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SAM I. JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

 

Specializing in Gifts made just for YOU. We have a selection of unique hand painted pottery,as well as HORSEHAIR FIRING by Katie, and animal imagery, taken by Sam.

 

Summer has come and is almost gone, the time flies by so fast. Sam and I have been up north, by Hayward, Wisconsin a few times this summer, but not nearly enough. Two of the times we went up to specifically check out the elk population by Clam Lake. Sam was able to get some realy nice photos of these large animals. They are not as easily seen as our deer population or even the black bear.
The elk, like the whooping cranes have been reintroduced to Wisconsin. The herd is primarly located in the Chequamegon National Forest, by Clam Lake, Wisconsin. Sometimes in the very early morning or the end of day, they can be seen from the roadways, where there is a strip of highway that has sensors on posts to monitor them. When the elk are within a certain range the lights will blink, indicating that the elk with collars on, are very near the road. Sam was able to get a few good shots of these animals. Some were close to the main highway, and others were tucked in on the dirt lumber roads that wind for miles through the forest.
Out west were elk are abundant, it might not seem as special to see them, but here in Wisconsin, the herd continues to strive to grow. Like with the whooping cranes, there is much to be over come for them, from weather, to predators, to just plain life. Where each individual animal or bird are so important to the survival of the species, each hurtle seems like a mile stone. Their success or their decline, makes a big impact on the group as a whole.
To most of us, their lives are mysterious. Something we don't have the opportunity to view, other then on television shows. Where some brave soul adventured out to document the stories of these animals. They are interesting to us, but seem far removed from our every day lives.
Just the other day at daybreak, a coyote made its way, silently into our yard, to furtively, take an apple or two that had dropped to the ground. Some times at night we hear their eerie call as they make their evening rounds. I often wonder where they come from, and when do they start their rounds? Where do they go? Sometimes I wonder just how close do they actually live to us. Do they watch us? Do they find us as interesting as we do them? Our lives do intertwine even if we don't notice.
While on the job, Sam has discovered, as others have, a family of foxes. They too live in and around people, but aren't often seen. Their red coats and black markings are beautiful. Its fun to watch them grow, and play with each other as kids do. Rough housing around,batting back and forth with their paws, and wrestling each other to the ground. With nips and short barks, they play with abondoment as if they were totally alone. The pups are not as leary as the mother, but then like children, they don't know much of the world that they live in. So they feel safe with their parent near by,because this is their entire existance. In the past when we have watched other fox pups play, they knew we were there,and it almost seemed as though they were playing to the camera, but sadly enough those photos that we did get were in the evening, and the light was not good enough for the pictures to show accurately what we saw. Still, it was worth watching and listening too them, being that they were not much more then a car length away .

It's amazing how the same things can look new through the lense of a camera. I wish the camera could catch what our eyes see, but, its just not the same. Sometimes the camera makes an object look better then what we see, but for the most part it captures only a fraction of what we actually take in.

 

 

I have been busy, firing HORSE HAIR POTTERY. This is a technique similiar to that of Raku Pottery. The pieces are pulled from the kiln one at a time, and placed upon a fireproof pad. Long strands of horsehair are quickly applied. Seconds count here, and timing is critical. If the piece is too hot, the hair simply burns up on contact, imparting nothing to the piece. If the piece has cooled too much, the hair doesn't burn at all.

Because horsehair pieces must be fired to a low temperature to remain porus, thus permitting the transfer of carbon to the piece by the burning hair. THEY ARE NOT WATERPROOF.