In preparation for an exciting studio update I am posting some images made in the past year.  Included will be cyanotypes, lumens, photograms and chemigrams.  Thanks for checking in with me for more updates and images

"i'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."

ee cummings

Clam shells, broken, smoothed and washed by the sea, in a spiral on my bench in the studio.

Cheers to people willing to participate in art projects.  I took a couple of simple photographs after lunch yesterday and edited them later with some botanical images as well as some images from this well known downtown Bellingham Washington restaurant ..
Thanks Brian!
Check back for more new photographs in this series and info about their creation.

Two days after Christmas, the creek is frozen solid and there are snow drifts up to  three feet deep. Im looking forward to cyanotype workshops in warmer, sunnier locales...

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Yesterday was one of those late fall days that let you know that the darker, shorter days are on the way.  However, at about 3:00 PM, the sun came out for a brilliant shining hour.  I had a new negative ready to go and some sensitized watercolor paper so I placed the negative and the paper in my contact frame and went out to find the sunniest part of the property.  I set a timer for 20 minutes, not even sure there were enough UV rays to get a proper exposure .  When I checked in 20 minutes, the print looked great.  
One of the things I've learned lately is to make notes on exposures.  A perfect place, in addition to my journal, is the back of the print.  This identifies the paper used, date of print, time of day and length of exposure.  I think that customers also find this information to be interesting.  It is, after all, a hand made print and these little notes help to identify it even more clearly.

I’ve been reading Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography, by David Ulrich….. honestly, it’s just been a few days, but I can already see a difference in my intentional looking and seeing… I’m posting a few photos to show what’s happening … no editing or overthinking.. just looking and “seeing” 
Not surprisingly, Diana and I have already had a talk about this book…
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Well.. we did it!

Diana Shay Diehl and I completed our week long project to make and post a cyanotype piece each day for a week.   It was a great exercise to keep a creative chain of thought going with another artist for a week. It was interesting how often our work had similar themes and even composition .   We started this "year long" project with the idea of having a joint show at the end .  We are still exploring the idea and are looking for a gallery or space to show the work done by two artists at opposite ends of the Pacific Coast.  We are both headed to work for a while in New Mexico...we have different itineraries but will certainly share some studio time.  If you have any ideas or feedback about our work, we would love to hear from you!

Our joint instagram account is TwoWomenTalk
Diana's Instagram account is MojaveLight
Ellen's  (my) Instagram account is EllenJDooley

The video is just a little snippet of some musings and experiments in the outdoor space where I sometime work in the summer.  Today, there is a brisk wind blowing, very cloudy skies and a temperature of 57 degrees F.  Not really ideal for cyanotype printing, but I will find a way to get my prints made today!

My collaboration with Diana Shay Diehl continues.  We are on day 3 of our current presentation of a work each day, presented side by side on our Instagram accounts.

I make a print almost day anyway, but making them in collaboration with another artist brings the discipline to a whole new level.  I highly recommend it.  There has been a synchronicity about our work so far this week, not planned or discussed in advance, which materials or paper we will use.  
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Diana's IG
Diana's Blog
Ellen's IG

We are each adding new posts on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. Please join us in this project by following along and subscribing for updates.  We love hearing from you!

My collaboration with Diana Shay Diehl continues!
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During the week of July 5 through July 12,  every day we will each be making a print  using photosensitive chemistry on natural fiber papers. While this time of year brings lots of sun for each of us, the environments are completely distinctive with different botanicals and even amounts and intensity of sunlight.  These prints are going to about 5"x7" on cotton rag or natural  fiber paper...each an original work.  Each morning during that week,  we will post our images.  Please follow us on our journey!  We would love to hear your comments.

The photograph above is from my studio to give you an idea of some of my inspiration as well as some of the tools and materials that I use in my alternative photography. 
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​Here is the link to Diana's blog
​Diana Shay Diehl Instagram
Ellen Dooley Instagram

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​Also, along with each post I will be adding a link to something that I found inspiring.  This week, I watched an artist talk given by the amazing photographer, Keith Carter.  His images are beautiful, haunting and speak  eloquently of light, space and memory.