I was having trouble getting myself going this morning so I sought some inspiration by playing with my food. 😉
Posts Tagged ‘fun’
a raspberry morning
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged colors, food, food photography, fruit, fun, Inspiration, Photography, rasberries on December 9, 2015| 2 Comments »
the journey began with a tomato in green glass
Posted in Inspiration, tagged abstract, beauty, colors, curiosity, fun, glass, green, Inspiration, light, Photography, rainbows, refraction, storytelling, water on November 3, 2015| 4 Comments »
The drinking glass I picked up at a thrift store with the intention of planting sprouts in it this winter. But for now it has been sitting on a table next to the window. This morning I dropped two small tomatoes into it, just a placeholder until I chop them up for salad later. Then that thing happened again. While at the keyboard I happened to glance over my shoulder and there it was, a curious light on the tomato as the morning sun shone through the curves of the green glass. At first my focus was purely the tomato but as I hunched over my still life I noticed what was happening at the base of the glass. So I placed a piece of black cardboard beneath the glass, removed the tomatoes and added some water. This is what I saw.
I changed the level of the water. I placed the green glass on top of a clear glass to raise its height. At one point I dropped in an ice cube.
It was just fun to see what changes might take place.
I set aside the green glass and replaced it with a clear square glass that has a thick bottom. I photographed its pyramid like base and that was pretty cool.
Overall, my “experiment” took about 15-20 minutes.
Not much clean up. Just some glasses to dry.
Just some glasses to dry.
the northern lights and john cage
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, caustics, experimentation, fun, Inspiration, music, nature, oak tree, Photography, physics, poetry, refraction, science, silence, sunlight, time, urban landscape, videography on October 12, 2015| 2 Comments »
Caustic in Black & White 1
Okay, I first remember reading about John Cage in a story by Alex Ross of The New Yorker. The piece opened with a description of the 1952 performance of John Cage’s composition, 4’33”, which turned out to be four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. It’s a bit more complicated than that, or maybe not, but you can read more via this article link. John Cage and silence came to mind recently because I was sharing a video I’d made with the physicist in my life and when I asked him what piece of music should I pair with these images, he suggested, “soundtrack by John Cage.”
Caustic in Black & White 2
At first I thought he was kidding. There had to be a short classical piece to fit the light and motion so reminiscent of northern lights. When I’d asked him what music to pair with a short video of sunlit water flowing over rocks, he’d suggested Faure’s Requiem in Paradisum. Now he recommended silence? On my own, I found Bartock’s Evening in the Village. I tried the pairing. He appreciated Bartok but he still favored Cage. I read a bit more about Cage, his compositions, his performances, his poetry … an interesting man to say the last.
Caustics in Color
So what I captured on the wall one morning took place in less than four minutes and thirty-three seconds. It involved a rippled window, a different one in the house. Light shone down through the gaps in the leaves and branches of the oak tree that towers over the house. That light made its way through the glass refracting through the ripples producing a dynamic pattern of caustics on the wall. Most often that pattern of light is static but this particular morning the wind was blowing. The branches and the leaves they moved creating what that physicist described as “a pattern of illumination that varied in space and time.” It was a good moment inspiring some experimentation as you can see in the video below. The flickering on the wall is as it happened … in less than four minutes and thirty-three seconds.
A Silent Dance from Cynthia Staples on Vimeo.
colors around the kitchen
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged abstract, colors, fun, Inspiration, light, Photography, shadows, silhouettes on September 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »
herbs in silhouette against my notebook covers
votives and vases
the sight that sparked the idea
I started with sweet marjoram but …
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, beauty, blooms, colors, dill, flowers, fun, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, Photography, sweet marjoram on July 16, 2015| 1 Comment »
my house garden mapped
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged cooking, cuisine, edible plants, food art, fun, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, maps on April 27, 2015| 4 Comments »
I’ve been getting a few questions about my garden and how I can be growing everything from traditional herbs to potatoes all indoors. Please keep in mind that some of my planting vessels are re-purposed espresso cups and cereal bowls and very few vessels are large. Nevertheless, I am very lucky to live in an old Victorian with lots of nooks and crannies and windows all around. Outside the kitchen, in the hallway, is a table tucked against a window. And upon that table you will currently find …
Enter the kitchen and one of the very first things you will see is a small bookcase where cookbooks and old recipes are kept on the shelves. On the narrow top, are the following edible parts …
And just ahead, not far, is a small table that receives plenty of light. And so upon its right-hand corner there are stacked the following herbs and sprouts …
Now to the right of the table is a sizeable floor speaker with a sturdy wooden case. That’s right. I usurped a portion of the top and there you will find …
And, last but not least, in this kitchen there is a bay of windows. The curvature is such that the area was just big enough for a certain person to tuck his handmade wooden carpenter’s workbench. I held myself in check and only borrowed a left-hand corner where there now sits …
There are other plants around whose images I like to share with you, but these are the edible ones, close to and in the kitchen, always reaching for the light. I made these guides for the resident chef so that he knows what he is snipping at but I also made them for myself as a calm way to end the day. Enjoy. 😉
So what happens when …
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged abstract, colors, food photography, fun, Inspiration, light, Photography, red onion, red tomato on April 11, 2015| 2 Comments »
… you place a slice of red onion, a slice of red tomato and a bit of creamy white garlic on a gold clay saucer and then wrap that saucer with some clear plastic? Simply leftovers from a late lunch. Well, depending on the right light pouring through a window, sometimes I think you get magic. 😉
four years ago …
Posted in Inspiration, tagged colors, fun, Inspiration, musings, Photography on March 7, 2015| 4 Comments »
I don’t remember the details of the day, four years ago. But I guess I was working at my desk and the sun struck a box of pins. You just never know what’s going to catch your attention. 😉
a winter harvest layered
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged colors, food, food photography, fun, indoor gardening, Inspiration, microgreens, Photography, recipes, salads on February 12, 2015| 3 Comments »
nasturtium leaves
upland cress and spicy mix sprouts
one tomato and a little red onion
finish off with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of black pepper and whatever else your heart desires 😉
the frozen nasturtium
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, frozen, fun, ice, Inspiration, nasturtium, Photography, water on January 29, 2015| 2 Comments »
Words + Images 