Articles by Bo Mackison

Purple Tulip Showcase

Two Purple Tulips

go site Two Purple Tulips © 2012 Bo Mackison

see url I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs

https://www.parolacce.org/vaffanculo/ I been visiting gardens, the forests, the lake shores — putting my senses back in order. The colors of spring in Wisconsin are surely meant to awaken all of one’s senses!

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https://drbatayneh.com/retina-vitreoretinal-disorders/ Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

Goals for Tucson – Year 2

Palo Verde Leaves with Rocks

Buy Lorazepam Online Without Prescription Palo Verde Yellows with Rocks © 2012 Bo Mackison

https://www.52editions.com/recommendations/ Now that I have been in Wisconsin a week, it is time for me to pull out my list I wrote in January that outlined some of the things I wanted to accomplish during my hundred day stay. This list is a good way for me to keep track of the new things I accomplish from year to year, and what better place than on the blog that records so many of my Arizona adventures.

Order Ultram Online Some goals I achieved, some I did but still need more practice, some goals I didn’t even attempt – but it is good to know how much got done.

https://www.grupoursa.com/faq/ And there’s always next year.

https://rmscherubimhealthcare.com/doctors/dr-jason-roy/ The list is rather long and detailed. So feel free to ignore the list and instead enjoy the “yellow snow” that Tucson had when I was packing to leave. (Not yellow snow at all, but the tiny yellow blossoms that had fallen from the Palo Verde trees!)

  1. Plan menus, cook all meals except occasional (1-2 x’s a week) eat out. — This year go more nutritious, and explore the world of the vegetarian eater/low carbs.
  2. Take care of my living space. — Living in a small condo makes keeping order a necessity, not an option.
  3. Drive wherever I need to go — Last year I managed to tool around the Tucson area, but Phoenix threw me in a driving tizzy, and I admit to Interstate Avoidance as often as practical. I hope to drive to Phoenix this year, and use direct routes more often.
  4. Money – not only banking, but keep a balanced checking account and following a budget. I groan about it now, but I think I will appreciate the discipline of money management, especially if I save money.
  5. Grocery shopping.  I did grocery shopping my first winter in Tucson, but when I returned home I let Sherpa the Chef take over. His preference. So while this is a goal I accomplished last year, food shopping is a necessity. Maybe I could learn to like it?
  6. Car. Last year I did the basics, now oil changes and a major scheduled car maintenance are on the calendar.
  7. Shop as needed–hardware, clothing, food, art, department store, recreational. Again I managed last year, more practice needed.
  8. Find a tai chi, fitness, or yoga class. Find a meditation group or other spiritually oriented meeting place.
  • go to link Travel and “Explores” Around the State
  1. National Parks and Monuments — National Parks are one of my passions. Re-visit as many National Parks as I can. Can I reach the magic number of twelve parks  — six repeats and six new? (I got to four repeats and three new parks.)
  2. Sky Islands. Learn about the different sky islands, visit a few. Include an overnight. (Went to five different sky islands.)
  3. Historic Missions — Explore the nearby missions again. Find new perspectives to photograph.
  4. Kartchner Cave — Combination of dark and claustrophobia worries. Even though I really wanted to see this cave, I never visited under the earth. Maybe this time? Yes, wonderful tour.
  5. Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum —Visit minimum of once a week to document the gradual changes, winter to spring. Love this place!
  6. Kitt Peak Observatory — Last year I visited the observatory during the day, but didn’t stay for a night sky show.
  7. Center for Photography at the University of Arizona.
  8. Learn the major crossroads in the city of Tucson. Learn the major highways in southern Arizona and how to get to major attractions and towns.
  9. Architecture and galleries in Bisbee.
  10. Drive to Phoenix, see the major museums in Phoenix. Saw a minor league baseball game in Phoenix, but didn;t drive.
  11. Go on several overnight car camping trips. Mt Lemmon? Chiricahua National Monument? Organ Pipe National Monument? Tucson Mountain Park?
  12. Extreme car camping sites? Death Valley? Joshua Tree National Park? Salton Sea? Anzo Borrega State Park in California?
  13. Visit CCC or PWA sites in Arizona. Document with photographs. (Did three sites.)
  14. Research Wright’s presence in Arizona and visit sites if possible.
  1. Visit Center for Photography at the University. See #7 in Explores.
  2. Visit at least two exhibits at Tucson Art Museum. (Got to one.)
  3. Visit the art fairs and festivals in the area. Good to see other shows, artists, and their set-ups and art. (Saw two new ones.)
  4. Take photos at gardens, make card sets, and consider garden gift shops re: selling.
  5. Take a photo or art-related workshop from Desert Botanical Gardens.
  6. Apply to at least two, multiple artist, gallery or museum exhibits. (Applied to 3, got in one.)
  1. Talk to 3 gallery owners or shops about photographs/cards.
  2. Participate in 3-4 art festivals. (I did 2 art festivals – one big outside, one smaller inside.)
  3. Talk to artists wherever I meet them, find out what they do, where they work, what inspires them.
  4. Go to several meet-ups with photographers.
  5. Stay current with summer art fair applications.
  6. Continue doing architectural photo shoots on freelance assignment.
  1. Continue to learn the desert– the history, geology, botanicals, weather, animals, birds.
  2. Hike the desert two-three times a week. (Got up to 5 mile hikes every week. And two  7-8 mile hikes every month.)
  3. Expand my skills in desert photography. Learn new techniques for desert photography and practice some new perspective shots.
  4. Take a birding class, learn to identify fifteen birds, and meet people at same time.
  1. Learn the downtown grid, and locations of the major shopping centers and entertainment venues.
  2. Go to downtown Tucson – day and evening, weekend and during week.
  3. Walk the University of Arizona campus. Visit the cactus gardens.
  4. Hike Sabino Canyon.
  5. Hike trails on Mount Lemmon.
  6. Hike Catalina Mountains.
  7. Visit art galleries.
  8. Explore neighborhoods, barrios, the Presidio and the Turquoise Walking Trail.

