Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged abstract, beauty, blue, colors, Galway, Inspiration, ireland, Photography, reflections, travel, urban landscape, water on February 11, 2015| 2 Comments »
Trees reflected in the waters during that recent trip to Ireland. That’s one good thing about being a bit snowbound. Gives you lots of time to sit and sort through photos.
Of course that could be me trying to find the bright side as we brace for the next set of winter storms.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged books, colors, Dublin Green, gifts, gratitude, Inspiration, ireland, nature, photo book, Photography, travel on November 23, 2014| 4 Comments »
There’s always a tension in creating a product online. Will the tangible reality be as nice? Dublin Green exceeded all expectations. You can read more in this prior post about why I created the book, the second in what may become a series. You never know what a year will hold. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged abstract, architecture, art, churches, colors, Galway Cathedral, Inspiration, interiors, ireland, light, Photography, stained glass, travel, walls on November 16, 2014| 3 Comments »
More images from Galway Cathedral. I was able to briefly visit the cathedral on two different days.
The first day was cloudy but on the second there was a period of bright sun.
As I tried to capture the colors of stained glass shimmering on the wall, I was reminded of light dancing on water and nature’s colors reflected and rippling on the surface.
A magical moment, indeed.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged architecture, art, artwork, beauty, cathedrals, churches, colors, faith, Galway, Galway Cathedral, ireland, Patrick Pollen, religion, stained glass, travel on November 14, 2014| 1 Comment »
Of all the buildings that I was able to step into in Galway, I was able to spend the most time at the Galway Cathedral. Dedicated on August 15, 1965 by Cardinal Cushing of Boston, it is noted as the youngest of Europe’s stone cathedrals. Its art and architecture reflect many different styles and periods from Byzantine to Gothic to Romanesque.
Detail from St. Michael, by Patrick Pollen of Dublin
Online, there are many images of the exterior. My camera tended to focus on the variety of stained glass windows, mosaics and carvings on the interior walls. In addition to learning the larger story of the building’s creation, it has been a pleasure to research and learn about the individual artists, like Patrick Pollen, who dedicated so many years of their lives to producing artwork for this cathedral.
Detail from St. Gabriel, by Patrick Pollen of Dublin
It will take me a while to sort through the images and continue my research. There are always stories to discover! Until I pull together my words and images about this beautiful structure, here are few images to peruse.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged abstract, birds, books, colors, dublin, gratitutude, Inspiration, ireland, landscape, nature, nature photography, photobooks, Photography, travel, UCD Belfield, water on November 13, 2014| 2 Comments »
Last year, I created a “book of thanks” for folks who made me feel very welcome in my travels around Dublin. As simply the guest of one of the conference speakers, I was free to ramble about the city and especially St. Stephen’s Green. This year, I was lucky enough to attend again (and even visit Galway). I decided I should do another book, to thank folks, and to highlight just a tiny bit of the beauty I saw as I meandered, this time, about the UCD Belfield Campus and its wonderful system of walking paths. The images are sorted into three sections: Amidst the Trees and in the Fields, Among the Birds, and Reflected in the Many Waters. Below are a few excerpts and the entire book is available via this link.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged architecture, art, beauty, churches, colors, faith, Galway, George William Walsh, Gothic church, Inspiration, ireland, Photography, religion, St. Augustine, stained glass windows, storytelling, travel on November 12, 2014| 3 Comments »
As I’ve written about before, one of the great pleasures for me of stepping into a church is to see the wide variety of artistic expression through stained glass. Such is certainly the case with a quick visit to St. Augustine’s, a Gothic church in Galway completed in 1859.
Apparently during renovations in the 1970s, the original window over the main altar was replaced by a new window depicting the Resurrection. The artist is George W. Walsh.You can read a bit more about Mr. Walsh via this link. His father, with whom he apprenticed for several years, was a pupil of stained glass artist and illustrator Harry Clarke.
While no one seemed to mind me meandering about with my camera, I focused mostly on that window above the altar with its many lovely parts making an incredibly beautiful whole.
The other window that caught my attention happened to be a depiction of St. Augustine himself. Later I discovered that Mr. Walsh also composed and completed that window.
