Morning Light, Late January '14

 

Framed by other pieces, "wall art" shadows emerge in the early morning.

Fern and spider plant combine to make an aloe shadow.

The angles and shapes of the shadows always seem to compliment the pieces.

 

Fairy head and doll portraits.

 

Magenta vase seems to be holding a bouquet of light.

Shadows Dancing in the Early Morn

Regular readers of my blog know I'm fascinated with shadows. On the rare occasion I wake up very early, they always seem to be the strongest in my apartment. Above, a "shadow rider" gallops into one of my pieces hanging in his way. Some of the images in this post are brand new, some are from 2012. I've shot more than 30,000 photos in the past 10 year sor so and I frequently go back and look in old folders to see what I may have never processed.

One of my family ancestor's reflecting the livingroom curtains on its glass as well as the early morning shadows.

 

Shadows perfectly frame his eyes, which, yes, do follow you around the room in the best horror show tradition!

 

If it weren't for the mostly-closed curtain behind it signifying winter, this morning sun almost looks warm. It wasn't, lol!

A study in black and white, these circa 1990 Spring Maid towels have been a staple in my bathrooms since new. They're a bit threadbare and are covered with paint spots, but then again, almost everything I own has a bit of extra paint on it by now!

 

 

This antique framed portrait is completely original. It has never been opened up in the back since it was framed in the late 1800s. This piece was left in an attic for more than 75 years during an almost 50-year legal battle and is much the worse for it, but I love every tiny detail of its history writ large across it.

I've rearranged a few of my pieces around the apartment. The gold glazed vase on the left is a recent thrift store purchase, and absolutely beautiful Victorian piece covered in 24K gold. The style of glaze matches other pieces I've had in my collection but the fluted shape is new to me. I'm not positive of the technique but these pieces are "warranted gold" which is good enough for me, lol.

Perhaps a bit too harshly lit for her own good, my pink-haired Wishnik troll stands watch from her art case perch. That's my aunt's last car's gascap to the right from a 1972 Hornet. The covered "chicken dishes" were always used to hold salt to dipping fresh radishes into, something my Uncle Bill insisted on every summer.

 

My eyes are always open when I'm walking. Above, just a branch I found in the woods that just about yelled to me to bring it home. The curves and twists are just so elegantly formed, I've kept it for almost ten years now. That's a very thin Wedgewood bud vase on the left and a now-vintage wooden child's airplane toy. I like the "modern era's" electrical and cable outlets almost centered in this early morning image. This is actually the top of the TV and behind it. I'm not sure what I'd do with a modern flatscreen, I'd lose an entire horizontal surface to display things!

Shadow Play: Porch/Bike

Winter's shadows live faster lives than their warm weather cousins, but they're also sharper, deeper, and least resemble that which is casting them. Some may say harsh. I say striking. Just a quick photoshoot as the afternoon sun changes almost second-by-second on my porch. My trusty errand bike is always at the ready.

Photopourri: Temps Ain't All That's Rising

All Rise! Powder Biscuits, Palm Shadows, Planted Pansies

Biscuits Rising—I did some baking this weekend, freeformed baking powder buttermilk biscuits. I've been working on my biscuit process for a few months, and this batch came out really well—very light and fluffy. Besides the usual ingredients—butter, flour, buttermilk, baking powder and soda and a bit of salt—I added freshly ground dill seeds, rosemary leaves, and cayenne pepper. I was going to use these biscuits with baked fish filets, so I topped them with Old Bay, a longtime New England seafood seasoning. Note the term "freeformed." Most biscuit recipes call for all of the biscuits to be made from the "first rolled" dough, saying that any scraps from the circular cuts be, well, scrapped, instead of reformed into biscuits. Apparently they don't rise as much once they're rolled out a second time. I hate to waste anything, so I don't cut them into rounds at all. I just cut them into vague squares and then whatever shapes the outside edges are. They all taste great, and the added unique shapes always seem to look as great on a plate as perfectly symmetrical biscuits. To me, anyway!