go here .———————-

follow link Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. What a wonderful 100 days she spent in Arizona, but Bo is glad to be home in Wisconsin.

Cactus Flower in Pink and White

Torch Cactus - Pink Flower

https://www.thephysicaltherapyadvisor.com/about/ Torch Cactus in Pink and White © 2012 Bo Mackison

follow url We all walk in mysteries. We do not know what is stirring in the atmosphere that surrounds us. ~ Goethe

Order Tramadol Overnight I am starting to understand this. I am a slow changer.

I packed my bags with a small amount of trepidation and drive from Madison to Tucson last January. I looked forward to the change in weather, to the sunshine and warm days.

I arrived, expecting to slide right in to a new life, and instead struggled for weeks to acclimate to a new place, a new routine, the newness of solitary living.

And, eventually, I slide into the routines of Arizona, and I feel I am where I belong. (Except when I get lonely and long for companionship.)

Three months and a few extra days pass, and I again pack a few bags and with a small amount of trepidation I leave my space in Tucson and drive to Madison. I look forward to again being immersed in the greens of spring and my circle of family.

Again, I arrive. And again I struggle as I adapt to the old familiar place, the old routine with a few new twists, and the change from living a solitary, very quiet life with a lightly filled calendar to days that are not solitary, quiet, nor lightly demanding.

I am giving myself time and space to re-orient myself. And that is good.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is also a slow changer – she requires time to adjust to new places and new routines. And that is an OK thing.

p.s. The sun is shining this morning.

Flaming Torch Flower

Flaming Torch

Flaming Torch © 2012 Bo Mackison

“A garden is a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul.” ~ Sadi

Yes, it is another view of the famed Torch Cactus, the desert flower I fell in love with a few weeks ago, just days before I traveled from the arid, hot deserts of Arizona to the moist, cool Midwest. It is a good thing (for me, at least) that I was quite infatuated with these particular flowers and so took hundreds of photographs of them in different poses, colors, etc.

In fact, these flowers will be, though unintentional when photographed, one of my themes for a week or so.

Since returning to Wisconsin, I’ve managed to mess up my photo catalogs and so my many thousands of photos (including photos of subjects other than the Torch Cactus flowers) are hiding somewhere in my computer or on one of my external hard drives, but I’ll be darned if I can figure what the magic words are to make them appear again. (Sigh. Big sigh. Oh heck, a really, really big sigh!!)

