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archives |
Friday 01.08.10
[talking pictures: lisa wiseman].
this week’s [talking pictures] comes from talented san francisco-based photographer lisa wiseman. lisa used my apartment as a location for a photo shoot recently, and when i checked out her beautiful portfolio of work, i was swooning. i love the simple, and yet elegant and thought-provoking photos lisa shoots, so i am quite happy to share her work with you today. for more of lisa’s photography, please visit her website, or drop in on her blog to learn more about her.
here are the stories behind lisa wiseman’s [talking pictures]: “These are three photos that I took out of pure spontaneous happiness. The fact that they were all taken with Polaroid is purely coincidental.”
“This first photo I took after spending the morning hanging out with chickens and gorgeous yummy eggs at Soul Food Farm with the owner Alexis. At the time, Alexis’ puppy was young and had spent the last 2 hours running lost through the miles of hills surrounding the farm. I had also just spent quite a bit of time galloping happily all over the property (thank you Alexis!) with the chickens, washing eggs for the market, and admiring the gorgeous scenery. It was such a lovely morning that I didn’t even mind having sprained my ankle. I came back to the house to find the puppy reappeared and finally sitting still for the first time all morning. I crept over to him and took one happy sunlit shot.”
“This photo is simply my mother in essence. I took this photo while hanging out with her and testing a new camera. I was working through a pack of test film and took the shot of her counter top among other shots of both her and myself. This shot is perfectly her: the gold bangle bracelet she’s worn my whole life, the small decorative bottles and the Shalimar. This reminds me of the myriad of happy days I continue to spend with her and of the profound happiness I get from photographing my family.”
“I love this green lamp photo because it was taken in a beautiful weekend home that had huge windows, perfect lighting and vast quantities of time to sleep. I spent most of that weekend with my fiancee in the sun or sleeping and I can’t remember being happier. Every photo from the weekend was calm and serene and filled with the kind of joy I was feeling. Looking at the photo reminds me of the creaminess of the walls and the clear afternoon light. It was a weekend I spent smiling a lot!”
Tuesday 12.08.09
[talking pictures: annie galvin].
i just love this week’s [talking pictures], in part because i’m just a sucker for old childhood photos, but also because i love annie’s great memories of the image. this wonderful photo comes from san francisco based artist annie galvin, of 3 fish studios, where she and her husband eric rewitzer make lovely art together. you can find annie’s work here on their 3 fish studios website and learn more about her on her blog, wexford girl. thanks for sharing such a sweet photo, annie!
Here’s what annie has to say about her [talking picture]: “I love this 1974 photograph of my brother John, my sister Liz, and me, posing a little awkwardly for my father. Michael, the baby, was two years old, and must have been inside with my mother. I look at this and it instantly takes me back to our house in Moorfields, County Wexford, in the south-east corner of Ireland. The house my father built. I know that the rough patch of ground to the right was the vegetable patch, where we grew the things that grew well in Ireland: potatoes of course, and rhubarb, carrots, turnips.
I remember that the white shoes I am wearing are my First Holy Communion shoes. I LOVED those shoes – when they were shiny and new on my Communion day, then reserved for Sunday best, and finally becoming everyday shoes. I am holding my beloved Sindy Doll (we didn’t have Barbie in 1970s Ireland.) Her hair is yellow frizz because I washed it with shampoo. Liz has a brunette Sindy with still-shiny hair, and she’s clearly playing dress-up as well – look at that belt! And John is gamely tooting on his horn. More than anything, the three pairs of little knees kill me, and how we’re all squinting into the sun and smiling self-consciously.
This photograph makes me glad because it reminds me that I had a happy childhood. Our family has grown in the last 35 years; Now when I spend time in Ireland with John and Liz and Michael, the next generation is running around underfoot (eight kids and another one on the way). It’s joyful and lively to be with the whole noisy crowd, But I am grateful to have photographic reminders of days long gone, when there were fewer of us, like the day we three lined up like soldiers, waiting for the click.”
Tuesday 12.01.09
[talking pictures: happy mundane].
this week’s [talking pictures] comes from jonathan lo of the wonderful blog, happy mundane. jonathan is an art director/editor of j3 productions, living in Orange County, California and has been writing his blog for a long time now — he’s definitely one of the innovators and one of the first blogs i ever started reading and got inspired by. Happy Mundane is all about finding beauty in the everyday things, like Jonathan likes to say “There’s beauty in your dishsoap”. His story is a pretty happy one, too, and a very nice reminder to always see the simple beauty all around you. Take a look.
here’s what jonathan as to say about his [talking pictures]: “About this time last year, I adopted my dog Pepé. Aside from completely changing my life, he’s also given me a chance to appreciate — the ground? Taking him on his daily walks has forced me to look at things from his perspective. So I took a few snaps from a recent outing. Living in suburban Southern California, we don’t really get the whole “changing colors of the season” thing, but I have been noticing certain colors calling out to me. On this particular day, I was really attracted to these random little pops of yellow along the sidewalk. I guess it could be the “sunny side of the street”. As Victoria always inspires me to remember, it’s all in how you see it!”
