Gerber Daisies Series #1, 2018

Gerber Daisies Series #1 2018  

#9 Tulip Series 2018

#9 Tulip Series 2018 

 And in the end, the tulip stems lose their strength, the petals fall and the series ends.

#8 Tulips Series 2018

#8 Tulips Series 2018 

Oh, black and white imagery, how I still do love thee.

I fell in love with black and white film photography back in 1976 when I discovered and fell madly in love with the work of Edward Weston  (1886 - 1958).   http://www.artnet.com/artists/edward-weston/

Even though I'm photographing 100% digital image capture and 95% color these days I'd like to think I will always see images as though I'm creating for black and white film developing.

#7 Tulips Series 2018

#7 Tulips Series 2018 for Scott W. 

Thanks to the creative adjustments one can make with photo apps on our mobile devices a portrait that was perfect in its original form can be adjusted and customized to convey a different mood and message within a matter of minutes.

While continuing to enjoy the pleasure of my creative moment I read on social media that the father of a friend of mine (Scott) had passed away unexpectedly, less than a year after he had lost his mother and his precious dog Lucy.

I felt compelled to take this portrait and adjust it so it felt more translucent, less substantive, more mysterious and ghost-like.  I added a few words and sent the message with sincere condolences to Scott and his family.

#6 Tulips Series 2018

#6 Tulips Series 2018 

Words cannot describe the magical discovery of new spring light coming in from a south window that has been dark for months.  It is nothing less than magical.

A magnetic force pulled me toward the window to admire the light, feel the warmth of the sunlight and notice the shadows coming through the sheer curtains. 

The light felt fresh and new while conversely, you could see that the tulips were starting to lower their stems, losing their strength and beginning to let go of a petal or two when they were moved, less than gently.

#5 Tulips Series 2018

#5 Tulips Series 2018 

Before running off to work these tulips forced me to stop and admire the soft morning light and the sweet shades of gray embracing them, from curtains on the left and right and the shadow falling behind them on the wall.

Who could resist?

#4 Tulips Series 2018

#4 Tulips Series 2018 

I arrived home from work and saw that there was enough late afternoon light to create this still life before it was too late and the light would be gone.

Quickly pulled a pashima shawl off a chair and some poetry books off a nearby shelf and created this portrait. 

#3 Tulips Series 2018

#3 Tulips Series 2018

Simple. Quiet. Elegance. Black. White. Gray. Light. Shadow. Texture. 

All this spoke to me in a matter of seconds and prompted me to create this still life.

#2 Tulips Series 2018

#2 Tulips Series 2018

#1 of Tulips series

#1 of Tulips Series 2018 

What does a good photographer (me) do when guests arrive with beautiful tulips wrapped in a ribbon? 

She invites the friend's daughter, Audrey to help her pick out a pretty vase, arrange the flowers (quickly) and finally to create a still life portrait of the flowers together on the iphone.

And so began a week long connection with these beautiful tulips as the flowers changed, aged and eventually dropped their petals. Bittersweet friendship that ended too soon.

Gifted Tulips Inspired a Video and 7 Days of Images

On the eve of Easter 2018 dear friends of ours arrived with a sweet bouquet of tulips.  Strangely, this year I had intentionally chosen not to buy tulips and simply bought a mixed assortment of flowers with gerber daisies and more.

Little did I know that those tulips and I were going to have a deep connection over the next seven days that resulted in some of my best images thus far in 2018 and creation of a short video:

"One Subject
Photographed Over Seven Days"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNQBWOBUg8Y

Photos to follow in chronological order.

2017 Photo Art Calendars

2017 Photo Art Calendars

2017 Photo Art Calendars - Still time to purchase photo art calendars. You've seen, and hopefully loved, many of the still life photos by Wendy H Blomseth Fine Art Photography. Now you can have them as mini-masterpieces of your very own. Contact me today at wendyhblomseth@gmail.com

How Long Does It Take?

Still Life in Black & White: September 6, 2015, no. 4324

“Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time.”
― Jorge Luis Borges

How long does it take for understanding and acceptance? Ten years. Sixteen years. Never.

