My Ode To Georgia O’Keeffe - Week #1

While in Taos I visited the historical mission church at Rancho de Taos. Georgia O’Keeffe painted this church while in Taos as did many other artists before and after her. Only when she painted the church she painted a fragment of the mission wall silhouetted against the dark blue sky - capturing the essence of the church in a new way.

“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could ...I had created an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at .... not copy it”.
Georgia O’Keeffe



Here is my interpretation of the same scene.

The Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Christmas was spent in Taos, New Mexico this year. We had a truely unique experience by staying at the The Mabel Dodge Luhan House. This house is filled with the history and stories of many past and present artists and writiers that have found both beauty and their creative muse here. Click on the link above to read all about the history of this special place.  It’s a pretty humbling experience to know that you are inhabiting the same space that the likes of D.H.Lawrence, Willa Cather, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

This is called “Mabel’s Gate and is the opening onto the property.

Detail of a rain gutter

Window and door by Mabel’s room

Bathroom window

The main part of the house

Ordinary Magic

To me beauty appears when one feels deeply.
Dorothea Lange 

Abandoned But Not Forgotten

The Start Of the New Year

I pass these old buildings whenever I walk down to the park.  They represent days long gone when houses were small and land was large.  The property is for sale so it won't be long before they are bulldozed down and multiple house will be crammed into the same space. What stories these walls could tell if only they had a voice. 

Time marches on .................

Week #52

Looking In

Well I've completed another year of the my 52 week photo challenge. Looking back on these 102 pictures, I can see how I have progressed in my ability to "see" what is around me and in my ability to capture it with my camera. 

One of the elements that I love about photography is that there is always something new to learn. One of the photographer/teachers that I owe much of my growth to is Miriam Hall. Miriam is my instructor for my Nalanda Miksang classes.  Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates as "good eye." It is a form of contemplative photography that brings together the art of photography, the discipline of meditation and the Dharma Art teachings of the meditation master and scholar Chogyam Trungpa. Miriam is wise and gentle and has been instrumental in my inner growth as a photographer.

Week #51

Winter Tree With Bird

This week, on December 21st, we will experience the winter solstice. The winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun and is an important turning point in both the natural and spiritual world. It marks the shortest day when the hours of daylight are at their least. But it also starts the increase in the hours of daylight and darkness becomes ascendent once more.

The natural world shares this reminder to all of us - light will always come back to us and illuminate even the darkest night.

Week #50

Don't Let the Rain Stop You

"Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."

Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Week #49

Young Boy in Chinatown

Do you have the patience to wait till the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

Lao-Tau - from the Tao the Ching

I often don't have the patience to wait " to the mud settles" but what I have found is that when I do, when I can be centered and mindful and fully present, wonderful images appear. This young boys face reached out to me through the window and caught my heart first and then my eye.

Week #48

Man Feeding the Birds

"At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect - a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known."

Robert Adams - Why People Photograph

Week #47

San Francisco - Chinatown

Here is another image from my San Francisco street photography class with Valerie Jardin. I usually shoot my street photography in black and white, mostly because I love the simplicity it brings to the image. Sometimes though the image you are trying to capture calls for the complexity of color. That's when I turn to the classic chrome setting on my camera. This was one of those times.  Using color helps to tell the story of this woman and the world that surrounds her.

See you on the streets!

Week #46

I Feel The Same Way

Friday I was off of work and treated myself to a day long street photography class in San Francisco. Once again, I had the pleasure of roaming the streets with Valerie Jardin and once again, I had the opportunity to spend the day with nine other creative and inspiring students. Spending the day connecting to people and our shared humanity helped bring joy back to my heart. I hope you find time this week to honor the people and pursuits that bring you joy and peace.

Week #45

The Blacksmith

I've been spending the weekend up in the Sierra foothills vacationing with family. On Friday we headed off to Columbia State Park. This is an old historical town that has buildings set up to show how life was in the mid to late 1800's in California. One of the living history exhibits was this blacksmith. He kindly let me hang around taking his picture. It's wonderful to see that some of the old crafts still flourish.

Week #44

After the Rain

"Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more."

Vincent Van Gogh

Week #43

Light On The Wall

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever.....It remembers the little things, long after we have forgotten everything."

Aaron Siskind

Week #42

Street Reflection

Here is another shot from my Paris workshop. Though street photography usually implies that there are people included in the image, there are times when the urban landscape is enough in and of itself. Here the street had just been washed down leaving this wonderful puddle of water to reflect back the street scene. 

Week #41

Walking to the Louvre

I've just been back home for a few days from Paris but the sights and sounds of the city are still fresh in my heart. What brought me to the City of Lights was a Street Photography workshop taught by Valerie Jardin. What I left Paris with is a new love for this city and most of all for street photography.

We explored many of the iconic sites of the city but Valerie always urged us to try to look in fresh ways, capturing the city as an urban landscape with the human element. This day we were walking into the courtyard of the Louvre. Hopefully I was successful capturing the sense of place but in a new way.

Valerie is a gifted teacher and I would recommend anyone who wishes to explore this area of photography to sign up for one of her workshops. As an extra bonus, the participants are also amazing and fun people that just add to a great experience.

See you on the street! 

Week #40

 

Student Reading by the Pantheon 

 

Bookstore Browsing 

 

 

 Reading on a Sunday Morning

Back home from my wonderful time in Paris. The people of Paris can be found reading everywhere. To support this habit, there are also book shops on every corner. Maybe today I will open an actual book, not my Kindle,  and curl up with a cup of tea and read the day away.

I'll post later this week with more thoughts on Paris and the Street Photography class I took with Valerie Jardin.

Week #39

 Waiting For Time

Today was the first day of our Paris Photography workshop with Valerie Jardin. What a great group of participants and of course how wonderful to spend a week learning from one of the best Street Photographers in the world. Stayed tuned for more images from my week in Paris.

Week #38

My Old Camera Bag

Throughout the summer we have been cleaning out the garage and unearthing wonderful treasures from the past. Oh sure, 90% of what we have found is trash but oh the 10% that isn't! Several weeks ago I came home from work and found sitting in the living room my old leather camera bag from when I was a kid. Seeing that bag brought back so many memories of family vacations and my dad. 

My dad was the first person who got me interested in photography. He had a serious case of what we now call GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome. He often took me with him on Saturday mornings to the local camera shop to look at new cameras and talk with the staff there about all things gear. He made sure that I always had a camera and would often joke that I got better shots on vacation with my simple Kodak then he did with all of his fancy gear. My Dad has been gone for over 30 years so I never got to share with him how that early seed of interest he planted in me those many years ago has finally blossomed into my passion. Every time I look at my old camera bag I'll remember the person who sent me down this path.

Week #37

In My Backyard Garden

" When people ask me what the secret is to making good photographs, I say go to the place you know, love and have passion for. It can be as simple as your backyard."

Jim Brandenburg