Victorian Purple

I am painting all our outside house doors Benjamin Moore "Victorian Purple."

Nadine relaxing on the back steps.

The new color is rather beautiful and I am reminded of the flowers Susan picked for an indoor bouquet.

Flowers on Living Room Table

And I am thinking of this photo from a few days ago snapped in our backyard vegetable and flower garden:

Cosmos

What is your favorite color today? Do you like Victorian Purple?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place! 

Monday Meditation

"The great and golden rule of art, as well as of life, is this: That the more distinct, sharp, and wirey the bounding line, the more perfect the work of art; and the less keen and sharp, the greater is the evidence of weak imitation, plagiarism, and bungling. Great inventors, in all ages, knew this.......How do we distinguish the oak from the beech, the horse from the ox, but by the bounding outline? How do we distinguish one face or countenance from another, but by the bounding line and its infinite inflexions and movements? What is it that builds a house and plants a garden, but the definite and determinate? What is it that distinguishes honesty from knavery, but the hard and wirey line of rectitude and certainty in the actions and intentions? Leave out this line and you leave out life itself; all is chaos again, and the line of the almighty must be drawn out upon it before man or beast can exist (PYMCJ vol. 3, 155-156) (William Blake’s (1757-1827) Descriptive Catalogue (Erdman 1988, 550)

What is your Monday Meditation?


If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place! 

Serene Sunday

What lies behind us and what lies before us
are small matters compared to what lies within us."

Do not go where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done with it what you could.

Some blunders and absurdities have crept in;

forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely

and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

~ Emerson

A Path in Western Massachusetts. Photo by Bruce Barone

"If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up."

~Richard Avedon

Double Rainbow over Mt. Tom, Easthampton, MA. Photo by Bruce Barone

'Tis the gift to be simple,
'Tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
to bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning, we come round right.

 

~Written by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr., 1848

 Chapel, Worcester, MA. Photo by Bruce Barone

"Creation is dominated by three absolutely different factors: First, nature, which works upon us by its laws; second, the artist, who creates a spiritual contact with nature and his materials; third, the medium of expression through which the artist translates his inner world."

~Hans Hoffman

Hallway, Once the home of Hans Hoffman, Provincetown, MA. Photo by Bruce Barone

Seeing

"One can travel the world and see nothing. To achieve understanding it is necessary not to see many things, but to look hard at what you do see."

 ~Giorgio Morandi 

What's In Your Portfolio

On Tuesday night I had the honor of being a Guest Host on Twitter ( a Chat at #IntDesignerChat), leading a one-hour discussion about Portfolio Design for Interior Designers--and Business Planning, The Importance of Working with a Professional Photographer, and the Slow Down Movement.


We had an International Chat with people tweeting from the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Brazil, Israel, and Italy.


Here are some of the points I made (In 140 characters or less!) about "What's in Your Portfolio?"

• A picture IS worth 1,000 words
• A portfolio is your calling card
• A portfolio sells your vision & capabilities
• Be organized in your portfolio & presentation
• A portfolio is 1 of the most important things you can accomplish
• What market are you trying to reach
• A clear understanding of target market helps determine images & info
• Your graphic identity/branding must be clear & simple
• Dont forget contact info
• Different portfolios for different projects
• Ask yourself what images do I want to show
• Are there images I want to leave out
• What kind of response do I want
• please/surprise/challenge
• Portfolios can be used to show results of designs;present work up to a time point
• Portfolios can be project oriented
• Portfolios can be time oriented
• Portfolios can be room oriented
• Also different portfolios for different target markets
• Top designers use KOLO presentation portfolios
• Consider: Designer Statement, title list, representative cover image
• Viewers get tired/bored seeing too many images
• Consider 12--25 images
• Before & After 
• Close-ups, wide-angels, details
• Choose images that best show what you were trying to accmplish
• Get feedback from the photographer & other professionals

After 15 minutes discussing "What's In Your Portfolio," we moved on to "The Importance of Working with a Professional Photographer." I will save my thoughts on this for another post.


