On Assignment: Indoor/outdoor living area by Cross Construction

Earlier this month I photographed an indoor/outdoor living space remodel by Cross Construction here in San Antonio, Texas. Previously, the area where the hardwood floor is now was cement and was part of the outdoor patio. Access to the patio was through a pair of French doors. In the remodeling process, walls were knocked down and the living area was extended, then the folding/sliding doors were added. The owners had a dining room table in this space, which was moved in order to get an unobstructed view for the photographs. Can you imagine how inspiring an art studio would be in a space like this?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

My waterlily stamps debut in March!

Look what I just found! The Garfield-Perry March Party stamp show will host the First Day Ceremony for my four waterlily FOREVER stamps on Friday, March 20 at 11:00 am. The show is March 19-21 in Cleveland, Ohio. Guess who’s planning a road trip to Cleveland in March?

http://www.linns.com/news/breaking-stamp-news/1049/Special-Olympics-Robert-Robinson-Taylor-Martin-Ramirez-stamps-to-be-issued-in-2015

Images available on Iconella Arts

David Von Metz’s site, Iconella Arts, has four of my botanical images for sale. I’ve seen them printed and they are stunning (if I do say so myself). From the site: “Our archival pigment print is produced on heavyweight (300 gsm) fine-textured watercolor paper, made from 100% cotton fiber, archival-certified for 100+ years, acid and lignin free.” Check them out here:

http://www.iconella.com/collectio…/artist/Artist:-Cindy-Dyer

Re-post: Photographs? Well, not technically…

Originally posted 1.28.2010

A few years ago I dabbled in scanning flowers on my Epson flatbed scanner and got some pretty good results. The technique works best if you can cover the flower arrangement with a dark piece of fabric or black cardboard. While the original images were nice “record” shots of my flowers, I wanted to do something more with them. I ran the scanned images through some artsy Photoshop filters to give them a romantic, soft-focus glowy look. So there you have it…photographs without a camera!

Not long after I toyed with the process, I saw an exhibit of photographer Robert Creamer’s images at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. These large-scale works were amazing! He scanned all sorts of things—dead birds, flowers, fruit, bones, and more. You can read more about his Smithsonian exhibit here and see more of his work on his website here. Watch the video here for a demonstration of his setup.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Craft project—The Monet Chair

Originally posted 7.20.2009 (Hey Karen W.—this could be one of my craft projects to (finally) finalize in 2015!)

My friend Karen inherited this rocking chair from her grandmother and took it out to the lake house a few weekends ago. She has often declared, “I’ve never met a little chair I didn’t like!” Since the fabric wasn’t in great shape, she asked what I thought about painting something on the chair to make it more whimsical. And, of course, I took on the challenge with gusto!

NOTE: The chair is not finished yet—the photo on the right is a Photoshop collage utilizing the chair in its current state with an overlay of a screen grab image of one of Monet’s water lily paintings. I combined the two images to use as a painting reference. This is what it should look like when I’m done.

Over the July 4th weekend, I painted a base coat of metallic blue, green and gold paint (finally, a use for all those little bottles of fabric paint I bought when such-and-such store was going out of business!). My initial plan was to paint sketchy leaves or swirly abstract shapes on top in a lighter color. I thought that it was starting to look like the water in one of Monet’s paintings of water lilies at his garden in Giverny, France. I shot some record shots of the chair after I was done. Karen loved the idea of turning it into a “Monet chair,” and it was her idea to split up the painting with the Japanese bridge on back of the chair and the water lilies on the seat. We found one of Monet’s many water lily paintings on the web, including one with very bright blue/teal and green combination of tones in the water. I did a screen grab of the painting and superimposed it over the chair in Photoshop to see what it would look like. She loved the effect—so guess what my project at the lake house this next weekend is? I’ll shoot some during-and-after shots so you can see how it turned out. I’m estimating it will take about 3-4 hours to complete.

Re-post: Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon

Originally posted 9.23.2008

En route to visit Barb and Dean in Spokane on Saturday, September 13, we drove past miles and miles of wheat fields and as the land became more golden in the late afternoon light, we noticed the makings of a harvest moon.

Whenever I hear the words, “harvest moon,” I always remember a very old Ruth Etting album (heaven only knows where I found it) that I eventually gave to a friend’s husband to add to his large music collection. I just did a search and I actually found the recording! The only words I could remember were “shine on, shine on harvest moon…for me and my guy.” (I sing it true to her old-fashioned vibrato, of course).

