Creation

I am taking an eight week class through my church where we all create art! There are painters, mixed media artists, musicians, and at least one photographer (!) coming together to have discussions based on assigned readings and then create art in response. Each week we share art with each other in our zoom meetings.

I had imagined this would be similar to contemplative photography, which I am familiar with, but it turned out to be based on Stations of the Cross, which is totally outside my experience. The class explores the metaphysical meanings of the stations as related to our own lives. This is way outside my comfort zone, but the excellent teacher and interesting classmates are making this a wonderful experience!

Week One- Creation

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Roofline Abstract No. 3- Homebound

This is the third in my series of roofline abstracts and was not taken on a photo trip like the other two. This is a multiple exposure, multi-layered image from photos shot from my own driveway. Since March, I have missed trips to Alaska, Minnesota, and southern Arizona- as well as several likely California trips, so it’s up to me to find (or make) photo opportunities where I can. Unlike many others, I have not suffered during the pandemic- but I am getting eager to experience some new places beyond home.

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Unexpected

We have just returned from a road trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, and this is the first photo I’ve posted since our return (last week’s and Monday’s photos were scheduled in advance before we left). Our trip was supposed to be a two day business trip for my husband followed by a long weekend in Monterey (which was supposed to include lots of photo opportunities. . .). Unfortunately, I had to take my husband to the ER the second night we were in the Bay Area- and he ended up being hospitalized for 5 days! He is much improved now, and “normal” life has resumed.

On the last day he was in the hospital, I brought my camera with me and photographed parts of an art installation across from the main entrance. Since I first saw it, I had been captivated by this piece of art, which forms a semi-wall in front of the parking area. I decided to practice my multiple exposure skills in photographing it, because I didn’t want to just capture someone else’s art- I wanted to create my own.

When I got home and downloaded my images, I was struck by how the jagged lines resembled the parts of the display I was constantly seeing on the monitor at his bedside- as if they were stacked upon each other. Is this why I was so attracted to it? Or does it represent the chaos of dealing with a medical situation while on vacation? I don’t know- but this is the result.

Shifting Realities:

Being a photographer who likes simple compositions, I have to say I prefer the crop below. It doesn’t look like it represents any of the angst of last week- it now looks more like mountains to me.

Night Peaks:

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Solar View

This is an abstract created using my iPhone to take a photo of a reflection on a scratchy table of an overhead light in an Albuquerque coffee shop. I took the photo, because the reflection amid the scratches looked like the sun to me. The blue shape on the lower right is the edge of my plate, the orange triangle is my napkin. The lighter blue on the left is more reflection. Other than adjusting the colors (using an iPhone app), the only thing I did in Photoshop was change the texture of the napkin so it would look less like a paper towel lying on my image, 🙂

Melinda3 Comments