Today is the sixteenth wedding anniversary for my husband, Karl and I. It has been quite a journey of miles, years, experiences and we are both probably still learning about each other.

We are, as we often do, spending the weekend together up north at the cabin that he originally purchased to be the "boy cabin" for hunting, fishing and man time with friends.  Throughout the years the ambiance has changed considerably as we've used it as our photography workshop headquarters, artists' retreat, friends play ground and couples intimate personal time. How long did it take? I'd estimate it was an evolving process from 2000 to 2008 with small embellishments added each year. When I look at it now, it's hard to remember what it looked like back in 1999 before we got married.

I've been working on a photo still life series to "honor the emotive moment." It started as a learning experience to teach myself how to create fine art quality images with a new digital camera. Over a period of ten years I've been creating these still life portraits at a time/place when it had a special meaning for me, from birthdays to anniversaries to holidays.

Even though I consider one portrait to the best from each series, I usually work "in the zone" for two morning sunrise sessions before I pack it up and say, yes. I've got what I need.  How long does it take? Overall: ten years. Each session: two - four hours over two days. 

Today I came away with two favorites, the black and white at the top is in honor of all the years Karl and I spent in our black and white darkroom.

Still Life: September 6, 2015 no. 4336

The color portrait above I love because of the quality of the morning light and the props that Karl produced:  backdrop fabric and the coffee cup set he had purchased years ago for one of his past photo sets.

So, how long does it all take?  Most days I have very little patience and a short attention span. But when I take a step or two back to pause and reflect I love our years together, our many past collaborations and the ones that we're creating each and every day now in these present "emotive moments."

Patience, kind reader

Patience, Kind Reader.

My goal initially  is to work in two time frames simultaneously. If you've read some of my recent posts you might get an idea of what I'm up to.  If not, read on.

THE PAST:
I am going to fill in stories during the last nine months when I made the commitment to curate a group art show which has now evolved into "The Space Between The Words"  hosted by the Vine Arts Center September 3 - 26, 2015.   http://vineartscenter.org/spacebetweenwords/index.htm

Today, August 1st is where we draw the time line of current stories versus "catch up" posts on the past.  Older stories will be filled in somewhat chronologically so I'll be building the blog from two time frames because I always seem to do things 110% but with some added work thrown in. LOL

 

 THE FUTURE:

Going forward, I feel prompted  to share

** select images of emotive moments that I wish to photograph

** the "How To's" of photo products I make,

** the experience of curating a group art exhibit and, longer term,

** work/life balance stories of being a business professional as well as a passionate photographer.

I invite you to "Follow," ask photography questions, or any others, that I can help you with.

Thank you for your support and friendship.

Vases, Light & Shadow

Vases: October  2013  (available for purchase)

As I go through my photo archives of last year's initial experiments with still life compositions this image keeps calling me.  I cannot tell you how beautiful the lines and colors are in that center rear vase that is made from wood. 

I love it!  The other pieces are lovely on their own but the vase is so singularly striking and precious.

When I started to collect items for this still life I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to photograph.  I went through Karl's collectibles upstairs in his man cave and pulled these items from a variety of different corners and shelves.  On their own they were nice but together they really complimented each other.

It feels important to document these collectibles that he has accumulated over the years so they are remembered in an image so that  they have a second life beyond their short life on our shelf.

Light & Shadow images on display

Bottles on Green, #8740, September 2014 (available for purchase)

I am so excited to announce that the day has come to select a few of my recent Light & Shadow still life photography series images and share them with my local community and online.

Join me

October 4, 2015 - Opening Reception

October 16, 2015 - 6:30 - 8:30p.m

KBEMfm Radio hosts GALLERY GROOVES, music and art

November 1, 2015 - 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Meet and Talk to The Artists Closing Event

Vine Arts Center

GET BEHIND THE WORK, II, a member show of the

Vine Arts Center

2637 - 26th Avenue South, Mpls., MN  55406

www.vineartscenter.org