return to roots, or first principles, at times.<br />
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I'd become enamored of photographing the patterns made by the water that seeps out of the beach and runs down the gradual slope as the tide falls. The sand is slowly carried away, subtly responding to the variations in the strength of the current. It's fascinating to watch, and leaves wonderful patterns behind as the water table drops below the area and leaves the pattern fixed.<br />
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On this day I found good sand in Venice. I put the camera down and made a sculpture. I used what shells I could find as carving tools. The Return of the Sand Balls, too. Something about that shape appeals to me.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-53506853620698527522019-01-05T08:18:00.004-08:002019-01-23T09:14:45.786-08:0019F-1 (January 1) New Year windThe tide was right, but the weather was up for grabs. I decided to attempt a New Year sculpture. Weather had the final say; read the report below for more details. Clicking on an image will present a larger version.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hKYaeUSNV4nrslaYKaVPgAWf90jFffnpgEErn3OcZu4l5xCvUmDx8QlYh2RLD53-iXwD3Bu6D0HZ0cvMAUuNizoCBRDfqmEtt515euigVt1mDDjK6IoHq6loHpuAnzWMvZWHJaElch80/s1600/19F-1+process+stl+fngr+%25232386+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hKYaeUSNV4nrslaYKaVPgAWf90jFffnpgEErn3OcZu4l5xCvUmDx8QlYh2RLD53-iXwD3Bu6D0HZ0cvMAUuNizoCBRDfqmEtt515euigVt1mDDjK6IoHq6loHpuAnzWMvZWHJaElch80/s400/19F-1+process+stl+fngr+%25232386+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph by Larry Dudock</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Finale/Beginning</div>
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Early December brought storms external and internal. Thanks to happenstance and a more or less prepared mind, I'd become a reciter of poetry in Second Life. That led to a need to write more, and I concentrated on that for several months.<br />
I enjoy writing, the craft of putting ideas into words that others can read to bring the event back to life in their minds. I discovered a new enjoyment of recitation through hearing others who have a real love for the spoken word and put themselves into it. Naturally, the part of me that believes survival comes from invisibility was upset by all of this, but nothing bad happened so the argument was based purely upon past events. Right now, this year, these months, I enjoyed it and so did those listening. I wrote some new stories and a lot of poems, and recited them all.<br />
I felt frustration growing toward the end of the year. Eventually I thought that it comes from a basic fact of recitation: I need an audience. While I enjoy doing it, it's not something I do by myself; there needs to be some communication both ways, rather like the musical programs I've done for years. Was I becoming someone who worshipped the crowd and wanted to please them so I'd get the chance to recite again? Given the nature of what I write, I doubted it but there was still a valid point at the heart of the argument.<br />
Sand sculpture started as an experiment and continued as an art, or a craft, done purely for myself. I could do sculpture quite easily even if there were no one else within sight on the beach.<br />
The external storms wreaked their usual havoc with the sand. Low tide is still a good time for walking. I arrived at the Venice Breakwater on a December morning and found an expanse of fine sand with a falling tide, and some mussel shells scattered about. I had nothing with me but the house key. An hour and a half later there was a sculpture and a man covered with sand.<br />
Two days later I planned ahead. In addition to the house key I had a handful of small tools as I walked to the beach. The first intimation of trouble came as I walked down the final hill to the beach and saw a huge breaker rise above the beach cusp, and then heard the roar and rumble of the break. The waves had moved in, and the sand was gone. I watched waves for a time and went home. Trying again two days later yielded the same result.<br />
