Tag: photography

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Hengki Koentjoro

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

Hengki Koentjoro (-1963) is an accomplished photographer specializing in capturing the spectral domain that lies amidst the shades of black and white.He learned his craft at the Brooks Institute for Photography in Santa Barbara, California.Upon his return to Indonesia, Koentjoro settled in Jakarta as a freelance videographer and video editor.Delving into what he believes to be his true purpose in life’s journey of expression, he indulges himself in the art of black and white photography on the side.Exploring along the borderlines of light and shadow, yin and yang, Koentjoro celebrates complexity in the minimalist.In his striking signature simplicity, the artist delicately preserves the dreamy awe in ordinary objects above and under water.“Photography can never be separated from the aspects of making the common things unusual,” Koentjoro shares, “welcoming the unexpected, indulging and embracing ourselves with the joy of photography.More of Hengki Koentjoro’s marvelous photography can be found at https://www.hengki-koentjoro.com/.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Billy Dinh

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Billy Dinh is a New York based photographer whose work captures the beauty and complexity of everyday moments.Dinh’s dramatic, atmospheric images heavily rely on light and shadow, which coupled with his ability to capture unique moments, makes them look pulled from a film. Formally an illustrator, Billy has an eye on capturing the world in a dynamic way.He documents moments of everyday life and finds the beauty in the usual in his photos, which he presents as almost stills from something out of a movie or a dream.Originally drawn to photography as a way to document personal experiences, his journey evolved through travel, shifting his focus to capturing the world around him.Dinh’s approach is grounded in discovering the unnoticed details of life, often portraying dynamic, cinematic scenes that blend light, atmosphere, and storytelling.Through his lens, Dinh seeks to convey that beauty and reality coexist, and that even in the most ordinary settings, something extraordinary can be found.More of Billy Dinh’s moving photography can be found at https://www.billydinh.com/ and https://blog.tribul.org/blog/art-after-hours-billy-dinh.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rob Woodcox

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Rob Woodcox is a fine art and fashion photographer currently living between Mexico City, Los Angeles and New York City.Woodcox uses the human body as building blocks for his elaborate compositions.

His pictures of dancers take advantage of their strength, balance, and flexibility, as he places them in a wide variety of dynamic positions.

The results are striking photographs that are both complex and minimalist.Woodcox, who categorizes his style as “realistic surrealism,” captures an inspiring array of portraits of people in precarious situations that leaves the viewer wondering what the context is of each scene. Each concept is a declaration of his experience and seeks to tell a meaningful story to each individual that views it.More of Rob Woodcox’ surrealistic photography can be found at https://robwoodcox.com/ and https://www.flickr.com/people/rawjrphotography/.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Shadi Ghadirian

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Shadi Ghadirian (born 1974 in Tehran, Iran) is a contemporary photographer living and working in Tehran.Her work is influenced by her experiences as a Muslim woman living in contemporary Iran, but her work also relates to the lives of women throughout the world.Through her work, she critically comments on the pushes and pulls between tradition and modernity for women living in Iran, as well as other contradictions that exist in everyday life.Inspired by 19th century photographs from the Ghajar period – the first portraits to be permitted by religious law – Ghadirian carefully reconstructed the opulent style of these images with the help of many friends: borrowing antique furnishings and costumes, commissioning the painted backdrops, inviting them to pose in the images.Ironically, the clothes worn by the sitters in the archival portraits are more revealing than what is acceptable for Iranian women to wear in public today.“I try to tell the different stories of Iranian women, which is somehow my own story too. I want to show a woman from different points of view.” the artist shares.“I’m not a sociologist, but I hope that when people see my photographs, they’ll understand the reality for women in Iran, then and now.”More of Shadi Ghadirian’s revealing photography can be found at https://www.shadighadirian.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadi_Ghadirian.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — David Gilliver

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

David Gilliver graduated from the Fine Art Photography (BA Hons) course at the Glasgow School of Art in 2001.

Gilliver specializes in long-exposure photography (the art of ‘Light Painting’) as well as macro photography (the ‘Little People’ and Toy series).Light Paintings are created using a very long exposure time and are created at night when it is very dark.

The nature of the long exposure allows the artist time to walk into the shot while it is being photographed.

He then moves around portable light devices to create the colors and shapes you see ‘frozen’ into each image.As long as he keeps moving around during each long exposure and avoids illuminating himself, he remains completely invisible in the photograph.“My light painting work is all about shape, form and color existing (or not truly existing?) in space,” Gilliver shares.“I love the fact these forms aren’t tangible like typical sculptures are, but they are in essence light sculptures that exist in space, made only visible through the magic of long exposure photography.”

More of David Gilliver’s photography can be found  at https://davidgilliver.com/.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Lazy Mom

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Josie Keefe and Phyllis Ma, artists that collaborate under the name Lazy Mom, have turned playing with their food into an art.

Keefe and Ma are Columbia graduates who work in what Keefe termed “obsessive arranging of objects.”

Keefe works as a prop stylist and Ma as a window dresser, and the two began their partnership as a series of whimsical fruit-related photos to be printed in a Zine.

But after publishing, Keefe and Ma found that they had more exploring to do with food and photography.

The moniker and the body of work of Lazy Mom is based on an imaginary mother who spends her time obsessive-compulsively arranging groceries instead of preparing meals for her family. Their work explores the simplicity and complexity of modern food, which can be anything.

At its core, Lazy Mom is about this social expectation that has been deeply ingrained into human society for centuries.

“You can also say that it’s beneficial first and foremost for mom, because she has taken the role expected of her, and reversed it in a way so that she’s the one in control,” Ma explains.

“She’s cooking and preparing food the way she wants. In that sense, Lazy Mom is feminist project moonlighting as food photography.”

More about Lazy Mom and their artists Josie Keefe and Phyllis Ma can be found at https://www.instagram.com/lazy/  and https://lvl3official.com/lazy-mom/.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nathan Hillis

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment

Nathan Hillis, a self-taught photographer based in Oklahoma.Since 2013, Hillis has been on an artistic journey, capturing the essence of his state and its surroundings.Hillis’ photographic universe covers everything from open prairies to statues to unique angles of buildings and barns.His ability to capture the essence of the moment transforms ordinary objects into trips through time.Hillis perform endangered species surveys and studies during the day, giving him the opportunity to find and photograph amazingly beautiful places that most people never see.Most of these places are extremely rural and oftentimes forgotten about, a perfect showcase for Hillis’ instincts and camera lens.“My creative process involves constant experimentation with various photographic techniques,” The artist shares.“Whether it’s the timeless allure of black and white film or the cosmic wonder of astro-landscape photography, documenting the beauty of these places is what drives me.”

More of Nathan Hillis’ imaginative photography can be found at https://nathan-hillis.pixels.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/hillis_creative/.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Thandiwe Muriu

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

 

Thandiwe Muriu‘s work takes you on a colorful, reflective journey through her world as a woman living in modern Kenya, as she reinterprets contemporary African portraiture, and presents a bold new vision of a woman and her autonomy.Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Muriu discovered photography at age 14. Self-taught, she immersed herself in books and video tutorials, learning from every resource she could find, as Kenya did not have any formal photography schools.By age 17, she was working professionally, and by 23 had shot her first solo advertising campaign. By 2019, she was photographing campaigns for some of the largest companies in East Africa.Muriu draws on the slick aesthetics of fashion photography to reinterpret contemporary African portraiture.These bright, playful images immerse her models in colorful textures until they simultaneously disappear into the background and burst from the frame.Exploring how individuals lose their identities to culture, Muriu’s work interrogates contemporary self-image and brings aspects of Kenyan tradition to the fore, from reappropriation of everyday objects to traditional architectural hairstyles.Muriu aims to reclaim the self love of the African woman, who is often excluded from beauty standards in her own country.More of Thandiwe Muriu’s photography can be found at https://thandiwemuriu.com/.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Zac Henderson

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 9 Comments

Zac Henderson is a semi-nomadic photographic artist currently based in Auburn, Alabama.His love of science settled on magnetism, calling his photo series “Dark Matter.”To create his “sculptures,” Henderson suspends ceramic magnets on fishing line then exposes them to iron fillings.The iron takes shape based on the surrounding magnetic field, and can also be manipulated by hand to alter the sculpture.By exposing iron filings to an invisible magnetic field, the work imagines dark matter particles and their interactions with normal matter through gravity, as seen from a higher dimension, or bulk, in which both are visible.The images were made in his home studio, and since each sculpture is about eight inches tall, the images require focus stacking of as many as 30 to 40 images.The resulting forms are dynamic, abstract sculptures that celebrate the wonders of the known and unknowable forms of nature.

