Capturing photos of tiny insects is hard enough. They move and wander off the set. They’re so high contrast they can cause exposure control to go whacky. They are so small that auto-focus often selects the background. If all that weren’t enough, add motion and photos of insects on the wing are tricky. F stops […]
photography
Posted inArts + Scene
Erica Botkin’s Mail Art Valentines
Erica Botkin’s long-running mail art valentine project involves the artist posing for pin-up photographs to be sent through the mail as valentines. The photos feature Botkin posing seductively in attitudes ranging from corny to kittenish to risqué. The dose of zany running through it all testifies subtly to Eureka native Botkin’s affinity for deep Humboldt […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Outside Angle
If you’ve been wondering how that book of photographs of Humboldt County by Curran Hatleberg turned out, it’s now available from TBW Books. You might remember Hatleberg, who has an MFA from Yale University, first came to our county to do some trimming (hey, Yale costs) and later taught photography at College of the Redwoods, […]
Posted inPerfect Trips
Perfect Winter Trips
The North Coast doesn’t really do seasons the way the rest of the world does. We don’t believe in dividing the year into four neat periods, each with their own weather. Instead, mix up our rain and fog, darkness and light in varying quantities and distribute it in ever surprising ways throughout the seasons. Our […]
Posted inNews
A Ballet of the Fog and the Stars (Video)
Work week got you down? Or maybe it’s Humboldt’s seemingly endless feed of grisly news? Whatever it is that’s conspiring against you this Wednesday, push it aside and take a moment to appreciate this beautiful place we call home. Heck, thanks to Eureka’s David Wilson, you won’t even have to get out of your chair. […]
Posted inNews
#Eureka24HR: A Day in the Life
Remember #Arcata24HR? It was the project undertaken by local photographer León Villagómez and brought to you in the pages of the Journal last year in which he spent 24 straight hours traversing Arcata and photographing its sights. Well, Villagómez is at it again, this time wanting to capture all Eureka has to offer. He’ll begin […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: Serendipity
Taking macro photos of insects in the wild is kind of like hunting. If everything goes well you find a subject, get the shot and bag your prey. Unlike deer hunting, you do not need to carry home a dead animal and dress it out in the garage, there is no season and, as of yet, […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: Spring in the Air
A walk on a recent sunny day yielded quite a few butterflies. All were busy, few staying in one place long enough to pose for a picture. There were many Pieris marginalis (aka margined whites), which are often mistaken for their close relatives the cabbage butterfly. I saw two Nymphalis antiopa, or mourning cloaks, one […]
Posted inNews
Photography On the Fireline: Professionals and Amateurs
As a record number of wildfires roar through the American West, at least one nationally famous photographer paid a visit to our corner of the world to document this unique moment in national history, and the men and women who work to put out the flames. Mark Thiessen, a photographer with National Geographic, embedded with […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: Flying Rods
The Van Duzen River provides me with endless things to see, photograph and ponder. In my excursions I have never once been disappointed. A while ago I watched a “hatch” of Mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) flying upstream against the gentle breeze following the river. There were hundreds in view and I could imagine how many there must […]
Posted inNews
#Arcata24HR: A Day in the Life
Local photographer Leon Villagomez recently pulled an all nighter in his Arcata home. As he sat in front of his computer processing photos, the sounds of the night trickled in: a crack of a bat and cheers from the ballpark; a police siren; bits of animated conversation; hoots from plaza revelers. That night’s sounds inspired […]
Posted inNews
THREE DAYS LEFT: Photo Contest! Style, Humboldt Style
Hey readers — every year we ask you to whip out your smart phone, pack up your DSLR or dust off that old 35mm camera to frame and snap some photos that scream “Humboldt.” That time has come again, and this year we’re asking you to go out (or in) and capture Humboldt’s best styles. […]