Work Stuffed with Gravy of the Heart on a Silver Platter ~

Have to post two quotes I came across that I love, on two art forms that I love ~ seems a happy marriage ~

David Sim on writing one of my closest loves, although it constantly breaks my heart and gives me anxiety ~ "When I start the book, I'm The Writer. The Writer bitches for a week about how he never has any fun, he's tired of being funny all the time, and nobody cares about him anyhow. This is followed by a period of deep intense silence, much staring at walls, punctuated by cheery optimism on the order of: 'That's it! I'm Dead! I can't think of an ending! or 'I'm just going to have to scrap the first ten pages-there lousy'. Often it is less coherent than that-reduced to the more succinct , 'Garbage! It's all GARBAGE!

David Victor Sim (born May 17, 1956 in Hamilton, Ontario) is an award-winning Canadiancomic book writer and artist, best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a 6,000-page story, published as a monthly comic-book between 1977 and 2004 ~ Wikipedia (see Wikipedia for all pertinent facts and credits) as I have none and am never quite clear on all of the hundreds of laws of copying facts, but do solemnly apologize to Wikipedia for any and all intrusions if there have been any!

.... and from one of my favorite men ~ Oscar Wilde "Art is the most intense mode of individualism the world has known"

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Oscar I've chosen to marry myself to this quote; it is my excuse for posting photos some may love and others just look at and shake their heads, it gives me courage and confidence.

No Photoshop here and no macro; just me and the Lensbaby on a beautiful late Fall day sharing a few intense and possessive moments of nature.

The Poodle Parlor on Etsy

 

The new Poodle Parlor featured on the Etsy Shopping network is now open and ready for business. Although it is more of a small boutique than a large corporate conglomerate nonetheless we still aspire at some time in the future to be on the New York Stock Exchange.

Can you imagine? I think that is a bit amusing, but who knows look how networks are growing these days? So as most things I do I am not exactly sure what direction this will go; but it will be an adventure, it will be fun and as always I welcome comments and suggestions.

Let the Holidays Begin!

After the turkey was carved and lips licked clear of pumpkin pie, the dishes washed, a football game viewed and a nap had by many, it was time for making a few holiday plans.

Black Friday arrived and I set off on an excursion with a good friend to New York City. As is always the case when visiting New York, there are so many wonderful places to go, so much to see and even more to do. We decided to spend the majority of this trip in Manhattan, walking from Broadway to Bryant Park, Central Park to Broadway, stopping, eating, drinking and shopping at many wonderful places along the way.

Wherever I go I search for a photo opportunity; and New York ~ the city that never sleeps, the city known as the Big Apple, is a city that never disappoints. New York is a city that never disappoints in delivering the new, the old, the bizarre, the conservative, the trendy, the downtrodden, the rich, the famous, glamour, glitz, rock, roll and rhythm; there is something to be had for one and something to be had for all.

Walking down Fifth Avenue, forever remembering Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I am continuously fascinated by the haute couture of one design fashion house after another and never more so than when standing before the breathtaking, superb design of the window displays of Bergdorf Goodmans'.

There are many I can write about Sacks, Henri Bendel, and none that disappoint, but for the purpose of this post I will give a brief background ~ researched from the teller of all true tales Wikipedia on Bergdorf Goodman.

Bergdorf Goodman is located on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in NYC. The department store a seller of luxury goods, was originally opened as a tailor shop by Mr. Bergdorf an immigrant from France in 1899. His employee Mr. Goodman purchased the store in 1906 and moved it to its present location on Fifth Avenue.

From the early 1960's to the late 1970's the store underwent several changes and some major challenges. To combat lagging sales the store tried opening branch locations, one of which is now its sister store and competitor Neiman Marcus.

The store features boutiques for Chanel, Armani, Gucci, Versace to name a few.

There is no doubt much to see at Bergdorf's, but for me I could not get past the window displays, which are more remarkable than words could ever describe. I must have taken twenty photos, but from those twenty photos, selected my favorites and created the collage below. For a more detailed visual of Bergdorf's windows you can Google Bergdorf Goodman Window Displays, photos by photographer ... and you will see detailed photos of each and every window in this amazing store.