More of Zac Henderson‘s amazing photography can be seen at https://www.zachenderson.com/. 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Robert de la Torre

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 3 Comments

In Microcosmos, photographer Roberto de la Torre centers his lens on the celebratory costumes of the entroido.Held extensively in his house area of Galicia (Spain)  around Lent and the shift from winter to spring, entroidos are annual gastronomic carnivals during which meals and dance are plentiful. Elaborate costumes and masks are essential for participation, which de la Torre documents.
In his photograph series Microcosmos, de la Torre presents a hierophantic landscape  — places where the existence of the sacred becomes present.It is a landscape which manifests itself through the objects of our usual cosmos as something completely opposed to the profane world.Many of the masked figures the artist portrays in Microcosmos go out in ritual celebrations in isolated places very far from the big cities.“The thematic base of my work are ancestral beliefs and ancient deities,”  de la Torre shares.“The creative technical process of the image itself is inspired by the paintings of religious icons.”

More of Roberto de la Torre ‘s remarkable costumes and photographs can be found at https://www.roberdelatorre.com and /https://www.roberdelatorre.com/tienda-shop.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Anna Julia Gobbi

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

Ana Julia Gobbi is a graphic designer and photographer from Buenos Aires, Argentina.Gobbi’s inspiration comes from urban areas twilight through darkest hours night, often around high rise apartments with a solitary light on the inside.This light could be a tribute to those who, like the artist, celebrate the night and create art when most of the world is sleeping.Gobbi likes to play with the perception of the viewer — is this real or not?Her photography generates a moment of pause in which one stops and gets lost in the image.That is what the artist wishes to generate — a little curiosity.Gobbi tries to portray the hidden life behind the elements of darkness and light, nature and concrete, the intrinsic of a building.Her photography often captures singularity and stillness of the world through colors and darkness and shadows.

More of Ana Julia Gobbi’s mystique photography can be found at https://www.instagram.com/anajugob/ and https://nftphotographers.xyz/fine-art/ana-julia-gobbi-anajugob/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tom Leighton

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

Tom Leighton is an artist, photographer and printmaker with a fascination with architectural structure and form.Trained at the Royal College of Art in London, he expertly layers and manipulates his photographic images, creating work which is both beautiful and provocative.Leighton created a number of photographic series that highlight the immense variety of textures that surround us.Using a keen sense of balance, lighting, and depth, Leighton’s photographs show us the details of life through characteristics such as  fluorescence and variegation.Each gallery is unique to itself, a testament to Leighton’s unending sense of  fascination and creativity.Leighton enhances and manipulates and abstracts, focusing our attention on the intricacy of  layering or detail or composing which has created the effect.This work is beautiful and surprising, and, like them, carries a mark of the surreal.

More of Tom Leighton‘s magical photography can be found at https://www.tleighton.com/.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jennifer Latour

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 1 Comment

Jennifer Latour was born in Seven Islands, Quebec, but now calls Vancouver, Canada, home.Latour is a self-taught artist who has moved into the world of nature to create delicate, unusual art.

She has developed her love for character creation, sculpture, photography, and cinema into a series that combines a wide variety of fruits and flora into a strange and beautiful real sculpture.

She then photographs these temporary organic sculptures, sometimes even releasing her creations back into the wild.Latour’s eye for color and the allurement of the natural world imprints her photos with a distinct, delicate, and ethereal aesthetic.

While each piece has a unique character and stands on its own, the series as a whole is evocative of the interconnectedness found in nature, and serves as a reminder that all creatures are bound simultaneously by both their similarities and their differences.More of Jennifer Latour’s creative work can be found at https://opendoors.gallery/artists/jennifer-latour.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yves Lecoq

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

Sometimes I come across an amazing artist who barely leaves a mark across the Internet.So it is with Yves Lecoq.Lecoq is considered a neo-surrealist photographer who currently resides in Entre Angers et Nantes, France.Combining dreams, fantasies, and the subconscious mind, his work pushes artistic boundaries.His photographs are surrealistic, as if composed of several different ideas melded into one.Many of these photographs are composites — perhaps combinations of several of his own photographs.There is a surreal feeling emanating from these odd versions of life, strange faces and bodies more at home in a nightmare than in every day life.Lecoq’s work is strange and perfect, a reflection of someone who knows and appreciates the world of photography.More of Yves Lecoq‘s photography can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/yveslecoq.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Arno Rafael Minkkinen

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

Arno Rafael Minkkinen is a Finnish-American photographer and Emeritus Professor of Art at the University of Massachusetts and Docent at the Aalto University School of Art, Design, and Architecture in Helsinki, Finland. Minkkinen was born in Finland in 1945 and emigrated to the United States in 1951.Exploring the relationship between the body and the environment, Minkkinen’s photographs inhabit a space between self-portraiture and landscape photography.

This creative photographer dexterously integrates his body into the natural landscape, creating visceral, poetic images that often appear to defy reality.He has an innate ability to frame a picture, to see and pursue a complex and pleasing composition.Minkkinnen has developed the ability to fold his body into the frame.The artist bends, stretches, hides, twists, and somehow manages to contort himself into just the right position at just the right moment to capture that certain magic he is known for.These images seamlessly blend self-portraiture and landscape in a reminder that humans are a part of the natural world, and that mind and body are crucially interconnected, as are humanity and nature.Despite ever-advancing possibilities for enhancement offered by technology, Minkkinen resolutely chooses not to use digital manipulation in his work, relying solely on the beauty of nature and his own physical endurance.Addressing the surreal and timeless quality of these images, Minkkinen has said, “there is no age to the picture when it is just the landscape and the body.”More of Rafael Minkkinen‘s amazing photography can be found at https://www.arnorafaelminkkinen.com.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rune Guneriussen

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

Rune Guneriussen’s conceptual work, somewhere between installation and photography, features site-specific installations throughout his native Norway.Born in 1977, Guneriussen studied at Eiker College and received a BA in photography at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design.Using an artistic process that concerns the object, locale, and time of installation, Guneriussen takes photographs using a large-format view camera that documents the existence of the installation itself.The resulting photographs illustrate attentive handling and a recognition of light to form a new idea of reality.Mixing rural landscapes with everyday objects such as desk lamps or books, Guneriussen’s analogous application of material and space correlates to humans’ connection to the planet.As an artist, Guneriussen believes that art itself should be questioning and bewildering as opposed to patronizing and restricting.As opposed to the current fashion, he does not want to dictate a way to the understanding of his art, but rather indicate a path to understanding a story.

More of Rune Guneriussen’s installation work can be found at http://www.runeguneriussen.no/ and https://www.scandinaviastandard.com/artist-spotlight-norwegian-conceptual-artist-rune-guneriussen/.

