Norma TalmadgeNorma Talmadge 1922. This is Norma Talmadge, a beautiful silent film star of the early 20th Century. I found the original black and white had been scanned and posted on the internet as I did research on the project resulting in my 'Vintage Beauty' gallery on this site. I loved the dress and the chair and the pose so set out to color enhance Ms. Talmadge and give her new life. After I printed the image on Velvet Fine Art paper by Epson, I applied tiny light-catching materials to replicate the dress ornamentation as it might have appeared in 1919. The finished piece is 16x20 and joins others in my growing collection of glamorous women of the era. The video helps the viewer to imagine how exciting this piece is in person. What do you think?

Bayou Sorrel lies in the heart of the Atchafalaya Basin in southern Louisiana. The basin is the largest refuge for wetland birds in the country and home to some spectacular bald cypress trees. On June 24, 2012, my brother and I went with our guide, Dean Wilson into the swamps to experience the beauty and grandeur of this bayou.

No alligators revealed themselves but herons and egrets stood gracefully posing as we slid by in our small boat. Dean is invested in preserving the old cypress trees from poachers who cut them down for mulch. It has become a problem and thanks to people like this who keep public awareness at the forefront of his protective fight, the native stand like the one pictured above will be safe for the future.

When the motor was turned off and we sat drifting, large birds flew in the distance, beyond my lens, seeking a fresh fishing spot or hoping to catch a crawfish for dinner. There were other small craft with people fishing in some of the nearby channels, but Dean called this one a 'natural 'bayou and for whatever reason, we found ourselves alone here. I couldn't have been happier.

The time was too short and the sky free of clouds, a detail I could do nothing about at the time. Others can be content with what they capture at the instant the shutter clicks, but as for me, I refuse to let limitations such as time and nature encircle me. Who knows. On another day at another time, this might be exactly what Bayou Sorrel looks like.

As I view this in all its 12 inch glory, I am a little disappointed all the details aren't visible as they appear in the 44 inch width of my original. Oh well, it can't be helped.

The beach at sunrise has become a bit of an obsession for me. The sky is never the same; the ocean, the birds, the sand and the air can vary dramatically. And so on this particular morning as my friend Viktoria and I arrived to take in the early beauty of the beach at Port Aransas, we were met with a spectacular sight. A storm had recently swept through, taking with it the seaweed we were accustomed to seeing and leaving behind a huge bent log, rising up from the sand like a large sea creature. The sky took my breath away!

Normally one can drive on the sandy road that runs beside the dunes separating the water from the homes. What a shock to see no road at all. A layer of water, maybe 3 inches deep was continually supplied by unusual, low waves.

We parked a distance away and walked in the very shallow water to inspect the beached log and to marvel at the inspirational sky. The wind was whipping Vik's orange dress and hair, taking my voice away with it. She could barely hear me calling out to her to move this way and that. Vik is not a professional model but did a masterful job of creating lyrical movement for my camera.

Perhaps the most beautiful feature of this sunrise was the large opening in the clouds which allowed white light to pour onto my subject. I am still awestruck by the fact, and grateful as well, that there are never many people on the beach at sunrise. On this morning, we had it all to ourselves.