Nature Photography: Big Sur Stream
October 23rd, 2009This photo's a true blast from the past. I took it back in 1981, while I was bicycling around the United States.
While heading down the California coast, I stopped for an overnight in a state park south of Big Sur. The park offered many things to explore, including giant redwoods that I couldn't begin to stretch my arms around. Then there was this icy cold stream...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Tucson photographer launches stock photo site
October 7th, 2009Tucson, AZ – Martha Retallick, local photographer, web designer, community activist, and volunteer, just launched a stock photo website for ad agencies, photo editors, businesses, and organizations.
BicycleStockImages.com features photos of the bike culture, including bicycle racing, bicycle touring, utilitarian cycling, and artistic close-ups of bicycles, bike tools, and bike parts. The site also offers photos related to construction, civic pride, and the environment. A practitioner of “bike-tography,” Retallick, who doesn’t own a car, travels to Tucson-area photo shoots on her bicycle.
The site includes shots from the semi-annual Bicycle Swap Meet on 4th Avenue, a criterium race around the UA campus, and the free valet bicycle parking that the city’s Department of Transportation provides at major events.
An avid cyclist for 30 years, Retallick pedaled through all of the United States between 1980 and 1992 with her trusty Nikon. Her travels provided a first-hand look at the diversity of the American landscape and its people. In addition to nature and travel photo galleries, BicycleStockImages.com also includes abstract photography, a weekly, noncompetitive run/walk through downtown Tucson: Meet Me at Maynards, and construction photography.
Over three years, Retallick helped build a 36-house Habitat for Humanity community in central Tucson, and also worked on International Relief Team’s post-Katrina reconstruction teams during 2006-08. She enjoys finding the graphic mix between the raw physical labor and the artistry of humans and machines in motion.
Who will use Retallick’s stock photography? Ad agencies who might want images to go with a client’s campaign. Photo editors who might want event photos for a feature on Things to Do in Tucson, Arizona. Companies and organizations, such as those in the bicycle or construction industry. Or Tucson organizations looking for someone to cover upcoming special events. Or consumers.
Visitors to BicycleStockImages.com can search its online database of photos, and purchase photographic prints, royalty-free images, and personal use downloads.
Bicycle Stock Images, a project of Western Sky Communications, is an Arizona-based business owned and operated by Martha Retallick.
Retallick is affiliated with the following Tucson organizations:
- El Cortez Heights Neighborhood Association
- Eller College Associates, Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona
- International Friends, Inc.
- KXCI 91.3 FM Community Radio Development Committee
- Mansfield Park Neighbors Coalition
- Teaching and Helping Project
- Tucson City Council Ward 3 Neighbors Alliance
- U.S. Green Building Council Arizona Chapter
- Watershed Management Group Water Harvesting Co-op
Contact Information:
Western Sky Communications
Post Office Box 43161
Tucson, Arizona 85733
Phone: (520) 690-1888
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Nature Photography: Prickly Pear and Mesquite
July 29th, 2009When I bought this property in November 2004, it had no landscaping. There was crushed rock in the front yard and a formidable infestation of Bermuda grass in the back yard.
I've done most of the landscaping work myself. This includes the landscape design, planting, weeding, and other maintenance tasks. To learn how to do these things properly, I've taken free or low-cost classes through the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Watershed Management Group, Brad Lancaster, and NEST, Inc.
These classes have helped me avoid major mistakes, but I will confess to over-pruning my mesquite trees back in 2006. A few weeks later, a UA Cooperative Extension instructor advised against pruning mesquites at all.
So, I'm letting them grow back the way they want to. And that's just what they're doing...
I've hired outside help for tasks like underground utility location, digging and rock-lining of the drainage swale that runs from the back yard to the front, delivering and distributing inorganic and organic mulch, digging planting basins, and uprooting the aforementioned Bermuda grass.
A tight budget has dictated my choice of plants: low water use only. It also has dictated how I acquired plants. I brought potted prickly pear and aloe from where I'd been renting before. Friends and neighbors contributed others, and the rest were purchased from plant sales, private nurseries, and Trees for Tucson.
