a sweet walk

yesterday, 15 january 2013, i took my usual walk at lunch and actually experienced something that i wish i could do all the time: i left myself open to SEE anything!!! i usually have something in mind, or, more usually, i get frustrated during the week because i am in the same locale with a very limited time frame to get a shot (the light being what it is at night). but on my walk, which actually had a destination–Starbucks and a shot of pastry–i saw some beautiful red berries and i was in love! so that was the shot that i used for my 365!

ah but i still did go to Starbucks and i still did shoot some of the pastry so i just had to post this photo and make myself drool!!!

have a lovely wednesday everyone!!!

the twelfth of january with my love

yesterday (12 january 2013) carl and i had some appointments to go to (including getting all our hairs cut). whilst carl was getting his hair cut by our friend and fab stylist, joyce, i went next door to cafe gusto and purchased a very decadent ghiradelli creation they make there called a “double chocolate frappe.” except it’s more than chocolate–it is also coffee and it is not something this very chubby body should be consuming–but oh, it is sooo good!!!!! and the people there are so lovely!!! the young barrista, who i boldly stated should be a model (sometimes i do need a muzzle), was lovely to me despite the fact that i probably embarrassed her!!!

i had to bring carl a taste of this fattening drink in joyce’s salon and then i had to take the required selfie. of course.

i roamed cabot street during carl’s cut and i am always warmed by the sight of a dog and their person walking down the street and i long for the day that i can do that as well!!!!

i looked into windows, particularly those of a great store called “casa da moda” that has been here in beverly since the 1970s and has a great assortment of home gifts, gifts for children (especially little girls who want to be ballerinas), cards and jewelry.

when carl was fully coiffed, i asked him to stand in front of this brick wall (part of casa da moda) and let me take a shot! it reminded me so very much of a shot i took whilst we were visiting Deirdre in Chatham, New York!!!

after some errands in downtown salem we were driving back to our house when we started to pass collin’s cove and i asked carl to stop so i could take some photos. it was a very, very gray day but the tide was on it’s way out and the gulls were on the beach and it was calling to me.

collin’s cove is a small, neighborhood beach that has crumbling walls (great for texture) and a very old feel to it. i love it!!! when my dogs were alive i brought them here all the time. when the tide is completely out you can practically walk to the willows!!!

my babe walks the beach!!!

while i was taking shots here with my hasselblad i took a step backwards and went down, hard, on my ass, but thankfully me and my cameras survived the crash!!!! i must be more careful!!!

after our little adventure we went back home and snuggled with our cats. that’s all!!! oh, then i decided to play with my signature for my photos and update it a little for 2013!!! and that was fun!!!

all shots taken with my canon 60d and 50mm f1.4 lens.

the palleschi’s get their tree!

ALL SHOTS TAKEN 7-9 DECEMBER 2012

every year carl and i get our tree on a friday night, let it settle, put the lights on it on saturday and get the decorating done on sunday! this year we had even more time because i took friday off so we had the luxury of getting the tree in the day light and getting the royal treatment as well because no one else was there!!!

we have been going to the same place for years and know the people there as well as their golden retriever, diego!! it is always a pleasure, but this year we really had a grand time with the guy picking out just the right tree for us!!! while the tree was being looked for and trussed up, i walked around taking shots:

i took a billion shots of the berries–and i am sorry to say that i can’t have them in the house–the kitties would eat them and i don’t think that would be a good thing!!!!

diego is one of the sweetest dogs evah!!! it always feels like he remembers us and i love giving him big hugs!!

bye diego, see you next year!!!

back home with our beauty!!

his is parker posey’s first Christmas — well she was actually around last Christmas but far too young to remember!!!

in the stand and ready to relax and settle in!!!

saturday morning and i’ve got the music playing (the “Messiah”) and tea ready for a nice, peaceful time to put on the lights and get some decorations up!

we have our tree right underneath a skylight–our little condo is actually the original attic of our three condo house–it’s cozy and comfy and just right for us!!!

the yellow submarine ornament was given to us last year by our dear girls: Rachel and Megan. also notice the beautiful photo of the good humor truck by Debbie Candeub–Damiec~!!!!

