Eternal Bliss

Surfer Warriors

Unending Horizon

True Colors: Red and White

If at First You Don't Succeed, Get Mad

Glorious Morning

Cool, Calming Blue

Lights and Shadow

Taken at the bar inside Cha-Cha Coconuts on top of The Pier in Downtown St. Petersburg. The setting sun outside added to the shadows inside and enhanced the red cast of the lights on the bar interior. The sight was pretty dramatic, I thought.

(P) I took the shot with the flash off and, as usual, had my camera set to auto.
Welcome to my first True Colors post. (D)


“A Picture of many colors proclaims images of many Thoughts.”
~Donna A. Favors

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Thursday Challenge 03.25

Location: Downtown St. Petersburg

I thought the colored version of this shot was a bit too busy, color-wise. I like this black-and-white version better. It puts the focus boat in the foreground, which is what I was aiming for.

Happy Thursday, everyone!


“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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Whimsical Allegorical Heads

Thursday Challenge: "SOMETHING DIFFERENT" (Unusual, Strange, Rare, Different, One of a Kind, Weird,...)

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, follower of Italian, c. 1527-1593, active in Milan, Prague, and Vienna.

An Allegorical Head Representing Summer,
c. 1600-1620
Oil on canvas

Museum purchase, 1954, SN 673

An Allegorical Head Representing Autumn
c. 1600-1620
Oil on canvas

Museum Purchase, 1954, SN 672

The 16th-century Milanese artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, spent most of his career in Vienna and Prague. It was there that Arcimboldo first imagined his trademark composite images. Using fruits, vegetables, and other objects, the artist created portraits, usually of fictional subjects. These whimsical paintings became a popular amusement at the Bohemian court, and this method of composing a face of vegetables and other objects spread throughout Europe. This work and its pendant, Summer, are copies after the original paintings by Arcimboldo.

Taken at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, FL. 29.Sep.2010.


“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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This Mess is a Place

Thursday Challenge: "MESSY" (Children, Natural Disasters, Work Areas, Kitchens, Animals, Hair...)

These are pictures of Joe's Crab Shack interior in Sacramento, CA. 2008.

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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THURSDAY CHALLENGE

Sebastians-Kapelle

Thursday Challenge: "WINTER" (Ice, Icicles, Snow, Tobogganing, Skating, Frost, Winter Clothing,...)

I experienced my first and last (so far) snowy winter in, of all places, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria in 2005. I'll never forget it. :) (It doesn't snow here in Florida, especially in Tampa Bay. We get freeze warnings if we're lucky, and we are this year. :mrgreen:)

I went for a walk around the area on the last day of my visit there and came across this small chapel. I didn't know anything about it until I got back to my hotel room and looked it up in my travel book. (The book is Germany by DK Publishing, in case you're interested. I love their travel books, and I highly recommend them, especially to people who are visual like me.) It turned out the chapel stood next to the cemetery of plague victims in the  1600s. The cemetery was quite small as I recall. I couldn't help feeling awed at the privilege of standing on such a historic ground.

(I'd appreciate any help with the translation!)

Saint Sebastians Chapel
Sebastians-Kapelle is a small chapel located in the center of Partenkirchen on the main street of town, Ludwigstrasse. It is situated next to the former cemetery which had been used to bury the dead of the plague during the Thirty Year’s War (1618-1648). When the plague had seized in Partenkirchen, the dead weren’t buried on the parish cemetery, but on this lot, on what was then the edge of town.

(Sources: cometogermany.com and Citizendium)

It was built in 1637. (Source: Citizendium)

The chapel was dedicated to Saint Sebastian, and Saint Roch, both well known patron saints of plague sufferers. (Source: Citizendium)

The cemetery has since been converted to the Partenkirchen World War I memorial. (Source: Citizendium)

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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THURSDAY CHALLENGE

TC06 - Hangin' Out with Pooky

This week's challenge: "TOYS" (Cars, Dolls, Video Games, Puzzles, Balls, Board Games...)
Garfield is my favorite cartoon character, so I'm proud to own a Pooky of my own; although, I have yet to start talking to it and treating it as my bestfriend. :mrgreen:

The text on the photo frame reads: HANNAH - From the Hebrew meaning "God has favoured me." She has a cheeky and highly emotional personality with a great sense of curiosity.

