Ansel Adams and September's Inspiration

Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, by Ansel Adams, a print (Amazon) 

"I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite." --Ansel Adams

We finally made it, hubby and I, to the Ansel Adams exhibit at Cincinnati's Taft Museum before the exhibit's closing date. We would have missed a great treat if we had let this one slip from our fingers. I've always admired the iconic black-and-white photos of nature, particularly of our national parks, that Mr. Adams is famous for, but to try and absorb the genius, beauty, and compelling images all assembled in one place as these were, was a tremendous opportunity.

Cincinnati Taft Museum

Ansel Adams, A Photographer's Evolution was on view at the Cincinnati Taft Museum most of the summer, ending September 16. Billed as a showcase of a career-spanning collection of the photographer's work, the display attempted to "trace the evolution of Adams' magnificent style," beginning with rare early scenes from the 1920s and progressing to later prints he made shortly before his death (source). "Spanning the photographer's entire career," words displayed for the visitor at the beginning of the tour stated, "this exhibition reveals Adams as a poet of light both in the field and in the darkroom." The exhibit featured 42 of these marvelous photographs. Mesmerizing and instructional at the same time. Image poet and photographer in the same package. I loved it.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984), photographer and environmentalist, was born in San Francisco. He experienced the aftershocks of San Francisco's great earthquake as a four-year old in 1906. He contracted the Spanish Flu during the 1918 flu pandemic and became seriously ill, taking several months to recover. He aspired at first to a musical career after years of studying the piano. But ultimately, after his father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera, after his first visit to Yosemite National Park in 1916, he turned to photography as his passion and purpose. "The splendor of Yosemite," he wrote of his first view of the valley, "burst upon us and it was glorious...One wonder after another descended upon us...There was light everywhere...A new era began for me" (source).

And so, as I often do, I took a look at this man, Ansel Adams, and what he might have left behind in words as well as art. Highlights of my discoveries:

--"Suddenly I saw what photography could be: a tremendously potent, pure art form, and austere and blazing poetry of the real."

--"Photography is not only what you see, but also what you feel."

--"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

--"How high your awareness level is determines how much meaning you get from your world. Photography can teach you to improve your awareness level."

--"I can look at a fine art photograph and sometimes I can hear music."

--"Today we must realize that nature is revealed in the simplest meadow, wood lot, marsh, stream, or tidepool, as well as in the remote grandeur of our parks and wilderness areas."

--"I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us."

--"Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum."

And finally, a quote we writers can identify with:

--"One of the most important pieces of equipment, for the photographer who really wants to improve, is a great big wastepaper basket."

"In 1975," the exhibit noted, Adams "ceased making fine art prints for the open market. He selected 70 negatives he saw as his most important works--known collectively as the Museum Set--and began printing them for placement in museums." Six images in the Taft's gallery were among the 70 Adams selected, chosen from a field of over 2500 photographs attributed to his seven-decade career (source). What an agonizing process that must have been, to narrow such a wide range of images into only a few dozen for display. How does one choose one equally beautiful photograph over another?

September's inspiration: Ansel Adams, photography, poetry in photography, beauty in our world, dedication, passion. What artist--photography or other medium--inspires you? What has been September's inspiration for you so far?

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Photo-A-Day Challenge Revisited

"For this is the artist's great responsibility, to listen, see, feel, smell, taste. To experience everything as intensely as possible, and then report our findings." --Silas House

I took time the other day to revisit my photo-a-day challenge, the project I undertook last year where I set a goal to take a photo a day. On this "revisit," I wanted to see if I could narrow a year's worth of pictures to a handful of favorites. Not an easy task, but here are the ones that made the final cut--a picture for each month with a few extras thrown in.

I remember how I started the project with a shake and a quiver, fearing I had set out on an impossible task. How could I ever expect to be able to snap a picture a day? Would it be too much to ask? What if I failed to stick with it, how would I feel?

Yet, over a year later, the results are in along with fun memories, fond images and an awareness of what an extraordinary experience it was. And I like this quote by Diane Mariechild that I ran across: "Trust that still, small voice that says, 'This might work, and I'll try it.'" 

I'm sure glad I did.

