Ordinary

I have been doing a lot of work around the house, and Liz is visiting, so I have admit I haven't been as conscientious as I should have been recently in looking for photographs. I did ride my bike for the last two days, so in desperation today I shot this down by the water, at the end of my ride, so I would have something to post. That's not the way I like to do the blog, however. I will look for something really different tomorrow. Promise.

Snake Tree

This is one more sculpture at the art museum I was at the other day. I took this photo first, AND I found the plaque with the artist's name and the name of the piece on it. It is "Snake Tree, 1988" by Niki de Saint Phalle. What I love about this photo, besides the amazing sculpture, is the tiny figure of a child running away in the distance. Did you notice that when you first looked at the photograph?

The New Project

So I am no longer on the roof, but I have an indoor project that is way up in the air. I am preparing to paint the hallway over the stairs leading to the second floor. It is a bit tricky - I need to put two ladders on the stairs, and then put a 2"x10" plank between the ladders and then climb up on the plank. Wow, it is way up in the air! I am chipping out the loose plaster and digging out the cracks, and then taping and using joint compound to fill in all the imperfections, before I begin painting. I will be at this for a few days, but the project is fun. I love making things new and clean and fresh looking.

Magic!

This photograph is not a normal representation of the scene. I am still experimenting with High Dynamic Range photography (HDR), where I take 3 or 5 photographs at different exposures, and then combine them with special software to be able to show details you would not be able to see normally. In this case, in the actual scene, the tree was nearly a black silhouette, but there was a hint of orange light on it, from a streetlight across the street. This software allows me to bring out much more detail in the tree, thus making it almost completely oranage. It is a really cool effect. The saturation of the entire photograph is a bit high, which also adds to its sense of unreality. Here is one of the original photographs for comparison.

The Figure

I went to the Nassau County Museum of Art today to see the show of Norman Rockwell paintings, and Saturday Evening Post covers from the 1920's to the 1960's, featuring his artwork. On the way to the museum I passed this sculpture on the lawn, and stopped in my tracks. At first glance it just looks like a human figure, but as you look more closely you see that it is made of layers of flagstone with ragged edges carefully stacked! It is simply stunning in it's simplicity and in it's beauty, and in the feeling it creates when you contemplate it. I didn't stop to photograph it on the way in because I was cold - it was 22 degrees here today. On the way out I did stop, and quickly photographed it, but forgot to look for the plaque that identified the artist. What a dolt I am. I am sorry I didn't get this information for you. I want to go back and photograph it again in the Spring in different light.

The Snowstorm

Since we had a respite from snow pictures yesterday, I am back with "Topic A" and I wanted to show you this photo I did the morning of the small snowstorm. It's a view out the bathroom window. Here's the thing... If I showed this image as it was shot, it would be kind of bluish, because it was taken on an overcast day. I looked at the blue and then color-corrected it back to a neutral tone. I am tired of looking at blue-gray pictures. But I am having second thoughts, so I will put it up for a vote and show you both versions. Which color do you like best?

It Snowed Again Today

It snowed again today, and so I went and took some more snow pictures. But since it is the start of a new year, I was cleaning up my computers and filing last year's photographs and I stumbled across this recent photo. They are Cosmos, I believe, and I photographed them on Liz' front porch. Today is gray outside, and I like that this photograph is bright and colorful, something I would rather see today. I did gray yesterday!