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S.Weber

~ Traveler / Artist / Photographer / Observer

S.Weber

Category Archives: Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture

Being in my special places…

Works In Progress…

04 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by Susana Weber in Art, Caribbean, Nature, Painting, Pastels, still life, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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art, arts, landscape, nature, outdoors, painting, Pastels, rain, reflections, special place, St Martin, travel, tropical

Aren’t we all?!

Who said something about standing in the spring rain?

Oh, yeah… that would be me.
And here, it happens every day… faithfully. Everything reflecting in the lovely Italian marble floor… so beautiful, so… dangerous. I brought an old box of pastels, broken and worn. I used them years and years ago…I think. I’m so used to my soft pastels in the big box there was no hope of bringing along. So… the old box would do, of course!

Mistake.

I used these? Seriously.

They are the hardest, most frustrating materials. And…they won’t be returning to New England… they’ll be used up or buried on the island where no one will ever think of looking for them. A mystery one day when unearthed.

Until then… a reflective pool after a spring rain.

A work in progress.

After the Rain

After the rain – Pastel work in progress – approx 20×15

Waking…

29 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Susana Weber in Art, Caribbean, Painting, Travel, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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art, challenging yourself, inspiration, learning, paint sketching, reawakening, special place, St Martin, travel, vacation, waking up, Watercolors

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.

I learn by going where I have to go.

From “The Waking”-  Theodore Roethke – 1953

image

It’s a sad thing when your electronic devices remind you that your last post was one year ago… Very sad indeed… Sigh…

Then… Good morning. Waking. Inspired, as always by a tropical sun and warm breeze. Making use of my time and all these reflections and shadows. I’m waking… Going where I need to go.

 

Back on Earth

03 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Susana Weber in Africa, Photography, Travel, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture

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Africa, animals, culture, earth, inspiration, intensity, landscape, learning, nature, Ngorogoro Crater, outdoors, safari, sky, special place, Tanzania, travel

Hovering just above the red earth…

trying not to touch the ground.

What is this magic place?

No, no… don’t tell me.

I really don’t want to know.

I just want to stay a little longer. 

Ngorogoro Crater Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area

The earth and sky touch each other in a different way. There is a primitive look to the way the clouds hang at the edges before they curl over and flow gracefully on their way across the 20 miles of open space. They move in slow motion, unable to break through an invisible ceiling that prevents them from spilling onto the floor of the crater. Like an enormous stage set for a grand performance, the curtains have gone up and we’re speechless at the prelude.

Taking a break from the studio, family obligations and the daily routine of “life at home” we’ve ventured off to see what there is to see in Africa… well… in Tanzania, anyway. Some other parts of Africa are having their medical and/or political issues… but… Africa is a very big place… a very big continent, actually. And Tanzania has something we’ve been longing to see… very large spaces of unspoiled land where animals roam without barriers. These areas are protected. Access to humans is controlled but, poaching does occur sometimes. The animals are free to go where they want and some do migrate in and out of the parks and conservation areas. Some stay within the relative safety of the controlled parks. I say ‘relative’ because predators are everywhere and few species are spared being the prey of lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, eagles and others. Some animals are food for others and nothing is wasted… everything nourishes the cycle of life in this amazing place.

Alternatively… you could

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Susana Weber in Photography, Travel, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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clouds, finding beauty, inspiration, Italy, monuments, photography, rain, Rome, travel, wet streets

Puddle Pidgeon

… just wallow in the soggyness of a day filled with angry skies and downpours. There is no use wasting the day. Put on those wellies, put the camera in a plastic bag to protect those vital electronics and go forth and find the beauty in the day. It’s out there… just go find it!

What to do -12

In the Spanish Piazza… Ave Gratia Plena, Dominvs Tecvm, Benedicta Tv In Mvlieribvs… Once a year, firefighters scale the monument on the Feast day and offer fresh flowers.

The rain provides a reflection that is otherwise not there... and an opportunity to capture the forms without the crowds.

The rain provides a reflection that is otherwise not there… and an opportunity to capture the forms without the crowds.

Stop and warm your hands over the chestnut vendor's roaster near the Trevi Fountain.

Stop and warm your hands over the chestnut vendor’s roaster near the Trevi Fountain.

What to do…

23 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by Susana Weber in Photography, Travel, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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Italy, people watching, rainy day, Rome, street photography, travel, vacation

… on a miserably rainy morning in the Eternal City… and you want to be out walking around seeing things and absorbing all there is to see and do in a magnificent capital city like Rome. What do you do? You go out and do all of that… and take your camera with you to record what other people are doing out on a rainy morning! What else?

Catch up on your email on the Spanish Steps.

Catch up on your email on the Spanish Steps.

Enjoy getting your picture taken.

Enjoy getting your picture taken… sorta.

Rest your feet and hope nobody takes your picture with this silly orange poncho on.