This holiday season if you are in search of a fun filled day with a few rays of some enticing eye candy, take a stroll down Fifth Avenue, grab a cup of peppermint hot chocolate and stop for a stare at the holiday display windows at Bergdorf Goodmans.

The Lady of Shalott

The below photo, a collage or diptych was initially taken as two separate photos. I will post both after this post. I would love to know how you feel about the photo. Do you like it as a diptych or would you prefer the photos individually?

Both photos are Lensbaby photos, with the nature of the Lensbaby to have only a portion of the subject focused and the remainder blurred; however the flower of the open rose which although resembling a carnation, I am told belongs to the rosebush family is a Lensbaby macro photo. The other photo which to me resembles a face of a woman is a Lensbaby photo, taken at 50mm; this photo of let's call her the woman, I tried an experiment. On a chilly, but sunny beautiful Fall day I pointed the camera at a scene of color, and instead of a perfect clear focus, dragged the camera in a vertical position resulting in a blurr of color. Then in digital post processing, upon seeing the two photos decided it would make an interesting diptych.

I will post both individual photos, let me know what you think, thanks.

...and the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow White's heart could hear the trees whispering to each other...

...and the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow White's heart could hear the trees whispering to each other..., originally uploaded by prudencebrown121.

stepping before her mirror she asked mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all.

Often times when I photograph trees and flowers I find myself trying to capture the true essence of their beauty as I see it. Many times I am disappointed at my outcome if I only have a still image with no sense of an inner-life. I often photograph with macro lenses, double and triple exposure and sometimes collage the images. I think in my mind's eye it brings more life to my subject matter. Somehow I feel if I can give a sense of movement to a still image I will have blended and molded myelf to that image thereby giving a truer representation of the image. It is almost as if I am trying to have a relationship with my subject matter. Would love to know what you think?!

Continued from July post...See those children down there ...

Autumn Pleasures

 

The Regency Cafe

I am so grateful for the small, well actually mid-size cafe which sits on Lansdowne Avenue next to the now closed but petitioned to re-open Lansdowne movie theatre. This cafe has become my home away from home as a solace from an extremely slow internet and a jumping cursor that would rival any young grasshopper.

I was born in Lansdowne and having returned due to rather unusual circumstances was delighted to stumble upon the Regency Cafe at its former location across from the Lansdowne train station. I use to grab my cup of - may I just say - more than delicious coffee and head for the Media local. Always I was amazed that such a cute and innovative cafe was located in Lansdowne and not the city. The owner is among the finest bakers I have ever encountered. His cherry almond scones, blueberry muffins and lemon sugar cookies, oh and the vanilla cupcakes are an orgasmic experience for any pallet. His quiches of all varieties and there are several are light and fluffy, both egg and cheese as well as crust, a true party in your mouth.

There is entertainment once a week, I believe on Thursdays; although I have not had the fortunate experience to attend yet, and there is thankfully and blessedly for me the internet access. I come to this cafe once or twice a week to write, edit my photos and eat; and although I sometimes resemble a potted plant, sitting at a table in the corner, computer plug with its teeth grinding in to the socket they provide for me, everyone is always nice, feeds me well and hasn't chased me yet. As a distressed girl on unemployment who could ask for more than this; oh except maybe a job!

I end todays post with my recommendation as a former owner of a food business to definately visit this creative and unique cafe. If you visit now you can not only access the internet, not only eat until your tummy sings to you, but you can visit the WorldWide Photo Print Exhibit organized by one of the exhibitors John Kelly Green, with outstanding photos by other exhibitors, among my favorites Becky Baxendell and Maura Ciccarelli.

Benjamin Franklin ~ Famous Quotes ~ What do you think?

Recently I had an opportunity to visit Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. Inspired as always to snap some photos, I was amazed to see a huge statue of Franklin himself sitting in the entry way of the building. I was not amazed it was Franklin who sits at the entrance, because after all it is a building dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Franklin, but amazed at the sheer size and elegance of the statue.

