Lenscratch Family Exhibit

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

There are some interesting opportunities on The Lenscratch blog organized and run by photographer Aline Smithson. I recently had a photo included in the Thanksgiving "family" exhibition. My image above was conceptual and symbolic on what family means to me. Other artists were more specific in literal images of family and family life. Have a look, it's fun.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. My husband and I went over to Sarasota Florida to visit our daughter Alexandra. The weather was good except for a few inclement moments. We stayed in a hotel on Lido Key Beach. We've tried two hotels there and do enjoy being right on the gulf. We found a wonderful sushi restaurant also. Contact me if your interested in more info. Here are a few images from the trip. When I download more images perhaps I'll put up a few more. We had a great time.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Workshop with Anna Tomczak

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I had the great pleasure of taking a workshop with artist photographer Anna Tomczak shown above. It took place at Palm Beach State College Eissey Campus. If you are not familiar with Anna's work I have included some examples below. She is an early pioneer using the large format Polaroid camera. She generally assembles the images in front of the camera and then shoots. Of course, this is one method and she naturally uses many others. Please stop by her website to experience more of her wonderful work and workshop offerings.

Holga Fun

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

More Holga Experiments

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I really like these sensitive results that i am getting from the Holga. What fun this is.

Holga Experiments

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

This is one of my first experiments with the Holga. The funny funky plastic fantastic film camera. I'll post more images tomorrow. I really enjoy the very unusual quality that it gives. I can tell I'm going to be Holga crazy for a while. What took me so long?

Turkey Vultures

I found out what the birds are below. They are called Turkey Vultures. They feed exclusively on dead animals. They have no feathers on their heads which gives their faces a brutal appearance. The reason for this is, so that no bacteria takes root on their heads which are frequently inside the carcasses of dead animals. So, I guess they didn't nab the neighbors dogs the other night.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Everything in Florida grows vigorously. Look at this bird. I suppose it's a healthy hawk of some kind, can't be sure. The wing span must be about 3 feet. They fly over head frequently and sometimes quite low. The other evening was simply beautiful. I was outside enjoying the weather when I noticed high above me maybe 50 or so of these hawks swarming about.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Eventually they started swooping down in copious numbers. I wondered what they were doing? Hunting for food? They were circling over the neighbors house when suddenly I heard their dogs barking and shrieking, making an awful racket. I wasn't able to see what was happening but all I could think is that the birds were after their small dogs. Either after the dogs themselves or their food. There's a preserve not far from here called Grassy Waters. I've been contemplating going there to photograph. My only deterrent is that they have alligators and I heard they are frisky this time of year. It is not a zoo where there are protective barricades. This is a natural habitat. Scary for a northern girl like me.

Happy Halloween and Youngs Farm

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Behind the walls of this quaint little farm house there exists some very yummy food stuffs. Especially the home made fruit pies, tea cakes and cookies. I played on this farm through most of my youth. I was lucky to have plenty of brothers and sisters to join in with me. My favorite game was hide n seek in late summer when the corn stalks would grow incredibly tall, way beyond my size. It was really thrilling because we couldn't see one another only hear one another. The sun would set, it was growing dark and the bats would be out flying around. You could just make them out against the deep blue sky that was not yet black. My older brother told me the bats would make a nest in my hair if I wasn't careful. Of course I believed him. It was scary because the bats would swoop down low and dart about right above my head.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

This is what the farm looks like at Halloween. Straight ahead at the farthest trees is where I lived. This farm is on the north shore of Long Island in Nassau County. Very close to the Long Island Sound as well. It's a beautiful area known as the Gold Coast. I was very privileged to grow up here. 45 minutes from Manhattan and yet so bucolic. The flavor of the area has changed somewhat but because of the strict zoning laws has remained very much the same. Some farms in the area have had to close and have become vast open spaces with mega mansions scattered about. Almost surreal looking because there are hardly any trees. Quite a few horse farms still exist and driving around the area is still very pleasant. I have very fond memories of crazy, wild Halloweens of my youth.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.