Tuesday 11.24.09
[talking pictures: amy ruppel].
today’s [talking pictures] is just stunning and is accompanied by a good road trip story. i love a good road trip. it comes from one of my favorite artists (a lot of peoples’ favorite artist!), amy ruppel. amy is a portland-based artist, but you’ve seen her artwork all over the place. from gallery shows (there’s one on currently at rare device) to artwork for modern twist and ipop and on blogs just about everywhere, like this peek at her studio on design*sponge. you can read more about amy on her blog, and shop for her beautiful artwork in her online shop and her etsy shop. thanks for sharing, amy!
here’s amy rupple’s [talking picture]: “I moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Portland, Oregon in the winter of 1996. I drove the whole way… the car breaking down, almost getting trapped in a blizzard (thank goodness for State Troopers), with an old boyfriend. We were off to start a new life in the Pacific Northwest. Well, I’m still in Portland, but he didn’t last long.
Every now and again, I drive back home to Wisconsin along that same route. Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming is my favorite stop along the way. Not only for its majestic presence, but for the lore behind it as well.
When you enter the park, you crest a long hill, and bam. There it is. That crazy mound of rock in all its glory, with a giant meadow laid out before you. On this particular day, storms were moving in and out, and I just had to see that view over the hill with the skies as turbulent as they were. I drove there from my hotel in Sundance, Wyoming, skirting hail, tornadoes and the approaching darkness of night. But as you can see from the photo, it was well worth it. You can take hundreds of photos of this place, and never get the same shot. As long as the light changes, so will the big rock.” -@my
Tuesday 11.10.09
[talking pictures: door sixteen].
i love today’s [talking pictures], from anna of the new york-based blog door sixteen. having adopted my dog cooper, i guess i can relate to how much love and appreciation ‘adopted or rescue’ animals give back. this is one sweet story of one lucky cat. for more beautiful thoughts and sharing from anna, visit her blog door sixteen.
this is anna’s [talking picture]: “This is Sylvester. When my husband and I bought our house in Newburgh, New York, he was one among a number of homeless cats living on our block. Three and a half years later, Sylvester is the only cat who remains.
I’m not sure when we decided that his name is Sylvester, but we were shocked when we discovered that our neighbors had dubbed him “Blackjack”. I’m not even sure how we came to the conclusion the he is even a “he”, but this is what he is to us. He’s always seemed like a toughie, too — we’ve seen cars have to take alternate parking spaces because Sylvester didn’t want to give up his spot in the sun.
About a year ago, I held my hand out and crouched down on the sidewalk, about 20 feet from Sly. I expected him to take off; to do that thing that stray cats do when humans come too close. To my great surprise, he came running over! I pet his head tentatively, and he responded with a rub and a purr. For months, this was our routine. Days would pass when I wouldn’t see him, and I would worry. He always reappeared eventually, though. After a couple of winters, we never saw any of the other cats again. Just Sylvester.
A few months ago, a house across the street from us became vacant and went up for auction. The previous residents had made a practice of dumping cat food on their porch, which is where I’m assuming Sylvester got most of his sustenance. With them gone, he had nothing to eat. He lost his “tough” look, and started to get skinny. His fur became dull and dirty-looking.
At the end of September, I started doing that thing that everyone always says not to do: I put food and water out for a stray cat. Sylvester didn’t hesitate for the second! He gobbled down the entire dish, then let me pick him up and give him a cuddle. How could I deny this guy a meal? How could I let him starve?
My husband is severely allergic to cats, and we have two small dogs. Bringing Sylvester indoors is not an option. Regardless, I don’t think this guy would be very happy living inside after being an outdoor cat for so long. Fortunately, we live on a one-way street with very little traffic, and Sly spends most of his time napping in the sun on our porch. There is no wildlife here to hurt him. There isn’t a feral cat population here.
Next weekend, I’m going to make an insulated shelter to go under our porch so he has a place to go when it’s freezing cold.
I think he’ll be okay.
Sometimes you just need to do what feels right in your heart, and not worry about the shoulds and shouldn’ts too much.”
[ thanks again to guest blogger anna of Door Sixteen! ]
