Red

This blog started when looking at some picnic plates and bowls on a counter in the kitchen...and the realization that I was seeing patterns that I wanted to photographically explore.

I know the title of this blog is red, but it is not really about red.  And, it is not about blue plates per say.  Yah, I know there are a lot of photographs of a red bowl and blue plates.   It is really about a study in composition of some simple objects using ambient light.  This compositional process is first about circular design and a secondary challenge in how to arrange these objects to create different images using only these few objects arranged on a black background.

Some of the classic design elements of composition in art include line, shape and form.  For this blog entry I have decided to look at the circle as a compositional shape.  The challenge with photographing these four items is how to use the circular design of the items.   The arrangement of the circular plates leads your eyes toward the main subject the circular red bowl.  These circular objects are a pleasant juxtaposition inside the rectangular frame.  It is an overall study in circular patterns but it is also a collection of separate images that can stand on their own.  

The images were created using a Sony A7II camera.  The lighting is window light both direct and indirect used in photographing these items on a black background.  All questions can be address to me at nymacc@gmail.com

I will gladly respond to all emails.

Alone

An interesting result of the COVID-19 Virus is the observation of how small and connected we are on this small rock we call Earth.  Someone sneezes on the other side of the world and you feel it both socially and economically here.  Even though we may think of ourselves alone, we are not, but part of the occupants of this small rock and very much connected.

The present prescribed sheltering in place has as a photographer made me more aware of the things around this space I occupy.   I hear the small shadow of the chair outside my window that is creeping across the patio and the quietness that seems to permeate the air around me. 

I awaken to the light coming through the window and the smell of morning coffee brewing and the awareness that another day has begun.   There is a certain amount of loneliness that seems to envelope my surroundings. 

A small leaf has fallen off the plant in the bedroom and I take it and place it in a small replica of pre-Colombian piece...and reflexively I reach for the camera and capture the image.   It is this small action that starts me on a creative journey looking at other things around me, and how I would like to record their existence. The light streaming across the dinning room table or light creeping along the floor through a partially open door.

It is a process that makes the loneliness palatable for a time.   My medium of art, photography, is what binds me to the world around me.  The camera is my eyes and soul...breathing life into my small world.  I think most photographers feel this way and the present conditions have put a lot of jobs and art projects on hold.  However, this isolation has, if we have not already been aware of who we are and what is really important in our lives...now is certainly the time to make this review.

All images made using a Sony A7II camera during early morning hours.  I can be reached at nymacc@gmail.com for questions and comments.