Rest your feet and hope nobody takes your picture with this silly orange poncho on.

 

Ask young beautiful girls to take your picture.

Ask young beautiful girls to take your picture… it works sometimes.

Stay inside and check out who didn't show up for duty.

Stay inside and check out who didn’t show up for duty.

Try to ignore your jet-lag as long as possi..b..zzzzzz

Try to ignore your jet-lag as long as possi..b..zzzzzz

Make a note to self to pack your own suitcase.

Make a note to self to pack your own suitcase.

Forget about the puddles... it's just a dress.

Forget about the puddles… it’s just a dress.

Sit down, eat gelato, meet new people and talk to everyone.

Sit down, eat gelato, meet new people and talk to everyone.

Is there more? Oh yes… later… Ciao

BTW… from the FREE Dictionary

Word History: Ciao first appears in English in 1929 in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, which is set in northeast Italy during World War I. It is likely that this is where Hemingway learned the word, for ciau in Venetian dialect means “servant, slave,” and, as a casual greeting, “I am your servant.” Ciau corresponds to standard Italian schiavo; both words come from Medieval Latin sclavus, “slave.” A similar development took place with servus, the Classical Latin word for “slave,” in southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland, where servus is used as a casual greeting like ciao. At the opposite end of the world, in Southeast Asia, one even sees words meaning “slave” or “your slave” that have developed into pronouns of the first person, again to indicate respect and humility.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Walking in the Past…

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by Susana Weber in History, Photography, Travel, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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brick buildings, canals, city of lowell massachusetts, factories, garment industry, history, merrimack river, mills, past, photography, river, scott kelby, travel, world wide photo

The dates of the 5th Annual Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk 2012 (that is a mouthful!!) have not been announced but I’m waiting to hear!! I missed last year’s walk which took place in October. Winners images are posted on the Worldwide Photowalk site from last October. On two days last fall there were 27,924 people of all skill levels… with all kinds of cameras… walking in 1118 different groups and capturing the world they found where ever they were. It’s a GREAT experience to meet other people interested in Photography and walk a common route that is planned by a group leader and then see that experience through everyone’s eyes. It’s amazing how different the captures are. Leaders select a representative image from what the group captures and submits it to the Photo Walk headquarters where winners are selected for prizes. Of course, the real prize is going on the walk to begin with.

On one of the WWPW I’ve participated in, the walk was through an old mill town along the Merrimack River in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. The site of the mills and factories along the rivers and canals that supplied the power almost 2 centuries ago was a mixture of sad at the results of the ravages of time… and delight at the rediscovery of the marvelously large spaces that are being renovated and turned into living and working spaces in the heart of the cities. These images are from that walk among the red brick buildings where you could imagine the giant machines turning out shoes by the millions and fabrics to support the garment industry for a westward expanding nation… and thousands of young women coming from the farms of the northeast to take jobs in the hundreds of factories along the Merrimack.

Re-evaluating B&W in the digital world

14 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by Susana Weber in Art, Photography, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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art, arts, B&W photography, landscape, nature, photo editing, photography, travel

The Sleding Hill

The Sleding Hill – Boxford, MA

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts is presenting a marvelous new look at the works of Ansel Adams from now until October.  It’s a fascinating look at an iconic photographers work… with some surprising images that send me back to my own collection of work to re-evaluate the whole black and white idea in my own portfolio.

Peabody Essex Museum – Ansel Adams: At the Water’s Edge.

In the 60’s and 70’s my photographic interest was totally in the B&W darkroom. My husband and I would build a darkroom in the basement or bathroom of whatever apartment or house we were living in and spend our evenings in the dark with our hands in the chemicals… adjusting exposures, dodging and burning… to achieve the range of tones of the great Modernist photographer who was already a legend.

Adams system involved ‘previsualization’ which meant the artist should imagine what the final print should look like before he even took the shot. Today’s modern digital cameras provide that in the ‘scenes’ setup modes in even the least expensive models… and the digital preview on the screen that shows what you’re about to shoot… and what you have shot!! B&W and sepia toned images are possible without even the slightest bother of a darkroom tray. I wonder what Ansel would say!!

I went back to my own files, in which I’ve only made a few conversions to B&W over the past few years. I was interested to see if the modern B&W processes would turn a few of my favorite images into something new and different. I have to admit that I saw them with new eyes in their new B&W forms. The process let me visualize what they should look like before the conversion and that helped me make the decisions of tone and exposure along the way. A far cry from the smelly darkroom dodging and burning and more satisfying results!!

