Picture of the Month – December 2011

Ferndale’s Main Street is a beautiful sight year round, but at Christmas time it has a special glow about it, dominated by America’s tallest living Christmas Tree. I’ve taken photos of the tree every year we’ve been in Ferndale, and for this year’s photo I wanted to take a panoramic view of Main Street and the tree.

Cruising down Main Street I was lucky to find a parking spot right in front of Valley Grocery. This put me directly across from the Ferndale Emporium, one of the prettiest Victorian buildings on Main St. No sooner than I pulled out the camera, someone came and parked his truck right in front of the Ferndale Emporium. Somewhat disappointed, I figured he had every right to park there. But then he never even got out of his truck. I was tempted to ask him to move but I figured he’d eventually move. He didn’t.

So I started taking the photos and when it was apparent his truck wasn’t deserving to be the center of attention, I moved down the street a bit and started over. Taking a panoramic, especially at night is an extended process as have to take several exposures as you pan the camera around, in this case 180 degrees. I was just finishing up the last exposure when the fire siren went off, so I had to pack up and leave before the last exposure was done.

I figured I could always try again another night this year. But then we left to go out of town for Christmas and when I got back I came down with a flu that kept me a short distance from the bathroom for several days. By the time I was feeling better, the lights were off. So my grand plan for a Main Street Christmas pano never got realized. Which was really a shame because we had some great weather and some beautiful sunsets that would have made great pictures.

Picture of the Month – August 2011

On August 7th, Ferndale celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fernbridge. Rick Phillis, who chaired the celebration committee, went above and beyond the call of duty when he decided to light the bridge for it’s birthday party.

Rick borrowed several generator powered construction lights from Wendt Construction and placed them so each arch was lit.

I owe Greg Rumney for the use of his tripod, since I foolishly walked out of the studio without mine.

I took this shot by wading into the Eel River until I was waist deep in the water. I did remember to bring my waders!

A photograph created by Matt Knowles of Aesthetic Design & Photography in Ferndale has recently been accepted into the General Collection of Professional Photographers of America’s 2011 International Photographic Competition. Knowles’ work will be on display at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, January 15-17, 2012, in New Orleans, La. This exhibition is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention of professional photographers and several photographic associations.

A panel of eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from more than 4,000 total submitted entries. Judged against a standard of excellence, over 1,500 images were selected for the General Collection and Knowles’ image was one of only 200 that were also selected to be published in the 2011 Showcase book.

The image that Knowles submitted is from a senior portrait session he did for Ferndale High School student Kayla Ghidinelli. In the image Ghidinelli is riding her horse Lady, while her dog Bandit runs along side in the surf. The South Spit beach in Loleta provided the lovely location.

About Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

Established in 1869, PPA is an international non-profit association for professional
photographers. PPA exists to assist its 22,000 members with unparalleled protection, education
and resources to ensure their continued success in the photographic industry.

Picture of the Month – March 2011

March was a wet month in Ferndale, I think it rained every day. So I didn’t get out much to take photographs.

But true to form, although it came in like a lion, it had signs it was going to go out like a lamb. On the last day of the month it finally stopped raining long enough that Lori and I took a walk up Williams Creek Rd. On the way back I noticed this draft horse sticking his nose through an old window in his barn.

By the time I got my camera out and turned on, he had lost interest in the view out the window, so it took some coaxing to get his attention again. Captured with the Pentax point and shoot that I keep in my pocket, it was a good reminder that the best camera is the one the one that’s with you.

Since recovering from our surgeries, Lori and I have been trying to go on more walks around Ferndale to get back our stamina. It’s been hard because the weather has been so cold and wet, but on the days that it hasn’t been pouring we’ve tried to get out for at least a short walk.

On these walks I never fail to realize just how lucky we are to live in this beautiful town. I also usually curse myself because I don’t bring a camera. I need to get back in the habit of always carrying a camera with me, even if it’s just my little point and shoot Pentax.

Today’s walk I grabbed the D80 on the way out the door and took a few pictures of two of my favorite local barns.

The first one is the Becker’s barn, which is still in use. It is very distinctive for it’s roof (which sorry to say, I don’t know the architectural term for this style of roof) and of course the barn red color makes it stand out from the green of the pasture and forested hills.

This second barn sits across the road from the Catholic cemetery. It’s using the latest technology, green roofing.

Picture of the Month

One of the things we really missed by being in the Bay Area for the kidney transplant was missing Ferndale’s Christmas. The Victorian Village and Christmas were made for each other. Fortunately, we got back to Ferndale just before New Years and we got to see the town tree lit up one night. We also got to see Steve and Nancy Courtemanche’s house all lit up like a little gingerbread house.

Picture of the Month – August 2008

On my way out of Ferndale to deliver some photos to a client in Petrolia, I passed this ranch where I noticed a black and white kitten tailing a black and white calf. I drove past them and then realized what a cute photo opportunity I was missing. So I turned the bike around and headed back. Watching the kitten follow the calf around I couldn’t help but think of the children’s book, Are You My Mother?

Picture of the Month – Feb 2008

One of the joys of working back home is that my schedule is more flexible. When a beautiful sunny day shows up at the end February after weeks of endless rain, it’s no time to be sitting behind a computer. So I took the KLR650 up to Monument for a quick mental health run. This is the start of a really beautiful period around Ferndale, when the new grass finally starts showing up and the hills start turning a luscious green. Newborn calfs dot the hills guarded by the protective mothers. This calf was so young, she was still wobbly on her feet.

Picture of the Month – February 2007

The night before I took this picture I had traveled up to Kinman Pond in the hills above Ferndale, hoping to take some night photos in the snow. For this I dusted off my Pentax 645 and loaded some film, something I haven’t done in quite awile. I set up the first shot for a 15 minute exposure, hoping to catch some star trails since the clouds had cleared. About halfway through the exposure the clouds started rolling back in and att 13 minutes into the exposure the snow started coming down again. So we packed up and started our drive back down to Ferndale.

I thought a night of fresh snow would only improve the scene so the next morning we made our way back up to catch the sunrise. We were the first ones to drive down the road and it was really beautiful seeing the trees, barns and fences covered with a fresh 6 inches of new snow. It didn’t look like we’d get a sunrise, but when we got to Kinman Pond, the sun broke out between the fog and clouds for seconds at a time. I worked furiously during these lucky breaks and came away with about a dozen shots that I was really happy with. It started snowing again so we once again started back down, and I stopped at a little barn just to grab one throwaway shot of it, not really expecting much because of the snow. But once again my luck held out and within a few minutes the clouds parted and the sun came back out again, just long enough to get the shots I wanted.

Update 2/14/2011 – I still have the film in the camera from the attempt at night. One of these days I’ll finish the roll and see how it turned out.

Picture of the Month – December 2006

The Collingwood Inn in Ferndale just recently got repainted in new colors, making the other photos I had of it outdated. I also thought it would be a good idea to take photos of it decorated for Christmas. So on the last day of 2006, I took this shot, the final shot of a year that was filled with many beautiful photo opportunities. Hope you all had a great year too.

Update: The Collingwood Inn closed and the home is now a private residence.