Here's an online portfolio of an Interior Designer's Garden.

Here's an online portfolio of a beautiful pond.

Here's an online portfolio called The Eyes Have It.

What's in your portfolio?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

Backyard Birds

This morning began with seeing these birds in the backyard.

Do you see birds in your backyard? What birds do you see?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

Elephants

Susan collects elephants. This elephant is in our living room.

What do you collect? Tell me about it, please.


If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

Weddings

Today we are going to a wedding. Sara's wedding. I'm going not as the photographer, but as the guest. The uncle. Uncle Bruce. Susan and I are going to honor the marriage of Sara and Steve. Waiting to leave for the wedding I am reminded of the wedding of Hannah and Israel. It was a wedding I really enjoyed photographing. Here are a few images from that wedding:

What wedding do you remember? Why?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

The Books in Our Living Room

A picture post:

Do you have books in your home? If so, what kinds of books? What's your favorite?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

My Garden

Nothing, it seems to me, could be more beautiful (and more easier to experience), than upon waking, is to make a pot of coffee, wander out into the yard, Nadine at my side, and sit at the picnic table, give thanks for the abundance in my small garden and whether spoken aloud or silently--or written down; as I did this morning--affirm that I am centered in Spirit and I am at peace. Through my imagination and my deliberate and daily effort to slow down and see ("Absolute attention is prayer," said Simone Weil), I am picturing the good I want to bring into my life. Today and everyday I expect the best. Wonderful things are happening to me now (more about this next week).

Today and everyday, I prosper as I help and inspire others.

Monet said, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece."

Do you have a flower or vegetable garden? If so, what do you love to grow? What is your masterpiece?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place! 

Be inspired!

Nadine

If you have not yet met my cat, Nadine, I would like to now introduce you to her.

I love Nadine.

Do you have a cat or dog you love? If so, what is your pet's name?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

My Garden Gladiolus

This morning when the earth was still wet I walked around our yard and garden and noticed the Gladiolus had begun to bloom. I love the Gladiolus.

To the ancient Romans, a gladius was a sword, and a little sword was a gladiolus -- often used by gladiators. The Roman author Pliny the Elder applied the word gladiolus to the flower that is distinguished by its long, sword-shaped leaves, and the name stuck. The theme of the Emily Dickinson text below is strength of character: 

We never know how high we are

Till we are called to rise;

And then, if we are true to plan,

Our statures touch the skies.

The heroism we recite

Would be a daily thing,

Did not ourselves the cubits warp

For fear to be king.

What flowers do you love?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

Rachels' Dress

I am entranced by this photograph. It is Rachel's wedding dress. I photographed her wedding last autumn; a same sex-marriage here in Massachusetts. I think there is a marvelous symmetry in the photograph; a mysterious, too.

A bride once asked me, "Bruce, where do you find inspiration?"

And I answered, "I find inspiration in a bride's smile, a groom's handshake, a child's laugh, a dad's tear, a friend's joke. The moments which make your wedding day special and unique. I see the emotion in a moment, in every detail."

Where do you find inspiration?

If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, a wedding photographed or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

My Poetic Nature

A poem from Mary Oliver:

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

Yes--tell me, please.

 If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degree in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documentary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

The Sorrows of Summer

Be Astonished!

A few days ago I commented on a William Coupon photo (On his Facebook page) that it was a beautiful portrait of an elderly man and it reminded me of a painting by Odd Nerdrum. Another photographer commented on my comment saying he would be upset if his photographs were compared to paintings.

Here is a portrait of mine of Katharine A. Tillman, a friend who is a lover of language and of art:

 I don't really understand why a photographer would take offense at his photographs being compared to paintings. William did not; the other person did. Who cares! Photography is an art of seeing, of observation--and I meant it as a complement. In fact, I think it is my degree in Art History that has helped me as a photographer; that has helped me to see and observe and create.

