Shortly before the winter holidays and the end of the year officially hit, I was wrapping up a few projects in the studio and happened upon some flowers left over from a holiday event. They had been left uncared for over a weekend and were clearly destined for the compost bin but there was still something about them that caught my eye. I had my camera with me and couldn't resist spending nearly an hour photographing them.
I love the Dutch tradition of vanitas and, despite the lack of bugs and complete rot, these past-their-prime flowers reminded me of that tradition. I would be lying if I said I had thought of the overtly poetic end-of-the-year-death-evergreen-new-life concept as I photographed; that didn't happen until I was typing up this post. Vanitas, symbolism, nice photos, interpret them however you like, I am simply sharing this quick end of 2014 photo project with you.
I, like countless others, love going to museums. I can't really explain it, but I love seeing all sorts of things from living, breathing creatures, to bones, dioramas, and specimens. I love the learning and observing that you get to do in these spaces. I am {very slowly} developing a project based on the fascination that humans have with gathering items into special locations, be it a garden, zoo, or museum, for observation. I still have yet to figure out exactly what this project seeks to achieve, or what form it'll take but currently it is photo based; as a trained photographer, so many things for me begin with photographs.
Here is a suite of images from the vast collections at the California Academy of Sciences, an excellent place to find all sorts of displays, dioramas, and other things to look at.
I know, I know, if you follow this blog you are thinking 'she went to the Conservatory of Flowers again?!' Well, yes, of course I did. Obviously, I love it there and I find it interesting how there is always something new to discover. I also try to challenge myself to make new/different photos each time I go to develop and push myself in this aspect of my art. Plus, I have several project ideas floating around in my note book and my head that would put these images to use. Until those ideas develop more, here is a new suite of images from my latest trip to the Conservatory of Flowers, all taken using the Hipstamatic app with the Bruno lens and Gotland film. The color pop is a result of levels adjusting and color balancing in Photoshop.
