Grace

Grace
1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. favor or good will.
4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior.
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.

It has often been said that the secret to a happy marriage is to concern yourself with your spouse's (girlfriend's, boyfriend's, lover's) happiness more than your own. Last week, Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) wrote a lovely piece called A Graceful Man, A Gentleman. If you haven't read it, please do. This is perhaps the sweetest description of how to treat the person you love.

Voyant

This is a glass of Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur. It is made with aged Virgin Island rum, fresh Dutch cream, black tea from India, and premium spirits from Holland. It is liquid dessert. And today is the birthday of my dear friend and sister, Carol. She is insanely talented and always inspiring, and I couldn't have been more blessed in being born into a family of such amazing women. Please raise your glass - whatever is in it - with me, and wish her a magical birthday!

Growth

This is my submission for this week's photo project; growth. It's a tough concept when you're surrounded by snow and ice, but I think all the more poignant when you actually find signs of it.

There is a term in photography that I love; bokeh, which refers to the quality or "silkiness" of the blur of everything that is deliberately out of focus. You get this when shooting something in a shallow depth of field, and the background dissolves into this dreamy blur of lights and shadows. Do you bokeh?

Letter to Winter

Dear Winter,

You and I haven't gotten on well since I was twelve. Remember when I got skis for Christmas and came down with the chicken pox, and had to watch from the living room window as my sisters broke in my skis for me? That one still stings. But yes, I know you have your special brand of beauty to offer; the color of the sky at six o'clock, the way frost sits on sleeping leaves, and the opportunity to wear layers of cashmere. But let's be honest, you and I are not meant to spend too much time together. And you see how my eyes light up every time I sense Spring around the corner. So, let's make a deal. Make your stay a brief one and I won't go to the police and put a restraining order on you. Deal?

Cordially,
Rita

Black & White

I'm also entering a black & white photography contest sponsored by Canon. Can you help? Tell me what image you thinks works best in this format ... I can enter three!

Food Photography

While it's still a few weeks away, I'm preparing for my final photography class project. I have to create a portfolio that reflects what would become my discipline ... and when I grow up, I want to be a food photographer. While I don't yet have the skills of this guy, or this gal, you can understand why they are both my inspiration, and sought-after by the big food publications.

I went to one of my favorite places (the North Market) yesterday to gather my subjects. I love that you can eat them after you've shot them. As I prepare, I'd love your input on the images that best display food. What makes you hungry? What image would you use in a cook book or magazine article? What's missing?

Your input throughout this class has been extremely helpful in my progress. Feel free to offer me your input here or on my photostream here. And thank you!

Egg on my face

Hi friends, I've been a bad blogger lately; I've had, um, other eggs to fry. As you can see, the photo project for this week is "egg". I've photographed, and eaten, more eggs today than I ever thought possible. Even learned my cat loves them. So tell me, which picture do you think works best compositionally, chromatically, texturally ... and captures the spirit of "egg"?

I'm Ready for My Close-up

Thank you to everyone who responded to my "blue" assignment here and in person. It seems the ring has it!

One of the things that I love about a photgraphy class is that it forces me to really compose an image and take into consideration all of the elements that comprise a good shot. My second class assignment is a close-up, and must contain all of the general rules of composition; varying levels of interest, diagonal lines, an object in focus, and a repeated pattern of some kind. So here are the new contenders.

So, which, to you, fits the bill?

Blue

So, I'm taking another photography class and the first assignment is ... you guessed it, "blue." I have to choose my best shot to submit, and since I have such discerning and aesthetically advanced friends, I thought I'd turn to you to help me decide. Which of these images not only speaks to you of blue, but works compositionally as an image?