It was a bit rainy that day so I did not take many exterior shots, but via this link you can view the building. On this webpage, you can read just a bit more about the history of the Augustinians in Galway and more about the construction of this particular building.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged architecture, art, churches, colors, faith, Galway, Inspiration, ireland, Photography, Priory of St Mary, religion, stained glass windows, The Claddagh, travel on November 11, 2014| 3 Comments »
I’ve been on a bit of whirlwind travel for work and pleasure. In addition to spending time among swans, I managed to step into a few churches along the way. Here’s a bit of the beauty to be found at the Priory of St. Mary’s, The Claddagh, Galway, Ireland. I hope I have the opportunity to return one day.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Bay of Fundy, butterflies, Canada, colors, eyes, fishing, Grand Manan, Inspiration, islands, nature, New Brunswick, outdoors, Photography, seagulls, seals, travel, wildlife on June 25, 2014| 6 Comments »
I do not know the name of this little fellow. All I know is that once Steve took the rod from my hands and began jiggling the line, this creature clamped on tight. Steve hauled him up long enough for me to snap a picture and then he was released back into the bay.
This lovely trio stared me down as I walked toward them. I think they quickly realized I knew very little about fishing and so they patiently waited for the lobster boats to return to dock.
Can you see the bright eyes of this seal? I was scanning the waves for a whale so I nearly missed this svelte form bobbing up and down in the waves. I heard tell of a green snake in the woods and saw deer hoof prints in the mud but few other animals did I see this past weekend, up north, except for this butterfly feeding on minerals in the soil.
You can see more images from a weekend journey to Grand Manan here, and learn more about this beautiful island here. A very short trip from where I live — a drive and then ferry ride — but somehow it was a world away.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged Canada, colors, Grand Manan, Inspiration, landscape, light, nature, New Brunswick, Photography, rivers, sunlight, travel, water on June 24, 2014| 9 Comments »
… somehow, the scenes always take my breath away. With moving water, in this case a freshwater spring running into the sea, there is no one right photo. It’s just capturing fluid moments as the sun shines down, reflecting, refracting and all those other wonderful things light does in and on the water.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged Arnold Genthe, art, Asia, culture, history, Inspiration, Japan, Photography, travel on May 14, 2014| 9 Comments »
Photographer Arnold Genthe
One of the unexpected gifts of researching the life of Joseph Anthony Horne has been exposure to photographers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose work and craftsmanship are no longer that widely known outside of scholarly circles. Via the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, I’ve most recently enjoyed learning about Arnold Genthe. Born in Germany in 1869, by 1895 he would be living in San Francisco, California, serving as the tutor to a Baron’s son. There, he would gain access to a camera, become adept at its use and begin documenting his travels around the city, especially in Chinatown.
Friends, Chinatown, San Francisco by Arnold Genthe. taken between 1896 and 1906
Eventually he would become a famed photographer for the wealthy elite, politicians, artists and to budding movie stars like Greta Garbo.
Portrait of Greta Garbo, taken July 1925
His earliest photographs, with the exception of photos he took in Chinatown, would be destroyed by the city’s devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. But with a successful career that spanned three decades, the Library of Congress has archived thousands of his photographic images — the negatives and other materials were purchased from his estate after his death in 1943. During his lifetime, like many people of his generation with his financial resources, Genthe would spend time traveling throughout Africa and Asia.
It is his images taken in Asia during a several month sojourn in 1908 that I find especially captivating. Collectively titled, Travel Views of Japan and Korea, the breadth of imagery is extensive.
No city names are cited or any geographic locations given. There are certainly clues to be gleaned from the landscape (e.g. an image of a giant buddha that may be in Kamakura and images of the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine).
I am particularly fascinated by his photographs of the people.
Each image holds a story in the expressions captured on faces over a hundred years ago, in the clothing worn, in the backgrounds of each scene.
Genthe seemed particularly drawn to photographing how, rich or poor, young or old, everyone took care of the babies.
The images are a dream in terms of capturing a very specific moment in time.
The Genthe Collection at the Library of Congress can be viewed via this link: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/agc/
If you’re particularly interested in the photographs of Old Chinatown, there’s a book available here.
And it appears that at least one chapter of his 1936 memoir, As I Remember, is available online here.
Words + Images 