8 March 2010, 1:09 pm
Vivian Maier was a street photographer from the 1950s to 1990s. Maier’s work was discovered at an auction in Chicago where she resided most of her life. Her discovered work includes about 100,000 mostly medium-format negatives and hundreds of undeveloped rolls of film. Born February 1, 1926, she died on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. John Maloof created this blog as a dedication to Maier’s work. He writes:
“I acquired Vivian’s negatives while at a furniture and antique auction. From what I know, the auction house acquired her belongings from her storage locker that was sold off due to delinquent payments. I didn’t know what ’street photography’ was when I purchased them.”
Maloof has his own street photography website.
22 February 2010, 12:39 pm
“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
~ Andy Warhol
14 February 2010, 3:47 pm
” Come into the garden, Maud, For the black bat, night, has flown, Come into the garden, Maud, I am here at the gate alone; Maud And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad, And the musk of the rose is blown. For a breeze of morning moves, And the planet of Love is on high, Beginning to faint in the light that she loves On a bed of daffodil sky.”
-Tennyson
Maud, pt.1, sect.22, stanza1, l.850^9.
Still growing daffodils from bulbs. Such a cheery sight against the snowy windows.
8 February 2010, 10:32 pm
” For as long as humans have been keeping track, large areas of the Arctic Ocean have remained covered by sea ice throughout the year. However, over the past 30 years, the area covered by ice has shown a dramatic decrease. Since satellite-based measurements began in the late 1970s, data show a trend of more ice melting away during summers and less new ice forming during winters. The average maximum extent of sea ice has decreased by 2.8 percent per decade. Measurements of minimum sea ice extent each year show that summer melting has been even more dramatic, decreasing by an average of 11.1 percent per decade.” …more
NOAA Climate Watch
• • •
“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning…”
From my RedBubble sales site.
“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”
—Oscar Wilde
• • •
4 February 2010, 11:04 am
“From December to March, there are for many of
us three gardens:
the garden outdoors,
the garden of pots and bowls in the house,
and the garden of the mind’s eye.”
- Katherine S. White
• • •
The name Daffodil is derived from an earlier “Affodell”, a variant of Asphodel. The reason for the introduction of the initial “d” is not known, although a probable source is an etymological merging from the Dutch article “de,” as in “De affodil.” From at least the sixteenth century “Daffadown Dilly”, “daffadown dilly”, and “daffydowndilly” have appeared as playful synonyms of the name.
Filed under photography.
Tagged daffodil, f/1.4, February, Jan Timmons photo, light, nikkor 50mm lens, Nikon D200, photography, shadows, sunlight, winter
28 January 2010, 10:06 pm
From wikipedia:
“Amaryllis is a monotypic genus of plant also known as the Belladonna Lily or naked ladies. The single species, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest region near the Cape. It is often confused with Hippeastrum, a flowering bulb commonly sold in the winter months for its ability to bloom indoors.
“The botanic name Amaryllis is taken from a shepherdess in Virgil’s pastoral “Eclogues,” from the Greek ἀμαρύσσω (Latin amarysso) meaning “to sparkle.”
“As a flower symbol it has come to mean “Dramatic”.
“It is used as a given name for females. The plant is also known as the “Jersey Lily” after Lily Langtry.”
This poem seems apt:
Amaryllis
by Connie Wanek
“A flower needs to be this size
to conceal the winter window,
and this color, the red
of a Fiat with the top down,
to impress us, dull as we’ve grown.
“Months ago the gigantic onion of a bulb
half above the soil
stuck out its green tongue
and slowly, day by day,
the flower itself entered our world,
“closed, like hands that captured a moth,
then open, as eyes open,
. . .”
–concluded at the poet’s site–
22 January 2010, 10:43 am
After shooting (without killing) a lusty red amaryllis plant yesterday and posting to my RedBubble sales account, I began to ponder.
Does the sharp detail err on the side of masculine? A quick perusal of others’ photos reveals shallow depth-of-field photos, blurred intentionally using the Orton effects, and then covered by a layer of texture. Softness seems to be in style, whether the original were in focus or not. As wikipedia states about the Orton effect:
“Photography enthusiasts, such as groups on Flickr, have embraced the technique and used photo editing programs, like Adobe Photoshop, to replicate it. Some have modified the technique to selectively apply the technique, producing images that have regions of crisp focus and high detail and regions of intense blurriness.”
Pssh. I was pleased that I didn’t touch the RAW photo with Photoshop, except to convert to a jpeg. One assumes that softness sells, but that’s not the aim here. I aim to see in new ways every day. Okay, sales are nice. My accountant likes them.
Or softer, perhaps, with a vignette and lighter background, as in the next shot? Perhaps this looks less clinical and more romantic. (Photo links to sales site.)
20 January 2010, 12:49 pm
Another addition to social networking involves books and reading and “cataloging”. The LibraryThing “connects you to people who read what you do”, the site advertises.
The site has an attractive interface, just as goodreads does. The LibraryThing has an easier-to-find tour and instructions.
“LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers.” “LibraryThing connects people based on the books they share.” Many claims.
I’m bemused. Do you find this form of social networking of interest? Do you read the reviews of others? Do you read reviews in the New York Times online? Or does your library offer an online community? Do tell!
13 January 2010, 10:44 pm
Susan Danziger, founder of DailyLit, turns full-length novels and non-fiction favorites into email.
Daily email 1,000-word installments arrive at a time a reader determines. And one can read that portion of the novel or non-fiction book or short story on a desktop, laptop, or cell phone. Danziger, a former staffer at Random House, says users have begun embracing new ways of reading.
A reader only needs to pick a book (browse the collection or use the search box), select how often and when you want to receive messages, and provide an email address. Click on the big Subscribe button. DailyLit does the rest. By registering, readers can join in forum discussions by author or subject, post questoins, list books they read, and request books.
And it’s all free. DailyLit works with sponsors and publishers to make books available for free.
2 January 2010, 1:25 pm
Photo taken with iPhone
“Jury service is one of the most important civic duties. You do not need any knowledge of the legal system to be a juror. The protection of rights and liberties of litigants in [state and] federal courts is largely achieved through the teamwork of judge and jury.”
…waiting…
I read these heartening words on the brochure while waiting to see if one of three criminal trials would need me, good ole number 20. Forty of us had arrived that Tuesday morning in the freezing, icy temperatures to do their civic (and required) duty. Apparently, juror’s mere presence can act as a deterrent toward a lengthy or even short trial by jury, particularly if we as jurors glare at the defendants. Perry Mason wasn’t there, nor was Hamilton Burger or Lt. Tragg. The bailiff dismissed us.
That means I’m free of that kind of civic duty for another 24 months. Again.
Meanwhile, I spent a little time taking photos with my iPhone, and memorialized the womenfolk’s restroom. The couch made a nice touch; even though it was early and the wait felt tedious, I didn’t use it.
…waiting…