.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Edas Wong

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Hong Kong-based street photographer Edas Wong takes photos that result in both optical illusions and funny moments.Wong chose street photography because it didn’t require for him to learn advanced techniques or buy expensive gear – the small camera he had was more than ideal for a beginner like him.
The artist started dabbling in street photography in 2012. Some call his work “accidental photography,” but it’s more that Wong manages to be in the right place at the right time.He accomplishes his distinct style by using layering, lighting, juxtaposition, and merging the foreground and background.He has developed a distinct eye for sensing when the ordinary is about to briefly turn miraculous, a split second of intuition and anticipation.“At any given moment, there exist fleeting instants of oneness where by some cosmic power, or perhaps plain luck, two things merge together,” Wong explains.Wong approaches the process of street photography as a somewhat meditative experience, always trying to clean his mind as much as possible and concentrating on whatever he’s capturing.
“Street photography actually saves me,” Wong cexplains.“I empty my mind, observe all connections between objects, and concentrate on everything around me on the street.”More of Edas Wong‘s exceptional photography can be found at https://www.instagram.com/edaswong/ and on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Boguslaw Strempel

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

 

Boguslaw Strempel is a photographer living in Dankowice, Śląskie, Poland.Strempel is know for showcasing the charming landscape of his country and of the Czech Republic.There is something at once magical, mysterious and eerie about fog, but Strempel focuses mainly on the former.He enjoys shooting landscapes in what appears to be the wee hours of the morning to capture the mist that hovers above tree lines and mountain ranges before being evaporated by the sun.Highlighting the stunning picturesque scenes in his own native country,  Strempel eeasily tempts people to travel to those beautiful countries.Full of staggering beauty, his portfolio captivates the magic of the land and the wilderness. A step into Strempel’s photographs is a step into the past.

More of Boguslaw Strempel‘s breathtaking photography can be found at 500px and at ArtPeopleNet.

 

 

Friends and Creativity

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 9 Comments
Dreamtime

This is what Creativity is all about.

This is what friendship is all about.

Graphic Design Artist and Photographer John Lemke has been a friend of mine since I started my last job 19 years ago. He was a catalog artist, I was a catalog coordinator. Between us (and a bunch of other people) we made catalog magic. He laid out the pages, I proofread the pages. 

Both of us have gone on to bigger and better things.

This includes Art.

I highlighted John’s graphic artworks back in 2015 and his photography in 2021. I also published a boatload of his work in the Gallery in August 2015 and December 2021. 

John is a friend but also a phenomenal artist. His work touches spots deep inside that have no description, no explanation. His photography makes me feel good.

And this is what today’s blog is about.

Practice your Craft.

Promote your Craft.

Promote your friend’s craft.

Spread the word of how phenomenal creativity can be.

Here are a few more of John’s photographs:

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Vitor Schietti

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Vitor Schietti was born in Brazil in 1986, and has a degree in Social Communication through the University of Brasilia.In Schietti’s Impermanent Sculptures, thick treetops and branches are swollen with light that appears to drip down in incandescent rays.Each photograph frames the nighttime scenes in a dreamy, energetic manner as the glowing beams both outline and obscure the existing landscapes.Schietti worked with fireworks and long-exposure photography to illuminate the branches and stems of trees in his native Brazil.The photos are a mixture of in-camera light painting, and a bit of post-processing that can combine up to 12 shots into a final image. The series is the result of several years of research on long exposure photography, and the usage of ND filters was vital to find a perfect balance between the fading twilight and the brightness of the fireworks.

“By creating these images, which I refer to as Impermanent Sculptures, I draw the viewers attention to abstract concepts taking place in real environments. Concepts to be interpreted and explored freely by whomever this work reaches,” Schietti says. “To paint with light in a three-dimensional space is to bring one’s thoughts from unconscious realms and ancient symbols into existence and turn them into something intriguing, yet beautiful and integrated with the landscape.”More of Vitor Schietti‘s amazing photography can be found at https://schiettifotografia.com/ and https://theinspirationgrid.com/impermanent-sculptures-photos-by-vitor-schietti/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Xavi Bou

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Xavi Bou is a photographer from Catalonia, an autonomous community of Spain. Bou graduated with a degree in Geology from the University of Barcelona.In 2004 he went on to complete his studies in photography, and for the next decade, Bou worked in the advertisement and fashion industry combining it with teaching photography.Bou’s love of nature was always present, so in 2012 he embarked on Ornithographies — photography inspired by his curiosity about the invisible patterns traced by birds in flight. These patterns are made up of dozens, or even hundreds, of birds in flight.The intriguing and unconventional wildlife images show us the familiar in a completely new way.“My intention is to capture the beauty of the bird’s flight in a single moment, making the invisible visible.Ornithographies moves away from the purely scientific practice of chronophotography (an antique photographic technique that uses a series of photographs of a moving object for the purpose of displaying successive phases of the motion)  which Bou feels is a balance between art and science.

“It’s a project of naturalist discovery, and, at the same time, an exercise of visual poetry.”

More of Xavi Bou‘s amazing photography can be found at http://www.xavibou.com/.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Mark Gee

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

Mark Gee is an award winning photographer, time-lapse filmmaker and digital visual effects supervisor based in Wellington, New Zealand.His love of the New Zealand landscape is a big part of the inspiration for his photography.

Gee has always been interested in the night sky from very early on in life, but never experienced its full effect until he moved to New Zealand in 2003.He often ventures out to the darkest, most remote skies all around the country, enjoying the challenge of combining New Zealand’s striking landscapes with the ethereal beauty of the night sky in new, creative ways.“Planning, patience and persistence is the name of the game,” Gee says.“Believe me, some of my planned shots have taken me over a year to get right.”“Constant obstacles from bad weather and bad timing to landslides and equipment failures all make it a very frustrating pursuit.”“But in the end, after all the failures when you finally do nail the shot, astrophotography then becomes one of the most rewarding forms of photography there is.”More of Mark Gee‘s amazing photographs can be found at https://theartofnight.com.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — John Lemke

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

Everyone takes pictures these days.

With cameras as part of most phones, the world is out there just waiting to be photographed.

John Lemke is the sort of photographer who sees the world through a little different lens.

A graphic designer by trade, John has used his camera to find unusual angles and exposures from the world around him.

Already featured on my Sunday Evening Art Gallery, John continues to move forward on the artistic trail.

He uses no photography tricks — just his imagination — to share the beauty of the world around him.

Lemke believes anyone can find inspiration for art. All you need to do is go outside and open your eyes.

There is cool stuff everywhere.

I love this kind of thinking.

John is available for consultations, design projects,  and creative photography. 

John Lemke’s artwork can be found at Humoring the Goddess, Sunday Evening Art Gallery,  and at LinkedIn.

Yet ANOTHER Creative Pastime

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 20 Comments

Along with all my other creative pastimes, I love photography. I haven’t taken any classes, no professional training. I just love taking pictures.

Today I am going to take a chance and share some of my photography from the last year. As you can see, I’m a sucker for nature in all its seasons, all its forms. No filters, no computer graphics or adjustments, no special lenses. Just my phone camera.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed taking them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery (midweek) — Luke Nugent

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

British portrait and fashion photographer Luke Nugent takes glorious, powerful photos of women of color featuring some of the most fabulous hair ever seen.

Nugent studied photography at London’s University of Greenwich, and has been shooting professionally since his late teens.

He  captures a wide range of style, beauty, and personal expression in his creative photo shoots, for which he often works with London-based hair stylist Lisa Farrall.

Nugent highlights women of color in his varied series, from the more subdued everyday styles in Emancipate to the Afrofuturism-inspired Armour, which was a finalist for the 2016 British Hair Awards.

Working primarily in the fields of music, portraiture and fashion, Nugent works with top models, musicians and personalities to develop imagery of a high technical and aesthetic standard.

His work, his models, are so striking, so bold, so beautiful, it’s hard not to notice his perfect eye for detail.

More of Luke Nugent‘s marvelous photography can be found at https://www.lukenugent.co.uk/.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery (midweek) — Tom Hussey

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments
Sometimes we need photography to create a complex interplay between reality and illusion. Welcome to Tom Hussey’s world.

Tom Hussey is an American photographer specializing in commercial advertising and lifestyle photography.

His “Reflections” campaign was based on a portfolio shoot to illustrate the concept of thinking of yourself as younger than you are.The idea struck him after meeting Gardner, a WWII veteran who was turning 80. He told Hussey he just didn’t feel it was possible he could be 80 years old.Since he himself was getting older, he realized he was thinking the same thing, and imagined it must be a very universal feeling.So Hussey photographed Gardner staring into his bathroom mirror and seeing himself as a 25-year-old man.Most notable about Hussey is that he allows himself the freedom to continue the random exploration of all things visual.The results connect all of us with our younger selves.More of Tom Hussey‘s wide world of photography can be found at https://tomhussey.com/. 