Etting revived the song in Ziegfield Follies in 1931. Click here to find it on youtube.com. And if you’re a Liza Minnelli fan, click here for her rendition of the song.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Zinnia ‘Zowie’

Temps have been in the 30s and 40s here in (usually sunny) Texas, with murky gray skies almost every day. I’m in need of some color!

Originally posted July 27, 2010

Overcast and very pleasant day, perfect for a quick (and fruitful) lunchtime shoot at Green Spring Gardens. This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on a ‘Zowie’ Zinnia.

Note: I was actually trying to get a shot (with the tripod in place) of just the two Zinnias when the Swallowtail landed on one of the flowers. I held my breath and got just two shots before it flew off. I live for moments (and wild color) like this!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Halloween Pennant dragonfly

One of my favorite dragonfly shots…previously posted in July 2008—photographed at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. For more about the Halloween Pennant dragonfly, click here. Read photographer Bill Horn’s tips for photographing them on his Photo Migrations website.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. 

Seen & Heard: Betty Proctor

Betty Proctor was our Seen & Heard profile for the January/February 2015 issue of Hearing Loss Magazine, published bimonthly by the Hearing Loss Association of America. I photographed Betty at HLAA Convention 2011 in Washington, D.C.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

BETTY PROCTOR  / Chattanooga, Tennessee / Born October 3 in Elgin, Illinois

MY HEARING LOSS… When I was 18, I went for a physical exam for a job and they told me I had a hearing loss. I didn’t have any problems but it was not long before I started having problems. I have a bilateral hearing loss and wear two hearing aids.

I FOUND OUT ABOUT HLAA… through my VR counselor, Nelda Twitchell, when I began college in 1989.

HLAA CHAPTER MEMBER… the HLAA Chattanooga Chapter. There’s such a feeling of family and being able to help others.

SAGE ADVICE FOR SOMEONE NEWLY-DIAGNOSED WITH HEARING LOSS… Find an HLAA Chapter near you and join HLAA to keep up with the news that will help you cope and find out more about your rights as a person with a hearing loss.

A FUNNY HEARING LOSS MOMENT… After the Internet became popular finding out the words to songs with captioning was a hoot. For years, I thought the song “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive was “Dancing with the Fishes…” and that’s the way I sang it!

I DEFINITELY AM NOT… a person who worries about what others think.

I WOULD LOVE TO MEET… Tom Hanks. I think he is one of the most gifted actors, directors and producers of my generation.

WORKING NINE TO FIVE… ombudsman, senior care coordinator, aftercare worker, March of Dimes Mothers March coordinator, graphic designer

I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR… chocolate!

I SIMPLY CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT… chocolate!

PETS? I have a Schnauzer named Gigi, who is my six-year-old baby.

THREE FAVORITE POSSESSIONS… my mother’s porcelain ‘genie’ lamp she received when she became an RN, my dad’s American flag I received when he died, Christmas ornaments my kids made when they were little

THE BEST THING SLICED BREAD IS… warm sliced bread!

I COLLECT… coffee mugs from every state.

LEARNING NEW THINGS… how to write radio commercials

EVER MEET ANYONE FAMOUS? Vern Yip, an American interior designer who appeared on TLC’s Trading Spaces

SOMETHING I HAVE IN MY HOME THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T… Walk4Hearing stuff!

THE KINDEST THING ANYONE EVER DID FOR ME… was helping me after my knee surgery. That was a big deal.

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IS… my children and grandchildren.

I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED… as someone who made a difference.

The best thing about being an HLAA member is the access to information and the feeling of being part of a family. HLAA Conventions? The feeling of camaraderie, Exhibit Hall and the feeling of family. Hearing Loss Magazine? I like all of it!

Hearing Loss Magazine, January/February 2015 issue

Janet and Sam Trychin (and their hearing dog, Doris Eileen) grace the cover of the first 2015 issue of Hearing Loss Magazine, which is published bimonthly by the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA). I photographed them at Convention 2011 in Washington, D.C.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Hearing Loss Magazine: 2014 Recap

I design and photograph for the bimonthly Hearing Loss Magazine (HLM). Here is a recap of the issues published in 2014. Hearing Loss Magazine is published by the Hearing Loss Association of America.