At last the lights are on:

and other decorations are scattered around:

and the tree is decorated!!!!

and parker posey is all set for her first real Christmas:

annie and oona were not in the posing mood!!! all photos taken with my canon 60d and 50mm f1.4 lens.

a rant about me and photography | proceed at your own risk

winter rain (ok, it’s late autumn rain!) 10 december 2012

there is only one shot in this post!!! be forewarned!!!

OR HOW I AM ACCEPTING THIS PHOTOGRAPHER: ME

some of my best thinking is either done whilst in the shower or on my morning walk to work. but when i go to put pen to paper or digits to keys, those words seem to have dissolved in thin air and all the wonderful thoughts i had have vanished. but the skeleton of the idea is still with me. my thoughts today, and over some time, have been about the rapid pace of life today but most particularly how it applies to photography–the equipment we use and the processes of completing our photos (if one is ever said to really complete one–since they can be worked ad infinitum).

part one | cameras

digital cameras

while it has been said that a gifted artist, a true photographer, can take a wonderful photo with any camera, i beg to qualify this statement. i think that a gifted artist definitely has the upperhand at being able to see, compose and execute a shot over the average bear (if bears were the least bit interested in photography) but one must acknowledge that some cameras definitely have limitations. but i think, at a certain level, that a true photographer can create divine work with less than the absolute best–at some point a good, solid camera is enough.

not that there is anything wrong with wanting bigger and better! i must add, that given vast quantities of cold, hard cash, i would be the biggest camera junkie of them all–i already am, to a small extent, a bit of a collector. BUT my go-to digital camera is a rather modest canon 60d. (this is where professional sports photographers can just ignore the rest of my digital section–that’s assuming that professional sports photographers have even found my wee blog!) i would venture to say that this camera could probably, in the right hands, be able to produce the most fabulous shot possible–that it really isn’t necessary to spend a swankofajillion dollars on the top of the line (except for shooting action shots). but we all want top of the line, don’t we? even when we are saying it’s not necessary.

but i have finally come to the conclusion that i can’t possibly keep up with the demands of acquiring bigger and better. i can’t–not that i don’t WANT to–i just am starting to know the limitations of my wallet. and i am, at last, content with that realization. i can’t possibly keep up with the latest and greatest but i am extremely happy for those that can! and in some ways it is a relief–i must make the very best out of a good, solid camera.

film cameras

now film cameras. that’s sort of a different story isn’t it? but here also i must draw a line in my check book. i can’t possibly afford to have all the cameras that i would love to have if i were bill gates. i must winnow down what i really, really want amongst all the choices. because these are desires. they are truly love affairs really and we can’t taste every bit of fruit in the world, can we? i do adore medium format and i have my hasselblad (lower ones head in respect) which i truly never thought i would EVAH own and i should be happy then, right? well i am… but there is that nagging for a 6×7. but i must realize that my desires can’t always be quenched. that is a difficult thought to bear (lots of bears in this post).

there are so many film cameras and different formats one can be overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of it all: Hasselblad, Contax, Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica, Canon, Nikon, Minolta–just to name a few. and then the holy of holies–Leica!! 120 and 35mm along side of the uncountable polaroids and fujis. then the myriad of odd, special, vintage, one-of-a-kind specialities that are so very hard to resist even though there is no earthly way they will ever work! they don’t need to work–they just need to be held and fondled and loved.

digital and film cameras

it is just amazing–the number of cameras and variations of lenses and filters and doodads that can be used to create!! how to choose–which one is best for me–NO which one is BEST! that might be more to the point. because then we do that, like religion, argue about which camera, which glass, which filter, which extension, which BAG, which whatchamacallit is the most desirable thing to have! and we go round and round and make our statements and break down each pixel and tasty morsel of each photograph and, well, then doesn’t it take a bit of the butter out of the mix? to be so dissected and investigated and torn up? doesn’t the “art” get put somewhere in the rubbish barrel?

so one can see how very difficult it is to make a choice and then to go with it, knowing that one’s pennies really only go so far and isn’t the point of the whole exercise JOY? so, at least in the digital scheme of things, i have made my piece with reality: if it breaks i will get another, but if it is working my 60d is my digital camera and i can live with that.

