cbparkerphoto

A Celebration of Dolphins

Last Thursday was National Dolphin Day. I’ve been pretty busy fulfilling orders for my Mother’s Day sale but I had time to post this image on Facebook and it got a lot of attention. I thought it would be fun to share some more information about this rather unique shot.

I’m quite proud of this photograph. It was awarded a prize in an exhibition held at the San Diego Museum of Art a few years ago.

We were sailing off the coast of Southern California early one morning, embarking on a passage north to spend the summer in British Columbia. I was perched on the bow of the boat, legs hanging over the side but with one arm wrapped securely around a stanchion for safety, shooting straight down at a pod of dolphins that were riding the boat’s bow wave.

With the rising sun low in the sky to port, the starboard side of the boat’s hull was in deep shadow, which enabled me to capture a clean image with no glare. The result is so abstract that often viewers guess at the subject matter! What you see is the back of a dolphin rising to the surface, dorsal fin just breaking clear of the water as bubbles from his exhaled breath cascade down his back. 

This is a true SOC (straight out of camera) image. I love to put my personal touch on my photographs back in my digital darkroom, but there was literally nothing I could do to improve on this image.

Here’s another shot I captured the same morning. These are Pacific white-sided dolphins, abundant off the west coast of North America as well as other parts of the world. Luckily for me, they are renowned for their fondness of riding the bow waves of boats!

Posted by Carol in California

The Raven Logs: More North Island Cruising

…from an email dated Mar. 19, 2005

“It took a few days to get our internet connection going. There always seems to be some catch every time we come into port and try to get online. However on this stopover we have a wifi connection being broadcast throughout the marina where Raven is presently berthed, enabling us to sit in the cockpit and surf the web with ease. Very nice for a change!

After we dropped Amy back ashore after our outing to the Poor Knights, we started cruising north towards the Bay of Islands at the very northeastern tip of New Zealand. The weather is warmer and more settled here and the wind and waves have been more moderate. Good conditions for Mike and me to practice boat handling without too much stress. Navigation is interesting, due to all the islands and shoals, but we have a really cool computer program called MaxSea that runs on the computer and shows our live position and current course via GPS overlaid on accurate charts of the area. Really simplifies steering!

Every anchorage we stop over at is located in some beautiful little bay with a pleasant swim or snorkel or dinghy ride to shore and some kind of vigorous hike around the island. Since all the hiking tracks start at sea level, they all strike off directly uphill – no switchbacks in New Zealand – the path goes straight up! When you arrive at the top, the path then heads straight down again in order to allow you the privilege of climbing straight up again on the next ridge!

A storm with lots of rain was forecast but never materialized, so we have been having truly wonderful weather day after day with the exception of a five-minute downpour on our shopping day in Paihia.

Anticipating the above bad weather, we headed to civilization this past Thursday and anchored near a town named Russell. It was once quite notorious as a wild and wooly hangout for whalers and other assorted seafarers but now is peaceful and charming. Russell was the site of the so-called War of the Girls inby 1830. It started when two Maori girls got to fighting over the favors of a visiting whaling captain. Their argument deteriorated to insults and slapping, and their families joined in to avenge the insults to each side. The result was an actual war in which hundreds were killed before the local missionaries negotiated a peace settlement.

The local church is the oldest in New Zealand, scarred by musket fire and cannonball. Some of the funds for its construction were donated by Charles Darwin on his way by aboard the HMS Beagle. We joined in on $10 steak night at the local Boat Club and shopped every store in town.”


Posted by Carol in New Zealand

Bragging About my Sister

“Sunset Silhouette © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

I did NOT take this photo!

That honor belongs to my photographer sister Patty Hosmer, who recently was awarded an amazing “3rd Place – Honor of Distinction” in the 15th Annual International Color Awards photography competition. This is a worldwide photography contest that drew 7,000 entries from more than 38 countries in the professional division that she entered. What an incredible achievement to place in the Top Three! This same image also won 1st Place in the professional division of the Silhouettes Category.