For me, photography is a poetic experience, often finding something beautiful in the ordinary--and when I photograph people I believe I have a spiritual connection with them; as someone once wrote to me: "I guess there is a reason people pay to get portraits taken......stunning......it also takes a very special artist to make such a portrait. The connection and human understanding are vital. I expect that few people truly have such an opportunity--to see their souls in their own faces."

And as I wrote back in July:

Photography is my passion. The pursuit of wow. This is the way I try to live my life. Every where I turn and see I truly am astonished. I celebrate life and the spiritual ties that bind us together and I do this by trying to be always astonished. Simone Weil said: "Absolute attention is prayer."

When I photograph an icon, for example,  I both draw upon my degree in Art History and years working as a documentary photographer, and then in a profound sense I also forget the past , turn toward the icon in a prayerful manner and I become truly astonished.

Tielhard de Chardin wrote: "Seeing: We might say that the whole of life lies in that verb - if not ultimately, at least essentially."

I truly see myself as an artist, whether I'm photographing people, nature, or wedding. And, I believe, I work with my camera in the same manner a painter works with a brush or a pianist a piano--every day. And it is my training as an Art Historian that impacts my way of seeing and makes me a great photographer.


I leave you with a landscape, a country road.

Where are you going?

Who are you?


If you would like to fill your home with beautiful photographs, or need a portrait, or if you are an interior designer and need photographs of your projects, contact me for a consultation.

Drawing on that degreee in Art History, a passion for telling stories, and years working as a portrait and documnetary photographer (And owning an Art Gallery) helps me bring a heightened sensitivity to my photography. Let's make the world a more beautiful place!

Beautiful Days

WOW! When I woke this morning I remembered when I went to bed it was thundering, lightening, and raining. And now a few steps out the door I was met by the Rose of Sharon awash in last night's storm.

A few more steps and I was in our backyard on my way to photograph the tomatoes which now in mid-August are finally turning red  (Soon I will be making fresh tomato sauce! The other night, it was Shrimp Scampi and Pesto! Last night it was Tuna, Cannellini Bean, Orange, Fennel Salad! Tonight? Five Spice Turkey Burgers With Wasabi Sauce!).

But before I photograph the tomatoes, which I can barley see as they are so hidden in the blaze of leaves, a butterfly makes this morning's moments of beauty ever more so:

The bright--the FUN--color of the hundreds of zinnias reminds me of this past weekend's family get-together and little Lola's red hair:

A bottle of gin on the kitchen counter. Tonic. Limes. A serving bowl of Sangria. Outside children in the pool. A whiff of kielbasa cooking on the grill. Beer. Wines (Made by the host!). Water. Soda. Chips. It is an annual summer party. Susan and I talk with Shelia. We love Shelia. Here, meet Shelia:

And now a wedding awaits us. My niece. Sara. August 20. Another party. Another beautiful day awaits us.

Poetics

"The true creator may be recognized by his ability to find about him, in the commonest and humblest thing, items worthy...he does not have to surround himself with rare and precious objects. He does not have to put forth in search of discoveries: they are always within his reach. He will only have to cast his glance about him. Familiar things, things that are everywhere, attract his attention."
~Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) "The Poetics of Music" (1947)

Montreal at Night

Self-Portrait

Often, when I walk in the woods, I feel as if I am in a church or temple and I am reminded of:

"Do you know that you are God's temple  and that God's spirit dwells in you?" ~1 Corinthians 3:16

 The woods are where I find a great peace. A stillness. My spirit and soul come to rest and find a wonderful joy. The woods are is always beckoning.

 On my walk in the woods yesterday, I stopped and gave thanks. "Thank You. I am prospered and blessed. My life is enriched in every way. I speak peace and love. Divinely guided, I move forward with confidence."