Rainbow from the Pass

Rainbow from the Pass – Ireland

Murphy's Pub

Murphy’s Pub – Dingle, Ireland

Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, CO

Garden of the Gods – Colorado Springs, CO

Johnson's Pond

Johnson’s Pond – Boxford, MA

Maple walk

Maple walk – Bradford, MA

On the road in VA

On the road – Virginia

Witch Hollow Barn

Witch Hollow Barn – Boxford, MA

The lure of home…

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Susana Weber in Photography, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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airport, Boston, Boston airport, clouds, dramatic sky, evening, flying, home, jetway, Logan International Airport, plane, sunset, terminal, travel

BOS - home again

BOS – home again

An awesome and exhausting three week period of time has ended… where it started… on the runway at Bostons Logan International Airport… an inspiring sunset on the other side of the plane as we landed… but, a lovely shadowed sky post-sunset as we taxied toward the awaiting jet-way. One more march through the endless terminals following the signs toward the dreaded carousels! Home again!

I’m longing to sit at my computer and begin editing multiple files marked “St Martin”, “Washington DC” and “Miami, FL”… (all separate trips from home) a whirlwind of packing and unpacking. Long for sitting in my pj’s and slippers, sipping coffee… a quiet studio in the early morning… the cold floor reminding me that the rumors of summer in New England are just that… rumors. But… no time for that! There’s a new puppy in the house and there are walks to take, puppy training to practice if we want the well-behaved dog we intend to have. A new schedule is in order and we will have to adapt.

It’s home… but a different home than the one we left almost a month ago. An addition to a family does that… but traveling itself does that, too. The world always seems different to me, smaller and bigger at the same time… like seeing the world with different eyes. I’m always anxious to see how it is different after I return home. Each of these recent trips opened a new file on my computer… and in my mind. As the processing proceeds, I hope I find the words to express what I’ve found so far from home… and what I’m managed to bring back home with me.

© Susana Weber and Tattoo Communications, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susana Weber and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Chaos theory

28 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Susana Weber in Photography, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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chaos, cherry blossoms, cherry trees, crowds, festival, people, photography, picture taking, spring, trees, Washington DC

Redbud in the rain

Redbuds in the rain outside the Air & Space Museum – Washington DC

An anticipated trip to Photoshop World in Washington DC this spring had a few unexpected twists… but then, what trip does not? The conference has moved from Boston to Orlando and now to DC… and in perfect time for the early arrival this year of the Cherry Blossoms!! Were there Cherry Blossoms? YES! Are these the blossoms (above)? NO. The famous blossoms were where they always are… around the Tidal Basin near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial… beautiful in all their glory! And… mobbed by what had to be around 300,000 people… all wanting to stand and take their pictures in the very spot that I was standing. A few moments… a few clicks and I fled to find my (nearly invisible to everyone else) dumpster with it’s rusting illusions of desert scenes and chipped paint that looked like turtles or bison depending on your personal vision! The circus of the Tidal Basin and it’s attractions had lost it’s appeal (at least at that time of day!) by the time we waded our way through the picnickers, kite-flyers, cell phone snapping Buddhist monks, men on stilts, port-a-john cleaners, tourists from every country on the planet and maybe one or two other planets… and a pews worth of brides and grooms… and found a DC cab to whisk us away. The next day the rains started and the Air and Space Museum was filled with (I swear!) the exact same crowd at the Tidal Basin… but… they had had additional children by then!!! The number of strollers had increased by a factor of at least 6! The distraction of having a conference was welcome. Perhaps DC is the place to hold this massive download of technical information after all.

 

© Susana Weber and Tattoo Communications, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susana Weber and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Dark moods

16 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Susana Weber in Photography, Travel ~ Photography/Art/Food/Culture, Uncategorized

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clouds, dark clouds, dark mood, islands, Saba, storm, weather

Editing images from a journey to a lovely part of the planet that boasts of being a perpetual summer can’t help but become a ‘one note’ song. The Caribbean light… the ease of breath… the emotionally healing brightness next to deep blue shadows. Even at night the clear sky and lack of city lights reveal our actual place in the cosmos… and it’s dazzling. But, seeing all the images together… sweeping your eyes over the whole of them… you become aware of the few dark notes that are there. A change of mood, here and there. A warning sky the sends the sails tacking for the nearest port… the sudden shower that turns into the darkest of downpours… or waking one morning to face living in the grey/black cloud for a few hours… or a day. Whenever they come upon us, they’re reminders of the real world out there, just beyond our vision… just at the end of the next flight for New York, or Minneapolis… or Seattle.

Soon enough though, we’re distracted by the prevailing bright weather patterns. At home our vacation snapshots transport us into the light. But, here they are in front of me… amid all that brightness… the images that display their dark beauty from my computer screen. The seldom seen island of Saba, usually shrouded in clouds, makes an appearance after a storm. We had looked at this view every day without realizing how close it was… and suddenly there it was. If it looks threatening to you, you’re not the first. Locals tell us that scenes from the King Kong movie were filmed there. I wouldn’t doubt it!

Saba

Saba appears in a dark mood

 

© Susana Weber and Tattoo Communications, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susana Weber and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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