©2011 Kiffanie Stahle, Biscuits.

I was intending on posting a different image today, but last night I attended the Lightbox SF Mixer at La Boutique. At one point I was having a conversation with Julie Michelle about some of the things that we both were seeking from the local artistic community. I mentioned that I would like a place where I could go and take work for critique. A place where I felt comfortable asking if an image really worked. Or a place that I could take a series to find out if the images worked together in the way I thought they did.

The image above is the type of image that I would take. There is something that I really like about the composition of the image, but for some reason I just don’t think it actually works, regardless of the treatment I give it. Which makes me think that something must be off in the composition. The black and white treatment above is my favorite so far, but I’m still unsure what I think about the image. So, my fellow readers, does it work?

© 2011 Kiffanie Stahle, Doggie Love.

I frequently get asked for the story behind certain images. Because this is a frequent request, each Monday I have decided to share a story behind one of my favorite photographs. This story, I shared a couple months ago in my monthly newsletter.

I captured this image back in February while I was out shooting in the Haight. Living in San Francisco, I come across so many interesting people walking down the street each day. I often make up stories for the people that I see reguarly and am curious how my stories compare to their real lives.

In a quest to learn more about the people around me, I’ve begun taking a few street portraits. This is something I’ve been wanting to try for more than a year, but up until recently my fear of how people would react has prevented me from starting this process.

This particular morning, while walking to the Haight  I decided that I couldn’t go home until I had asked at least 5 people if I could photograph them. This lovely woman was the first person I asked that morning and even though it was her doggie’s feeding time, she graciously allowed me to take a couple photographs of her and her dog and learn a little about them. Her kindness buoyed my courage and allowed me to ask four more strangers if I could photograph them that morning. This photograph is my favorite of that morning, probably in large part to her kindness.

© 2011 Kiffanie Stahle, Doggie Love.

This image I’ll be featuring at the 200 Yards third show opening at Free Gold Watch this Saturday. The opening will be from 6-10 pm, March 12. The story of this fun street portrait I told in my March monthly newsletter. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do!

©2011 Kiffanie Stahle, Dial.

This image was taken on the same walk to the SFMOMA as the iPhone photo I posted last week. True to my photographic fascination for old objects, signs are no exception. I loved the colors of this sign (which I admit I have enhanced via photoshop) against the sky. I also find it amusing that the crop I selected resulted in the sign stating “Dial.” As always I enjoy hearing your feedback about new images.

©2011 Kiffanie Stahle, Bike Seat.

Every semester I have grand plans of being able to keep up on both my art projects and my schoolwork. And every semester (about a month in) the art projects seem to fall by the wayside and school takes over my life. While I have more free time in my last year of law school than I did my first year, I still have yet to find the right balance of art time and school time. While that is no excuse for not updating the blog, that’s where I’ve been.

Earlier this week, I was avoiding doing some school work and looking through my photography archives. The main reason I started back through the archives was because I am craving a trip to Abbey Country. But in the process I came across this image. I took it when I was out and about shooting for the 200 Yards Show at Heart a few months back. While I ended up settling on another image of the bike for the show, there is something about this image that really resonated with me this week. In playing around with this image, I settled on a browner-tinged single tone image, rather than traditional black and white and like how it turned out. Hopefully, it resonates with you this week as well.

©2010 Kiffanie Stahle, Rattlesnake Grass

This image was taken over the summer while on a fantastic camping trip to San Simeon with some good friends. I played around with it a bit and wasn’t sure how I felt about the image. To me, it was a little random, which I thought was representative of California Annual Grasslands, but I wasn’t sure the random-ness created a good image. On the other hand, I really liked the curves of the rattlesnake grasses and the processing technique I used (it reminded me of a photo that had sat out in the sun for the afternoon). However, I wasn’t sure how the viewer would react to the image, because I was mixed about the photo.

At the beginning of July, I joined an online photo community, Weekly Shot. When I heard about Weekly Shot the concept really appealed to me. I was looking for an online photo community, where I could get feedback on my photos but I wanted that feedback to be done in a manner that was less about if they liked me and my style and more based on the image itself. Weekly Shot seemed to fit the bill.

Last week the theme for Weekly Shot was Ground Level. A few weeks back, I decided that I was going to submit images not in the hopes of getting “featured,” but shots that I really wanted feedback on how the image worked. Since this shot fit the theme, I submitted it. The feedback on the shot was mixed, but somehow it got featured. So now I open the shot up to a wider audience. Does it work?

P.S. It’s easy to leave comments on the new theme, just click on the comment link on the line right below the post.

©2011 Kiffanie Stahle, 37.751151, -122.420147.

This is the second image that I’ll be featuring at the 200 Yards show opening tonight at Heart (24th and Valencia). The other I posted a few weeks back. If you are in San Francisco please stop by tonight and say hi, or stop by Heart anytime before September 20th and check out the show.

©2011 Kiffanie Stahle, 37.754252, -122.421015.

I want to apologize for my absence from the blog, I’ve been busy and have let my posts go to the wayside. While that is a lame excuse, it’s the best that I’ve got.

However, I’m excited to let you all know that the above image as well as another will be featured in the 200 Yards show that opens on August 18th. All the featured images have been taken within 200 yards of the host location (Heart near 24th and Valencia). This project was a challenge for me. The first challenge was the fact that 200 yards is not a large area (about one city block in either direction). The second was a creative process hurdle. While I have shot images on a theme previously, I’ve never been totally happy with the outcome. I’m still trying to figure out the creative process that works for me with themed shoots. Luckily this time around, there were lots of little details, some of my favorite subjects.

Both the images that I’ll be featuring are textural black and whites, because of that I chose a method of printing I’ve been wanting to use for a while, aluminum. I had them printed at Bay Photo, they arrived yesterday and I’m pleased with how they turned out. I’d love it if you would drop by the show and let me know what you think.

This photograph was taken on my first attempt at taking photos for the 200 Yards project. I really am obsessed with taking photos of old trucks. They combine some of my favorite photography subjects: things weathered by time, things with texture, and things that have a story.

Here’s a new image for you. I found this hydrant on one of my meandering walks through the streets of San Francisco. I’m pretty sure I was in Hayes Valley.