Import

I am impressed. They built the building around the architectural finds that they purchased and shipped onto site from around the world. Stealing, loot, plunder? No, it was mostly ordinary money and negotiation in an era when big $$$ talked and meant something in the world. I daresay you would not get away in this day and age. Woke!!

Neat trick! They disassembled and brought over this church chapel, roof, windows, dome, and all… to these United States. They put it all together keeping in mind that the weather and elements would wreak havoc on the stone exterior… and so on and on and so forth… amazing! Elsewhere they brought in stone arches from ruins for the doorways and entrances. It’s neat and extraordinary in the planning. Me? I’m happy the car has gas and I can go for a while even though there is no destination in mind.

And so…how about ISO 22500. Huh? You know ISO and ASA? It is a system to:

ISO – in search of…

sensitivity to light – as it pertained to film – once upon a time…

ISO is your camera’s sensitivity to light as it pertains to either film or a digital sensor. A lower ISO value means less sensitivity to light, while a higher ISO means more sensitivity.

It basically amounts to the idea that the sensor can almost see in the dark. A shot like this would have been virtually impossible in the film era. Or, there would have been a lot more than point, click, shoot involved. Even so my spiffy Nikon Z5 paused and balked at the low light. But… as with most things, I won. We got a shot.

Imagine taking apart a heavy stone chapel bit by bit by bit… To be sure the town’s folks objected. Negotiations ensued and money changed hands….

Cheers!

Spring!

The gardeners at the museum plant flowers in rotation thru the year. It’s spring. The first display after winter is always so cheery. It is entirely unexpected on a dreary day in early March. Color. I do believe that a burst of color cheers me every day and every time. Great!

Aim and fire. Composition is straightforward. Just get the exposure right. Position the flowers artfully… ha ha, I daresay the gardeners would object to my moving any of the flowers around.

Wander

Wandering thru my catalog I found these. Where are we? Ha ha. Of course! (Shhh, I had to consult the database.) It’s Scotland. An abbey, I knew it all along. Colleen likes to wander. She loves old places, history and that sort. I indulge her. Life would be so boring otherwise. Harps and swords and gargoyles, oh my! Do I look happier for this dose of culture? I adore Colleen. I shall always adore her. I adore…

The sky is overexposed. It’s easy to do. It can be fixed somewhat in Lightroom. It is the people who count. Exposure in a dark castle can be a challenge. Today’s digital cameras are prepared to compensate in low light. But it cannot compensate if the dynamic range is from too bright to too dark. It is good to know that the brain (photographer) is still necessary in the equation.

Selfie

Humor was with us from the start. Colleen’s family was so nervous for her to meet a strange man in NY that they had a “code word” in case she needed rescue. It never occurred to me that we would fail to hit it off. Never then and never forever after. Do you make a sandwich without two slices of bread? Times Square, NYC subway, museum, Brooklyn Bridge… was there anywhere…? Colleen was safe and in places she never thought she’d see. Our early museum antic was a prelude to the future…

Clearly, I took these selfies. I understood the concept. I’d never really done it. There had been no particular need before. Photoshop is my friend in a museum.

It is said that DaVinci switched painting hands late in life, perhaps after a stroke. Selfies are no different. One uses the left hand, click, mainly because the camera shutter release is on the right. So, Colleen ends up on my right. …except, when she’s not. Digital makes it easy to flip a photo… but I suspect I never thought much of it. The majority of selfies remain right sided.

Timing

Time waits for no one. The moment is lost forever unless you catch it precisely. Some subjects are slightly more forgiving. A spider web, art…? Others require the precise moment the action occurs. And others require patience for the elements to move into place.

I suppose photography is interesting because you never quite know what you are going to do or to get. Why not!

It’s not for me to say

It has been said that dogs and their owners resemble one another. Similarly spouses tend to have similar features.

We were in a contemporary art museum. Click. Same pose, similar hair…. Hmmm.

Exposure. Timing. Composition. It’s all part of street photography. The elements have to fall into place to get a successful shot. Not bad. I even got half a leg….(far left)

Upstairs Downstairs

Winterthur: “The beautiful Montmorenci staircase, the largest circular free-standing staircase in the country.

We have visited many many times and toured the 175 room mansion. It is nine stories tall. The guides always point out the grandeur of the staircase. I never quite paid attention. We have only ever seen it from the ground floor. In this case ground is the fifth? floor as the home was built into a hillside. On this occasion we toured the eighth floor and got the view from the top.

And then I found pictures of up and down… stairs. It is a matter of keeping track of your images. I use a database. I have a Lightroom catalog. The database lists date, subject, place, and people. This information allows me to look for Winterthur and isolate the last visit. From there I had to remember I took a picture of the staircase. I do this in deference to the guides who always make certain to point out the staircase. It is old habit from taking notes in class.

Progress

… but not reformed. We have a running visual in museums now. I took umbrage with a relative who stated that she had seen art in a museum. Huh?! I am undoubtedly over reacting. I make sure to spoof her each time we attend. Is it art? Are we performing? Am I acting out? Colleen? It’s an old joke by now. Sometimes it’s just hard to grow up.

Technically, I try to keep the camera in the same spot. We don’t tripod. Sometimes Colleen changes the position. After all she’s perfect. Then I must size the image to match the figures.

The lighting is usually dim so that is a factor to consider.

Fun? Juvenile? Try it?!

Whut?

Why? … for fun. We go to a museum or gallery… this blank wall reminds me of modern art – Rauschenberg, Whilte Panel – MOMA $15 million in 2914, painted in 1951. I bet you didn’t know that! Moreover, do you care? Colleen’s got a sister in law, the very epitome of stick the mud of which I spoke. She would never get my sense of humor and fun. Her face would crack from the thought. In fact her hair style has not changed from the 50’s. Laugh?! Cry?! Honest! I seen a picture…. Ma??? We havin’ fun yet?