Create. Explore. Hidden Canyons.

This Spring's "Wow! Landscape Photography" workshop brings us lush landscapes from recent rains.  Whether you're new to this popular workshop or want to return, join us April 21st and 28th, 3 to 8 pm for springtime photo magic in Mt. Diablo's hidden canyons!

This popular workshop fills fast. It's fun, creative and folks love the camaraderie and new ways to express their connection to nature.

Details and register:   

https://tinyurl.com/yd682my3

Point Reyes Workshop on Nov. 5th

This workshop is at a fantastic location that I love sharing with students. Experience the magic of autumn light at one of Point Reyes’ amazing beaches. This field workshop includes a short lecture on composition and exposure before you start transforming 'Wow!' moments into creative expressions of your personal vision in afternoon and sunset light. Optional no-host dinner after the workshop at a great nearby restaurant!

Details and Register here:  https://tinyurl.com/ycjmkdm3    
Create an account to register.
                                                            
Only 4 spots left!   

See My New Images: Lenscratch "Conversations" Online Exhibition

Two of my new collaborative photos with fellow photographer J.M. Golding are in featured in Lensratch's new "Photographic Conversations," online now.  For a few years, J.M. and I have had a visual conversation going, as a way to share our creative and life experience without words. This process has inspired me to see differently, go outside my comfort zone, loosen up the creative muscle...just play.  

Collaboration with another artist, mixing it up, straying beyond habit and convention turns out to be good for the soul.  Sometimes it feels like a bucket of ice water that wakes me up with a jolt, other times it's a meditative discovery of what's new in the familiar of my everyday.  

Whatever form collaboration takes, it's expansive.  It ripples into my other creative projects. It flows into the rest of life.

See the exhibition and be inspired to go beyond the ordinary.

Our collaboration is on page 2:

http://lenscratch.com/2017/09/the-2017-photographic-conversations-exhibition/

(If this link doesn't take you there, copy and paste it into a new window in your browser.  Enjoy!)

Wow! Landscape Photography April 29th & May 6th

This Spring's "Wow! Landscape Photography" workshop brings us the most lush landscapes in years.  Whether you've not taken this popular workshop before or are thinking of returning, consider joining us April 29th and May 6th, 3 to 8 pm for springtime photo magic in Mt. Diablo's hidden canyons! 

This popular workshop fills fast. It's fun, creative and folks love the camaraderie and new ways to see nature.  For details and to register: https://tinyurl.com/l5jlsuq  

Please mail me at reynolds.sue@gmail.com with questions.  

I look forward to seeing you soon!

New Photo Selected by Pulitzer Prize Winner for Oakland, CA Exhibit

I'm excited to announce that one of my new "Everyday Native" series photos has been selected by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Judy Walgren of ViewFind for this new exhibit at Gray Loft Gallery in Oakland.  Gray Loft Gallery voted Best Art Gallery in the 2016 Oakland Magazine Reader's Choice Awards and is a hidden gem in Jingletown.

Come to the opening reception and see amazing images by Bay Area photographers! 
Saturday, Feb. 11th, 4 to 7 pm. 
2nd Friday Reception March 11, 6 to 9 pm 
Closing reception & wine-tasting Saturday, March 18th, 3 to 5:30pm     

Gallery hours:  Saturdays, 1 to 5 pm, Sundays by appointment.
2889 Ford St., 3rd Floor  
Oakland, CA 94601  
grayloftgallery.com

New Workshop: Autumn Magic at Pt. Reyes

                                                           Sue Reynolds copyright 2016

I'm excited to be teaching a new photo workshop at Pt. Reyes at a wonderful beach and bluffs location.  This is one of my favorite places to photograph anytime, but especially this time of year. Experience autumn light, a short lecture and time to experience and translate the magic of this beach into your own creative vision.

Sunday, November 6th  from 1 - 5:30pm
Details and register:  http://tinyurl.com/jecbn57

Optional no-host dinner at a great Pt. Reyes Station restaurant after the workshop.

"Red Fancy Dancer" is a Gold Selection at International Exhibit

I'm excited that "Red Fancy Dancer, Arlee Celebration, Flathead Nation" -- a Native American photograph from my "Still Here" book -- will be featured as a Gold Selection in an international juried exhibit, "Photography: The Full Spectrum."

 

It opens April 28th at The North Valley Art League in Redding, CA and is up through May 30th.
Directions, hours: http://www.nval.org/Contact.php
Online gallery for this amazing exhibit coming soon!

 

 

Wow! Landscape Photography Workshop -- Seeing Anew Starts April 11th

 

N. Scott Momaday said, "I realize my humanity in proportion as I receive my reflection in the landscape that enfolds me.  It has always been so."