Since I wasn't too keen on installing an irrigation system and paying a higher water bill, I decided to use greywater and rainwater to keep the landscape going. My greywater harvesting system is simple: I capture water from my bathtub and kitchen sink, then bucket it out to the plants.
My greywater harvesting equipment consists of one siphon and three plastic buckets. Since the tub drain plug leaks, I seal it off with a ring of plumber's putty. Total cost of this equipment: Less than $20.00. The only ongoing cost is the purchase of Oasis biodegradable soap that I wash dishes and bathe with.
I've adopted a xeriscaping approach out of necessity. Buckets of greywater can get heavy in a hurry. That's as good a reason as any to keep the "oasis" plants close to the house. I would like to add a rainwater harvesting cistern to the mix, but that's down the road. For now, the plants are doing just fine with my bucket system and occasional supplementation from that Great Watering Can in the Sky.
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Greening Up for Summer
July 17th, 2009Tucson's summer monsoon season is in full swing. This is rendering swamp coolers ineffective and that's bad news for some of us. (I have a swamp cooler.)
However, the plants are welcoming the rain the only way they know how. They're getting very green. And the cactii are plump again. Here's how the plant life is doing at my place...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Monsoon Storm
July 9th, 2009Tucson's summer monsoon is in full swing, and that means thunderstorms. Big ones. They form quickly, and they can really pack a wallop.
Yesterday afternoon, a real thumper rolled into town. Dumped .58" of rain at my house, and that made my plants very happy. It also made for some interesting photographic opportunities.
The festivities stated with an oh-so-innocent looking rainbow...
A neighbor suggested that the rainbow meant that we'd dodged the storm. Ummm, not quite...
I had to flee to the safety of my house and watch the storm from the living room...
This morning was warm and sunny, perfect for going out and seeing how the rain gauge kept score...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Desert Botanical Garden and Wildlife World
May 6th, 2009Late last month, I joined Judy Vorfeld and her brother, David Crook, for a couple of photographic days. Our first stop was the Desert Botanical Garden, which is located in the southeastern corner of Phoenix, Arizona. The cactus flowers were out in force...
The saguaro cactii will bloom in a few weeks...
Meanwhile, over at the Butterfly Magic exhibit, the butterflies were looking pretty ragged...
Oh, well, it's been a long exhibit, and it's about done for this year.
Our next photo op was Wildlife World, which is out in the West Valley near the White Tank Mountains. This is a zoo that strives to keep animals in as natural a setting as possible. However, it looks like these African Singing Dogs are singing the "We Wanna Get Outta Here" blues...
On to the Wildlife World aquarium, which was drawing quite the Sunday crowd...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Extreme Weather
January 15th, 2009My recent trip to Pennsylvania featured just about every kind of weather imaginable. Most of my time there was snow-free. But not fog-free...
And certainly not wind-free. Gusts of 40 mph and higher were recorded on New Year's Eve. This had predictable effects on local trees and powerlines...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Graphic Design: Solo Butterfly
October 22nd, 2008Another example of my ongoing quest to design with type and combine the result with photography. This promotional postcard offered a business tip (to hire me for Web and print design) along with a garden tip that plays off the image...
Tip: You can view more graphic design projects in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Pennsylvania Pinecone
September 26th, 2008It is time for some cool fall weather here in Tucson. Today's forecast high is 95 degrees. So, to help motivate some positive changes in our local weather, here's an autumnal closeup from Pennsylvania...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Birds Do It, Bees Do It…
September 24th, 2008You probably know that old song by heart. The one that goes, "Birds do it, bees do it, even sentimental fleas do it. Let's do it, let's fall in love."
Well, I'm here to tell you that the birds, bees, and fleas aren't the only ones getting in on the action. The trees are doing it too...
Disclaimer (0f sorts): My parents own the property on which the above embrace is taking place. Our family philosophy is that as long as the two lover-trees don't interfere with the overhead power lines, they can smooch to their heart's content.
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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