Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category
Simply Red
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Brooks Estate, dragonfly, Medford, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, red on July 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
In the Quiet
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged environment, fern, gray, green, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, stone on July 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Everyone Has A Story …
Posted in Inspiration, tagged culture, homeless, InvisiblePeople.tv, life, social media, storytelling on July 7, 2011| 2 Comments »
One day at the church where I work part-time, a tourist handed me a wallet found on the front porch. I glanced inside at the driver’s license. I don’t remember the name on the card but I remember the owner’s image. Handsome with thick dark hair and bright blue eyes. I could see just enough of his shirt and tie to make me think he was a businessman of some sort. I closed the wallet and tucked it into a little cubby until I could take it to lost and found. Shortly thereafter, a man entered my area. I smelled him before I saw him. Not body odor, just stale alcohol. His clothes were wrinkled and too big for his scrawny frame. Thinning brown hair was slicked back. The blue eyes were the same, though, gently electric. In a slurred voice he thanked me and then left. I had the luxury of sitting inside for the rest of the afternoon wondering what had happened to transform that man. Was he homeless as I suspected? What was his story? Well, that story I may never know, and if I were to see him again I am not sure I would have the courage to ask. But I am glad there are people in this world not afraid to ask like Mark Horvath.
On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God; “Why did you permit this? Why don’t you do something about it?” For a while God said nothing. That night he replied, quite suddenly:
“I certainly did something about it. I made you.”
That is the opening quote on the About page of Horvath’s InvisiblePeople.tv blog. The invisible people to which he refers are the homeless. And here are the links for the organization’s YouTube channel and his more personal blog, HardlyNormal. I hope you take time to watch some of the videos shot by Horvath as he interviews the homeless. Once homeless himself after making some bad decisions, he has a knack for drawing people out of their shells and encouraging them to tell their stories in their own words without fear of judgement. Please take a look and listen.
Feathers
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Boston, Charles River, feathers, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, Public Garden on July 6, 2011| 1 Comment »
Between meetings today, I was able to stroll through the Boston Public Gardens. As I rested in the shade of a willow tree by the pond, mallards waddled by on land while a majestic white swan glided by on the water. My hands were busy stuffing lemon ice down my throat (so hot here!). By the time my hands were free, all that was left in my vicinity were feathers.
Vertical Symmetry
Posted in Branches, Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged horizontal symmetry, landscape, nature, perception, Photography, photos, pictures, reflection, vertical symmetry, water on July 5, 2011| 2 Comments »
Recently Steve shared pictures from a trip abroad. Dreamy images of a Canadian landscape with narrow strips of land separating sky and water. Beautiful images to be sure, but what made them truly fascinating was Steve’s perspective as he shared them. He suggested in terms of their display the images should be rotated 90 degrees thus highlighting what he had been trying to capture — the reflection of the landscape in (often) still waters creating perfect symmetry, i.e. use the vertical line, not the horizontal, to heighten the viewer’s experience of the reflection. See what you think. 😉
I must admit, as I viewed some of these images at their new orientation, I began to “see” complex and rich structures that had nothing to do with their actual subject matter (trees, water, sky). I especially thought of the green man in the woods figure with this one.
What do you see?
Red is …
Posted in Inspiration, Photography Exhibits, tagged colors, Davis Square, exhibit, Inside Out Gallery, Photography, photos, pictures, red, Somerville Arts Council on July 5, 2011| 1 Comment »
Blood. Fire. Sunsets and sunrises. Red is the color of energy. Whether “hot” or “warm” in tone (never cold), that color in all its variations expresses the complexity of life. I’m pleased to be part of a new art exhibit at the Inside-Out Gallery focused on that magnificent color. If you’re in the neighborhood during the month of July, drop by and take a look at all the artists’ expressions of red. Location: Inside-Out Gallery in the CVS Window in Davis Square, Somerville.
The Sunflower in the Garden
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged garden, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, Somerville, sunflowers on July 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Rainbow Ripples
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged colors, digital alteration, Photography, photos, pictures, reflection, refraction, sunlight, water on July 2, 2011| 1 Comment »
So one day sunlight came through a window and shone through a glass of water that I had left on a table. A scientist friend of mine explained that what I captured were caustics and that the ripples in the water were acting like lenses refracting the light around. I think I understand most of that. Mostly I appreciated the simple beauty of the lines on the paper and the opportunity to play around with the images later on the computer.
Silhouettes
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged nature, Photography, photos, pictures, shadows, silhouettes on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I have a good friend who is working on assignment out west near the Grand Canyon. Occasionally, she will call in to describe the wildlife that she is seeing at dusk and dawn and all hours in between. This morning she left a message about five large elk silhouetted against the evening sky. Later, as I went through my image archives, I found myself being particularly drawn to those subjects cast in shadow. Here are a few that jumped out at me.