 

 

Nature’s Jewels

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment

Nature’s sparkling beauty this Monday morning ….

Candia's avatarCandia Comes Clean

Photo by Candia Dixon-Stuart

View original post

Sunday Evening Art Gallery (flashback) — Martin Koegl

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

 

I can’t believe it was way back in late December of 2014 that I brought the magic of Martin Koegl and his water drop photography. Well, back then I did call it Waterdrops. So I have cleaned up the gallery, dedicated to the original photographer Martin Koegl, and now bring you …. Water Drops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more of Martin Koegl‘s amazing photography at my Gallery, or his website, http://waterdrop-photography.com/

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery (midweek) — Nick Reynolds

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Nick Reynolds is a social documentary photographer based in Kent, England.His connection with the world around him is reflected in the photos he so consciously captures in black and white.Reynolds refrains from framing or creating too much meaning or explanation of his work other than that which strikes the viewer directly and immediately.Too much explanation or pre-interpretation on his part would undermine the viewer’s freedom to experience the work simply as it appears to be.Reynolds believes that art is the realm in which we can express most purely and deeply that which lies hidden in both our personal and collective unconscious.A glimpse into the world of shadows and light, his photography speaks for itself.

More of Nick Reynold’s photography can be found at https://nickreynolds.myportfolio.com. He also has experimental blog of thoughts and ideas at http://nickreynolds.art.blog.

 

 

I Have a Thing For ……….. Clouds

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

 

Every now and then I thought I’d share photographs I’ve taken of certain landscapes I find magical. Just my personal photographs — no professional photographers or computer enhancements here …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2020 WritingUnicorn

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jess Bell

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 15 Comments

Jess Bell is a Canadian photographer and animal lover.Bell is very passionate about animal photography, and recently created artistic images of animals in action.The bright colors and dynamic swirls are captured in  real time,  the powder acting as a perfect action amplification device.As a result, every single image is unique and highlights the amazing differences between how dogs of various breeds and body shapes move. Bell says, “Animal photography is my passion. I endeavor to create impacting images that go beyond the standard photograph to become true works of art.“I use light, color and the beauty of the natural world to bring images alive; to convey the love and energy embodied by our four-legged companions.”“As a result, every single image is unique and highlights the amazing differences between how dogs of various breeds and body shapes move.”

More of Jess Bell‘s amazing photography can be found at http://www.jessbellphotography.com.

 

 

Faerie Paths – Moments

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.

 ~ Aaron Siskind 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nolan Preece

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 14 Comments

A photographer for over forty years, Nolan Preece has devoted his career to understanding and mastering the challenging techniques of early photography by creating chemigrams.Preece been working with these chemically derived images since 1981.A chemigram combines the physics of painting (varnish, wax, oil) and the chemistry of photography (photosensitive emulsion, developer, fixer) without the use of a camera, an enlarger, and in full light.Experimentation with chemistry and photographic paper to produce various visual effects and themes describes the direction of this work. 
These photographs are a combination of cameraless photography and the manipulation of photographic materials by using them as painting media.
The printmaking aspect is the resistance he puts on the paper. He uses  chemistry to create the final product.

It is also important to state that this method of working often produces several levels of meanings brought together to create a sense of connection which is intuitive, unconscious and abstract. The images are more accurately felt than observed.

More of Nolan Preece’s amazing work can be found at http://www.nolanpreece.com/

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Christian Richter

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

There is something about Christian Richter‘s photography that is hauntingly beautiful.

The photographer developed a certain fondness for derelict buildings, some of which could have been listed and preserved as cultural heritage sites, but which had fallen into irreversible disrepair. He photographs places that have been by the world, by man, by the people who created them in the first place.

ichter tells that when he was young he fell in love with aRbandoned buildings.

After he got a camera as a present, he started photographing the beauty there. He mostly photographs empty buildings with great staircases or interiors.

The locations were as diverse as factory shop floors, chapels or theaters, and what they all had in common was that you entered them at your own peril.

Fascinatingly deserted. We are drawn to this beautiful emptiness is that we can envision what their world was like when they were new.

Christian Richter does not have a particular website, but you can find his work at christianrichter, and at Bored Panda. 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Francis Meslet

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 15 Comments

French photographer Francis Meslet roams the world searching for abandoned places and striking architectural structures.Like time capsules, testifying to a parallel world and perfect for enabling the mind to wander and ponder, Meslet’s melancholic images brave the passage of time, making way for silence after the memories often left behind by human habitation.In these deserted places, no more than the rustling of the wind can be heard through a broken window or the sound of water dripping from a dilapidated ceiling.These silences nonetheless invite the spectator to slip into these well-guarded and mysterious places captured by the photographer and attempt to bring to life that which has been forgotten.

Meslet’s worlds are the reflection of perfection forgotten.

More of  Francis Meslet ‘s amazing photography can be found at http://mindtravelsseries.com/. 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Ellie Davies

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

Ellie Davies has have been working in UK forests for the past eight years, making work which explores the complex interrelationship between the landscape and the individual.

Davies notes UK forests have been shaped by human processes over thousands of years and include ancient woodlands, timber forestry, wildlife reserves and protected Areas of Outstanding Natural.

As such, forests are potent symbols in folklore, fairy tale and myth, places of enchantment and magic as well as of danger and mystery.

Against this backdrop, Davies’ work explores the ways in which identity is formed by the landscapes we live and grow up in.

The forest becomes a studio, forming a backdrop to contextualize the work, so that each piece draws on its location, a golden tree introduced into a thicket shimmers in the darkness, painted paths snake through the undergrowth, and strands of wool are woven between trees mirroring colors and formal elements within the space.

More of Ellie Davies’ fantastic photography can be found at https://elliedavies.co.uk/.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Rita Faes

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

Rita Faes is a photographer who lives in Belgium. The details she finds and brings out in her images is amazing.

The colors and the flowers she finds are remarkable.

You can find more of Rita’s marvelous work at her old blog (which is inactive but full of beautiful photography) , https://gwenniesworld.wordpress.com), but definitely sign up and follow her at her new site,  https://gwenniesgardenworld.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Every Moment Is A Kodak Moment

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 13 Comments

I have been on a photography kick for the last seven years or so.

Oh, I took pictures when I was young. First married. Family, my brothers, my dad. With my kids through school and high school. But they are all sitting in a box somewhere, waiting for my A.D.H.D. to slow down enough to go through all of them.

Then came my first Smartphone.  And my learning about Picasa (which has turned into Google Photos).

I am hooked.

You would think I were a master photographer the way I run around taking pictures of everything. Of course, grandkids take up the majority of the space on both Google and my phone. Kids walking. Kids laughing. Kids falling down. Kids in daddy’s shoes. Kids standing on the picnic table. Kids Kids Kids.

None of those would win a photo contest, but to me they are unique moments in time that will never happen again. It’s like driving down a deserted road and watching a leaf fall from a tree. You are the only one in the universe that saw that leaf make its final journey to the ground. How special is that?

Of course, life is made up of special moments. 16 hours a day (the other 8 for sleep, a special moment all its own), 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

That’s a lot of camera moments.

I’m also the nature picture girl. I’ve got a thing about taking pictures of clouds, woods, water, animals (when I find them), plants, old houses, old barns — anything that looks like an elf or a faerie could be just around the corner. My husband chuckles at all the path-through-the-woods pictures on my phone. I mean — how many cool paths can there be?

At my age, EVERY path is a cool path. I imagine the turn in the road, the path not taken, the path that leads to Hobbiton and Brigadoon and Diagon Alley. That barn covered in ivy and disrepair might be the gateway to Neverland. That flower in all its unique glory could just have been danced upon by faeries. Pictures of unusual places and things tickles my imagination, and the most wonderful things come out the other end.

Maybe all this is nothing more than wanting to retain images of the things I love before the end. That when I’m old and gray I can look at these pictures and remember when — if at all. For we all have a “when”. And it flies by too fast.

