May 282011
{click image to view large}
With the forecast calling for partly cloudy skies, I decided to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden. Wouldn’t you know, it turned severely clear instead! So I focused on the assignment “light” from The Practice of Contemplative Photography.
This was photographed in the Sensory Garden, which “celebrates fragrances, sounds, colors, textures, and movement.” Taking pictures was a great excuse to spend a lot of time in those surroundings.
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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/500 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 2.66m
Looks like you got most everything on that list April.
Calm yet full of action. Very nice.
Amazing how the light comes through variously and creates liquid light flowing down.
Hugs,
Flo
Stephen, you remind me that one thing I loved about my vintage digital Fuji was its ability to record separate audio — frogs calling, birds singing. Hmmm…up from the basement it comes. 🙂
Flo, “liquid light” is a perfect way to describe the delight of those waterfalls in the garden.
As Flo my first impression was: “liquid light flowing down”.
Like a lot this picture also for the placement of the rod and the shadow in the upper part of the image. Well balanced.
TO YOUR QUESTION “That you take precious time to visit here puts photography in a context which makes me ask myself, “What can it give to the viewer?”
Art and beauty help me to live, give me a break, a time for meditation, if I can say so. Art and/or Nature always give pleasure, even when sad.
We are reading the same book: The Practice of Contemplative Photography…
Art and nature as respites, or breathing space…
After reading through once, I’ve started reading again from the beginning.
I’d love to discuss, either through e-mail or I could start a thread on this ‘blog if there is interest. It could remain as a top post on the front page for awhile.
Saul Leiter is a photographer I just came across, whose work from 1940–1960 is described as both “abstract expressionism” and street photography. It seems also, to me, to embody the approach of contemplative photography.
Hi, April, I’d be interested in discussing Contemplative Photography here on your blog, if others are interested. Otherwise, via email.
I’ve managed to successfully post only one image to that website, under color. But they have a 24-image limit and so mine is long gone.
Each time I’ve tried to post another image, tho, it has seemed to accept the image, but then the image never appears. So I’ve given up – must be an incompatibility between Apple and that website’s source code.
Andreas Manessenger is an Austrian photographer who posts to the TME forum who is one that I consider a “contemplative photographer” and I enjoy his blog very much. Sorry I don’t have the link to his blog with me, but you can find it here under April’s list of bloggers.
April and Micheline, if you are the only 2 who want to discuss this, we can do it via email. You both know mine.
Hugs,
Flo
I’m interested in this as well. Just not sure about it as I haven’t looked into it yet.
Ah, I didn’t realize that! Mine are gone, too. Time for some “fresh” images. 🙂
I hope you won’t give up. The “acceptance” message is misleading, I’ve discovered, in that it only means the submission was successfully submitted to the web site. Whether or not the curators decide to post it to the galleries is something I’ve just had to wait and see. If they don’t, then it’s interesting to try to evaluate how that image missed the mark.
April, the first image I posted was in the Color category and after I got the acceptance page, my image appeared immediately. So that’s how I thought the website operated.
The next two I tried to post were 2 of the “Space Between” abstract concept that I posted to TME’s forum. Those are the ones that didn’t make it to the Seeing Fresh gallery.
I guess they didn’t understand the concept – which I’ll admit, is rather far-reaching and stretches some people’s imaginations to the breaking point, I guess.
April, you are a good photographer!
I would love to go to this area with you!
Usha, it would be a treat to visit that location with you. Let’s make a date! I think there’s a Metra stop nearby…
I typically spend 2 or 3 hours walking around the lakes, prairie and gardens — or greenhouses if it rains — finishing with breakfast outdoors from their very nice cafe. We could “do lunch!” 🙂
Today I see the galleries have been modified to display all submissions, not just 24. Our older entries are visible again. 🙂