And yes, I could take some new photographs and re-install all my software and reboot my computer a dozen time with the  hope that I would then have some new photographs to work with.

But . . .  since I’ve been back in Wisconsin (one week today) I have seen a great deal of rain clouds and rain, two things I work hard to be grateful for, because they are greatly responsible for all these glorious greens in the trees and the grasses and the gardens. But wet conditions have caused delays in my outdoor photography plans. So I am posting a new view of the Torch Cactus flower.

Patience. Soon, very soon, the sun will shine. I’m sure of it.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is cleaning her house, and occasionally checking the weather channel. Just in case . . .

April’s Photo-Heart Connection Photo – An Unusual Choice

Burlington Northern Train Cars Dwarfed by Kansas Grain Elevators

Burlington Northern © 2012 Bo Mackison

This photograph is about as different from my usual photographs as it can be, but in going through my photo catalogs from April, this is the one I kept returning to. I found myself studying its lines, its color, the subject matter, perhaps a hidden meaning, trying to decipher why this particular photograph caught my attention, and my heart, and so qualified as April’s photo-heart connection selection.

(Kat Sloma from Kat Eye Studio encourages photographers to pick a photo once a month for sharing — a photo taken in the prior month that best makes a photo-heart connection.)

Now to work my way through the feelings/thoughts attached to this photo:

  • The subject matter is less typical for me than many other genres. I shoot macro-botanicals with passion and abandon; I am ever fond of architectural photos; I’ll drive miles to explore a landscape – particularly those in the wilderness, in National Parks, often with no sign of human activity; and yet here is a rural scene, a scene that is agricultural in theme.
  • I take 95% of my photographs with my Canon DSLR and then spend extra time in post-processing. I am a tinkerer of the post-processing process. I love to use software to create new ways of seeing a routine subject. I will consider many options regarding a small aspect of a photograph, and then go on to another small aspect, and another, and another. When I photograph with my DSLR, I love to take my time, study possibilities, set up my tripod and try lots of options before going on to the next subject. I shot this photo with my iPhone using a Hipstamatic app preset. Sherpa and I were on the long drive home, and we stopped briefly on a country road for a truck to make a left turn. I opened the car window, grabbed my phone, and took a single photo before the car began to move.
  • I like bright colors and focused, close-up details. And my love for the colors associated with the US Southwest has deepened since I began living in Arizona part of the year. I see more color in my photographs – the bright cerulean skies, the turquoise and orange buildings, colors that make a strong statement. But in this photo, the colors are muted. There are a few patches of a rusty color and the remainder is in soft greens, whites, browns.
  • I love the play of light and shadow in photographs, and this photograph hasn’t much light nor shadow. It was taken mid day under a cloudy sky, not typically a good time for photography.

So why this photograph?

  • Well, I am attracted to the composition. It feels satisfying to me, the blocks of different colors, three almost equal rectangular spaces, plus the darker colors as contrast. I do not often take symmetrical photographs, and honestly, I would probably not have composed this photograph as it is if I had been taking a more deliberate photo. But the symmetry provided by the grain elevators, and the strong horizontal and vertical lines seem to emphasize the subject of farm work and transportation in the country’s Midwest.
  • I like that the train car is marked with the logo of the Burlington Northern line. I grew up in the Midwest not far from Burlington, Iowa – the train company’s namesake. And several of my relatives – a grandfather and two uncles — worked for the Burlington Northern. I remember bits of their stories, I sometimes saw them return home from night shift duty with coal stained coveralls, and I associated the smell of their smoky clothes with a night of hard work.

So, an atypical photograph can be a favorite. A photograph with the vaguest memories of family can add a strong sense of human connection to a seemingly straightforward scene. And perhaps there is special thrill about a photograph taken on the run, the knowledge that taking a photograph isn’t only about f-stops and sharp focus and the rules.

Maybe it is also the appreciation of timing, good instincts, and a little luck!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. After three months in the Southwest, Bo is back home in the Midwest. And just in time — her first art show of the summer season is tomorrow — Madison’s Audubon Art Fair at Warner Park on Madison’s east side. Seeded Earth Studio’s booth will be inside in the glassed-in annex. Hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.