After snapping my photos and doing a little digital shuffling, I realized my memory of American history was not all that it should be, and did a little research on one of our founding fathers.

It is probably a bit disrespectful to wrap up 84 years of a brilliant man's life in a nutshell, but the purpose of this post is dedicated to what I believe to be four of Franklin's greatest quotes, not a biography of the man's life; I believe the historians have already done an excellent job of writing their history on that subject.

So one of so many things American history can boast of, was a man who lived from 1706-1790; he invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and I'm sure there are many of you out there cursing him for that invention; the Franklin stove and odometers. He formed the first public lending library and fire department in Pennsylvania. He is noted for many other scientific and historical contributions, but as I mentioned earlier this is the encapsulated version of a great man's life.

The following is a list of my favorite quotes of Benjamin Franklin ~ what do you think?

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest".

"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight".

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at a tempting moment".

and my very favorite:

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing".

Benjamin Franklin, sir ~ thank you and anyone for kite flying? :O)

HOUSE OF CARDS

Funny how years go by and while walking down the street of a city of six million you see someone you haven's seen for 15 years, have a brief conversation with them and become filled with inspiration.

I opened my business, Full of Soup in Manayunk, PA on December 24, 1992 in the Manayunk Farmers Market on Main Street; just a few doors down the street was a great store named Pacific Rim owned by Bruce Kravetz which sold imports of funky clothes, jewelry, pottery, etc. I didn't know Bruce at the time, but always stopped by his store, both in Manayunk and on South Street. The business and I were in Manayunk for four years, and over the years I would see Bruce on and off. I'd toss a tilt and nod of the head and a wave of the hand for a hello; nothing more, nothing less.

Fast forward fifteen years and today I'm walking the streets of Philadelphia, in front of Love Park to visit my former chef of Full of Soup and longtime friend Jeff Davis, who is now chefing at the Franklin Institute. Accross the street and in front of the fountain I see these magnificent life size cards, similar to the ones you would see in your basic card deck, only these are much more elaborate, intricate and just plain beautiful, resting and nestling next to each other just like they did when I was a little kid and spent hours building a house of cards. Since I had my film camera with me, which unfortunately only had six pictures remaining, I thought let me get a few pictures of these great cards before I leave the city; but as chance would have it, I got distracted at the Franklin Institute and used up all of my film. On my return trip to the El ~ there were those cards again, so I crossed the street to visit the tourist center on the remote chance they just might have a roll or two of cobwebbed and dusted film lying around, cause let's face it, other than film specialty stores who is still carrying film. Directly in front of the tourist center on a chair sat Bruce Kravetz; well I recognize you I said, I remember you from Manayunk and I remember you he said; we then actually introduced ourselves to each other for the first time officially.

I knew after his business closed he was doing photography work as I had stumbled accidentally upon his web site; today I stumbled accidentally upon his HOUSE OF CARDS and what a pleasant accidental meeting it was. We discussed photography, both digital and film, full frame and medium format, printers, lighting, studios and I felt I had known this person forever. After our conversation which lasted about a half hour we said our goodbyes; I left, and for the rest of the afternoon I didn't feel that overwhelming feeling of angst and nausea which as of late seems to permeate my being expressing itself with those ever repetitive words "you need a job" filtering through the caverns of my brain. I left and I felt inspired, inspired to check out the Epson 4400 printer, inspired to actually think about renting a studio rather than convincing myself it would be a waste of money, inspired to take a chance with some of my more lofty ideas, change the papers, change the materials, be more assertive and ask if the homeless mind if you photograph them. For an afternoon I did not paralyze myself with analysis of if I photograph this or that am I being exploitive. For one sunny afternoon in September I ran into a passing acquaintance who inspired me enough to let me be me.

On October 22, 2009 Bruce Kravetz will display his HOUSE OF CARDS at the Visitors' Center at Love Park in Philadelphia, PA.