Shadows Rising—Enjoying a few hours of sun outside on my porch, my potted palm is getting used to the stronger spring sunlight. This palm seems to have done better this winter inside than it did last summer outside, so I'm not sure it's going to "live" outside this summer at all. I think from now on I may just put it out a few hours a day.

Spring Flowers Rising—Pansies have made their spring appearance in front of our Post Office for 2012. This little square seems to be seasonally planted with spring pansies, summer impatiens and autumn chrysanthemums and pumpkins. There's a nice large clock on this corner, so if you look up you can tell what time it is, and if you look down you can tell what season it is, lol.

December Morning Shadows

 

Stark early morning winter shadows pattern this 19th century portrait of one of my great-great-granduncles. Click on the image to enlarge—it's cool the way the shadows frame his eyes (I think you need to click twice these days to see it full size, or perhaps click on "open in new window." Blogger keeps changing their image formats). The original frame and matting are quite damaged from an almost 100-year stay in my family home's attic. I've restored the frame and matting of the portrait of his father, but I like the originality of this one. I think it's just as important to see an antique in original condition, as it is to see one in perfectly restored condition.

B T W :

Off topic from this family portrait, but still in the area of history, one of casey/artandcolour's readers, and fellow blogger, Steve Prestegard, has written a wonderful blogpost on the historical accomplishments of Cadillac. Besides doing a yeoman's job of research in both text and photos, Steve was kind enough to use several of my "what if" Cadillacs. Please click over to Steve's blog—I guarantee you'll learn something about Cadillac you didn't know. I did, and after a lifetime of studying the history cars, that's not really all that easy if I do say so myself!

• While Riding in my Cadillac, at the Presteblog, click here.
  

Prints in the Sand, Great and Small

The other day while I was walking on the beach, I noticed "human" footprints weren't the only ones in the sand. There were thousands of little "clawprints" from seagulls and other water birds. The more I looked at them, the more they started looking like cave paintings to me... Long December afternoon shadows create lunar landscapes in some of the photos. Some of the little bird footprints also seem to create peace signs, letters of the alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics!

Shadows and Angles: Catch 'em While You Can

Sometimes finding art in your home just requires looking up—right now. Shadows cast by window frames and a pot of rosemary sitting next to a geranium, create a wonderful abstract on these white walls. Mirrors and a door frame add anchoring angles to the "frame"area of this shot, holding the ephemeral shadows in place. The highlights of the glass soar right off the top of the photo lending a temporary openness to this interior wall. In two minutes, it was all gone as the sun moved behind trees and clouds and curtains.

Shadows Dancing, Flying, and Just Sitting There

Delicate shadows from a Rosemary plant dance on the tops of toadstools. All photos are clickable thumbnails.

DAILY PHOTOS—I've been shooting hundreds of photos on my daily walks these past few months. Sometimes I set a "theme" for the photos that day—homes, flowers, shadows, rocks—and sometimes I just take a shot of anything that catches my eye. Today, I'll post the first of a series of shadow photos.

Shadows from the wooden railings create a smaller lane for me to traverse. I aimed my bike in the dead center for the entire boardwalk... I amuse myself greatly with the little things in life, lol.

Taking off in flight, this gull's shadow is about to leave the rocks behind.

Ornamental grasses create tropical shadows on this brick sidewalk.

They also remind me of what my hair looks like when I first wake up in the morning.

Shadows of trees create an almost lace-like appearance on the pavement.

Framed by late afternoon shadows from a split-rail fence, this pink rose is a Tropical Storm Irene survivor.

A chain-link fence over the railroad tracks lends a great texture to the sidewalk.

Trying their best to create a monotone Hawaiian-print shirt pattern, these shadows were more attractive than the straggly roadside shrub they originated from.

Much sharper shadows from the chain-link fence mentioned above appeared on the cement railroad bridge wall.

A riderless seat and wheel spokes shadowed on Pink Gardens' clapboard siding.

The boardwalk's shadows can appear quite dangerous at times!

The pronounced crown of the single lane road leading to Pink Gardens is evident in these afternoon shadows.

These shadows reminded me of chicken feet!