Don’t be afraid to use your camera/Iphone/Android. Create worlds of your own with just a click. Delete the ones that don’t take you to Avalon, Asgard, or to your family and friends. Then let your imagination take you where it will.

Get the photo bug today!

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Johannes Stoetter

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

Inspired by nature, recognized body painter Johannes Stoetter turns living models into animals, fruits, flowers, or blends them with the surroundings.

 

These impressively detailed paintings take up to five months of thorough planning and up to eight hours of work to complete.

 

The winner of the World Bodypainting Championship in 2012 says that the key to success is to love what you’re doing.

Stoetter says, “I think I observe the world, nature, colors and shapes with very clear eyes and an open heart. And painting is my big passion.”

Looking at his compositions, you can see just how passionate he is.

You can find more of Johannes Stoetter’s work at johannesstoetterart.com .

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Seung Hoon Park

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

Seung Hoon Park, an artist from Seoul, S. Korea, is creating the most unusual images with the use of a camera and threading the film to mimic the look of woven textiles.

Born in 1978, Seung Hoon Park lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.

Part collage, part photography, part tapestry, these fragmented interpretations of iconic buildings and landmarks are truly something to ponder over.

 Each image begins with 8mm or 16mm camera film strips which he lays down in rows to create a larger surface that effectively acts as a single piece of film.

Park then exposes two images in a large format 8×10″ camera using sets of vertical and horizontal strips which are woven together to create a final print.

The final image is a blend of mediums: both photograph as well as woven textile; by threading the film together, Park creates beautifully captivating scenes with textured distortions.

Park has traveled to locations around the world including Rome, Milan, Venice and Prague to shoot images for his ongoing series titled Textus.
More of  Seung Hoon Park’s fascinating photography art can be found at      https://susanspiritusgallery.com/artist/seung-hoon-park/ . and https://theartling.com/en/artists/seung-hoon-park/ .

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Colin Batty

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Artist Colin Batty puts an amusingly strange spin on photographs of the past.

Taking cabinet cards from the early 1900s, he uses acrylic paint and crafts entirely new and surprising scenes directly on the image.

His additions are often hilarious but also creepy, and he does a fantastic job of seamlessly matching the colors and shading of each vintage photo – without the help of the computer.

It’s so convincing that at first glance, you might not notice the images were even changed.

The amazing part is that Batty does this work all by hand — you won’t find a single image Photoshopped in his collection of cards.

More of Colin Batty‘s amazing photography art can be found at http://www.peculiarium.com/colin-batty.

Sunday/Monday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Alain Delorme

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Inspired by the men on bicycles toting impossible mounds of objects he witnessed in Shanghai, French photographer Alain Delorme defies physics with his “Totems” series.

Delorme creates colorful, stylized works that play with our notion of photography as an objective medium.

His series “Totems” surprises with its bright comic book colors and shapes, and ‘can you believe it?’ effect.

The viewer is emerged into a world of exaggerated accumulation, of both everyday objects and towering buildings, an accumulation that has rendered society a slave to the objects it has itself created.

Alain has captured the physical, city translation of the economic growth Shanghai is presently undergoing, in the skyscrapers shooting up in the background, while not forgetting to qualify its success with the walls separating a large part of the population from it.

More of Alain Delorme‘s amazing photography can be found at https://www.alaindelorme.com/.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Nick Veasley

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

British photographer Nick Veasey uses industrial X-ray machines to discover what makes up the natural world and highlight the surprising, inner beauty in some of the most common objects.

Veasey got the idea to use X-ray machines for art while dating the daughter of a truck driver who was transporting thousands of soda cans, one of which contained a prize worth 100,000 pounds.

He rented an X-ray machine from a local hospital to find the winning can. Although he was unsuccessful, he credits this moment for sparking the idea that launched his career.

Due to the high risk of working with radiation, Veasey custom built a concrete structure to contain it.

To get his pictures, subjects are placed on a lead surface with film behind it. The X-rays pass through the subject and then onto the film where from there he can control the exposure time in a separate room.

Veasey doesn’t actually use any human subjects, as they would have to endure radiation for about 12 minutes. Instead, when a model is needed, he uses skeletons in rubber suits or cadavers that have been donated to science.

Veasey focuses on finding an antidote to the “obsession with appearance” by revealing the beauty within.

Veasey’s work also comments on our society’s increasing paranoia and control by security and surveillance. “To create art with the technology … that helps remove the freedom and individuality in our lives … brings a smile to my face.”

More of Nick Veasley’s fantastic photography can be found at http://www.nickveasey.com/.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Steve Axford

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 11 Comments

Australian photographer Steve Axford ventures into forested areas near his home in New South Wales to photograph the unusual forms of fungi, slime molds, and lichens he finds growing there.

The permutations in color, shape, and size found in each specimen are a testament to the radical diversity of living creatures found in just a small area.

A handful of the images seen here, namely the “hairy” fungi called Cookeina Tricholoma, were photographed last year on a trip to Xishuangbanna, China and Chiang Mai, Thailand.

His amazing photography catches images of fungi most have never seen.

Steve lives and works in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales in Australia where he often travels to remote locations to document the living world around him.

The delicacy and uniqueness of the fungi is beyond imagination.

It’s his work tracking down some of the world’s strangest and brilliantly diverse mushrooms and other fungi that has resulted in an audience of followers who wait to see what he’s captured next.

More of Steve Axford‘s amazing photography can be found at Flicker https://www.flickr.com/photos/steveaxford/sets/7215762943586123/and https://steveaxford.smugmug.com/

 

Side Trip — Gwennie’s World

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

aSometimes you find a blog that says more with pictures than with dialogue. This is what I find with my Belgium friend Rita, aka Gwennie.

I tend to shy away from commenting on photography blogs, because with today’s equipment the most fantastic images can be found all over the Internet, and I am in awe of it all.

I take a personal interest in Gwennie’s World (https://gwenniesworld.wordpress.com/) and her former blog Gwennie’s Garden (https://gwenniesgarden.wordpress.com/) because her photos are so up close and personal. I have tried flower photography myself, but since my only weapon is a cellphone, they pale in comparison.

Maybe it’s because I’m all thumbs at gardening, or that she lives in the North of Belgium at the border with the Netherlands, but I have never seen such gorgeous pictures of plants. Whether from a flower show or her own garden, Rita has a knack for catching the details of the simplest — and most unique —  plants.

I really want you to take time and drop over to her blog, Gwennies World, and see her magic for yourself.  Here are some images to get you going:

Gwenniesworld

https://gwenniesworld.wordpress.com/

GW1

GW2

GW4

gw11

Gwennies Garden

(https://gwenniesgarden.wordpress.com/)

GG3

GG1

GG4

gg1

Thanks for joining me on this fun Side Trip!  See you Soon!

 

*

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Meanderings

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

A busy weekend has taken me far away from my Artful meanderings. Taking care of family has superceded strolling down the softly-lit backstreet of the Sunday Evening Art Gallery.

So please sip your wine, your tea, your milk-in-in-a-wine-glass, and come peek at past Gallery surprises!

 

Raymond Bruin

Optical Illusionism

http://wp.me/p1pIBL-Mw

snake

box w lizard

*

*

Dawn Whitehand

Sculptor

http://wp.me/p1pIBL-Uw

untitled1

volcano

*

*

Abandoned Cars

Photography

http://wp.me/p1pIBL-1fV

19

*

*

Angelo Musco

Photography

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Angelo Musco

7 slide_423380_5439904_free

slide_423380_5439996_free

*

*

Louise Bourgeois

Sculptor

http://wp.me/p1pIBL-12k

indoor spider

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Alexandre Duret-Lutz

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 3 Comments

Alexandre Duret-Lutz, a Paris-born photographer,  uses a Pentax K10D with fisheye lens to focus on spherical panoramas and Escheresque spirals.

2-Small-Earth-Compass

Expressed in technical terms, Alexandre calls his images “stereographic projections of equirectangular panoramas”.