The day before Christmas was cool and calm, with bright sun. Those big waves drive waves in, and where they are finally stopped by seeping into the beach they leave patterns of coarse grains and small shells. I like to take still-life photos of the patterns. I ambled along the beach, photographing.<br />
I forgot photography when I got to the Breakwater and found, much to my surprise, a crescent of fine sand. There'd been enough people passing by that there were no mussel shells left. Solve that problem later. Pile now while the conditions are good; I can carve with my fingers.<br />
Well, actually, I couldn't. Free-piling technique has improved through the years, and my fingers didn't make much of a mark while I broke some fingernails in the attempt. Fortunately there was a scrap piece of wood nearby, just sturdy enough that I could dig and cut with it.<br />
I even had the camera. After adding some decorative sand balls, I shot a round of photos. These were hand-held because the 100mm macro L lens has a stabilizer built in, and it is astonishingly effective. It even removes the effects of Post-Sculptural Palsy.<br />
The tide window closed after that. It would re-open around the first of the new year. Walks in the interim showed that the sand was here today, gone tomorrow. If I wanted to start the new year with a sculpture, I'd have to be prepared for anything. It turns out that I was prepared for everything but what actually turned up.<br />
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Build number: 19F-1 (lifetime start #345); monolith on low riser<br />
Title: none<br />
Date: January 1<br />
Location: Venice Breakwater, isthmus<br />
Start: 0900, construction time approx. 4 hours<br />
Size: about 30 inches tall, 21 inches diameter<br />
Technique: Latchform, Box Filter 2, three full loads intertidal sand<br />
Digital Images: EOS-5D Mk IV, 100L, 24-70L, handheld<br />
Volunteer photography: Larry Dudock, hand-held process and complete, and intervalometer<br />
Volunteer videography: Larry Dudock, process and equipment<br />
New Tools: none<br />
New Equipment: none<br />
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The last time I was here the beach was covered with shells, which would have made free-piling impossible. It's still a simpler process so it's what I wanted to do, but I brought the full kit so that I could respond to conditions as they were.<br />
The morning started calm. I loaded the cart and headed out.<br />
Twenty minutes later, walking south on the Boardwalk, the palm fronds start to sing in a wind from the north. I stop for a minute. Abort? Go on? It's cold, and not that strong, so I go on.<br />
There is good sand, and not too many shells. But there's a layer of coarse sand mixed in everywhere. Using a form will allow me to work with this, so I set up on the flat area behind the Breakwater.<br />
A seal is perched on a rock at the north end of the breakwater. That's unusual for this place.<br />
The coarse sand is just the right size to plug the holes in my screen, making it very much work to wash the fine sand out through it. I compensate by making it short, three loads rather than four. At the end I'm glad it's done; my shoulders need a break.<br />
Along the curve of the beach to the south, the Penguin Swimmers are getting set up. Today is chilly and breezy. Not going to be much fun for swimming, especially after coming out of the water.<br />
I sit on a cart wheel and contemplate the stubby pile of sand. It's all potential at this point. Previous sculptures have been more about surfaces than spaces, and I'd like to continue that, but the problem comes in the sculpture being cylindric. What happens when surfaces meet? They take on default shapes. Well, with time, I can move the surfaces around and experiment with how to have them meet and change.<br />
This goes well for a time. The wind moves around to the south, then the east, then moderates to a gentle breeze. I can even feel my toes for a time.<br />
I'm about half done when, suddenly, the wind unsheathes its claws and comes after us from the north. I can feel it, rolling up its sleeves and getting ready for real work; gradually it builds to the point where snakes of bouncing sand grains slither over the beach to assault my skin. I'm on the verge of shivering.<br />
