SUMMER LANDSCAPE

 

On my way home yesterday I stopped to take some pictures of this dramatic sky. The colour version was fine but thinking about the pictures of Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, two photographers I was reading about in the last few weeks, I planned to make the picture in black and white. It was the right decision. How dramatic, reminiscent of the powerful landscapes of John Turner.

KINSMEN BEACH, NORTH BAY

 

This weekI concentrated on pictures of our garden. It is amazing how lush the garden is this Summer. Today however I decided to go and take some pictures at the Kinsmen Beach on Lake Nipissing. It was very quiet and peaceful. The sky had some dramatic clouds. While I made some interesting images, I concentrated on a group of trees, which, I think, resulted in a fine composition.

GARDEN QUILT

 Lately we became acquainted with the work of a remarkable group of very creative artists, the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Their quilts have inspired me to look at my wife’s  garden and seeing how she combines a wide variety of textures, patterns and colours, which are three dimensional tapestries reminiscent to me of the beautiful quilts from Gee’s Bend.

OLD POND

 

I took this closeup of a small pond on the college property. The scene reminded me of  Matsuo Basho’s ,arguably,most famous poem, “ The old Pond —Loud Frog   jumps into  old pond “

FERNS

 

Took some more pictures of the garden yesterday afternoon. My idea is starting with black and white images and then transform them back in colour. Not the original colour of course but give tone the picture. I also do some extensive dodging and burning to isolate the ferns with some added light spots to modulate light and shadows to create a more dramatic effect while isolating the ferns from the background.

GARDEN ART

 

In the nineteen sixties a new form of art appeared called land art. The artists created works of art using natural materials like rocks, pebbles and trees but also a wide variety of plants, flowers and water or ice. However I think land art was a much older art form practiced by gardeners, who used their practical knowledge to create their gardens. My wife is definitely one of those artists. Her main topic is patterns, textures and shapes. I like her continuous changing garden which give both of us great visual pleasure.

SPRING GARDEN 2022

 

A few days ago I took this picture of our front garden. I thought how fortunate I was that my wife is passionate about gardening. I simply love and  admire the result of her work, not mine. Of course I would have annoyed Rudyard Kipling, who wrote his much used and admired quote “ Gardens are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade”.