Joe Reifer » Gallery http://www.joereifer.com/words Ramblings about night photography, desert ruins, 360 panoramas, and artistic inspiration Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:01:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Moonlit desert dreams of yucca brevifolia http://www.joereifer.com/words/2012/01/27/moonlit-desert-dreams-of-yucca-brevifolia/ http://www.joereifer.com/words/2012/01/27/moonlit-desert-dreams-of-yucca-brevifolia/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:31:36 +0000 joe http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=6479 California in the winter time. Just sitting around playing chess with a friend. Tonight, I will dream of the moon. Sometimes we may dream of other things. But tonight these are desert dreams. Mojave. Barstow. Do your dreams look like good old Yermo? Are they fallen down dreams? Or memories of winning? I dream of the yucca brevifolia. Mostly in color. Their arms reach out in a puzzling, prickly geometry. Reaching nowhere. Is that what we're reaching for? There's almost no more beautiful a sight than snow on a joshua tree. ]]> http://www.joereifer.com/words/2012/01/27/moonlit-desert-dreams-of-yucca-brevifolia/feed/ 2 Atlas: Recent additions to the digital clippings file http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/07/06/atlas-recent-additions-to-the-digital-clippings-file/ http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/07/06/atlas-recent-additions-to-the-digital-clippings-file/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:38:28 +0000 joe http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=5422 Lila Lee Agyness Deyn by Tim Walker Barbie - The Birds Jumping Rope M Hulot's Holiday Spirit of America SR Los Angeles Red Car Junkyard Pile Steve McQueen Motorcycle Pickup Thomas Pynchon Pig Shoji Ueda Drink Worker at carbon black plant by John Vachon 1942 Accident at Night 1959

I’ve been perusing Gerhard Richter’s Atlas over the last few days — an overwhelming collection of snapshots, newspaper clippings, photos from books, photographic experiments, and family photos from 1962-2006. I used to cut photos out of magazines and make collages. Now I just right click when I see something interesting that I think I’ll want to see again.

Occasionally I’ll browse through these images when I need inspiration, or run them as my screen saver. After spending some time with Richter’s collection of photos in book form, perhaps I’ll be inspired to group some images by theme and print proof sheets. How do you organize and review the images that catch your eye? I prefer to group images together instead of using the one-at-a-time approach on Tumblr. Perhaps I’ve answered my own question with this gallery of 15 photos that recently went into my digital atlas.

]]> http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/07/06/atlas-recent-additions-to-the-digital-clippings-file/feed/ 0 Road Trip Gallery: Western Nevada and the High Sierra http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/06/19/road-trip-gallery-western-nevada-and-the-high-sierra/ http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/06/19/road-trip-gallery-western-nevada-and-the-high-sierra/#comments Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:31:12 +0000 joe http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=5298 The trip started out on an educational note. And kept on getting more educational as we went. Formative experiences help determine who we become. I wonder if my parents took me to see Bonsai when I was young? Virginia City has some amazing cemeteries. I don't think this was what they meant by stepping back in time. There's a lot of stuff to photograph though. And cool places to hang out. This guy was the coolest dude of them all. Jacked up on junkyards and chocolate, we kept exploring. Roadside spiderbug! Drinks and cow pies! All that was left of The Lace was a sign. Is that the Sutro Tunnel on the right? We took some more photos and ate a little bit of BBQ. We found Jesus at Walmart and Cadillacs in Carson City. I wish I could've driven this Willy's coupe home. We stopped at an old haunt, and slept in covered wagons. Abandoned places are our guiding light. Bring your camera and drive over the mountains and see. ]]> http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/06/19/road-trip-gallery-western-nevada-and-the-high-sierra/feed/ 3 On the edges of a Mojave Desert road trip http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/05/20/on-the-edges-of-a-mojave-desert-road-trip/ http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/05/20/on-the-edges-of-a-mojave-desert-road-trip/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 00:36:11 +0000 joe http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=5016 Don't worry. We are professionals. We've done this before. Bring your horse. Bring your Thing. We're going to the desert. Fuel up and shoot the cow on 58. They're pumping oil in Bakersfield. Bakersfield. Up one side and back again, along the river of men. Fueled up and ready. We hit the dirt and started exploring. And also worked in a little grilling. I finally saw Cadillac Jack's place. And then more grilling. We continued to explore with mixed results. There is nothing here worth dying for. It was touch-and-go at China Lake. We toured one junkyard and got barked away from another. A strip mall in Lancaster with a liquor store, produce market, kabob place, and a church. Just down the street from Generation X Lothing. Tired, we headed out 138 past Holiday Valley. A man stood in the middle of nowhere. A boat waited high and dry. The lemons headed north. Return, recover, and reload for next time. ]]> http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/05/20/on-the-edges-of-a-mojave-desert-road-trip/feed/ 2 Mojave Desert road trip: Signs, food, rainbows, cactus, outerspace http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/05/03/mojave-desert-road-trip-signs-food-rainbows-cactus-outerspace/ http://www.joereifer.com/words/2011/05/03/mojave-desert-road-trip-signs-food-rainbows-cactus-outerspace/#comments Wed, 04 May 2011 00:18:17 +0000 joe http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=4897 This year I have journeyed to the desert 4 times. Much of the February full moon was snowed out. I still had a great time.
This is Firebaugh, CA. It's good to coordinate shirts and paletas. The turn for the golf course and cemetery. I still haven't stopped at Carol's in Wasco. Or taken a proper photo of the sleeping people motel sign. One day I'll have a lot of S.S. Minnow photos. I'm not sure how they'll be displayed. Speaking of displays, how about 2 dogs, 4 toy soldiers, and a gingerbread man. Anyhow, I'm going out further this time. All the normal signs will disappear. A sentimental glimpse. And then gone. My street is named after a burnt tree. I enter a neutral place. And behold remnants of the past under glass. How many double entendres does it take to screw in a flashbulb? The double rainbow looked awesome over the abandoned motel. Roosting in Yermo. When photographing a sign that says no cameras, don't use a flash. The menu advertises 70 pounds of carnitas, but they were out of stock. That evening it snowed over Cactus Massage. The storm cleared by morning, but it was time to go. West. Towards unlimited possibilities. And all-you-can-eat with a cherry on top. Domingo's in Boron has an amazing collection of space photos. Domingo noted my enthusiasm and showed me the memorabilia room. More than full, it was time to shoot the cow on Highway 58 and head home.

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