We are tied to our landscapes in ways we may not verbalize, yet the power of these wild places works within us.  I was taken into wild places since infancy.   Nature feels like home to me, a sanctuary that restores and calms me.   It gives me a renewed knowing of my place in the world.  

Realize your own creative vision of wild places in my "Wow! Landscape Photography" workshop.   Two Saturday afternoons into evening on April 11th and 18th.   

Details and register:   925-943-5846  or http://tinyurl.com/l5jlsuq

Wow! Middle Earth is Right Here

 

That's how it looked yesterday as I hiked Round Valley, east of Mt. Diablo.  Then I thought about the first people who called this area home.  According to archeologists, California Indians from the west and east socialized and traded here going back thousands of years, based on several ancient sites in the valley.

If you live in or are visiting the Bay Area on Saturday April 11th and 18th, and you love landscape photography, check out my "Wow! Landscape Photography" class in Walnut Creek, CA and nearby Mt. Diablo's hidden canyons.  Walk where Bay Miwok people lived and remember:  Mt. Diablo was and is sacred ground. 

Register at 925-943-5846or http://tinyurl.com/l5jlsuq
 

Haida G’waii – Returning to the Language

Last summer I visited Haida G’waii, home of the Haida people in northwestern British Columbia.  This remote chain of islands near Alaska draws few visitors except sports fishermen and people who love silence and stunning beauty.  But there’s something else happening when I look beyond steep mountains meeting ocean.  The Haida are returning to their language. 

Language advocacy, the renewing of Native languages and thereby tribal cultures nearly extinguished by colonization, is on the rise across North America.  Visiting the Skidegate Haida Immersion Program (S.H.I.P.) for the first time, I’m an outsider struck by contrasts.  This fishing village is small and quiet; the S.H.I.P. longhouse is large and filled with the sound of spoken Haida.  Elders and a few others wear professional headphones, using mics to learn and share.  A sound mixing board sits at the far end of the room, run by a young Haida man. 

I caught Pat, pictured here, outside the longhouse taking a break before she returned to play spoken Haida bingo.

S.H.I.P. was founded in 1998 because:

Ga ḵ’aayas gina g̱ii guudang.ngaay hlkuuxiidas

 - The concern of the elders

 Ga X̱aayda Kil g̱aay idsda sing.gwa’ad gyin

 - Is that once the fluent Haida Speakers pass away

 X̱aayda Kil idsda gaagu g̱as ga

 - The Haida Language would be lost from us

 X̱aayda yahk’ii sg̱wanang giyuu id sdaahll

 - We wish to remain true Haidas always

Still Here: First Urban Reservation Photo Book Collaboration

My new photo book collaboration with Salish Indian poet and friend Victor Charlo is the first between a white urban observer and a reservation Indian.  It launched to a standing room only crowd at PhotoCentral in Hayward, CA on Nov. 1st, along with my new exhibit premiere.  Beautiful evening!

Though Vic rarely travels outside Montana, he flew in from his home on the Flathead Reservation to read his poems from the new book, sing a Chippewa Cree song and greet the public.  I spoke about why I'm creating bridges of understanding and the Ohlone, first people to call the East Bay home, were honored.  Ohlone Indians Andrew Galvan and Vincent Medina shared a beautiful cultural presentation while folks enjoyed traditional foods including acorn loaf, pine nuts and shell fish.  All Nations' beautiful songs and drum got everyone moving in a Round Dance.

One attendee said, "Your new book and exhibit are contributing vibrantly to bring people together across cultures."  Exactly. 

As I listen to many Natives Americans, and as I document their resurrection against long odds to reclaim traditions, something new emerges.  Still Here: Not Living in Tipis moves us past stereotypes and racism to allow Native people to appear as themselves. Vic's poems of his own odyssey walking in two worlds "leave me breathless," according to one reader.

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/stillherenotlivingintipis

Buy it  http://www.blurb.com/b/4608623-still-here-not-living-in-tipis

Meet First Nations People Where You Live

One hot summer day while I sat at my Crow friends' camp during their tribe's celebration in Montana, a boy shared a painful truth.  Of mixed American Indian and white heritage, he told how hard it was to hear his schoolmates' ignorance about Native Americans.  Their racism hurt.

He asked me to get to know the First Nations people where I live, to create relationships.

I've begun.  While planning my new "Still Here" exhibition, I met with Ohlone Indians Andrew Galvan and Vincent Medina.  Their ancestors came to the Spanish missions in 1794 at Mission Dolores, San Francisco and a bit later at Mission San Jose in Fremont, CA.  Today, at Mission Dolores, Andrew is the first Indian curator at any of California's 21 missions, while his nephew Vincent is assistant curator.