1-Miniature-World-at-Sunset
Using a sophisticated transformation process, Alexandre first builds a 360-degree x 180-degree panorama, then projects it to look like a small planet.

14-Perfection-in-a-Paris-Park

His perspective makes his work beautiful and dizzying.

16-Branching-Out

His website Wee Planets reflect his fascination with curvature and panoramas.

alexandre-duret-lutz-5

More of Alexandre Duret-Lutz‘s photography can be found at the following sites:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gadl/sets/72157594279945875/

http://www.creativetempest.com/phototrends/alexandre-duret-lutz/

13-Center-of-the-Urban-World

Be sure to go and take a whirl at his photography!

8-Gray-Gothic-Revived

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Intermission

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment

Tonight’s Gallery is a break between worlds. A pause between dreams.

 

075

 

I am so delighted with the direction of the Sunday Evening Art Gallery that I am taking time to make it whole and circular and ever spiraling.  I hope that every Sunday Evening I bring more magic into your life; more sights to share with family and friends; more ideas to bring creativity to your own life.

 

CAM01645

 

I hope to expand my site http://www.sundayeveningartgallery.wordpress.com into a continuation of the uniqueness I find around me. That includes changing the domain name and making it a presence like no other.

 

099

So for our intermission, let me share a few of my (amateur) photographs of the world around me.

 

034

 

Let us wander the roads and lake shores together, setting our imaginations of fire, and find out what lies just around the corner…

CAM01239

 

100_1624

 

 

New Gallery Open!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment

strange-trees03Good Evening Fellow Artisans!

A beautiful evening for beautiful images!

Last October I created a Sunday Evening Art Gallery in here called Trees (http://wp.me/s1pIBL-trees).

And since it is Spring, and trees are budding and blooming, I have opened a new gallery in THE Sunday Evening Art Gallery called….yes….Trees!

Come and see the diversity Mother Nature shares in the form of Trees.

https://sundayeveningartgallery.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/trees/

 

Wanderlusters Sign Up Here

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

CAM00498Do you ever feel you have a somewhat confusing relationship with your life? As I get older I find my emotional state doesn’t last long enough to hang a hat on, so I often can’t tell what I’m feeling.

I have to admit that I am having a ball with the Sunday Evening Art Gallery part of the blog. Every time I turn around I find one sort or another of Art and Creativity that makes me go, “Woah! What is this?”

I’m also blown away by good writing: insightful blogs, humorous blogs, books, poetry. I often want to cut and paste all the great stuff I’ve come across for future reference. But if I kept everything I found, I’d have to link three or four computers together for research.

There are so many branches of the Creative Tree of Life I’d like to climb. Don’t you feel that way sometimes? Maybe its rooted in in my monochrome job. Computer play I like. Computer data entry, I do not. But it pays the bills and the co-workers are fun and it makes my day. So I do the best I can.

Needless to say, most of my spare minutes (break time, lunch time, bathroom time) is devoted to playing in my mind. I look at the bracelet I’m wearing at work that day, something I bought at one of those over-priced jewelry parties, and say, “Man...I can make this!” I read about friends’ blogs on photography, cats, cooking, and I think, “Wow!  I can do this!” I read a great novel, something fast and fun and romantic, and I think, “Man…I can write this!”

And of course there’s always been the traveling thing. I’ve got friends who write traveling RVs blogs and others who pursue quaint castles and villas.  I want to visit all the out-of-the-way places. I want to visit the museums in Italy and the moors of Scotland and the ranches in Texas. I’d love to go to a Broadway play and go to the Cherry  Blossom Festival in Japan and drink hot chocolate at a Swiss chalet.

There’s always so much I want to do. So many worlds to explore, so many things to try. But because of time and money and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, there’s so many things I’ll not be able to do.

I have managed to keep my fingers in the pies of creativity through the years. I’ve painted iron gates and stone walls and pots overflowing with ivy on the wall;  I’ve painted faux bricks around my dining room, and I’ve planted some awesome herb gardens. But my taste in activities has changed as I’ve gotten older. Maybe I’ve just worn out the old ideas — or maybe I’ve just run out of walls.

It could just be Spring Fever knocking at my door. Warm evenings and pink skies can do that to one. But sometimes I feel like a kid standing outside of Disneyworld. I want to ride everything at once. And I feel I’m running out of time.

Do you get struck with wanderlust like this? I know you have to pick and choose — everything from life to love to TV shows. We can turn this way, that way. But in the end we have to choose one over another. And when the choices are all so sweet, so enchanting, so revealing, it’s hard.

Let me know if you’ve had to choose, or if you’re still choosing your creative path. Are you are managing to do more than less, or if you are a one-thrill-at-a-time creator. Have you been tempted? Do you do a little of lots or lots of just a little?

Let’s all wander together, shall we?

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Colors

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

Alas, writers always write faster than they think. And here it is, Sunday evening, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.

I so want to open an additional page on this website to highlight all the extraordinary images of Art I have come across through my travels. Images that add to the Sunday evening blogs I’ve been creating for you. But I’ve been dissatisfied with my progress, my ideas, my inability to put my thoughts onto the page in just the right way so that I can share them with you.

Like all of you creative muses out there know, you can’t put something out there until it feels right. Yes, there will always be something that needs to be tweaked; thank goodness there is no such thing as perfection.  But it it doesn’t feel right *here* you shouldn’t put it out *there*. You need to take your time. You need to get it right.

So instead, I am going to offer some my own photographs on my Sunday Evening Art Gallery blog…photographs I took. I am in love with color, so that is what this gallery is called. Colors. I hope you enjoy them.

 

CAM00812

 

CAM00809

 

CAM00716

 

CAM00811

 

 

CAM00719

CAM00724

 

CAM00498

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Jeffrey Vanhoutte

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

As I work on revising my Sunday Evening Unique Art page to include all the great art I have found, I want to turn you onto another blogger and the fantastic art he led me to.

Live & Learn by my friend David Kanigan is a wonderfully creative world where he brings in poetry, quotations, photography — whatever  his inspiration at the time. I asked (and he graciously agreed) to let me highlight an artist he highlighted a few weeks ago.

jeffrey_vanhouette_05

Brussels-based photographer Jeffrey Vanhoutte created this stunning project featuring an acrobatic dancer displaying various expressive poses that seem to be frozen in time.

poussières-détoiles01

The dancer throws clouds of powdered milk up in the air while fulfilling graceful and fluid movements.

Jeffrey_Vanhouette_02

A unique look at movement in motion. A spray caught in mid-air.

poussières-détoiles04

Movement is art — photography is art. This is a delicate combination of the two.

Jeffrey_Vanhouette_03

More of Jeffrey Vanhoutte’s black and white marvels can be found at http://www.ignant.de/2015/01/14/dancer-freezes-time-in-jeffrey-vanhouttes-project/ or at http://www.designboom.com/art/jeffrey-vanhoutte-freezes-acrobatic-angels-in-powdered-milk-showers-01-20-2015/.

Jeffrey-Vanhoutte-780x584

You can find Jeffrey’s unique art at his own website as well, http://www.jeffreyvanhoutte.be/.

And do stop by David’s blog, Live & Learn — http://davidkanigan.com. Tell him the Goddess sent you!

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Gary Greenberg

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

 “To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”          William Blake

 I’ve always loved that quotation. Full of imagery, full of chances to make magic. So many imagery paths to choose. But which one?

Who really ever thinks of sand? The dictionary defines sand as “small loose grains of worn or disintegrated rock.” Rock. Building blocks of roads, mountains, and gardens. Boulders and cliffs. Sand is merely the accumulation of hundreds and thousands of years of erosion. Isn’t it?Sand fills our beaches, mixes with our soil, pots our plants.  We wash it off our feet and make castles out of it. So versatile, so insignificant.

But if you stop by Dr. Gary Greenberg’s world, you will find grains of sand are so much more than that. For Greenberg, his photography, his art,  is a doorway through which we can more deeply embrace nature. His mission is to reveal the secret beauty of the microscopic landscape that makes up our everyday world.

The more I see the intricacies of the world, the more I am amazed. Astounded. And humbled.

