I Forgot My Water Bottle

What a great stroke of luck this photograph was! I finished my bike ride, and sat on the bench for a while to cool down, and then rode home. It was there I discovered I had forgotten my water bottle. So I took a shower and then had dinner, and then drove back down to where the bench is. There was my water bottle. As I walked back to the car I saw this! The first thing that struck me was the dog facing in the opposite direction from the owner - that seemed to be the picture. But I was a long way away and only had my toy camera with me. So I took a couple of frames, and then moved closer, hoping that the dog wouldn't move, and took a couple of more frames and moved closer again. Fortunately, the dog did not move, and I got this close, and got this shot! I was thrilled. The funny thing is, the dog would look at me from time to time as I moved closer, and if it decided to move, my photo would be toast.

A Wildenhain Pot

I wanted to post another photograph from the exhibit. There were two venues for the single exhibit, and yesterday's post was my favorite sculpture in the first gallery. This is perhaps my favorite from the second gallery. I love the "ears" on it - they seem to have no purpose, but they make the pot so much more interesting. I also love that there are no fancy glazes on it - I think it is just fired clay. Doesn't this have a wonderful shape?

Frans Wildenhain

One of the things I wanted to do while in Rochester, was to see an exhibit of ceramics by Frans Wildenhain, the internationally renowned master of pottery and ceramic sculpture. He taught in the School for American Craftsmen at R.I.T. between 1950 and 1970 - including the time I was there. I actually did some work for him, doing photographs of a 200-foot ceramic mural that he was commissioned to do for the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Anyhow, it was wonderful to see such a huge and varied collection of his pottery and sculptures at the exhibit. This photograph is of one of my favorite sculptures on display. And I thought it made it more interesting picture to have the photographer in the photograph.

The Passageway

I went out to RIT to see an exhibit of the ceramics of Franz Wildenhain, who was at RIT back when I was a student. An amazing exhibit. I always enjoy wandering around the campus looking for photographs, and I was not disappointed today. This is a passageway between two buildings on the campus. I was headed out to the car to get my umbrella - you can see the gray skies in the distance from an oncoming thunderstorm. The thing I like about this image is that it feels like some kind of stage set.

George Eastman's Garden

So here is my dilemma: I wandered around the gardens at the Eastman House, which I always do after spending time in the galleries. This is my favorite photograph. It has a different quality from any other garden photo I have taken in the past. The large dark shapes in the background are unusual for me to see and give this image a different feel. OK, this part was easy. I took the photograph in color, but then converted it to black & white. I have s couple of wonderful books of black & white garden photographs taken in the late 1800's and early 1900's and I really love what the photographers have done without the advantage of color. So I am always thinking about the difference between working in each. So I am not sure whether or not the black and white photo here is better than the version in color. I think it might be. What do you think?

Four Eggs!

My friend Herm and his wife Mary Jane have four new chickens. Well, not that new, actually. They have enough property for a nice garden, and corn, and now the chickens. Anyhow, Mary Jane is really excited because the hens have started to lay. She was showing me the cage that the chickens live in and then she opened the "egg box" and was overjoyed that there were four eggs in the box. I loved the lighting and the textures of the smooth eggs against the rougher straw. And of course you are going to say: "Wait, there are SIX eggs." Right, but two of the eggs are ceramic eggs that are left in the laying box to encourage the hens, so that leaves four "real" eggs. This was a test.

Me and My Mentor

This is a photo of me and my mentor and long-time friend Herm. My first job out of college was as a photographer at the Times-Union in Rochester, NY. Herm was an art director there and we became friends right away. He was the guy who taught me to go hunting (although we never actually shot anything,) and he taught me to ski, and then he got me involved in Amateur Radio, and lastly, cycling. So it was fun today to go riding with him for the first time in about thirty years. We did about fifteen miles, and he is still a stronger cyclist than I am - he always has been. And today he was faster than I was, but that was because his bike cost more than mine! :-)