Saturday, February 23, 2019

Destination: Point Reyes National Seashore

"Destination: Point Reyes No. 1" 2018


Making not taking photographs is important to me. I want to add to the lexicon of imagery, not take something away from it. While traveling last year, I focused on crafting a narrative that would encapsulate the feeling of each place I visited in five images. Like portraiture, landscapes evoke emotions we immediately interpret from our own personal experiences. Those interpretations lead us to read images differently whether they are faces or places.

For example in Destination: Palm Springs, for me the images I made of the desert, with its sandy floor decorated in brittle vegetation and bathed in hard light, conjures feelings of anticipation and vigilance. I want you to experience the powerful wind whipping sand across your face and the dry heat beating down on you.

In todays body of work shot at Point Reyes National Seashore, when I look at these images I feel a sense of trust and contentment. They are quite images that allows you to relax into their silence. I want you to experience the lush green vistas, the dense coastal fog and briny smell of this location.

It is no wonder we gravitate to one color or another throughout our lives and from day to day. From the yellow-orange reds of the desert to the aqua-green blues of the seashore, we emotionally gravitate to different places at different times in our lives which reflect our emotional state. I'm fascinated by color psychology and theory, but I find it even more powerful when I strip out the hue from the image and allow the viewers to color it in themselves.

Julie Green
February 23, 2019

"Destination: Point Reyes No. 2" 2018



"Destination: Point Reyes No. 3" 2018



"Destination: Point Reyes No. 4" 2018



"Destination: Point Reyes No. 5" 2018

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Destination: Palm Springs Part 2

"Destination: Palm Springs No. 1, Part 2" 2018


Continuing my presentation of location shots in the desert of Palm Springs, this set of images was taken just north of San Jacinto Cove. On my second visit to this striking desert town last year, I decided to pull off the first road leading straight into the hillside. I pulled over into the sand and got out. The wind immediately swung my door open with such a forceful blast, I thought the door would tear right off. I didn't realize how windy it was outside.

I mistakenly opened my automatic hatch in the back of my car to get my cameras out. Trying desperately to close it again, the intense gusts of wind ended up breaking my automatic lock. I was finally able to shut the hatch manually and quickly jumped back inside my car to load my film. It was a bit harrowing but thrilling at the same time. The desert was alive, the wind was howling and my sudden awareness that snakes could be afoot added to my trepidation.

The creosote bushes and blue palo verde were shaking in the wind, bobbing to the pattern each gust of wind blew through the vast open desert. In the moments the wind dissipated, I would set up my shot and snap a portrait of the mountains in the distance. Gingerly walking around the sage brush and yucca plants, I was continually snagged by a jagged branch or scrapped at the ankles by a prickly bush. The constant fine mist of sand blowing in the air was my biggest challenge as I was shooting with my Rolieflex and didn't want grit to get into the camera's mechanisms.

I was completely alone in the middle of this valley of the desert and I was in awe. Bits of human debris congregated in small patches, but the dry brush and looming San Jacinto mountain range dominated the landscape. It was a humbling experience, one I look forward to bathing in again.

Julie Green
February 16, 2019



"Destination: Palm Springs No. 2, Part 2" 2018



"Destination: Palm Springs No. 3, Part 2" 2018



"Destination: Palm Springs No. 4, Part 2" 2018



"Destination: Palm Springs No. 5, Part 2" 2018

Saturday, February 9, 2019

Patterns and Tones Turns 6!



Six years of Patterns and Tones! 

After my yearly break in January, I am delighted to start working on my weekly blog again. Today marks the 6th year I've posted to this blog and as long as it continues to be a creative inspiration for me and others, I will share my thoughts and images with you.

On every anniversary I like to present the top 10 most visited blog posts from the previous year. I like to split subjects into two main categories: Patterns (artwork) and Tones (portraits of musicians). 

This years award winners in the Tones department ran the gamut from LA's Permanent Green Light and The Checkers to Seattle's finest The Fastbacks. But the most viewed blog entry went to "A Rave Up with Ron and The Reapers!". This blog entry on this amazing band of musicians continue to see lots of traffic on a daily basis!

You also really enjoyed reading my Caspers, New York Portraits and Sun Shadow series. But it was "Flora as Fashion: Loryn Molia" that broke the record for how many of you visited this blog entry in the Patterns department. I am absolutely thrilled by your response to my embroidered work in the "Home as Hat" and "Flora as Fashion" series.

I am happy to announce that I will be showing these images in a solo exhibition at MuzeuMM gallery in the West Adams district of Los Angeles at the beginning of June. Stay tuned for further announcements of this exbhition!

I look forward to sharing with you my weekly musings again this year. If you would like to subscribe to Patterns and Tones and receive a weekly link to my blog, fill out the form below and I'll be sure to put you on the guest list.

Thank you for your continued support!

Julie Green
February 9, 2019

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required
Email Format




Scroll below to see all the top 5 Patterns and top 5 Tones from 2018
and click on their titles to read the blog entry.


TOP 5 PATTERNS OF 2018


#5    TRACK SHADOWS




#4    NEW YORK DUOS


















TOP 5 TONES OF 2018



















#1    A RAVE-UP WITH RON AND THE REAPERS!