Thursday, July 6, 2017

Resemblance to Reality

Here it is: my annual still life shoot of peonies I photographed with my Pentax. I showed Ian the photos I took and he was a little surprised, "They don't look like something you'd shoot." That got me thinking two things: one; I may be getting closer to establishing my style (yay!!!) and two; it's not what I would normally go for but I wanted to try something different. I wanted these photographs to portray the reality of our spring. It was brutal, it was harsh and then one day the sun came out and summer was here. Completely passing up spring and showing all the damage it had done. If not to mother nature than to human nature specifically in Seattle. I was about to lose it at some point. Snow in March? Unheard of!

Just like I do every year I picked up these peonies at the market and brought them home to watch them bloom. Except they never fully bloomed. And I couldn't figure out why. They had sufficient light and water and the apartment was warm. Over a span of a week they began to opened up, wilted and then fell apart. Again, it has been one strange spring. I thought about going back to the market to buy some bloomed ones just so I could photograph them but I stopped myself. Not everything has to be mask with beauty. Bruises, imperfection and growing pains should also see the light of day. They deliver something different; more meaningful I think. It's messy and it's real.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I've been trying to squeeze in a trip to New York just to see the Irving Penn Exhibition. Unfortunately we are quickly approaching July 30th, the last day of the exhibition and I don't think it's going to happen.

Today's blogpost is dedicated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art; one of my favorite museums. It holds so much art and the space itself is art. I've spent hours roaming the museum from one wing to another finding myself being transported to a different part of the world each time. I love having a view of Central Park during water breaks in the American Wing Cafe. The museum is always so busy making it a wonderful place to people watch as well.

Here are photographs I took on black and white film during my last visit in January. 


The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028