Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category
the black swan and his muses
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, Inspiration, landscape, nature, Photography, South Carolina, Sumter, Swan Lake, swans, travel on October 3, 2016| 1 Comment »
in the swan lake gardens
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, dragonflies, insects, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography, Photography, South Carolina, spiders, Sumter, swans, travel, waterfowl on October 2, 2016| 3 Comments »
temple sinai
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, colors, jewish culture, Photography, reform jewish congregation, stained glass, temple sinai, travel on September 30, 2016| 1 Comment »
Details from two of the eleven stained glass windows in Temple Sinai in Sumter, SC. Stay tuned for more photos and the history of this beautiful historic structure in the near future.
a few quick pics in a garden
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged flowers, gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography, travel on September 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »
future stained glass challenges
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, colors, creativity, hope, Inspiration, Photography, stained glass windows, travel on September 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I don’t just challenge others and reap the culinary rewards, I also try to challenge myself and so in the coming weeks I am challenging myself to photograph and research two different sets of stained glass windows (at least). The first will involve some travel as I make my way to South Carolina to visit with relatives and en route may have the opportunity to photograph stained glass windows in a historic synagogue. The other involves researching this window (above) I noticed in a building while walking in the Back Bay of Boston. Stay tuned for future updates, and meanwhile, here’s a window located in a place I write about often, Trinity Church in the City of Boston. It is Hope by Burlison & Grylls.
shortbread with a variation
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged beauty, challenges, cookies, food, food photography, frienship, healthy eating, Inspiration, Photography, shortbread, simplicity on September 25, 2016| 1 Comment »
The challenge of deriving expressions of simplicity continues … deliciously so. The latest expression from the young chef is shortbread cookies but “with guava paste in the middle. I couldn’t help myself!” she said. All the various taste testers in the room gave her two thumbs up.
wandering in a rose garden
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, color, flowers, gardens, growth, Inspiration, nature, Photography, roses, urban landscape on September 18, 2016| 3 Comments »
It is the end of the season but …
… the roses are still beautiful and …
… still growing.
so I stepped into a church
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, beauty, faith, fine art, Inspiration, painting, Photography, Raphael, religion, transfiguration on September 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »
to photograph its stained glass windows and along the way I stumbled upon Raphael’s Transfiguration (1516-1520). Not the original of course. That’s in the Vatican. This painting, which my guide at the time knew little about, appears to be a 19th century reproduction. The history of this particular painting – its creation and who gave it to the church – may be lost to history. However, I’ve since learned from a research fellow at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that such reproductions were popular and prints being produced as early as the 16th century.
Transfiguration was Raphael’s last painting. He died at the age of 37 leaving the painting incomplete. It is considered one of his most beautiful works out of a very large body of work. It was a treat to chance upon the reproduction and perhaps one day I will see the actual painting in person. Meanwhile, below is a photograph of Raphael’s handiwork and you can read details on the Vatican Museums website here.
Raphael’s Transfiguration, photo by Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43522641
Additional Reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-transfiguration-of-christ-31006
chasing the sun
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, colors, Inspiration, nature, Photography, sky, storytelling, sun, sunset on September 14, 2016| 4 Comments »
At this time of year I chase the sun even if that only means I race up the spiral staircase in my home to the highest window to see how the light changes over time in the distant sky.
And just as I thought I was done and walked back down the stairs to download images and such, I looked out the lower window and saw that the sky had turned from gold to orange.
And then, yes once more, when I thought I was done and had walked back down the stairs to download images and compose this post, I looked up. The sky was a wonderful pinkish-red. I decided to watch the sky grow dark instead of racing back up those stairs.
la farge … a master of light
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, colors, creativity, Inspiration, John La Farge, Photography, stained glass on September 14, 2016| 2 Comments »
detail from stained glass window christ preaching by john la farge (1883)
Christ Preaching is a three story clerestory window located on the west end of Trinity Church in the City of Boston. Beautiful at any time of day, because of its location, it especially comes to life as the sun begins to set.
Sometimes when tourists enter Trinity the first words they literally ask is, “Are there any Tiffany windows here?” When they learn that the answer is no, they will shrug, albeit politely, and walk away. And I can only shake my head, knowing firsthand what they are walking away from.
Learn more …
http://trinitychurchboston.org/art-history/windows-slideshow
http://library.bc.edu/lafargeglass/exhibits/show/descriptions/all-saints/trinity-boston
Words + Images 