part two | chemistry 101 or computer science

when i first started posting photographs on flickr in 2008 i saw so many shots tagged as “sooc.” i didn’t know what the hell they were talking about! i made up all manner of things but i finally asked someone. “straight out of camera” well of course, i thought, what the hell else would they be. then i started noticing one particular photograher. the shots all had the same special glow, the same feel–i loved them!!! so i wrote to her and she told me she achieved that effect from “actions.” WHAT? what the hell are actions? is it something on my camera? huh? but then that world opened to me, or i should say “flooded” me!!! which ones? the ones that so and so uses or the ones that hoo haa uses? not the ones that cost a million, no way!!! who has free ones? can i do it myself–“oh, you need programs, you need photoshop or elements or some other such thing.”

this was a world i knew nothing about. but i took a course and my teacher recommended photoshop elements. but not the version that was currently available. the next version that was coming out soon, so wait. so i did. then, when i got the next version it wasn’t compatible with my mac’s older operating system. so i had to get a new operating system. then the new operating system would not work with my scanner. so i had to get a new scanner.

but i digress, back to potions and chemistry and science. playing with the actions was so intriging to me, that i could tweak my shots in such a way, beyond cropping, it was amazing!! but so confusing. the choices were alarming. but i kept on keeping on. and on and on. until this spring when i said NO. i will not do my 365 anymore. i am taking a break.

i know that others in flickr have also taken breaks. that it is difficult to shoot all the time, to manipulate the shots and to post and to comment on all your friends shots. and to have a life!!! for the people who have young children and jobs and spouses or significant others and who make dinner and shop and mend socks and tell bedtime stories and make quilts and look gorgeous–i was so amazed by!!! i just have the one job and carl does everything else for me (well, not EVERYTHING, but he sure is a fabulous husband)–what was i doing wrong?

maybe the one huge thing i was doing wrong was comparing myself to others and, the thrust of this piece, i was utterly and completely overwhelmed by the enormous choices and i had no way to slow my spinning mind down and learn to accept what i COULD do. i had no desire to give up shooting but it was like being from a third world country and standing in a super grocery store–what the hell to buy? and, in addition to the many ways one can accomplish ones goals for their photo, the new programs keep coming out. every. single. day. oh mmm geee.

part three | talent, or what the hell am i doing here?

i grew up thinking i was the most gifted artist. i thought that because my loving family told me so. i went to art school and did very well. then life interfered with my supposed career and i flitted from one creative outlet to another. but one stayed true throughout the years: photography. it was a constant even if i didn’t constantly shoot, even if i didn’t even have a clue about my slr. i loved it. i loved my polaroid sun camera. i cherished all my photos. i have photos from my brownie days–just a little kid with my magical “toy.” but it wasn’t really a toy–it was my love. and in 2006 i began to seriously teach myself, takes classes and surround myself with others who loved it as much as me.

at first, on flickr, my pictures were little more than “snapshots”–i was feeling my way around with the little canon point and shoot my husband bought me. i had fun and i was thrilled when i had a shot that i thought was good. i printed the ones i loved and my friends and family spurred me on (ouch, what a strange expression). and i started making contact with other photographers that had interests like mine, quilting for one. then i started to get a little better and i realized that my camera really couldn’t do some of the things i wanted to do. and i was off and running. and i know that i have improved, i definitely have. but i compare myself to every one–constantly. i wonder if others do that? i imagine most do, it’s only human.

in the beginning there was fun and joy. today there is comparison, worry, self flagellation and tears. back then i knew nothing, today i know how very much i don’t know and i wonder if i will ever get it. when i started my photos looked happy and innocent, today they seem overworked and contrived. yet i still take photos. and i am still amazed at how, when i am shooting, i am lifted out of myself and into the moment and all there is is me and the camera. and i am like a junkie and i want more.

i might just be talented and then again, i may be very ordinary. one thing rings true for me: i am an artist. good or bad, known or unknown. rich or poor. i am an artist. and it is enough. so with all the self-doubt and concern, with all of the overwhelmingness of camera and process, there is nothing i would rather be doing.

part four | going back to basics, sort of

the evolution of my journey is not complete but i think i am on a path that feels good. i cannot keep up with all the different processes. i can’t own all the cameras. but i can do what i love and if i can afford to try some different program, i will. if i am unable to get them all, that’s ok. it’s utterly exhausting trying to keep up with all the stuff going on. the thought that i have to keep up every new program and style and process; every new camera, gadget and feature–is enormous. i am going to shoot to a different drummer. i will allow myself to shoot and process as i like. it is my pleasure. it is my passion. i will be open to new things always, but i can’t be a slave to it all! and the funny thing is i am really not a slave, but i have the guilt of not knowing all the new stuff!!!