I'd love to hear from you on which of the above in the final grouping is your favorite, and why. Each one speaks a different word to me. I wonder what they might speak to you.

And, any daunting tasks you've ever set out to explore in which you questioned if you could stick it out, only to step back when it was all over to say, how in the world did I do that!?

Isn't it a wonder when we stop to listen to that still, small voice--and follow through?

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Photo-A-Day: November

"Travel turns all the fairy tales and stories into reality." --Author Unknown

What a storybook month it's been. I'm still pinching myself. Did I dream this? Was it all a fairy tale? No, the truth is I traveled to Europe for the first time ever--with a heart full of gratitude to our son (and tour guide), daughter-in-law, and two-year old grandson. What fun. What adventure. What an awesome experience.

Keith and family have lived in Spain for almost two years now (link here if you'd like to read their story). So hubby and I jetted off to join them, first for a week in Aguilas on the sea where they live followed by a whirlwind week to other wondrous places: Granada, Spain; Munich, Germany; Salzburg and Velden, Austria; Kranjska Gora, Slovenia; Travisio, Italy. Can you say breathless? More like breathtaking!

Where do I start? The Mediterranean, castles, cathedrals, medieval fortresses. The Alhambra (15th-century Moorish palace and artistic wonder), flamenco dancers, miles and miles of olive trees. Madrid's famous Prado Art Museum and Retiro Park, and Don Quixote-type windmills. Ancient wooden caskets holding the remains of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Christopher Columbus fame. Surfers in Munich (if asked what was the most unexpected thing we saw on our trip, this would get our vote!). Heidi's Alps and a tour of the sites used in filming the classic movie (and one of my all-time favorites) The Sound of Music. Thanksgiving in Italy. Friendly people and great food, languages and culture, history and beauty. Inspiration.

I could go on and on, but instead I'll simply post a smidgen of the volume of photos I took. I sure didn't have any trouble taking a photo-a-day this month!

Who would have known the next-to-the last month of my photo challenge would offer such a fairy tale. Thanks, Keith, Suzan and little Nicholas for the time of our lives.

And thanks to all who stop in to view my November gallery. May fairy tales come true for you, too...

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Photo-A-Day: October

"Potpourri--(n) a collection of dried flower petals, leaves, herbs, and spices that is used to scent the air; a mixture of miscellaneous things."

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

Whimsy, beauty, reflection, anticipation. October offered all these things and more, represented in this month's photo-a-day project, a challenge I started--can it be true?--ten months ago. And what a mix of images unfolded from the month's beginning to the end--a potpourri of colors, textures, smells, and surprises. Each day offered something different including walks in the height of autumn, a photography exhibit, a stroll across a university campus, a book fair. New skills to learn, trips to plan, ideas to explore, words to write.  A hodepodge, assortment, collection, odds and ends, miscellany (synonyms for potpourri courtesy of askdefine ); "a combination of incongruous things" (Free Online Dictionary). In other words, random stuff--which is always good for the imagination. Where will it all end up? Who knows. A new story or two? One would hope.

What helped fill your potpourri bowl of experiences/inspiration this past month?

p.s.To those who will embark on Nanowrimo starting tomorrow (the annual "write a novel in a month" challenge), good luck! 

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Photo-A-Day: September

"There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself." --John Gregory Brown

Kenneth
Oct.15, 1922--Sept. 25, 2012

Words. We speak them. We write them. Sometimes we weave them like gold threads, and the resulting cloth is a very special thing. This happened at my father's funeral a few days ago.

His death was not unexpected, but a blow none-the-less. Tears mixed with all those things a family must attend to--packing for the trip, gathering photos for a memorial dvd, funeral arrangements themselves, calls and contacts, sorting through necessary forms, sleepless nights.

But then threads emerged. Offers to help. Food trays. Flowers. A hairdresser who wouldn't take payment for doing my  mom's hair. Reunions. Reconciliations. Hugs. Kindnesses. Comforts. Oh, and words.

People began to speak of my dad. Words of memories. Words of respect. Words of love. He endured tough times and the past few years were especially difficult. But those days are now in the past and what threads did people remember most? That he loved his family. That he and his faithful wife were married 66 years. That he could light up on even the worst days at the mention of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And that he warmly accepted those woven into the family by marriages of their own. Truly a cloth that felt like love itself.