The January/February 2014 issue focused on hearing loss in the workplace, with feature articles such as Career Success After Hearing Loss: Finding and Refining Your Path by David Baldridge; Congratulations, You Have an Interview! What Now? by Mary Clark; The Workplace and the Law by John Waldo; Workplace Behavioral Responses to the Law by David Baldridge; A Midwestern Grocery Store Lends a Hand by Suzanne Roath; You’re NOT Fired! Technologies for Workplace Success by audiologist Brad Ingrao; HLAA Employment Toolkit by Lise Hamlin; Hiring Employees with Hearing Loss—What’s in it for Employers? by Valerie Stafford-Mallis; and Hearing Loss is Big Business by Bettie Borton. HLAA member Chelle George was our Seen & Heard profile. I photographed Chelle at HLAA Convention 2013 in Providence, R.I. Read Chelle’s profile here.

The March/April 2014 issue was our Convention sneak preview edition, featuring Nancy Macklin’s Convention feature, The Live Music Capital of the World Awaits You. Also in this issue: author Katherine Bouton’s Tinnitus is Big Business; I Might Not Hear Everything, but I’m Still Listening by S.R. Archer; Hearing Lost, Inspiration Found, a profile of theater artist and acoustic guitarist Randy Rutherford by author John Threlfall; HLAA Fights for Consumer Rights by Lise Hamlin; Grandma Doesn’t Know What We’re Talking About by Joyce Hagerman; and Waiting Rooms—Why Does it Have to Be So Hard? by Dana Mulvany. Convention 2014 was held in Austin, Texas on June 26-29 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. I met and photographed pianist Nancy Williams at the Convention. She was the September/October 2014 cover feature.

I photographed the Pawlowski family for our May/June 2014 issue. The main feature was Walk4Hearing: It Takes a Family by Ronnie Adler. Within this section were short essays by Andrea Versenyi (My Mother’s Social Isolation), Leslie Beadle (Walking in Mom’s Shoes), Lydia Riehl (A Father Inspires His Daughter to Study Audiology), and Katherine Pawlowski (Why I Walk). Other features included Just Like Me, a profile of Katherine Pawlowski by Julie Fisher; Austin, Here We Come! by Nancy Macklin; and Are You Computer Savvy? If Not, Join the Club! by Joel Strasser.

(Cover photo, from left: Alex, Katherine, Megan (mom), Nicholas, Sebastian (dad), and Elizabeth. Eight-year-old Katherine is HLAA’s first Walk4Hearing Ambassador.) Learn more about HLAA’s Walk4Hearing here.

I photographed artist and portrait painter Timothy Chambers in the Virginia countryside last spring and interviewed him for our July/August issue. Following in his father’s footsteps, Timothy Chambers became a full-time portrait painter. Even a diagnosis of Usher syndrome at age 30 didn’t keep him from pursuing his passion for painting. You can read my interview, Timothy Chambers—Living a Creative Life with Usher Syndrome, here. Learn more about Timothy and see his beautiful work on his website here. He offers painting instruction in the form of plein air field excursions, ArtShops and online teaching with IguanaPaint. Learn more here and here. Also in this issue: Saving Vision for People with Usher Syndrome by Ben Shaberman; A Newborn Baby and a Cure for Hearing Loss—Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Repair by Jim Baumgartner and Linda Baumgartner; Understanding the Fundamentals of the Audiogram … So What? by audiologist Larry Medwetsky; It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that “Bling” by Anna Bella and Suzanne D’Amico; Hearing Aid Coverage Under Medicare—We CAN Do It! by Lise Hamlin; and Unwrapping My Passion Once Again by barefoot skier Karen Putz. HLAA member Molly Corum was our Seen & Heard profile in this issue. I photographed her at HLAA Convention 2011 in Washington, D.C. Read her profile here.

HLAA member Barbara Chertok interviewed Nancy Williams, pianist, author and advocate, for the September/October 2014 issue. Nancy Williams is the publisher of Grand Piano Passion, an online magazine. I photographed Nancy at HLAA Convention 2014 in Austin, Texas, this past June. Visit Nancy’s website here. Read Barbara Chertok’s feature, Music to My Ears, here. Also in this issue: A Listening Profit by Nancy M. Williams; Audiometric Test Procedures 101 by audiologist Larry Medwetsky; HLAA Public Policy and Advocacy Agenda by Lise Hamlin; Understanding the Terms—Culturally and Audiologically by Barbara Kelley; Accessibility Drama Has a Happy Ending by Paula DeJohn; and Reflections of an Audiologist with Hearing Loss by Mark Ross. HLAA member Meredith Segal was our Seen & Heard profile. I photographed Meredith at the HLAA Convention 2011 in Washington, D.C. Read her profile here. 

