This photo was taken by my trail cam early one morning. I’m not sure what set off the motion sensor but the diffraction of light through our ligustrum hedge made an interesting abstract pattern, almost like a veil.
This painted bunting (Passerina ciris) was spotted at Felts Audubon Sanctuary. The Audubon Society Guide to North American Birds says that the painted bunting is often called “Nonpareil,” meaning “unrivalled.” Coming from Illinois the most colorful bird we had was the cardinal. Facebook friends from northern climates were amazed that such a bird existed outside of the rain forest. We are lucky to have such visitors in Florida.
Taken with a Canon 80D camera, Tamron 150-600 mm lens at 600 mm, f/8, ISO 1000, 1/50 sec.
Negative space is a very important aspect of Japanese art. In bonsai the space between branches gives a tree form. The Japanese call the void in space (and time) ma. Ma is fundamental to Japanese art and design. Part of a haiku says:
Walls with windows and doors form the house,
though the space within them is the essence of the house.
In a past life I taught a college class, “Materials of the Artist”, that integrated chemistry and art. In our section on photography we made cyanotypes. Cyanotype photography was discovered in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, an English astronomer. The process involved coating a sheet of paper with a solution of iron salts (potassium ferricyanide, and feric ammonium citrate) then drying the paper in a dark location. To make a print a object was placed on the paper and exposed to sunlight which converts the unmasked part of the paper into water insoluble Prussian Blue. The object to be developed is removed and the paper rinsed in water. The mixture on the unexposed part of the paper washes away leaving the blue pigment where it was exposed to sunlight.
Anna Atkins published a book on British seaweeds in 1843 and illustrated her book with cyanotypes. Her book is considered the first book to be illustrated with photographs.
The cyanotype process was used the make blueprints.
To recreate the effect, I took a digital photograph of a ginger leaf and removed the background. In Photoshop I selected cyanotype from the hue/saturation adjustment.
I was attracted to the colors of this cafe in the Village of the Arts, Bradenton. The orange door draws the eye and seems to say Welcome, Come In.
I liked the contrast of the red Scarlet Runner bean ( Phaseolus coccineus with the green leaf and blurred background. This image was taken at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello this summer. Jefferson grew this vine primarily for the beauty of its flowers.
As a native of Kansas I always admire sunflowers (Helianthus annus)and couldn’t resist taking this photo at Thomas Jefferson’s garden at Monticello. Jefferson classified sunflowers as “hardy perennial flowers” when sown in 1771.
In the Han dynasty in China (206 BCE–220 CE) noodles were called cake (饼). I am always amazed at the variety of noodles and colorful packaging in my favorite Asian food market, Wong Kai Imports in Bradenton. This shot was grabbed using my IPhone.
This photo was taken at the Venice Area Audubon Rookery. I selected this as an example of balance since it follows the Rule of Thirds and has foreground, middle ground, and background subjects. The Venice Rookery is one of my favorite spots. There is always lots of activity.
