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Amazing Photgraphy by Scotty Graham

I came across the blogspot site of photographer Scotty Graham the other day (via Instapundit) and was blown away by the beauty of his work. Simply amazing. I know some people will take issue with high dynamic range imaging (HDR) techniques he uses to get the brilliant luminance and painting-like quality for some of the images. Maybe it’s because I paint, but I love it.

Sunset in the Bahamas

I recently returned from a trip to Nassau, Bahamas. It was my first cruise, and it was a blast. The highlights were definitely two snorkeling trips and the exquisite views from the both the ship and the beaches at Coco Cay.

I have a slight phobia of sharks, being of the “Jaws” generation, so I was a little nervous about snorkeling. It didn’t help that I’d heard about the shark-feeding excursions in and around the islands. But the only thing close to a shark I saw was a sting ray. I was so overwhelmed by the underwater beauty that I think my shark phobia is cured. Now I can’t wait to go snorkeling again, and I am even contemplating SCUBA certification. I’ve heard the Keys have amazing diving and snorkeling.

I didn’t take any underwater photos of the colorful fish, but the pictures below are of the sunset we saw on the first night of the cruise. I can’t wait to paint these!

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The yellow-tinted photo was taken only a few seconds after the first.

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Amazing.

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My Trip to Shanghai

I was fortunate enough to be able to go on a business trip to Shanghai in December 2009. So, here are my impressions…

Shanghai is a fusion of New York and Paris, only bigger. The city is bustling; it never sleeps. And, almost everything (as of the winter of 2009) was under renovation due to preparations for World Expo 2010. The fashionistas in Shanghai are more fashionable than NYC or Paris, and the skyline is more grand and more vast. Incredible.

If you never visited anywhere outside of Shanghai, you’d think China was beyond superpower status. But I’m told by natives that there are much more rurals areas. And, lest we not forget that average family’s disposable income in 2007 was about $3,375. Living space in Shanghai is about 140 sq. ft. per person. (Think about that the next time you complain you need a bigger house.) And, official minimum wage is set at about US$1 per day. I’d say China is probably the equivalent of America in the 1920s. They are certainly beyond starving in the streets, but I’m not sure the entire nation has TVs, cell phones, or indoor plumbing yet.

Interestingly, I found Internet access fairly good. I could get my Yahoo! email, and I had no trouble logging in to work on my company’s website. I was not able to access Facebook or Twitter. These sites are blocked.

We managed to take a side trip to the city of Hang Zhou, which used to be the capital of China. It reached its peak around 1179 A.D.

Pictures say a 1,000 words…I’ll post more when I have time.

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Girl From Ipanema

Every now and then I liked to watch the 1964 video of Astrud Gilberto singing, “The Girl From Ipanema.” It was always good for a smile. I just found out YouTube had to remove the video due to a copyright issue…

However, this one’s good for a smile, too…here is Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim singing Frank’s own song…Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQI1gnQkDfs&embed=1]

Insects and Orchids

orchid_new.jpgI’m fairly certain the common, small “gnats” I see from time to time in my hour are the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. I read that overwatering indoor plants can cause a fly problem. So, I’m watering my plants less now.

These particular flies, (if they are D. melanogaster), lay 500 eggs at a time, which go through larval and pupal stages to emerge as adult flies in about two weeks. Adults are capable of breeding within 48 hours of maturation, and they live several weeks, breeding more than once during this time.

No one knows for sure how many species of insects exist in the world or in any one state. I’ve read estimates that there are 20 to 30 million species of insects worldwide. This is just Class Insecta, not the whole phylum of Arthropoda.

I was shocked to learn more than 80 percent of all living things on the planet are classified as arthropods. Researchers estimate that in a typical forest acre there may be 425 million living arthropods—with Arachnids being the most abundant of these.

In North America, there are an estimated 920,000 named species of insects. Florida is estimated to have more than 15,000 species—but, I think this is a very low estimate.