See more microscopic visions at www.sandgrains.com.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery Blog — Clark Little

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Water. So soothing. So refreshing. So tumultuous. A friend one day, an adversary the next. Yet it makes up 70% of our bodies.

 

clark little7

 

I have seen hundreds of beautiful images of water. Waterfalls, lakes, oceans. One is as  breathtaking as the next. But when I came across Clark Little’s take of water, I found a new inspiration from it.

 

clark little4

 

Clark not only takes pictures of water, of waves, but takes them from an angle only surfers can see. And in his creativity, he captures not only the force of water but the peace that lies just beyond.

 

clark_little_sunset_barrel_wave

 

Whenever I see pictures like this, I imagine a story to go with it. But then again, any extraordinary image can have a story to go with it. I love pictures that make me ask, “How do they do that?”

 

SWNS_WAVE_110010008.jpg

 

Alas, like the magician and their tricks, if you knew how it was done, a bit of the sparkle goes with it. I would rather look at something in awe and keep the childlike wonder of how it works.

 

clark_little_sandy_barrel_wave

 

 

You can find more of Clark’s wonderful photography at http://www.clarklittlephotography.com/. And go ahead — take your time — wander through the waves. A whole new world exists just on the other side of it.

 

 

 

Something New!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment

The older I get (I never get tired of saying that!), the more I am taking time to discover corners of the world that I’ve never seen before. Now, that statement is all encompassing, all omnipotent. Yet for me, it’s very simple. I can only explore one line of extraordinary at a time. There is fantastic scenery, scrumptious foods, unusual land formations and mystical forms to be discovered.

For me, it is Unique Art.

What does that mean?

There are thousands of fantastic images floating around the Internet. Blogs and websites dedicated to all branches of the hallowed world of sculpture, photography, painting, sketching. I couldn’t possibly visit, showcase, and recommend all the beauty that exists outside my middle-aged sphere.

So I have decided that once a week I will showcase creativity that stands outside of reality. Outside the every day. Now, everything can fit into those parameters. So I hope to show you images you’ve never seen or imagined or saw somewhere on Facebook and let pass. Some will have links to websites; others will just be visions that have passed my way. I will honor the sites I borrow the visions from, and I do hope you take a few minutes to visit their homeworld.

If you’ve come across any unique worlds, let me know. Let’s make our next 20 years as out-of-the-box as we can make it!

And if any of my wanders tickle your fancy, let me know that, too. For I’d love to have company along the way….

Have A Great Weekend!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Awesome bubble photography

Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.

Al Hirschfeld

Keep your crayons and colored pencils and pens sharp and ready this weekend! Ready — Set — Go!!

A Way With Words

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Glass Textures 067Like many or most of you, I love the written word. When used correctly, words can expand three times their height and width as they push their way into your thoughts and heart. Of course, we all like different words. That’s the beauty of freedom — we can nod at one and shake our head at another, yet appreciate both.

One of the blogs I follow is written by a very creative and talented writer and visual artist. I was struck by her imagery and imagination. I just love the images that pop with each turn. Unfortunately, this creativeness was brought about by a migraine, not the sort of writing prop we look for. While I wish her swift healing and relief from what can be a debilitating episode, I asked (and was granted) permission to share her creativity. It’s a little over 1,300 words, but I think you will appreciate them all.

If you enjoy what you read, pop on over and check out her website: Inner Focus (www.katmphotography.wordpress.com).  It’s a wonderful combination of poetry and art.

 

Delirium

a new fever has me in its clutches… i can feel her long, bony, icy fingers twist my spine and contort my brain… i need paracetamol… i need a glass of water… i need to sleep…

but sleep won’t come easy…

paracetamol… a glass of water… bed.

i climb into bed… i am shaking… my hands are tingling… am i hungry..? am i over-tired..? i feel exhausted… i feel sick… nausea rushes at me like a jealous mistress… my head feels twice the size it should be… my forehead is hot… my feet are cold… i am shaking… i swallow the pills and wash them down with a long drink of water.

i climb into bed… the pillow feels cool beneath my heavy skull… i close my eyes and then it starts… i must ride this out until it breaks…

micro flashing neon lights spark inside my minds eye, igniting visions… visions… murky, but i look deeper… deeper into the grain and chaos… i see a face… a man’s face… it is Stalin… he is standing outside an old house… a house on a wild beach… a house with a red door… suddenly, he vomits all over himself… then dissolves into a puddle on the ground… i look out to sea… but the sea is not a sea… it is a vast expanse of rippling silken fabric, billowing in the breeze… i look up to the sky… a pterodactyl swoops in low over the water towards me… i duck for cover and close my eyes tight, anticipating being snatched up by the giant predatory bird… nothing… the wind has picked up the pace and snatches my breath… i gasp and open my eyes… i find myself atop one of the steel eagles that grace the lofty Chrysler Building in NYC… i am terrified… the wind is strong… my hair whips my face… i am too scared to look down… but i do… and now my palms are wet, sweating… i cannot hold on, i lose my grip… but wait! i am typing… i am sat at a desk, in the middle of a forest, and i am typing… typing incoherent words on a sheet of stiff, white paper… The typewriter is old and battered and clunky… a pale blue Olivetti electric typewriter… my curious eyes follow the flex… it is plugged into a giant snail… the sound of my fingers tapping the keys rattles my brain… the words make no sense… the words make me shiver… i open a cupboard… an old farmhouse style larder- just like the one my Aunt Mary had at Fullerton Farm… i open the door and find hundreds of tins of Baked Beans… i close the door… but the door is a mirror now… i stare at my own reflection… i smile to her, but she does not smile back… she is naked… pale, gaunt… two headless horses appear behind me… one black as night, The other white as snow… the white one speaks to me in a language i cannot comprehend… but we start to dance… the floor beneath me turns to silver sand… the sun is beating down on me… i pull the quilt around me and nestle into the comfort and familiarity of my bed, despite the madness of these visions… visions i have no control over… i cannot make them stop… they come, in a flood… my mind is a fairground… i look at my hands… six fingers on each hand… i cut off the tips of my fingers with a large pair of shears… they are bleeding… i put on a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves and go outside into the night… there are two moons in the sky… both are full and resplendent… the night is cool… i am alone… i look to my left and the buildings start to crumble and fall… an apple falls from the sky and rolls towards me, stopping at my feet… It speaks to me… beckoning me to take bite… i pick up the lilac apple and bite into its soft, juicy flesh… it tastes salty… so i throw it away… it explodes on impact… in the distance, i hear a child’s voice… it is my lover’a son… he appears out of nowhere, wearing a flappy bird t-shirt and red jeans… he is barefoot, as i am… he takes my hand and tells me to follow him… i do… suddenly, i find myself, alone, inside a computer… i look at my hands… i am made of pixels… i peer through the screen and see a morbidly obese man, sitting on his sofa with a boxful of donuts… he is playing a computer game… he is controlling me and my movements… he is controlling the CGI world i now find myself locked in… i like it here, but i cannot stay… i call out for my lover’a son… but he is gone… he has left me a note… it reads “gone fishing, be home Tuesday!”… i smell coffee… i look down and find myself in a bathtub full of warm, steaming coffee… it stains my skin… my lover appears… he dries my wet skin with a cloud, gently patting it dry… he lovingly combs my wet hair and strokes my face… we kiss… and float out the wind into space… we swim through the stratosphere and look back at Earth… it looks radiant and blue… i take a bite… it tastes like battery acid… the shock cuts my tongue and i spit out blood and a chunk of France… “it never used to taste like this…” says my lover, his eyes filled with tears… he spits a mouthful of India out into the blue stratospheric air… he fades into the night… “soon…” he says, blowing kisses as he dissolves into the ether… i find myself in a deep, Belfast sink… the cold tap is turned on and the sink is filling up with tiny sea horses and goldfish… they sparkle and shimmer and swim around me… but i need to urinate… i open my eyes, climb out of bed and make my way to the bathroom across the hall… my legs are shaking… i feel weak… perhaps sleep will come soon… i hope for a dreamless sleep… but instead, i find myself in a field full of rabbits… hundreds and thousands of rabbits… rabbits of all different colours… the pink ones are my favourites… odd… i hate the colour pink… but they are the friendliest… i reach up to the sky and reel in the sun… i hold it in my hands… it burns, but only momentarily… my cold hands chill its fire and it turns from burning amber to brittle blue… the sun shatters in my hands… i am left holding fragments of turquoise glass… i throw the shards up into the air… they tinkle and twinkle against the sky, like dying light… The tranquility of their peaceful chimes turns into an ugly chaos as the fragments of harmless light turn into bullets… they rain down all around me… everything has turned to dust… children lie dead around me… women scream… another bomb goes off… the ground shakes, like the thunder of the apocalypse… there is no colour… everything is grey… the course of death… i hear the wail of an electric guitar… someone, somewhere is playing a guitar… it wails, like a wounded animal… i cover my ears and crouch down, holding myself… crying… i open my eyes and see a young deer, chewing a leafy twig, at the foot of my sweating bed…