Golden threads seemed to run through September's photo-a-day challenge as well, images of beauty, comfort, and specialness as this daughter kept her camera close once again for another month. Along the way she cherished good memories and held close to her heart words her father once spoke to her.

Here's a peek then at September's gallery...

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Photo-A-Day: July

"Character is story." --Elizabeth George

July's photo-a-day project came with a twist, an historical twist that is. My WIP, a middle-grade historical fiction, is set in mid-1800s Ohio. The challenge? Step back in time and attempt to capture images of things my character might have seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard. Such an exercise held out the promise of getting to know my character better.

And help bring her to life...

"It takes a long time (to write YA)...I have to let the characters live inside my head awhile. You have to know what's on your character's walls and what's in their closet--even if you're not going to use that in your book. It's a way of bringing your characters to life before they're on paper." --Paula Danzinger

"When characters are really alive, before their author, the latter does nothing but follow them in action." --Luigi Pirandello

"Once we have begun it, we continue reading a novel largely because we care about what happens to the characters. But for us actually to care about these actors in the drama on those printed pages, they must become real people to us. An event alone cannot hold a story together. Nor can a series of events. Only characters effecting events and events effecting characters can do that." --Elizabeth George, Write Away

So without further ado, here's July's photo gallery, sample images of what a young girl might have encountered in a similar month 150 years ago--except that they were captured through the lens of a 21st century camera!

Of course I'd loved to have snapped a slew of others. A mule for instance. A hand-crafted checkerboard. A pontoon bridge and a hollyhock doll or two. But I'll leave that for the imagination--and the finished book :-)

Enjoy.

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Photo-A-Day: February

"Serendipity: a word coined by Horace Walpole, from the Persian fairytale 

The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the heroes possess this gift"--Dictionary.com

2012 is Leap Year--with an extra day this month for yet one more picture in my on going Photo-a-Day project. And I'm loving it. This month I not only met my goal for number of pictures again, but I've found myself visualizing "frames" in my head even when camera is not in hand. I think that's a good thing for both an amateur photographer (like me) and a writer.

And speaking of the photographer/writer connection, I also love serendipitous moments (serendipity, n.: "the ability to make fortunate discoveries by accident, such as finding interesting items of information or unexpected proof of one's theories, while looking for something else."), as happened when I picked up Marshall Cook's How to Write with the Skill of a Master and Genius of a Child for writing inspiration and found this:

"My photographer friend Shiela Reaves," Cook writes, "says that having a camera around your neck gives you access to living on a more intense level."

Amen to that.

And, "The most important piece of equipment for the photographer, Shiela says, isn't the fancy camera. It's the head and the heart of the photographer." Also important? Natural curiosity.

Cook's point in all of this? "(The same is true) For the writer, too."

Additional tips Cook takes from photographer friend Shiela:

Change your point of view.

See your world from a different angle.

See patterns.

Play with light and shadow.

Pay attention.

These concepts are all things this photo-a-day challenge is helping me to do. Maybe you'll be prompted to try something similar? Who knows? Serendipity might be waiting for you, too!

Here's my February gallery. Hope you enjoy. And please feel free to drop in and let me know which one/ones spoke the most to you.

Photo-A-Day, January 2012

"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut." 

--Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

I've been trying to keep my eyes open this month since deciding to pick up the Photo-A-Day challenge (I first mentioned the challenge here), and run with it. Thought I'd share the results. I'm not sure yet what will come of this, except to say I've already found myself more tuned into details, looking for patterns, appreciating textures, drawn to color, reaching back nostalgically, and recording some of those things that have special personal meaning. How will this relate to writing? Don't know yet, except to say that the right side of the brain has been engaged a bit more, ideas are starting to grow, prompts are developing, and...well...I managed to stick to a goal--at least for 31 days. And I find myself looking forward to what February might bring!

Take a peek:

Any favorites, curiosities, or attention-getters jump out at you, catch your imagination? I'd love to know which ones caught your eye!

And do you think you might attempt such a challenge? Why or why not?

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