Invited to take Vincent's tour of the Mission, I gained a new view of California Indians' role in the creation of these institutions.  Meeting Andy and Vincent at Mission San Jose, I learned how their Ohlone Indian family tree intertwines with Spanish, Mexican and U.S. history there, too.  Making portraits, hearing stories and reading Vincent's blog helps me understand Ohlones, the first people to call the East Bay home, firsthand.

To connect with Ohlone Indians:

2013 Ohlone Gathering, Oct. 6th from 10am -- 4:30pm at Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, CA
"Still Here" exhibit, Nov. 1st opening reception 6-9pm at PhotoCentral, Hayward.  Andrew and Vincent will share Ohlone culture, I'll share my experiences  photographing Native American people since 2005.  Exhibit runs through Jan. 12, 2014.
        

Capture Autumn Photo Magic

My "Exploring Landscape Photography" workshop takes us into Mt. Diablo's hidden canyons, where we discover how to capture the magic of autumn light in our photographs.  Sign up now!

Sept. 21 & 28 from 2-7pm in Walnut Creek

Register here:  http://ezreg.walnutcreekrec.org/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=1498&LanguageId=1&LanguageIndex=1&SCheck=282868780&SDT=41505.4317117708

Ride a Good Road

Starting the New Year, I reflect on how I want this journey to be. Winter is a time for people everywhere to dream, tell stories and come together. May you ride a good road in 2013, one that makes your dreams real and brings you safely home.

Workshop Explores Hidden Landscapes

Two beautiful Mt. Diablo hidden canyons

Learning, fun and creative community

Plenty of personal attention and critiques

Autumn inspiration in two Saturday afternoons

 

My "Exploring Landscape" photo workshop starts Oct. 20th!

 

Register: http://tinyurl.com/99f6oyl

You can also register by phone 9am to 4pm Mon-Fri: 925-943-5858 

Space is limited to 10 students, ages 16 and up

 

Finding the Center

  

 

Attending the Stanford University powwow in May is an annual rite for me.   Like most traditions, it helps me find my center.  It’s a good way to begin a new season of Native American celebrations, and it’s close to home.

Yet within the comfort of tradition, it also feels important to find something new.  That’s what I was seeking when I created this image.  I’d been experimenting with new ways to see traditional dancers when I noticed the overwhelming flood light in my camera frame.   Instead of going with my first instinct – to eliminate the large, distracting white light from my composition – I decided to make it part of my subject.  Though this is a night shot, the huge light becomes the sun.  Many Plains tribes practice traditional Sun Dances, which once were banned and then later restored by federal law. In these communities, this ceremony marks the beginning of a new year.  It’s a time for them to renew their traditional spirituality, asking for a good year for their families and tribe. 

This photograph shows the timeless dance at the start of summer, when night and all it represents transforms into day.  The sun is at its zenith and a dancer celebrates life.  

 

What a Point & Shoot Can Do

On April 28^th, I was watching a busy Saturday evening crowd gather in front of Oaxaca City’s colonial cathedral.   The capital of Mexico’s state of Oaxaca, this high altitude southern city is a place filled with a flavor all its own:  one strongly indigenous.  There are 16 Native languages spoken here, while few speak English.   In Oaxaca, I am a tiny minority.

Carrying only a Canon Elph SD1000 isn’t my typical MO, but I was recovering from flu just in time to take this vacation, so I had to travel super-light.  This meant my little camera was always with me, and I was connecting first with people, places and what was going on around me, grabbing shots on the fly. I’d forgotten my camera’s manual, so I chose to capture images on the Elph’s Auto setting, selecting only format size (Large Jpeg) and whether to use Flash or not.   

Going light and simple means:  being able to have direct experience without “serious” hardware demands. I normally shoot with a Canon 7D, and sometimes a Speedlite 580 flash.  As familiar as I am with this equipment, “lug, set, adjust and shoot” takes more energy than I had this time around.  Keeping one’s eyes wide open for the unexpected and shooting simple makes photographing even more spontaneous.  Street photography  can be even fresher.   I skipped bracketing, and thanks to LightRoom 3, my post-production  recovered  exposure-challenged images.

In this photo  of Baroque Oaxaca Cathedral and its plaza,  Saturday night throngs in contemporary, even fashionista, clothing celebrate among balloons and around a stage that later hosted a protest for education reform.   Undoubtedly, some of these people come from remote, poor  Zapotec, Mixtec and other Native villages that dot the rough mountains covering most of the state.   The villages’ inaccessibility is part of why this area has such a vibrant Native culture.