It just gets worse. I yield to Boreas, do some basic clean-up, call it done, and sign it. A few photographs, and a struggle to load the cart with the wind trying to blow everything away, and then I'm headed off the beach to the relative calm of the alley northbound.<br />
The sculpture shows I can still do it after a year and a half hiatus. It shows some design promise, too. On a warmer day, with more consideration, perhaps the ideas will come to fuller expression; unlike a poem, a sculpture is fixed in time with no possibility of future editing. There is no rewrite desk for the sculptural process.<br />
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Santa Monica<br />
2019 January 3, 4<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-73498364451413886812018-12-26T14:09:00.002-08:002018-12-26T14:09:38.645-08:00December 24: 18P-2 and still lifeEarlier in the year I was thinking about doing some sculpture. The days were longer and warmer and I had something of an itch. As sometimes happens, though, other events changed my course.<br />
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I went to an event at Second Life's Fantasy Faire in which poets could read their work. My microphone didn't work but I had poems, so I asked a friend to read for me. She did, and forever changed how I think of reading. I'd been to readings but people didn't put any life into their work. Here, my friend put her life into my words and the poem came alive. I wanted to do more.<br />
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So, I started going to more readings, and writing more. That, and the repercussions, kept me busy enough and I didn't think much about sand sculpture.<br />
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Eventually the storms died down somewhat. I went for a walk on the beach, December 16th, and found Venice with a large expanse of fine sand. I forgot about the walk, and although I had no tools I started making a pile. There were mussel shells around for carving.<br />
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I went back two days later with a handful of tools. Everything was changed. Huge, strong surf drove in well beyond the beach cusp and removed all the fine sand. Two days later the story was the same, but there were beautiful high icy clouds that burned with colors near the sun.<br />
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A few days later, tired of being indoors, I picked up my camera and headed for the beach. When the spring tides push over the cusp, the waves often leave beautiful patterns of shells and coarse sand behind. I wanted to photograph some of these still life formations. I did so, working my way south. I also found a big windrow of tangled kelp.<br />
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At Venice, much to my wonder, I found fine sand. Not just in a thin layer on top, but deep enough to work with. There were shells, stones and coarse sand mixed in, but I found a stick to carve with and started piling.<br />
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I learned something from this. Free-piling technique has improved through the years; I tried to carve this just with my hands but about all I accomplished was the breaking of fingernails. The stick saved me. being just sturdy enough to last.<br />
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Also, tools have their effect on the shape of the piece. Most of my sand sculpture history now includes a selection of tools made for the purpose, and most of what I know came from the tool-using era. Having only a stick brought me back to the beginning, and gave me a new look at how tools work with design to produce a sculpture.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-89640656103053660252018-05-30T12:36:00.001-07:002018-05-31T18:43:39.828-07:00Jewels Underfoot XI: Marina del Rey black sandOne day I was walking along the beach, just being there. I ended up going south of the Venice Pier, all the way to the Marina del Rey entrance channel. Can't go farther south from here without a boat.<br />