Another of Patty’s award-winning photographs is this beautiful Western Lifestyle image “Gathering With God’s Rays” which won Best in Competition in the Calgary Stampeded’s 2017 Photo Competition. Patty and I traveled together to Calgary during the Stampede to accept her prize.

“Gathering With God’s Rays” © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

Patty was taking beautiful photographs before I ever got started. As a matter of fact, I bought my first professional camera gear from Patty when she was making the switch from Nikon to Canon. It’s fun to share our passion with each other, from ideas to editing techniques. Best of all, we have traveled worldwide together taking advantage of exciting photo workshops.

Our very first joint venture was to Prague in the Czech Republic way back in 2007. Since then we have shared adventures to Africa’s Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, the Katmai Wilderness in Alaska, an Icelandic Horse Farm in Iceland, Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, Kauai and the Big Island in Hawaii, Mammoth in California, Photoshop World in Las Vegas, and next summer we have plans to travel to France to photograph the beautiful white horses of the Camargue.

© Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

Patty is a lifelong horse person, a trait she and I both inherited from our mother who was an avid horsewoman all her life. Here we are at ages 9 (Patty) and 11 (me) at the Barrington Horse Show in Illinois.

© June Fallaw

Patty started her equine photography career specializing in champion Quarter Horses on the show circuit. Her in-depth knowledge of horse behavior and conformation helps her produce superior equine portraiture. From horses her business expanded to include portraits of girls with their horses, and eventually to high school senior portraits taken in natural surroundings. Even to this day, I always invite her to photography my own horses because she has such a good eye for best showcasing their quality. This is a head shot of my Holsteiner stallion Clintord I.

“Head Portrait of Clintord” © Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

These days Patty is an avid Welsh Corgi fancier as well, competing her homebred dogs in both conformation and agility with great success. Of course Corgi portraiture is another of her talents!

© Patty Hosmer, HoofPrints Fine Art Photography

If you’d like to see more of Patty’s work, you can check out her website hoofprintsfineart.com or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/hfprints

Posted by Carol in Arizona

The Raven Logs: Tutukaka and the Poor Knights

…continued from an email dated Mar. 13, 2005

“Next morning we sailed from Great Barrier to Tutukaka, a small port town on the mainland north of Auckland. We spent a couple of nights in the marina and this afternoon we will head further north up the coast towards the Bay of Islands.

Yesterday we met up with Amy Bankoff. For those of you who don’t know her, Amy is formerly from the Phoenix area, an equestrian who as a junior rider used to ride and show my Cross Creek Farms horses for me. She emigrated to New Zealand a couple of years ago and now lives in the Tutukaka area. Believe it or not, she and I reconnected this past December around a baggage carousel at LAX, both of en route to Arizona from New Zealand for the Christmas holidays.

Amy joined us for a sail from the coast to the Poor Knights Islands. Amy is four months pregnant and we pounded through some pretty rough waves, causing a bout of seasickness. We almost turned back but fortunately Amy chose to tough it out. As soon as we anchored in the lee of the island out of the wind and waves, she revived and we all went snorkeling.

The Poor Knights are considered one of the five best diving spots in the world, according to my teenage idol Jacques Cousteau. The island group is protected as a nature reserve and the surrounding waters are a marine reserve. The water is spectacularly clear. You can stand on the deck of the boat and look down to see literally thousands of fish fifty feet below the surface.

We took our dinghy to explore the Rikoriko Cave, the largest sea cave in the world. It measures 139 meters long, 80 meters wide, and 35 meters high, as well as another 26 meters deep below the surface. The cavern has great acoustics and is regularly used for a cappella concerts. The musicians play from a boat inside the cave, and the audience floats around the entrance in their own watercraft. RikoRiko in the Maori language means ‘Dancing Light’ for the way sunlight reflecting off the surface of the sea shimmers on the ceiling of the cave

Sailing back to Tutukaka from Poor Knights was much more comfortable downwind. Amy recovered nicely and met us for dinner at a funky restaurant called Snappa Rock in the harbor. Amy’s first job after arriving in New Zealand was bartending at this very same restaurant.

