Blog - Mel Curtis

Thank You for the Nudge

Hey Martin, I was rummaging around in my archives, trying to downsize or at very least, make sense of the vast amount of photo stuff in storage there. I stumbled across this article about you from the Seattle Times, circa 2002. I assume you have this in your archives but can send you a copy if you don’t. There are…

October 14, 2024Musings, Seattle

Musings

Scary Clown

I was messing around with the AI feature in photoshop and made this. I tried sending you to Paris and Moscow and the UW Quad in Cherry Blossoms. But they all sucked. But you were a good fit with the scary clown…

October 9, 2024Musings

architecture France Landscapes Musings Travels

A Little Simmer of Softness

Another reason I loved the urban landscape. From the last time I spent traveling in France in 2003. I was visiting a friend who lived in a little town about an hour south of Paris. I was waiting for her to get off work and to kill time I wandered around the little village where she worked making images in…

October 1, 2024architecture, France, Landscapes, Musings, Travels

architecture Landscapes Musings Odds and Ends Seattle

Ribbon of Light

I am preparing some "new" works to hand off to the Seattle Art Museum and am finally getting the chance to print this image from the series Above Seattle. But I have run into some old tech issues and wonder if the work is ready for large format prime time viewing. Captured with an older camera, the work lacks a…

September 30, 2024architecture, Landscapes, Musings, Odds and Ends, Seattle

Musings

Or Have They Just Left?

I want to write a blog post about this image. I made it recently as a test of my new camera. I keep staring at it. It is so quiet and peaceful. I know it is just an empty room, but I love the light and the solitude. I love the lineup of chairs. As if to suggest visitors are…

September 10, 2024Musings

Musings

A Little White Lie

Right out of the box, unretouched and touched up. So no, my forehead isn’t that smooth. I have this software that gives one smooth, porcelain like complexion. Gave myself some color, warmed the background and voila… a more presentable me. A friend of mine calls it the spa treatment. Thing about digital is that it is really quite harsh as…

August 30, 2024Musings

Musings

In the Moment

I had great time with both my cousin visiting and my friend from Oregon. Lot of nice talks and walks. And photo making too. My friend from Oregon posed an interesting question while we were viewing my archives. I was showing her my piles of old film from my stock photo days. I have labored over what to do with…

August 16, 2024Musings

Musings

Jaws

Yes, I did see Jaws 86 times. The summer of 1975 I had a co-op job in Baltimore. I shared an apartment with another student from UC working at the same firm. But we never hung out and I got kind of bored, so I got a job at nearby theatre as an usher. I was paid 2 bucks an…

July 2, 2024Musings

Musings Portraits Seattle

The Weirdest Thing

Well, I did the weirdest thing. Last week one of my old assistants was here to use my studio for a portrait session. We were talking about gear and such and I said I was done buying cameras and the D750 as my last one. She uses a D810. I was her stand in model to set up lights and…

June 15, 2024Musings, Portraits, Seattle

Musings Odds and Ends

Warm and Fuzzy Feel

I have those shipping cases. That’s how I transported my portfolio to you all those years ago. They are covered with stickers from various airports. Crazy how that all worked and how expensive it was to send stuff all around the country. But that is how it worked. My portfolios only included a few printed samples and tear sheets. Often…

June 5, 2024Musings, Odds and Ends