photography has been one of the greatest gifts i have ever received and i am learning to bend with it’s changes and mine and not fight what i cannot control. it’s life, really, encapsulated, beautiful and precious.

photo taken with canon 60d, 50mm f1.4 lens

a walk in the park

early december 2012.

i have a very favorite park in boston. it’s not the public gardens or the boston common. it is very small park. it is in post office square and it is quiet, serene, pretty and always uplifting. it reminds me a bit of new york’s central park, though far smaller  — right in the middle of everything, yet a break from it all. i took my holga there (and my canon eos 3) and took a few shots. walk with me if you like! the first is on the way and the rest are within the park itself:

most shots taken with my holga 120n, kodak 400 t max. the last is from my canon eos 3, 50mm f1.4, ektar 100.

waxing poetic

film shots from 16 november 2012

not very long ago, while it feels like forever, we spent some time at our magical spot in salem, the salem willows. i took lots of digital shots and a few polaroids with my sx-70. i also used my hasselblad 500 c/m–the camera i adore and i am somewhat in awe of (yes i am really ending a sentence with a preposition).

i know i never thought that i would ever own such a great beauty as this camera–just holding her is almost enough–almost. i know she is content to let me fuss and dance around her, she is patient and she knows that sooner or later i will fall into a rhythm and i will know that i am able to work WITH her. that is her plan. her only goal is to be used in a loving, respectful and fun way and she means for me to know that and to r.e.l.a.x. and she has time, lots of time.

i am sitting here thinking of her and of the sea and its special smells and sounds and awesomeness and i am glad to be alive.

oh yes and a few shots from Honor my hassy:

another one of that sweet little house:

all shots taken with my hasselblad 500 c/m, 150mm f4. lens, ektar 100 film.

a saturday at salem willows, memories and cats

carl and i don’t go to salem willows enough. and that’s been changing recently. while the harbor is right across the street from my house, the willows is a very special place.

i am always drawn to the sea — it’s why i live where i do and it is always something i am aware of. at one time, long before i met my love, i thought about moving closer to my dear sister, kathy, but i just couldn’t make the change — she is only about 45 minutes from the ocean, but it just felt like i was losing a part of myself. the smell, the sound, its beauty — i couldn’t leave it.

a long time ago, when i lived in lynn (lynn lynn city of sin, you never come out the way you went in), right by kings’s beach, i could also see the water from my window and, i loved walking this huge beach with my dear cairn terrier, sidney and then her little baby, my precious emrys! i was always very sad for them when summer would come because no dogs were allowed on the beach. but as soon as we were able, off we went, them running around like crazy-happy pups and me, basking in their joy!

we also would take vacations in provincetown, which, for those who are not familiar with cape cod, is right on the very tip of the cape — it’s beaches are stunning and it is particularly stellar in the winter. so bleak. so pale. so gorgeous. and, in the summer, my dogs would swim like they were huge water dogs–particularly sidney–and then flop on the blankets and soak up the sun. ooooo to be a dog!!!!

in those days i had two cameras: my minolta srt201 and my polaroid one step! i can see, in my minds eye, some of those moments we shared! i will, at some time, post some of those old shots!!!

but on with salem willows–a place that still has that honky tonk feel (in miniature) but, at one time, was a real amusement park! my mother told me that my great uncles would load up the huge clan and take them all for the long drive (then) from west medford to salem. she loved it and has wonderful memories of her family and all the fun they had! and i have some of those old photos too–from their trips to salem willows, kings beach and other beaches in our area. i have one with my great aunt bertha, my mother and some of my aunts (all young girls) at kings beach with my great aunt’s model t (i think) in the background!

so here, at last, are some more shots from last saturday, 10 november 2012!!!

and cats, dear annie and parker. oona is a hard one to pin down!

you probably notice that i have taken more than one shot of that little turquoise house! it is one of my favorite little things in the world! such a silly little thing!!!

film shots from chatham, new york

today it is bleak outside and i am home from work sick (tummy issues) but the good thing is i got to catch up with some of my shots from my visit to Chatham, New York to see Deirdre and Cara and meet all of Deirdre’s family: Jason, Shoshanna and Elisheva! and of course Hazel, Ivy and Freddy.

so here are a few of my film shots, using my canon 3 with my 100mm f2.8 lens and my new favorite film: ektar 100:

 

Deidre is a beautiful woman and so are her two daughters!!!

