Overview of a Week of Photography (Week 7)

Week seven was a week of juggling work and travel plans. A heavy snow fall melted during a thaw only to have more snow roll in. A long holiday weekend saw me driving to Charlottesville one day, Cape Charles the next, and back to Alexandria on the third day. The weekend became extended when we had just enough snow fall to keep everyone tucked in at home.

My dog Bear, day dreaming. Could it be about squirrels? Or a big fat bone? Or maybe a long walk....

A garden stake marking the peony is a stark graphic against the snow.

Abandoned tulips, cast down in the snow, are turned into art with textures and text.

My trip to Charlottesville was to visit with friends, and participate in a belly blessing ceremony. It was a wonderful afternoon of laughter, sharing, stories, and song.

In little over a week after this picture was taken the beautiful Demory Marie was born.

Next stop, Cape Charles on the Chesapeake Bay. I stopped in Capeville to photograph a favorite cemetery statue. The piece was finished with textures and text.

A painterly photograph of the Cape Charles marina in the early morning.

This week of photographs ended with a re-visit of the abandoned tulips. This time more snow and a hard freeze created a new composition and a different mood.

If you would like to see my work on a daily basis, as well as other projects I undertake, please follow me on Facebook at tART - Photography and Art by Terry Rowe,  https://www.facebook.com/tarrowe. If you'd like to purchase a print of any of my images please contact me or visit my website, http://terry-rowe.artistwebsites.com/. 

A Romantic, Gothic Novel of a Picture

On my first visit to Ireland I was a bit giddy (and greedy) about all the ruins and castles and ancient structures. Within an hour of landing in the country, barely a few miles from the Shannon airport, we pulled the car off the road to photograph the ruins of a castle sitting in a farmer's field.

We parked on the side of the road and walked through an open gate onto the field where the ruins stood - tall stone walls - and I was thrilled. A few quick shots and we were back on the road, letting the farm dog across the lane relax his guard against the brazen intruders and the farmer back to his plowing.

The day was bright but cloudy and drizzling (as it was for much of our visit). The stone walls dark against the bright sky. Later, much later, in the digital dark room I created the image I wanted to capture - a romantic, gothic novel of a picture.

Following is an abbreviated visual of how I got the picture I wanted to take, how I created the picture I wanted to make.

The castle ruins as photographed

The castle ruins with a more dramatic sky

Atmosphere and mood added

A bit more moodiness, a moon and some ravens.

A New Day, A New Year

This first day of 2014 has been a quiet day, a day of planning and contemplation. I made two decisions relevant to the new year.

First, I decided to revive a personal custom of writing out a list of wishes / plans for the coming year. I write down what I'd like to see happen, what I'd like to do in the coming year. Once complete the list is placed into a sealed envelope and put away. On December 31, 2014 I'll open the envelope and compare what I thought I wanted to have 2014 be to what 2014 turned out to be.

Second, I decided to continue my 365 photograph a day project although with some modification. This year I will create a work of photographic art every day - some days it will be a photograph taken that day, some days it will be a photograph processed in the digital darkroom for that day, and other days it will be a photographic composition created for that day.

Today, for my first project of the new year, I worked on a still life composition. This particular work was a photograph of a daguerreotype in an old leather case that I found in an antique store. I wondered who this young man was, who loved him, who did he love. Someone treasured him, enough to have a picture of him, enough to keep his picture.

A Young Man, Day 1, January 1, 2014