This morning we are doing laundry, changing the oil (engine, generator and transmission), checking the internet, shopping and, in other words, just catching up on real life. We’re sailing out of here at noon and it may be several more days before we get back to you with the next update.”


Posted by Carol in New Zealand

Sonoran Spring

The scent of spring is in the air here in the desert southwest. Our daytime highs are headed into the 80s and maybe even a few low 90s (but it’s a dry heat!) this week and next . We never know – a week ago our nighttime temps were in the 30s and last year it snowed right about now.

Seasoned desert dwellers know to judge the true arrival of consistently warm weather by observing the mesquite trees. These hardy natives only leaf out when all threat of frost has passed. In contrast, cottonwood trees offer an early harbinger of spring – they start to bud in February and by now they are fully crowned with new green leaves.

The image above is a favorite of mine. I have it framed and hanging in my home. The pink flowers are Mexican primroses. They bloom enthusiastically every year, showing their pink faces for at least a month before subsiding into nondescript ground cover until the next spring. This was an exceptionally good season for them and my backyard was filled with billows of pink.

To capture this image, I slipped out of the house at dawn. Stretching out flat on the ground on my stomach, I placed my wide-angle lens as close as possible to the flowers while still maintaining focus. Visions of rattlesnakes lurking in the ground cover definitely danced through my head. The mesquite tree in the distance and the glimpse of our Catalina mountain range on the horizon add environmental context to this wildflower portrait.

Another of my favorite spring subjects are the vibrant blooms of the Santa Rita Prickly Pear cactus. The contrast between the profuse yellow flowers and the lavender paddles of the cacti always catches my eye. I have spent hours circling a clumb of cactus trying for close-up compositions. Predictably, I have come away with multiple minuscule needles embedded in my fingers and hands as a result of brushing up too close.

Still I’m hopeful that the chilly winter temps are done for now. I’m in a spring mood!

Posted by Carol in Arizona

The Raven Logs: Cruising the Hauraki Gulf

from an email dated Mar. 13, 2005

“Between hikes our exercise consists of snorkeling – now that we have proper equipment it is all coming back quickly. I learned to scuba dive in high school in the early 60s, but it has been decades since I practiced those skills and WOW! The technology has really changed!

Anouk is a certified dive instructor and keeps a sharp eye on us, so we are in good hands with our refresher diving lessons. We will probably buy scuba tanks before the trip is over. It’s the end of the season here so maybe we’ll get some good buys. Definitely we will want dive gear when we voyage to the South Pacific this summer.

For our last day on Great Barrier, we rented a car and drove around to the east coast of the island which is exposed to the Pacific and definitely not cruiser friendly. I was the designated driver and it was a bit of a challenge. For starters, in New Zealand they drive on the opposite side of the road, as they do in the UK. I was constantly getting into the car on the wrong side and switching on the windshield wipers when I meant to activate the turn signal.

Today’s drive took us along sinuous mountain roads with lots of blind curves. The narrow roads weren’t wide enough to accommodate two cars so there was always a rush of adrenalin when we met oncoming traffic. Single-lane bridges were especially nerve-racking. The locals have a protocol for sharing them, but to us foreigners it felt more like a game of chicken.

We toured a couple of pleasant seaside towns, found a nice café for lunch, and then spent the afternoon at a bucolic beach where sheep lingered in the shade of picnic tables, and we had to wade through an estuary to get to the sand beach proper. With only one other person on the entire shoreline, we were free to enjoy the spectacular scenery and the solitude. And when it was time to leave, there was even a small shack and shower for rinsing off and changing clothes.”

To be continued…

Posted by Carol in New Zealand

Blue Hour Begins

Blue Hour Begins is an oldie but goodie that I photographed in the Sea of Cortez as we were cruising to Cabo San Lucas aboard our sailboat Raven.

The blue hour is a brief span of time, more like 20-30 minutes, that takes place twice a day, once before the sun rises and again after the sun sets. It is a time of deep saturated colors with intense blues, and it is a time valued by photographers for the richness of the light.

The sun was setting as our Raven approached Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. With no wind, we were using our motor to make progress. The sea was flattened and glassy, reflecting those rich colors after the sun sank below the waves.

The superyacht charter agency Yomira selected Blue Hour Begins as the iconic image for their website. I checked out their prices, but the rental fees that reach 1,000,000 euros/week are a bit out of my range! Still, I’m flattered that my image is in such stratospheric company!

I thought the unobstructed, expansive nature of the sky was a good choice for my first foray into multi-panel displays. The presentation is contemporary and impactful. But triptychs are a new format for me and I had to work through a learning curve to set up the 3-panel format and upload it to my website in a user-friendly format.

Posted by Carol in Mexico

The Raven Logs: Cruising Adventures Begin

from an email dated Mar. 9, 2005

“Our cruising adventures begin! Our flight arrived early on a Saturday morning. Rod met us at the airport and drove straight to Gulf Harbour where Raven awaited. The day was spent getting settled on board – unpacking suitcases, stowing our belongings, adjusting to the dramatic time zone change. New Zealand is 19 hours ahead of Tucson and we lost an entire day en route. But we’ll get it back on our return home;-).

So far the weather has been perfect and a variety of activities has kept us quite busy. The morning after our arrival, as soon as we took care of a few remaining chores and errands, we set sail for Great Barrier Island located about 40 miles east of the mainland. We anchored in Whangaparapara Harbor and took the dinghy ashore for a quick look around and a short leg-stretching walk. We spotted our first Kaka, an endangered native parrot.

Over the next few days we sailed from Whangaparapara to Smokehouse Bay where the yachties (New Zealand term) can do their laundry onshore in the provided washtubs and wringers. There is also a fire you can fuel yourself with firewood to heat up water for a hot bath. I think I will stick to Raven’s nice hot water shower and forget the communal tub! However the combo washer/dryer machine aboard the boat is currently on the fritz, so Anouk did do some scrubbing in the wash tubs and hung the laundry out to dry on Raven’s lifelines.

We took a short steep hike from Smokehouse Bay to a high spot with an inspiring view, which involved lots of huffing and puffing and good aerobic exercise. Good practice because it turned out next on the agenda was a serious hike to the highest point on the island, the summit of Mt. Hobson. We were promised an incredible view from the peak, but a drizzly wet cloud settled in and instead we got a pretty good soaking and no view at all. But successfully reaching the highest point on Great Barrier Island, some 3,000 feet above sea level, was still an accomplishment to write home about!

The final stretch to the summit was a seemingly endless staircase (800 steps – Carol counted) courtesy of the Department of Conservation. The wet conditions added to the challenge, making the steep ascent extra slippery. You can see Mike was grateful to finally reach the top! We rewarded ourselves by gobbling our sandwiches quickly, before the bread got soggy, and headed back down.

The hike took 8 hours round trip and involved some talented clawing up steep, slippery gullies, pulling ourselves up by tree roots. For sure my fitness level ticked up a notch or two. Throughout the entire trek I mentally thanked my exercise coach at the gym back home for the workouts. I could definitely feel that training kick in to save me from tumbling down the hillside.

Home again, all in one piece. A hot shower followed by a delicious dinner of wine (lots), salad, cheese and crackers – and then early to bed. High fives all around though, for having finished quite a challenge in good shape.”


Posted by Carol in New Zealand

Love Song

I thought I’d share how an image can progress from a mundane photo to a print-worthy work of art. And to celebrate the successful creation of my new release, I’m offering ‘Love Song’ at a deep discount in an introductory Flash Sale!

A few weeks ago I went on a day trip to Whitewater Draw in southeastern Arizona, only a couple of hours from my home. Sandhill cranes in the tens of thousands are wintering there. They roost in the shallow ponds at night for safety from predators and fly out at sunrise to nearby fields to forage. They return to the ponds midday when the light for photography is harsh and unappealing.

Due to our ongoing drought, the water level was low and the shoreline had receded from the designated observation areas. I used a big 200-600mm zoom to catch the action, but everything was pretty far off in the distance. Here’s the shot I captured, straight from my camera. Not too inspiring, huh?