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I noticed a patch of darker sand up at the high tide cusp.Taking a closer look I saw that it was black, unlike anything I've seen here. My first thought was that it was polluted sand dredged from the channel, which idea a lifeguard corroborated. As I thought about it, though, this didn't make much sense. I picked up a handful and washed it in the ocean. Nothing happened. It didn't feel oily, it didn't float, it didn't dissolve. I found a cup and took some home for a closer look.<br />
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Later on I went back for more. About halfway back home from that trip I began to feel the weight. This stuff is more dense than the common sand. I did some research.<br />
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Magnetite forms in swamps. Ballona Creek used to be a swamp. How this small patch of magnetite ended up here I don't know.<br />
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When I took some macro photos I got a surprise. Most of it is black and fine, but there are other characteristic grains mixed in, such as garnet. What a fascinating sculpture could be made with this sand.<br />
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This sequence of photos zooms in step by step. The first one is the full frame scaled to the blog dimensions. These first three were shot as an experiment on a cloudy day using manual white balance from a grey card..<b> </b><br />
<b>Click on any image to see it full size.</b><br />
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The image below has been cropped to about half the original frame, then scaled to the blog to get in closer.<br />
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This image is at maximum size, cropped to actual pixels. The area is about 15mm wide.<br />
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This maximum magnification image was shot earlier under sunlight with a diffuser.<br />
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Not being all that happy with the photos taken under cloudy light, I took some more today. The day was clear, just a high white haze, so I used a diffuser to cut down the specular highlights. The original is 6720 pixels wide; I cropped that to 3360 and then scaled to 1536 and used unsharp mask.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aW871zSF-xf0eRsnqTpj2C2HvfwSJBXYPs2c-NBUop_3q52kCcwTLGZBvwjgrO5na61-AVl1X5lcVx21ZF2wqpPLSMZnLA06i-IYA8N6cOpWL3AyneueKbcE5m3mGatK50HsulZ9eO8M/s1600/MDR+black+sand+%25232215+1536X1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aW871zSF-xf0eRsnqTpj2C2HvfwSJBXYPs2c-NBUop_3q52kCcwTLGZBvwjgrO5na61-AVl1X5lcVx21ZF2wqpPLSMZnLA06i-IYA8N6cOpWL3AyneueKbcE5m3mGatK50HsulZ9eO8M/s400/MDR+black+sand+%25232215+1536X1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-90132285345308218182018-05-18T12:32:00.001-07:002018-05-24T07:13:56.800-07:00Jewels Underfoot X: Dunhuang, China<span style="font-size: small;">A co-worker went to tour parts of China, and took a camel ride near Dunhuang on the Silk Road. He brought back a sample of sand for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's beautiful sand, and tricky to get the color balance. The new GIMP 2.10 makes some of this easier, so I made a new edit on one of the photos. These were photos I took before I had better control of the photography itself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Unsharp Mask took in GIMP 2.10 is also better. Easier to use, I can see the effect, and does a better job os sharpening with fewer artifacts. This image is the best I know how to do... right now. Click on it to get a bigger version.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa7bph5c1WzWVWGXMh0haS8EPBwpywZMTVrJbqYDgNIdH_JGnZqtRJeZbc5UY6CXzsOlzmlegOzBKuEA2Gvx5ThL9sz1MX8rbH4noh91I14n9kIOammaZPcmcB2Yl4ptPFGd52rPX-0sm/s1600/China+Dunhuang+rebal+%25230805+1536X1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa7bph5c1WzWVWGXMh0haS8EPBwpywZMTVrJbqYDgNIdH_JGnZqtRJeZbc5UY6CXzsOlzmlegOzBKuEA2Gvx5ThL9sz1MX8rbH4noh91I14n9kIOammaZPcmcB2Yl4ptPFGd52rPX-0sm/s400/China+Dunhuang+rebal+%25230805+1536X1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I wasn't all that happy with the color balance in the Dunhuang sand. It's very sensitive to variations in light and nothing looked right. So, I did a manual white balance from a grey card and got color I liked better.<br />
