Day: May 27, 2016

I do not consider myself a religious person, but my camera is always drawn to religious people, and so am I, and to faces like that belonging to Peter Bailey, a pastor at the Coila Church, just outside of my town of Cambridge. People of faith make for good portraits, perhaps because they have an interior presence and belief that radiates out and can be captured by a lucky photograph.

Peter Bailey is like that,  his face deserves to be captured, as does Kelley at the Bog and a number of other people who exist in my life. I am drawn to portraits in my photography, I’ve opened an account to start saving up for an 85 mm portrait lens. In the meantime, my 35 mm and 100 mm are holding their own.

Peter is an easy going man, he loves music nearly as much as he loves God, and often plays his guitar and sings at the Round House, bringing parishioners and townspeople with him. He is new to our town, but he brings much light and warmth to us. Like me, he is drawn to the Round House Cafe and its sense of community.  I’m hoping Peter will become a regular part of my portrait  gallery, a record of the people in my life.

He is one of those strong men and women and face the camera bravely and without hesitation.

Red and I went to the vet today, we are starting several weeks of laser and massage treatments for the injury to his spine and for is arthritis. Nicole asked him to be still, and he was, looking her in the eye with great affection. “I wish all of my patients were like you,” she said, as she applied the laser to his back and legs. It is a painless procedure, the the improvement is always quick and visible with Red.

When I think of the Iris, I think of color, but I realized this morning, looking at the beautiful Irises that have risen up in our garden, that the Iris is also about beautiful and evocative shapes and lines. What, I thought, if I could capture that in black and white photography more than in color? I think  my monochrome caught some of the true beauty and mystery of the Iris, the flower many people say is evocative of the vagina.

I love the vagina, I am a vagina admirer in many ways, and I think this is reflected in a black and white photograph, as are the mystical shapes and lines of this flower. A study of the iris in black and white.

My muse has been with me a long time, she has helped me get through many books, blogs, poems and photos. I trust her and believe in her, she has a certain alchemy, she just makes me feelgood and inspires me to follow my zeal and open up. She lives on the right hand corner of my desk, and this summer, Maria has begun bringing her flowers to smell, and I can see that she is pleased.

My muse, unlike me, is at peace, confident and poised and predictable. It is selfish for me to not share this inspiration with those who want or need it. So I’ve decided to bring something new to the blog, The Muse Corner, dedicated to inspiration. I’ll start with  some wildflowers from our pasture and a poem from Langston Hughes.

“Hold fast to dreams,

for if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird,

That cannot fly.”

It is very hot and humid today, the first heat wave of the year. We let the pony and the donkeys into the dog area by the Schoolhouse Studio to graze in the shade, and Chloe loves it there, she hangs out with Maria, gets some carrots, and fresh green grass.

I have to confess that it is a special pleasure in life to step out of the back door and see a pony standing there grazing, two donkeys nearby. I am grateful to have these animals in my life, it is  a pleasure to share then with you.