In the November/December 2014 issue of Hearing Loss Magazine, Barbara Kelley profiled Alice Marie (Ahme) Stone, wife of Rocky Stone, who founded HLAA (then known as SHHH, Self Help for the Hard of Hearing) 35 years ago. I photographed Ahme at her home in Bethesda. In Barbara’s article, The “Intrepid” Alice Marie Stone, I learned lots of things I didn’t know about Ahme, Rocky, his career with the CIA and family life on the road. It’s a really fascinating read! Read Barbara’s interview with Ahme Stone here. Also in this issue: Hearing Loss: Working Toward a Solution by Shaina Nishimura; DuPont Displays—A Great Place to Work by Tara C. Stewart; Transitioning from High School to College: Helpful Hints by audiologist Larry Medwetsky; Employment and Hearing Loss: A Case Study by David Gayle and Lise Hamlin; To Thine Own Self Be True by Valerie Stafford-Mallis; Applying for Social Security by Lisa Giorgetti; and At 84, I’m Tuned In by Eli Weil. HLAA member Candace Meinders was our Seen & Heard profile for this issue. Read her profile here.

Join the Hearing Loss Association of America!
Do you have a hearing loss or know someone who does? Consider membership in the Hearing Loss Association of America. All memberships include discounts on hearing-related products, convention and special event early bird discounts, AVIS and Alamo car rental, and the award-winning Hearing Loss Magazine. Sign up for membership here.

Seen & Heard: Candace Meinders

Candace Meinders was our Seen & Heard profile for the November/December 2014 issue of Hearing Loss Magazine, published bimonthly by the Hearing Loss Association of America. I photographed Candace at HLAA Convention 2011 in Washington, D.C.

CANDACE MEINDERS  St. Paul, Minnesota / Born June 5 in Granite Falls, Minnesota

MY HEARING LOSS… I had high fevers when I was 6, but my parents didn’t take me to see a doctor until I was 13 years old when it was diagnosed.

HOW I LEARNED ABOUT HLAA… In 1994, my sister, Linda, encouraged me to become a member and get the magazine.

THE BEST GIFT I EVER RECEIVED WAS… a cochlear implant…now I can really hear!

HLAA CHAPTER MEMBER… Twin Cities Chapter in Golden Valley, Minnesota

WHEN I GREW UP, I WANTED TO BE… a librarian. I remember asking my school librarian about her job as a senior in high school.

WORKING NINE TO FIVE… mailroom clerk, janitor, library clerk, accounting clerk, data entry operator

FAVORITE BOOKS… anything written by Joyce Meyer

THE LAST BOOK I READ WAS… One Nation by Dr. Ben Carson.

I AM… honest, quiet and strong willed.

MY LONG-TERM GOAL IS… to be happily married.

MY SHORT-TERM GOAL IS… to vacation in Germany or Hawaii.

SOMETHING I HAVE IN MY HOME THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T… International Poet of Merit Award presented to me by the International Society of Poets

MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE IS… people smoking around me.

THREE FAVORITE POSSESSIONS… my gray Tabby cat Sebastian, my Bible and my iPhone

MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME… that I can do anything I set my mind to.

MY FATHER TAUGHT ME… to not forget to go to church.

I HAVE A LITTLE-KNOWN TALENT FOR… research. I’ve advanced so far in my genealogy research that I now need to visit Germany to research Ostfriesen culture.

I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR… ice cream.

THE KINDEST THING ANYONE EVER DID FOR ME… When I was 24, my penpal from Florida sent me a big bouquet of flowers for Christmas. I was so touched because I had never received a bouquet of flowers.

GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD… cochlear implants

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT… my short-term mission trip to Haiti in 1991

I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED… as a Christ follower.

I love the Seen & Heard profiles in Hearing Loss Magazine. Attending HLAA Convention allows me to explore different cities.

 

Re-post: Desktop poetry—Unfurled

Poem and photo © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

2014: A Visual Recap

I’ve picked one photo from each month of blogging in 2014 to recap the year visually (starting with December 2014 and working my way back to January 2014). Now here’s to 2015—hoping it is another year of immense creativity, staying connected to family, nurturing friendships both near and far and old and new, growing my graphic design and photography business in fresh and challenging directions, continuing to dust off my rusty sketching and painting skills, decluttering my physical space, communing with nature, photographing more flowers and bugs, updating my garden with quirky and photogenic new plants, hitting the road in search of adventure (and fresh photographs), honing my writing craft, acquiring new skills and learning something new every day.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.