Greetings!

Welcome to the second half of 2024. That seems a bit wild to me, but time marches on, always has and always will. Evidently, kicking and screaming and digging in your feet doesn’t seem to help. As you enter retirement age, there are joys, sorrows, and some scattered pain, but we still tend to be more possessive about our time. Like, HEY, I’m not done with the day yet!!

A week ago, I backed into our Rav 4 and damaged the hood. Other than a ding or two to my ego, it's all serviceable. A rental car is covered by insurance, so this old guy gets to drive a brand-new Mustang for a couple of weeks. I went into Enterprise, figuring I’d get a little SUV or Jeep, but the ladies behind the counter seemed excited to see me drive off in a Mustang convertible. So I thought, what the heck, why not? Besides being very low to the ground, it's a bit hard to get in or out of it, and the trunk only has room for one ice chest; it’s fun to drive. Not every day can you add something to your bucket list and check it off on the same day.

I’ve created some beautiful art this week. At least I’m excited about it. Some will be my favorite, for sure. Before coming up to the forest, I had a couple of long sessions in the studio with Elley, and that gave me a good amount of material to work with this summer. It’s interesting that we can go into the studio, and she can just start posing while nude, and we capture her essence so well every time. And that hair!! I expect the extra trust that comes from our friendship being a big part of that success. Or, she’s just that good, and I’m just lucky. Probably it.

As promised in a few past issues, I wanted to add new training content to my artistic photography website. I sat down and filmed one of my edits with my usual banter of why and how as I went along. Those always seem to take about 30 minutes. It has been almost four years since my surge of over 100 videos about lighting, editing, and building one’s style was created as the heart of the site. As one might imagine, my style and processes have changed in that time. So, adding new training to show the subtle differences makes sense. It enhances the whole idea of a style and how style is elusive and constantly changing as our souls grow with life experience.

And I get to sound like Bob Ross. And that’s always fun. I don’t have many happy little clouds in my art, but happy little shadows can happen…often.

My training site was built in 2018. I did it because photographers wanted to learn from me, but distance was a problem. A year later, the pandemic started, and the number of clients surged. There were far fewer shoots going on, so it was a good time to learn new techniques.

My training is half of this website. If you enter the site from the opening page you are asked if you want the regular site or the training site. Now, each one will get a new page each week.

Take some time to sit and enjoy art. It’s good for your soul.

I support an organization called Model Society. So many wonderful artists to inspire me. Check out their magazine!

To be a great conversationalist, ask questions and listen. Repeat.

“Be curious, not judgemental” - Walt Whittman

And if you’d like to give me feedback on these Museletters, feel free! I love to hear from you all! - Contact form