Me vs The Camera

It was a cold, dark night:
my eyes watering
my fingers frozen
my feet numb
my teeth chattering
my mouth parched
(I refused to pay $3 for a bottle of water)
my iso cranked
my aperture wide open
my tripod on my back
(it was too cold to open it -
why did I even bring the thing?)
and this is what my camera saw...


Penn's Landing Waterfront 
Philadelphia, PA 

But that is not what my eyes saw...
THIS is what I saw.


My vision of Penn's Landing Waterfront 
Philadelphia, PA 

How can that be?
Because the camera didn't know about
watering
frozen
numb
chattering
parched
me.

So I edited the image to match my vision.
(If you are a photo purist, this post is not for you. Sorry.)


Ben Franklin Bridge 
Philadelphia, PA

When I see something my mind immediately starts playing with it.
(Yup, even if I sit in your living room
my mind will start rearranging your furniture
and decor into vignettes.
I. can't. help. it.
It just happens.)


My vision Ben Franklin Bridge I
Philadelphia, PA 
It looks colder here, doesn't it? 

When I see a subject
my mind does the same thing.
How would it look in black and white,
as a charcoal piece,
as a water color.
And that is how I see it in my mind.
So,
when I take a photo
I try to recreate the vision I had
through the editing process.


My vision Ben Franklin Bridge II
Philadelphia, PA

Yes, I believe in getting it right in camera,
yadda, yadda, yadda...
But when you are
watering
frozen
numb
chattering
parched
all that yadda, yadda, yadda
is just yadda, yadda, yadda.
You just click the stupid shutter and move on
to the warm fires a short walk away.

A Photo Purist I am not -
at least not all of the time.
For me, it is all about the vision.
 I got my vision
with a stupid click
and some editing in my warm house.


Photos are edited with  the new Topaz Glow and 
I'm still kind of playing with it. 
I love Topaz products. 
They offer 30 day trials. 
Here is a $10 off link 
you can use if you find something you like.

The Party's Here! Where I am linking these days.

            

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Discovering Wabi-Sabi

Something clicked.
After 50+ years of living, I've discovered it.
Now I feel defined, emboldened and free.

What is it?
wabi-sabi 
Not to be confused with wasabi 
which I also love.  :)


Be Still My Heart: Cobalt Blue Glass 
iso 1000, 50mm, f 2.8 1/80 sec

It's been there all my life,

but my life had never met wabi-sabi before.

And now, I know what I have loved,

and my love is justified.

What is wabi-sabi?

It is a Japanese world view of 

finding beauty in the imperfect 

and embracing the humble. 

A life where old and battered objects

are preferred over the new and pristine.

Teapot by Hall (USA) Teacup by Copeland-Spode (England) 

iso 1000, 62mm, f 2.8 1/30 sec

This explains why,

when you come to my house for dinner,

I won't have a new, matching dinner set on the table.

Rather,

each place setting will have a unique piece

of {mostly} vintage ironstone transferware

that I searched for and found

one at a time.

(And do you know,

no one has ever commented on this.

Ever.

It is unnoticed. )

Maybe that is why I felt so alone in my wabi-sabi-ing.

Keys to Unknown Doors

iso 500, 70mm, f 2.8 1/4 sec

I have collected my dinner glassware,

French, red, retro,

the same way - although this is a matching set.

A few pieces here,

a few pieces there.

And now, I have enough for a party.

Each glass is special.

I found it and

 it became part of my life.

Vintage Red French Glassware {Luminarc}

iso 1000, 55mm, f 2.8 1/15 sec

I haunt thrift stores, flea markets and the like.

I bring home the old, battered, unloved

and give it a home.

Why?

I like to look at it.

Something about it is special in my eye.

It stimulates my imagination.

How about you?

Do you wabi-sabi?

Good Riddance Martha Stewart

(or More Reading on Wabi-Sabi)

iso 500, 63mm, f 2.8 1/20 sec

Until next time,

wabi-sabi on.

Photo Editing with Topaz Impression
They offer 30 day trials. 
Here is a $10 off link 
you can use if you find something you like.

The Party's Here! Where I am linking these days.

            

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Burnt Cookies for Christmas

There once was a little redheaded boy
who live a few doors away from his Grandma's home.


Making Burnt Cookies

The wonderful thing about Grandma's home
was the location over top of Grandma's bakery.
Yes, Grandma had a bakery
and little redheaded boy grew up
enjoying the day-old, burnt, or otherwise rejected baked goods.


Mix together:1 Cup Butter, 1 Egg, 1/2 Cup Sugar 

When little redheaded boy married,
his wife burnt some cookies
and like any good wife
she disposed of the burnt cookies.


Add 1 Teaspoon Vanilla & 1 1/2 Cups Flour. Food color optional. 
Mix until well combined. Press through cookie press.

When little redheaded boy saw the burnt cookies in the trash,
he was distraught.
All those delicious cookies gone to waste.
Whatever was wife thinking?


Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes (for non-burned cookies).
The hardest part is watching them burn. 

And thus wife learned that burnt cookies
are delicious to little redheaded boys
who grew up eating burnt baked goods
from Grandma's bakery.


Little Redheaded Boy will be very happy when he comes home today. 

Wife now burns cookies
just for Little Redheaded Boy
because she loves him.

Here is Little Redheaded Boy 
helping at Grandma's bakery. 

Images edited with Topaz Impression.  
They offer 30 day trials. 
Here is a $10 off link 
you can use if you find something you like. 

The Party's Here! Where I am linking these days.

            

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Candy Canes

I've been busy buying, shopping, wrapping ...

and I am happy to say, I am finished.

Edited with Topaz Impression
They offer 30 day trials. 
Here is a $10 off link 
you can use if you find something you like.

The Party's Here! Where I am linking these days.

            

 My blog posts to my facebook page: