Author Archives: Thomas Bethune

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About Thomas Bethune

THOMAS ALLEN BETHUNE I have been interested in photography for most of my life. I started taking photographs with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera when I was eight years old. My early subjects were trains and engineered structures as well as landscapes and family portraits. My interests and vision have matured, but the subjects that catch my eye continue to be of the same genre as my earliest visions. A neighbor man had a darkroom, and he showed me the basics of camera operation and darkroom processing. I took courses in art and photography in high school and college. I worked as an apprentice to a commercial wedding and event photographer, and I was in charge of a recreational dark room while I was in the military. As an adult, I earned a bachelor’s degree in photography from Humboldt State University. My experience with film formats included 35mm, 2 ¼”, and 4”x 5”. I exhibited at galleries near my home in Arcata California, and in Santa Fe New Mexico. All my current work is digital. I am scanning many of my legacy negatives and slides. I sometimes process and print the scanned negatives. I often post them on my blog. I process all of my prints with archival media. An award winning fine art photographer living in a redwood forest. BA Photography Director, Redwood Art Association, Eureka CA Co-curator, F Street Foto Gallery, Eureka CA

MY EUREKA PROJECT

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CONTINUING WORK ON MY EUREKA PROJECT

The “Eureka Project” and the “Arcata Project” are both self-assigned projects to document the business districts of both cities. It is something that I started about five years ago. I am realizing that I need to complete one or both … Continue reading

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CHEMREY GOMPA

I am nearing the final entry regarding my experiences in Ladakh. I have yet to share anything other than the visual elements of my visit there. I am enjoying this process of reviewing and reworking imagery from six years ago. … Continue reading

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LAND OF THE NOMADS

A village near the limit of where crops of barley may be grown. The altitude is about 13,000′. Lungser Kangri 21,000’+.

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MY VENTURE TO KARZOK – ABOUT AS FAR AS ONE CAN GO VIA ROADWAYS

Thupten and I took a drive to the village of Karzok which is located at what I call “the end of the civilization”. As of 2008 this was as far as one could travel via motorized vehicles. It is located … Continue reading

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THIKSEY MONASTARY

Thiksey Gompa (Monastery) is the gompa where I spend the most time. Thupten made arrangements for me to spend the night there. I spent an evening walking about with my camera in what became a “walking meditation”. Early the following … Continue reading

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STUPA, LIKIR, LADAKH

The expression goes “it never rains in Ladakh”. On the day we drove to Alchi we took a side trip to Likir. I found the approach to the village and monastery to be a visual feast. Perhaps the fact that … Continue reading

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SUMUR GOMPA

Sumur is in a very remote corner of the earth. It is not very far from Pakistan, and as I mentioned in earlier postings, this is a challenging place to visit. The Nubra region seemed to be a sort of … Continue reading

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DISKIT GOMPA

I received a few inquiries about Thupten and his family. I wrote quite a bit about the flood in 2010 on my old blog. Here is a link (you may need to scroll down a bit) http://thomasbethune.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-08-01T00:00:00-07:00&updated-max=2010-09-01T00:00:00-07:00&max-results=7

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HINDU SHRINE

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