This week I am posting images of patterns. The thing that I like about this one is that there are two vines fighting each other for real estate. The idea of vines on brick buildings looks better than it is in reality. Vines will eventually destroy the bricks and while they are working on the bricks they attract insects and birds which might not be appreciated by an apartment tenant. See other images and buy prints and apparel at my commercial gallery.
Vinny Windows
In keeping with this week’s theme of patterns, I thought this flag picture could serve the theme and still allow me to pay homage to the American worker.
Now that I am retired, I think I have a deeper appreciation of those who labor. Of course I worked for a long time and still do creative work every day, but there is work and then there is labor. I have also done some labor in my time. I worked in a commercial bakery. I worked in supermarkets. I was a cab driver. I have done photography inside nuclear reactors, steel mills and paper mills. I understand what labor is and to all of you who labor…thanks and enjoy your day!
To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.
Focusing on patterns this week made me think of this image. It is a gate at Versailles in France and the magnificent “logo” of Louis XIV the Sun King. You can see other images from europe and buy prints and apparel at my commercial gallery.
The Sun King
This weeks theme will be patterns. Photographers, including myself, are fascinated with patterns. I think that is because, unlike painters, we deal with physically moving our position and the position of our tools (tripod,lens,etc.)to compose an image. Of course there are patterns in everything, but this weeks images will focus on images that I like primarily because of their repetitive patterns. This one was taken along the Chicago river on the Architectural tour. You can see other images and buy prints of this one at my commercial gallery.
WindowPatterns on the Chicago River
OK, now this is a personal thing. I am a photographer, not an artist. I try to do artistic photography and be creative in my work but that does not make me an artist. Picasso was an artist, Monet was an artist, some of the students I taught photography to are artists. An artist starts with a blank canvas and from their minds they create an image. Artists believe that primary colors are red, blue, green and yellow. They teach this to children in grade school. Photographers use light. They understand that human beings have red, blue and green receptors (cones) in their eyes. There are no yellow cones in your eyes. Photographers understand that yellow along with cyan and magenta are subtractive primaries and the basics of printing ink or toner on paper.
It must be magical to have the skill to look at a piece of canvas and use a brush to paint an image. I tried it in school and I sucked. The only thing I have ever painted that I liked is this image. I used Doctor Martins Dyes and brushes to hand color a monochrome print. It took forever! I never tried hand tinting again and went back to the camera, darkroom and now lightroom where I belong. You can see other images and buy apparel and prints at my commercial gallery.
Hand Colored Junior Miss Contestants
I was reviewing my statistics on my commercial site yesterday. I have sold more prints than t-shirts but have made more money from apparel than from prints. This T-Shirt of Jon Luc Ponty is my second largest selling T-Shirt after Zappa Hope and you can purchase it here. Saw him play with RTF a couple of years ago and he hasn’t lost a lick.
Jan Luc Ponty Apparel
Labor Day weekend usually signifies the end of Summer. Once again, the kids are back in school and traffic and schedules for everyone become more rigid because of it. Even if you don’t have children, you don’t want to get caught behind “the late bus” climbing up the mountain on a two lane road. So here is a video highlighting some fun we had this Summer. To see more images and buy prints or apparel visit my commercial gallery.
The production assistant is the person on a movie set that does whatever is asked. That could include getting coffee, tape or just about anything. They need to find the wandering actors and extras and make every body shut up. A thankless job even in today’s film environment. On the set of Dawn of The Dead in 1978 or any small budget movie the person might actually be an intern and not even paid for their work. I am not sure if this young lady was paid or not, but she handled it all with a smile, not a frown. You can see more behind the scene images and buy prints on my commercial gallery.
Production Assistant on Dawn of the Dead
It was difficult taking pictures in Giverny. There were a lot of people and the garden had a lot of shade. I was without a tripod and it was challenging to get the correct depth of field.This plant had some light on it making it one of the “keepers” from the shoot. I am assuming this plant is holly?
Monet’s water garden in Giverny is located just outside of Vernon France. It is a short day trip from Paris and worth the train and bus ride. The house and gardens are unique and stunning and kept in the same way that they were during the time of Claude Monet. If you have the time it is worth spending a night since the entire area is really a tribute to nature and art. You can see other images and buy prints and apparel at my commercial gallery.
Monet’s water garden in Giverny is located just outside of Vernon France. It is a short day trip from Paris and worth the train and bus ride. The house and gardens are unique and stunning and kept in the same way that they were during the time of Claude Monet. If you have the time it is worth spending a night since the entire area is really a tribute to nature and art. You can see other images and buy prints and apparel on my commercial gallery.
Monet’s Water Garden