 

when i looked at the photo i took of the lovely Cara, i knew it needed to be cropped because the background was soooo blown out — but then i couldn’t decide which shot to use! so here are both of them!!!!

 

i wanted to take this building (and oh so many other ones) home with me!!!

 

generally i do very little with my film shots — usually cropping is about it — but i decided to play with this shot of Elisheva and Shoshanna! so here is the original and my vintage rendition!

 

i hope i get to meet up with everyone again soon!!! it was such a delightful day!!!!

a fabulous saturday in chatham, ny

carl and i celebrated our 15th anniversary on 25 October and had decided beforehand that we would go away for the weekend. deirdre haber malfatto (superdewa) and i had often talked about getting together in her neck of the woods and so voila!  i talked to deirdre and she was free and we decided that it would be perfect to go and meet deirdre’s family and spend a day with them! and, as luck would have it, cara farnell (tumbleweedineden), who i had not yet met, was also available to get together too! so the date was set for 27 october!

carl and i drove to great barrington, massachusetts where we had booked a room. We really enjoyed the drive: it was beautiful and restful but i was sooo excited to meet everyone! i think i would have shot pictures along the way if we had given ourselves more time to get there. but, alas, great planning is not my way!

after getting lost on our way to deirdre’s house (getting lost IS our way) we were greeted by her lovely family: her handsome and welcoming husband, jason, and her smart, fun and sweet daughters, shoshanna and elisheva AND my sweet flickr friend, cara!!! we also got to meet hazel and ivy, their beautiful pet rats!!!

we went to the village of chatham to have a lovely lunch at ralph’s (i had a burrito that was perfection) and then stroll around. the village is lovely and i could easily see the appeal of living there: warm and cozy and filled with interesting stores and fabulous architecture–funky and fun–just my cup of tea!!!

after tons of picture-taking, talking and just plain enjoying each other’s company, we went back to deirdre’s house. let me say that i have never been so comfortable in someone’s home on the very first visit! the whole family is so inviting — and shoshanna was very kind to let me hold and love-up her rats!!! we talked, laughed and told stories–it was splendid!!! getting to know everyone was so delightful!! their home is so warm and filled with their personalities–it is an old country house that i would love to live in!! then jason and deirdre prepared us a fantastic meal and we all sat around their big dining room table and just dug in!! deirdre made us a huge and fantastic apple pie for desert and i know a good time was had by all!

here are a few moments that i captured of our great day:

elisheva

elisheva, carl and deirdre

these decorations are all over chatham but no one knows who is doing it!

i wish i had inquired about these lovely pieces on a bakery wall!

cara and deirdre!

my dear  carl

shoshanna with ivy and hazel

deirdre’s fabulous apple pie!

and shoshanna with her little babies, hazel and ivy!!!

i wish i had taken a shot of jason!!! and there were so many other shots i missed — but for  a good reason — i was in the moment with great friends!!!!

all shots taken with my canon 60d. most are shot with my 100mm 2.8 lens with the exception of the deirdre’s pie and shoshanna and her babes. they were shot with my 50mm f1.4.

an october saturday in salem

(i know the date above says 21 october, but this is ALL from 20 october AND i am writing it on 20 october)

salem is in full halloween mode. i happen to adore halloween. i love the dress up, the candy, the scary stories and i, living in a tourist town like salem, welcome the people and delight in the child-like thrill in the visitors faces! this is a time in our town that is the great divider: those that love the season and all it brings and those who want to kick out everyone who doesn’t live here. i am of the first order: the more the merrier.

i moved to salem in 1987 and more than me choosing salem, it chose me. it drew me in and i am not even a witch (that’s a joke, folks. Pagans lighten up). i loved the atmosphere, the sea, the small city feel. i loved that everything was at my finger tips. i came from my hometown of boston, which may be small, but salem is much cozier and, though i couldn’t live on the shore or by the park in boston, i could do that here! so i drink in that honky tonk tourist season with pleasure and i welcome every one with open arms!!! just be prepared to drive around for a long time to find a parking space!!!

today i went downtown to meet up with my niece and to take some photos. the photos are a mixture of the fun of salem (costumed people) and the beauty:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all photos shot with my canon 60d using my 100mm f2.8 lens. and a good time was had by all!