I neither confirm nor deny the truthfulness of  this personality profile on me. :P


“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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THURSDAY CHALLENGE

TC05 - "Tide Rises, and the Tide Falls"

This WeeK: "MUSIC" (Guitar, Playing an Instrument, Things that make sounds, iPods, Sheet Music, Noisy Things,...)

Nature always makes the best music for those quiet, reflective moments we all need now and then. Taken at Fort de Soto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. You can view the photo set in my Picasa Web Album: Beach Walk at Sunrise.

The post's title is borrowed from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, which is worth reflecting on as well:

TIDE RISES, AND THE TIDE FALLS

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands
Efface the footprints in the sands.



“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

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Thursday Challenge 004 - Delightfully Yellow

This week's challenge: "BEAUTY" (Sunset, Nature, People, Houses, Eyes...)
This little delicate wildflower had a certain je ne sais quoi that compelled me to capture it in pictures, wouldn't you?

Taken in Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg, Florida.



“A photograph is usually looked at—seldom looked into”
~Ansel Adams

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Thursday Challenge #2 - Bottles. Are you sure?

Thursday Challenge Theme: "BOTTLES" (Containers, Cup, Mug, Vase, Beverage, Cosmetic, Ornamental...)

I think I'm skirting the rules of the challenge on this one, but I hope I can be forgiven for it. :mrgreen: I love this painting, and I thought this week's challenge is a good opportunity to share it with you all.

This is a picture of a painting I took at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 2005. I remember being mesmerized by the sheer details in this painting. The illusion was so realistic I was tempted to reach out and touch the objects to make sure they were not real, cliché as that may sound. :D

From the plaque beside the painting:

Still life with gilt goblet
WILLEM CLAESZ HEDA
oil on panel, 1635

For forty years, Willem Heda painted nothing but still lifes. his work distinguishes itself from the still lifes of his contemporaries: the colors are softer, cooler and more harmonious. A strip of bright yellow lemon peel is the single accent. Here Heda shows himself to be a master in the portrayal of gleaming surfaces and the reflection of light: each object on the table reflects another.

Also, from The Masterpieces Guide:

WILLEM CLAESZ HEDA, 1594-1680

This looks like the remains of a banquet, but it is in fact a carefully considered composition. Heda has arranged the objects so that he can give the best possible demonstration of his skill. This is why the drinking vessel is lying on its side, so that both the dull silver under the foot and the gleaming exterior can be seen. It is an absolute tour de force. Because the objects are depicted one behind the other rather than being seen from above, the composition looks more natural than that of its predecessors. The sublime rendition of materials and reflections adds to this effect.

...Putting the plate on the edge of the table serves to suggest depth.

“A photograph is usually looked at—seldom looked into”
~Ansel Adams

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Thursday Challenge #2 - Fresh New Day

Sunrise at Fort de Soto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the background is the pier and farther in the horizon is Egmont Key, another state park and wildlife refuge. You can also read more about Fort de Soto here.

Hope and renewal are greatest at sunrise. This photo reminds me of a song by Fernando Ortega, entitled This Good Day.

Here's my favorite excerpt:

That this good day
it is a gift from You.
The world is turning in its place
because You made it to.
I lift my voice
to sing a song of praise
on this good day.

Have a blessed day, everyone!



“A photograph is usually looked at—seldom looked into”
~Ansel Adams

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Thursday Challenge #1 - Flight at Sunrise

A curious sea gull flies close to check out the equally curious observer. :) I took these pictures on top of the Spanish fort at Fort de Soto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was late getting there to welcome the sunrise, but the universe met me with a glorious morning, nonetheless.



“A photograph is usually looked at—seldom looked into”
~Ansel Adams

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