the pillow is damp… i turn it over and, with trembling hands, i gulp down a glass of cold, clean water… i close my eyes… please let me sleep… a dreamless sleep… please… these rapid fire flashbacks of former trips inside my minds eye and visions of my subconscious’ innermost thoughts and fears, as surreal as they are, are raping my brain… i am exhausted… i want calm… i want to feel well again… i look at the time… three hours have passed… i have been away for three hours…

i take two more pills, and water… and close my eyes…

but wait! my feet are covered in sand…

 

 

Take A Picture — It Will Last Longer

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

cameraI’ve been having a thing for photography lately. I am a writer by heart, but my recently-discovered ADD (my own diagnosis) has opened a number of other doors of possibilities. I had some half-idea of starting a second blog, maybe under my name, maybe not, that would pretzel together faerie hiding places, scenic photography, and sprinkles of poetry, quotations, and philosophy. It’s still a crysalis, waiting to butterfly, but it’s just another road that I want to drive down. Even if it’s a dead end. I don’t have a fancy camera; the camera on my phone is about the best I can do.  I try and capture the magic of the wild, of places where  faeries might hide, and all that.

This photography thing is kinda getting out of hand, though. Last week I did a double-role dance with my SUV (I survived, and am fine). Landed on the tires. My phone, IPod, and various things had flown out the shattered window, leaving me dazed and photoless. Once I came to my wits and found that I was indeed alive, not bleeding, nothing broken or missing, a passerby called 911 and the possey came to the rescue. Someone found my phone and I called hubby who in turn called son, and both personal calvary came to the rescue, along with the county Sheriff and local EMTs. My doors were crushed in, so I had to have one pryed off so I could make a graceful exit to the ambulance.

So what does this have to do with my story? Well, seeing as I was no more off center than usual, as the sheriff and others talked to me, I was handing my phone to my son, saying, “Take pictures! Take pictures!” Of what, praytell? My crooked view of the sky? Of men in yellow jackets? Of a SUV that had seen better days?

The seeds of creativity are planted deep. They sprout helter skelter, like in a wild field. You never know when creativity will rear its sassy head. Sitting in the passenger side, waiting for them to kindly open my crushed-in door, I’m more interested in taking pictures of the moment, than wondering if I’ve got a concussion or a broken leg. I’m surprised I didn’t pull out a spiral notebook from my bag and start writing a poem or something.

I’m sure if I were more seriously injured there would be no room for levity. I’m not making fun of being in an accident; I’m speaking about our survival instinct. When the  immediate danger passes, humans tend to find release in the oddest ways. It must be because we’ve cheated tragedy, and find the closest outlet we can to vent the madness that just passed. Those who have passed the scythe often react in upside down ways. Some take up a dangerous pasttime, some laugh and get dizzy; some swallow the seriousness of it all and become morose and fearful. And the older you get, the more upside your reaction can be.

I don’t think I wanted to take pictures to add to the faerie blog. On the contrary, there was not much to take pictures of — crunched SUV, yellow-jacketed EMTs, worried family members. Maybe it was just that I wanted to remember the moment I cheated death. I mean, no one cheats it in the long run, but I was able to close its door for now. See ya. Don’t want to be ya. Don’t want anything to do with ya.

Adversity rears its ugly head all the time. Cancer, diabetes, estranged children, divorce, all stand at the doorstep, waiting — or more like forcing — their way in. We can vitamin, we can exercise, we can love or hate or not care either way. That doesn’t stop our cars from crashing or our companies downsizing. We can be caught off guard at any time.

So why not let the creative vine wrap around you and become a part of who you are? Don’t ask why a moment calls for a poem or an ink sketch. Don’t worry about the “when” of the muse — just be aware that he/she appears at both opportune and inopportune times.  The close call I had with tomorrowland reminded me just what was important … what was worth living for. Grandchildren. Sunsets. Chilly fall breezes. Birds singing and cats climbing on my lap. Chocolate and sappy movies and rock and roll. Makeup parties and sleepovers and writing contests.

You have your own reasons to fight off that nasty scythe. Fight it off with off with all your might. Fight it with your creativity.

You never know when you’ll be in a photographic moment.

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 14 Comments

mirrorThe Goddess needs a Makeover.

Not the blog — the blogger.

Six-0 has really taken a toll on this body. Not that I was knockin’ them dead at five-9…or five-8…or five-7…you get my drift. I’d like to blame my meds, but I think that’s only an inkling of the reason. I suppose I’m not moving around enough, drinking too many glasses of wine, enjoying spaghetti waaaay too much (I had to stop making my own sauce so frequently…I eat it all), too many of my daughter-in-law’s deserts (she is so awesome at those things!), and not enough fruit and fiber.

I need a new photo of myself for a book/magazine that I will be writing a column for (only twice a year, but it’s a great publication: Crone: Women Coming of Age http://cronemagazine.com/). So I need some updatin’. I have a couple of older pics, but upon reflection, they are about 5-7 years ago, and they’re not quite me NOW.  Honest in age, and all.

I’ve asked family to take pictures of me. Ick. I am not photogenic in the least. I’m a lot of fun and magical and goddessy and deep, but I am not photogenic. Recently I discovered “selfies”. (Actually, I never knew what selfies were until someone on FB posted a pic on what cats would look like if they took selfies). So I tried that. Here’s one of me looking off to the side. Here’s one with a smile that looks like I’ve got cramps. This one looks like I’ve got sunburn — or hives.

What is this intense focus on how I look?

I mean, I’ve never been one for the mirror. One of those childhood hangups, I would guess. I must have looked fairly okay all these years, though, for I’ve had a husband for over 32 years that still chases me around. Or rather we ache and pain around. But that’s fodder for another story.

I could go to one of those glamour photo places. They could soft focus me and clean up my Polish complexion and maybe even slenderize my neck. Maybe they could give me a new hairstyle while they’re at it. And either take the shadows out of my glasses or get rid of the puff bags under my eyes.

Maybe I could have my pic taken from far away. But that’s not quite a mug shot, is it.  Maybe I could be peeking through some ferns, or be looking down and reading a book. Or typing on my laptop. But that angle would just enhance my neck rings.

Or maybe I can just get over it. This is not the Miss America Pageant here. This is a publication about the great things getting older offers. Experience, love, insight. Those I definitely have. Then there are the natural rewards.  A mature palate. Check. Old enough to afford Hacker-Pschorr German beer. Check. Old enough to walk/exercise at my own pace. Check. So what does it matter that my aura is a little rounder?

I really can’t lament what I never really had. Just gotta get it overwith. There are more important things in life than looking a little toasty in a selfie.

So…what do you think?

me2

Hot Hot Hot

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

It’s a hot Sunday afternoon. One of those icky, sticky days with no AC and not much shade. I might go drive around in the car just to get some cold air.  Then I’ll be sorry. But hot flashes during the dog days just zaps my creativity. So instead of being witty and poignant I will just leave you with a few pics from my yard. Have a GREAT Sunday!

100_1402

12-09-09_0906