The bluebird carries the sky on his back – Henry David Thoreau, Journal, April 3, 1852
So a little persistence and patience and I got my full color bluebird shots! This flock had been feeding off a pepperberry tree near Saint Luke’s, downtown Los Gatos but the light hadn’t been great when I photographed them earlier. So when the morning broke bright and sunny I took off for the parking lot and waited with the scent of cupcakes hanging in the air… and they came!
Some days get filled up all those other things artists end up doing, but no matter how busy you are, there always seems to be something worth pointing your camera at. Photography – instant gratification!
I was super excited to attend the opening reception of my friend, Ron Dell’Aquila‘s photography exhibition last night at the Triton Museum of Art. He was awarded this coveted solo show when he won the Triton’s Statewide Exhibition and Competition (no small achievement) and the show looked absolutely fabulous!
His work ranges from figure as landscape, actual landscapes, portraits and floral abstractions but my personal favorites, which I’ll feature here, are his night scenes from Taipei shot in glorious, saturated HDR!
They all seem to have this quiet, unobserved quality to their worlds which is beautiful, luminous and intimate.
These shop girls, shot in a busy night market are beyond gorgeous, their downcast eyes allow the viewer to gaze at their beauty in an extended sidelong glance.
Shop Girl 2, 2012 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Shop Girl 1, 2012 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Pastel Diners are exquisite, caught between layers of glass, steam, reflected light, and a narrow depth of field, the subjects are brought into a gentle focus, one that we as observers seem privileged to witness.
Pastel Diners : Tea, 2009 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Pastel Diners : Children, 2009 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Touch me Here , 2014 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Red Lantern Alley, 2012 Printed Inks on Archival Paper
Ron explained how he was drawn to this alley, he just had a feeling about it and once all the people had cleared out he ended up using a motorcycle as a tripod for this shot!
Ron Dell’Aquila’s photographs seem stunning here but try to imagine how much better they are in real life! Try to see them. The exhibition runs until November 16, 2014 at the Triton Museum of Art at 1505 Warburton Avenue in Santa Clara, California.
OK, I find these vintage Chubu demitasse ridiculously charming! They were made in occupied Japan, and I think they are meant to resemble lotus flowers. I’m a little short on lotus today so I shot them with strawberries, which I felt was in keeping with their fanciful nature. The only thing they’re missing are hummingbirds!
Yummy yellow.
Lovely lavender.
And my personal favorite, pink of perfection! Or is it green with envy?
Fall brings fog.
Well at least until the sun burns it off, and that’s barely enough time to change out of pajamas and grab the camera. But the hustle is worth it because the fog cloaks everything in a different light and seeing things differently is what it’s all about.
Minutes later the fog is gone – like a ghost.
Dahlia days are almost at an end so I salvaged some still lovey heads from some very floppy and mildewed stems and set about photographing them.
Now whether you are painting from life (or still life) or shooting for later reference – or for that mater, taking photographs for the sake of photography, there are some keys to a successful image.
Here you can see that the tungsten light casts a yellowish light over the purple toned flowers and walls, making everything appear monochromatic and flat. I find that natural light is always best.
This shot has several things going for it, the natural light from the window really illumuninates and defines the petals and gives a truer picture of the real color of the flowers. The charteruse backdrop provides a nice complementary contrast to the flowers, giving them a dramatic boost but the overhead shot leaves the arrangement ungrounded.
In this one, the image is more grounded but the backlighting doesn’t do much for this subject.
Here this side lighting from the window does a fantastic job of defining the blooms but it’s a little cold for my taste.
I used a flash in this shot and you can see how it flattens the image and is far too contrasty and cold.
Here the light is perfect, warm, natural side lighting gives the flowers and vase great definition, the soft warm green is just enough of a complement to the dahlias without competing and the the black base is a great grounding surface that gives just the right amount of contrast to the image. What about that clutter in the background though? In a painting it could be made to be more abstract and less irritating, but it slightly distracting.
Oh, finally – the perfect shot! There is nothing extraneous in this shot to pull your attention away from the gorgeousness of the dahlias in their simple but perfect presentation. I think I’m ready to put a new canvas on the easel!
“Dignity and Elegence – ForeverThine”
Flowers and poetry – such a cliché and yet I’m really moved by the innocence of the daisies and the beauty of Tagore’s Fireflies. And yes, I understand that this poem isn’t really about flowers!
Vintage dress form shot from every gorgeous angle.
The dress from is such an elegant representation of the female form. It has a quiet feminine dignity that’s removed enough from the flesh and blood version to offer a depersonalized platform from which to make a statement. I particularly love this tattered, antique dress form that I photographed above as you can see her scars of age and the metal bones of her inner core. There is such an austere, worn beauty to her I may paint her as a straight portrait.