Portraits from India

"Namaste" is used by those in India to both greet and say goodbye. The meaning is: The God/Goddess Spirit in me recognizes and honors the God/Goddess Spirit in you. While saying this, one bows to the other. I found this to be such a beautiful way to really be totally with the other person and the Indian people that I met were masters at this! I was a total stranger and yet when I approached someone requesting the take their portrait, I was never turned away but welcomed in.

When I travel, I find myself constantly drawn to photograph the people. The camera becomes the connection between hearts and eyes when language fails. Through the lens, I saw incredible beauty and character and we always shared a smile. "Namaste" became much more than a word.I hope you enjoy the video below.

Don't Miss the Magic Right in Front of You!

A good friend, Dan Creighton, is an excellent photojournalist and wedding photographer. Dan consistently encourages many not to miss all the opportunities to photograph what lies right in front of us. So often we become desensitized to our surroundings and loose that artistic vision which drew us to photography in the first place.

During the past week, I had to have hand surgery and have been house bound. I have wanted to go out and photograph on these beautiful days but I was able to take Dan's advice and spent some time photographing,with the help of a tripod, the flower arrangements right in front of me. There are always opportunities!!!

b by donna m: making travel for women oh so easy!

The synchronistic events in life always amaze me...while getting ready to travel to India with so many restrictions on luggage, I was trying to figure out how to pack all of my camera equipment and still be able to have more than just a toothbrush?! And then an answer... the Today Show presented "b" by donna m as the best clothes suited for women who travel. 5 pieces that fit into a zip lock bag, never wrinkle and can be combined to make countless outfits!!!! The bag fits into a carry on and when luggage is lost, life can easily continue. I contacted Donna right away and she is as nice as her clothes are beautiful! I wore them all throughout India. They are so lightweight (dries easily when washed), soft (feeling as if you could live in these 24/7) and versatile. The temperature was over 100 degrees and many temples require women to wear a covering for head and arms...the clothes transformed perfectly and were so light in the heat enabling me to easily move from one camera to the next. For women who travel, "b" merits nothing less than the highest praise!

PS...From a chapter in the world is such a small place, Donna and I, during the course of our conversation, realized that we grew up 5 minutes from each other and I was able to spend an amazing day with her sister who has been living in India for over 30 years! Three weeks ago, we were total strangers. Life works in amazing ways bringing people in just at the right time!

A Day In Washington, DC and a Glimpse of History.

I enjoy living in Philadelphia because it is an easy commute to the mountains and the ocean, to New York and D.C. I recently was a day tripper to our nation's capital to take in National Geographic's exhibit featuring the Terracotta Warriors of China. This discovery in 1974 of approximately 8,000 figures of men and horses to accompany Emperor Qin Shi Huang into the afterlife became one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. It was truly awe inspiring to be so close to this group of unique, hand made soldiers more than 2,000 years old. The exhibit has been extended for another week. A three hour drive to go back thousands of years is truly worth it! http://www.nationalgeographic.com/terracottawarriors/

This walk through time continued with a visit to the Newseum. It features 7 levels of galleries and theaters. One can see a bronze death mask of Lincoln and actual pieces of the Berlin Wall and the Twin Towers. The Newseum houses the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs ever assembled and a collection of the entire history of printed news from the 1400's to the present. I spent 4 hours here and could have stayed so much longer...what an enriching day trip!

"Gotta Have A Sense of Humor"

Yesterday on a local television station, a photograph was shown of a small church with a sign saying, "If you are the one praying for snow, please stop!" I thought that was great...with all the foreboding news, someone still had a sense of humor!
So I continue to go out (I am trading in my mini cooper for an all wheel drive though!), have fun and look for the beauty in the muted colors within a backdrop of white and gray. Picturesque scenes with a true quiet elegance.

Winter Wonderland

Here in Philadelphia, everywhere I look there are still mounds of snow with a bit of ice thrown in...I can't wait to photograph the Flower Show at this point!

Canon 5D/Lensbaby at Longwood Gardens

After shoveling for hours on end, I decided I needed a change of thought from the cold winds of winter to processing images I had taken during the week of lush gardens. Longwood Gardens is hosting an orchid extravaganza through February and March and I experimented for the first time with the video capabilities of the Canon 5D Mark II combined with the lensbaby composer in an attempt to create an entirely different mood/feel.

Since this was my virgin experience of dealing with the video capabilities of the 5D, the learning curve was great. IPhoto accepted both photos and video seamlessly. However, working in Final Cut Pro, I had to convert the video footage using Compressor before it could be processed. So being house bound was not a bad thing, giving me the time I needed for this. Practice makes perfect, so the next experiment combining camera and lens will be the sights and sounds of underground Philadelphia in the subway system for an entirely different experience. See what develops!