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Then Blogger threw a wrench into the works. With the camera pointed straight down, it doesn't really know which way is up so it makes a guess. Some images are properly horizontal, others are rotated 90 degrees, and some are rotated 270. GIMP asks me what I want, and brings the image in horizontally. I do the edits. Upload to Blogger and it goes by the original EXIF data, which makes the lighting strange to my eye.<br />
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I tried various ways to get the image horizontal. The only one that worked was to open the image with Digital Photo Pro, rotate, export as TIFF, edit that in the GIMP to do color balance. Yes, it comes out horizontal as I want, but yeow. What a hassle. There must be a better way.<br />
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The image below is of the manual white balance one, but it's a quick edit to see if the concept works. I overdid the contrast adjustment. I also notice a color shift between the thumbnail below and the enlarged view; the latter goes pretty strongly green-blue. Sigh. This works better in Second Life slide shows, where what I import is what I see on the display.<br />
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-27594324512961962542018-05-03T10:35:00.001-07:002018-05-03T10:35:15.736-07:00Jewels Underfoot IX: Hawai'i Mauna Kea BeachThis sand is from Mauna Kea Beach on the big island.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DZcWL1CgEwjtWH-Lkp7sXJxwHI5gx4A7OS5tWR3c-vzRr-R8wDg9p6bHMZy0zoGOwf1vMS9sQVEYa0hRiKgTof0Fu6a_SGEof3NH2SB7KdAS2xBgacnOjj0v0Qz1Kl4JtahDwWhvYO96/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Mauna+Kea+Bch+%25232071+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DZcWL1CgEwjtWH-Lkp7sXJxwHI5gx4A7OS5tWR3c-vzRr-R8wDg9p6bHMZy0zoGOwf1vMS9sQVEYa0hRiKgTof0Fu6a_SGEof3NH2SB7KdAS2xBgacnOjj0v0Qz1Kl4JtahDwWhvYO96/s400/Hawai%2527i+Mauna+Kea+Bch+%25232071+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-8836314336986676902018-05-03T10:22:00.001-07:002018-05-03T10:22:55.463-07:00Jewels Underfoot VIII: Hawai'i Hapuna BeachHere's another new look at Hawai'i sand. This is from Hapuna Beach, at Kohala on the northwest coast of the big island.<br />
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Photographs taken with a 100mm macro lens on a full-frame digital SLR camera at closest focusing distance. Sand is on a white porcelain platter under a diffuser, with the camera looking straight down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPE1bIUSjMOYn4STs3a1EwCqONMRLLz_yeQI3BQJnffblBXhEmwTkWreeDak-Bs1PM4w3RlhLWvDbt6C0ahyQyGO1_OtyVqrNH_MZ37iC5hdIt9q8WnfINEeq-bDThembP4QIzigMpKVf/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+%25232077+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPE1bIUSjMOYn4STs3a1EwCqONMRLLz_yeQI3BQJnffblBXhEmwTkWreeDak-Bs1PM4w3RlhLWvDbt6C0ahyQyGO1_OtyVqrNH_MZ37iC5hdIt9q8WnfINEeq-bDThembP4QIzigMpKVf/s400/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+%25232077+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand from Hawai'i Hapuna Beach. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbW7IfxXAEk5XPYWbzcCBEWgQFOpkHOvanSAtA3oj6S1YB5cDW1QXDfrSjOWRMQ2-FCUjKDpfgK5NzOk296UNi-CAIu3-wiINphuT9p_VAjiHl2hOJs4Zmya6I95XHcTQk_DoJY2pbZCS/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+%25232081+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbW7IfxXAEk5XPYWbzcCBEWgQFOpkHOvanSAtA3oj6S1YB5cDW1QXDfrSjOWRMQ2-FCUjKDpfgK5NzOk296UNi-CAIu3-wiINphuT9p_VAjiHl2hOJs4Zmya6I95XHcTQk_DoJY2pbZCS/s400/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+%25232081+1296X864.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand form Hapuna Beach. Click to enlarge. For some reason, Blogger wants to show this vertically. It should be horizontal, upper end to the right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjdqlf2UXTBVaydYPrJFMPoYYNT8KhHQwshT8fxaeHyHibOX1uIxSRhNosY4dSyR9iBHp5RtM7DX1x-_Kf3YhK2RCc_A6fi6NVmiIQ253An2VXOHsEF0d2df_e5wgowjVRb8VJAt28Xkn/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+max+%25232081+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjdqlf2UXTBVaydYPrJFMPoYYNT8KhHQwshT8fxaeHyHibOX1uIxSRhNosY4dSyR9iBHp5RtM7DX1x-_Kf3YhK2RCc_A6fi6NVmiIQ253An2VXOHsEF0d2df_e5wgowjVRb8VJAt28Xkn/s400/Hawai%2527i+Hapuna+Bch+max+%25232081+1296X864.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand from Hapuna Beach, Hawai'i. Maximum magnification, 1:1 pixel view. Should be horizontal with upper end to the right.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-31157528687281557642018-05-03T10:07:00.002-07:002018-05-03T10:07:59.756-07:00Jewels Underfoot VII: Hawai'i Punalu'u BeachI recently gained access to three more samples of sand from Hawai'i (the big island). This sample is black sand from Punalu'u Beach, on the southeast coast. It's fascinatingly different from the black sand I've seen elsewhere.<br />