Sandhill cranes mate for life and they keep the bond strong throughout the year by performing courtship displays, not only during the breeding season but all year around. In the far distance I could see this pair dancing, spreading their wings, strutting, and raising their voices in vocalization. I clicked the shutter and grabbed what I could, but by no means could this be called a masterful ‘in camera’ capture!

The first thing to do was look for a crop to highlight the intended subject matter and eliminate the distractions. The saving grace that makes this possible is the fact that my professional camera is capable of taking high resolution images which allows for such a severe crop without pixellating the image. I tried both horizontal and vertical crops, tweaking until I finally settled on this for starters. But again, the background was an uninspiring muddy brown and still included bits and pieces of neighboring cranes.

Some enhancements in Photoshop eliminated the distractions and brightened and sharpened the details. But it still was not an image to write home about.

Back again in Photoshop, the final step was to merge the subject cranes with an artistic textural background, using digital brush strokes to blend, strengthen or soften the effect as needed. I chose this particular background for the soft complementary colors and the spattered white space that helps to frame the romantic duo and erase the last vestiges of neighboring birds.

Posted by Carol in Arizona

The Raven Logs: Vet Check

from an email dated Dec. 12, 2004

“We thought we’d be able to stay in communication by email with more success than has actually been the case. Our hotel had assured us by phone that it offered internet access, but when we arrived it was non-existent. Eventually we located a wifi service named Kiwifi (which I thought was rather clever) in the harbor area. We signed up, but we have to sit in our rental car in the parking lot to get a good connection, which is not conducive to frequent cyber letters home!

December is the start of summer in New Zealand, but every day so far has been gray and cloudy, in the 60’s with blustery winds between 20 to 30 knots. They tell us it has been like this for three weeks straight! Sweater and jacket weather but not freezing cold. We didn’t go sailing until yesterday, hoping the wind would quiet down a bit. You can tell by the grin on Mike’s face that it was worth the wait! We were out on our sea trial for about 7-1/2 hours, sailing in a brisk breeze around some outer islands off the coast near Auckland. For lunch we anchored in a cove and warmed up with corn chowder cooked by Anouk and served from Raven’s galley.

The final step before finalizing the purchase (and wiring the $$$) is the survey, or pre-purchase exam. As a horse person I think of it as a vet check;-). A crew of technicians had already crawled all over the boat, from bow to stern and top (of the mast) to bottom, checking out all systems while she was berthed in her slip. But the parts underwater needed to be inspected as well. At Gulf Harbour Marina’s expansive yard, Raven was hoisted out of the water on a gigantic rolling lift to provide access for those final inspections, from hull integrity to propeller health.

While all this work was going on, we had time to take in a couple of side excursions, including a visit to Kelly Archer Boatworks, where the first prototype of the Dashews’ newly designed powerboat is under construction, an 83′ long aluminum yacht to be christened Wind Horse. A one-off boat design like this is completely built by hand, an amazing feat in these days of mass production. New Zealand is one of very few countries left in the world where skilled boat builders are capable of pulling this off.

Another memorable occasion was a visit with Jim and Cheryl Schmidt, boating friends of the Dashews who set up the introduction. The Schmidts live on country property bordering a river where their Dashew designed sailboat Wakaroa is tied up to their own private dock. Jim collects antique airplanes and we were treated to not only a tour of the hangar where he houses them, but a joyride for each of us in his vintage, circa 1928, de Havilland Gypsy Moth biplane as well. I really dig the leather helmet!

This morning I went on a two-hour hike through a park close by the Gulf Harbour Marina. It featured a spectacular coastal walk through parkland and wetlands, and then a steep uphill climb into pastures with sheep and Hereford cattle. Wildflowers in profusion colored the fields along with a scattering of large blue birds called pukeko. On the beach pohutukawa trees were in full bloom. This handsome native tree bursts into blossom around Christmas time with a blazing display of red flowers, earning it the title of New Zealand’s Christmas tree.”


Posted by Carol in New Zealand