Artists I Enjoyed at the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival

Today, I attended the last day of the 48th Annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival–an amazing showcase of hundreds of talented artists representing the very best in their fields.

The festival winds through historic Winter Park, Florida, along the city’s main thoroughfare, Park Avenue. It’s a very high-energy display of some serious artists who create in a wide range of categories including: Clay, Digital Art, Drawing and Graphics, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, Leather, Metal, Mixed Media, Paining, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor and Wood. This year, artists competed for 62 awards, including one $10,000 prize for Best of Show, one Award for a Distinguished Work of Art, 10 Awards of Excellence, 20 Awards of Distinction and 30 Awards of Merit.

My friend and I are partial to painting, drawing, watercolor and photography. To save time, we agreed upfront to ignore the jewelry booths and most of the fiber art, glass and leather work, unless it really attracted our attention. We were after images. Still, it took nearly four hours for us to maneuver the crowds and visit each of the booths we selected for focus.

My personal favorite was an acrylic painter, Lynne Fischer-Roche, who painted very rich, succulent tropical plants in strong, vibrant colors. Wow. Maybe I’m biased toward acrylic painters because that’s my preferred medium, but I was very impressed by her ability to capture the feeling of the Florida landscape. Her compositions are simply sexy.

The winner of Best of Show, Randy Eckerd, a watercolorist was reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth. I enjoyed this painter’s incredible dry brush technique and exquisite eye for detail. In a way, his pictures are tributes to rural America and to those quiet, aesthetic moments enjoyed when sunlight or shadows play upon the objects of everyday life. If you have ever worked in watercolor, you know just how difficult and unforgiving a medium it can be. To accomplish the level of detail he does require countless hours of keen observation and a true affection for the scenes he creates. Eckerd is a hyperrealist, and his ability to evoke a feeling of relaxation and quiet joy through his images is highly impressive.

There were a number of notable watercolorists this year, including Yukimo Ichikawa, David G. Gill, Diana Hsu and Barbara Groenteman.

A pastel artist of note was Don Coons. His American landscapes are luscuious and inviting. His technique is flawless.

Another favorite was Michael Bryant, a digital artist. (Kudos to the festival organizers for including this category.) I don’t usually have a strong emotional reaction to photography or digital art, but this artist was different. He uses these media with such skill that you forget they are digital and simply enjoy the beauty of the images. My friend enjoyed this particular artist, too. She noted over dinner something the artist said in his statement–that when he stops breathless over his work he knows he’s reached the final stage. That’s how she felt when she saw the images. For me, the images were mysterious, almost surreal in their beauty.

This is just a small sampling of the artists I enjoyed. As with most art, seeing it on the web or in print does not do justice to the work. The lossy quality of the jpeg files are akin to the mp3s of the music industry.

Also, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed by the lack of sculpture in the show. I’m not sure of the reason for this fact. Perhaps this is not a show that sculptors find profitable to enter. There were only seven sculptors entered, and none of their works caught my attention. (Probably because with sculpture, I’m always looking for a David…) The stars of the day were definitely the watercolorists, acrylic and oil painters.

Overall, a very enjoyable day.

Below, Anne’s picture of her favorite flowers captured the spirit of the day…

Anne’s Flower

An Inspirational Poem

I think the poem below is remarkable, not only because it was written by a child, but because that child was in a concentration camp when he authored it. It reminds me how resilient we are and how much beauty there really is in the world…If anyone knows anything more about this poem, please share.

He doesn’t know the world at all
Who stays in his nest and doesn’t go out.
He doesn’t know what birds know best
Nor what I want to sing about.
That the world is full of loveliness.

When dewdrops sparkle in the grass
And earth’s aflood with morning light,
A blackbird sings upon a bush
To greet the dawning after night.
Then I know how fine it is to live.

Hey, try to open up your heart
To beauty; go to the woods someday
And weave of wreath of memory there.
Then, if tears obscure your way
You’ll know how wonderful it is
To be alive.

–Anonymous Child
Written in Terezin Concentration Camp