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I'm guessing this sand is older, due to the polish and the lack of olivine. In direct sunlight it sparkles brightly. All images here were taken using a diffuser to cut back on specular highlights. 100MM macro lens on full frame digital SLR, mirror lock-up, self-timer. The sand is on a white porcelain platter. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7AC0OFMu1JXqRQ80tPWldijDxVEFzjA-oFrmzonpgcSJuq3qEdADvhQl8TIMCWs0XiQizB1CccHnWr2umOnntl57weYsB2JbB6kECfvR48UKjlHaIh11iv4h2xFTkS18i5Wy4f9iDN0Fq/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+adj+%25232063+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7AC0OFMu1JXqRQ80tPWldijDxVEFzjA-oFrmzonpgcSJuq3qEdADvhQl8TIMCWs0XiQizB1CccHnWr2umOnntl57weYsB2JbB6kECfvR48UKjlHaIh11iv4h2xFTkS18i5Wy4f9iDN0Fq/s400/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+adj+%25232063+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punalu'u Beach sand. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNX3ANkpcejMD9iIZQBgKalpxsojOfBCN687jT0tUVWdJXUwDqV7IZFLtu843rD_4_YDDKe9fjs_NZQv024NR7GR8YqSVxDyJJK4Rf9dP2x9POIlbd7hl24mAv5bA8mqkphzzfWmbZHCf/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+%25232064+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNX3ANkpcejMD9iIZQBgKalpxsojOfBCN687jT0tUVWdJXUwDqV7IZFLtu843rD_4_YDDKe9fjs_NZQv024NR7GR8YqSVxDyJJK4Rf9dP2x9POIlbd7hl24mAv5bA8mqkphzzfWmbZHCf/s400/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+%25232064+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punalu'u Beach sand, closer view. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibv_yFvT6Yi47T82P9CF1zfYaUElkGQoel0Mi5zCcrf6X56TFDCjH2JhPqPsRtoXstkrGDH1REfRtnxdFsF40cj9PpIXMmCOG5S99MHsMayKEedSYdIXJ84XDtgSTorYMbhyphenhyphen0iERPz8fyr/s1600/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+max+%25232060+1296X864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1296" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibv_yFvT6Yi47T82P9CF1zfYaUElkGQoel0Mi5zCcrf6X56TFDCjH2JhPqPsRtoXstkrGDH1REfRtnxdFsF40cj9PpIXMmCOG5S99MHsMayKEedSYdIXJ84XDtgSTorYMbhyphenhyphen0iERPz8fyr/s400/Hawai%2527i+Punalu%2527u+Bch+max+%25232060+1296X864.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punalu'u Beach sand, maximum magnification, actual pixels. Click for full size.</td></tr>
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368358141541591007.post-89258641061262594472017-12-07T14:57:00.000-08:002017-12-08T07:58:25.531-08:00Jewels Underfoot VI: Hawai'i, Maui Wailea Beach<br />
A co-worker must have brought this sample to me. I don't remember.<br />
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I now do the photography with a 100mm macro lens on a full-frame digital camera, with a diffuser to soften and spread the sunlight. The sand is on a white porcelain platter, placed close to the minimum focusing distance so the magnification is close to 1:1 on the sensor. In editing I adjust color balance and contrast moderately, so details show up better. I crop a roughly 4000-pixel-wide section from the original image, and scale that to 1584 X 1056 pixels for the blog. The final step is a modest unsharp mask.<br />
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Because I'm more interested in showing the beauty of the sand, the scale in these images varies a little, from about 3cm across to 3.5cm. I show multiple images of the sample because one isn't enough.<br />
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<b>Hawai'i, Maui, Wailea Beach </b></div>
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Click on an image to see it full size.</div>
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<br />Larryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08516546812702049831noreply@blogger.com0