I solemnly swear that knowing how to make a good fresh guacamole is the secret to a long happy life. My kids will go off to college with at least this skill in their back pockets. Those ingredients down there? Chop them and mix them and mash them and taste them until they are perfect. Bonus points for extra salt and lime juice.
Color Colour Lovers and Green
in Projects
Searching for green in my neighborhood last week meant kicking aside some snow, peeping for little peeks of earth and discovering tiny crocus shoots, running into friends to discuss the merits of painting doors green and thus feeling reconnected, and eating lots and lots and lots of green food. All good things.
Michigan Moment in February
That Michigan Moment in February when the relentless cold has you boxed in like a sleepy bear in a cave. You remain lazy and unproductive, buried under a heated blanket in front of a fireplace waiting out the storm. The snow is icy and crunchy and brown, not worthy of a snowman or a sled. You long for the smell of the earth again, a break in the clouds, a tiny sprout of green to poke through the snow pack. You press your face against the window searching for a sign of life only to pull back quickly from the frostbitten glass. It doesn't matter what the groundhog sees because living in Michigan, you know you are enduring winter for the long haul. It's time to warm yourself from the inside out.
On a quiet Sunday morning the smells from the kitchen are of vanilla, cinnamon, cream, eggs, maple syrup and french bread sizzling in a pan of real butter, melding all the aromas into a comforting and satisfying plate of thick french toast. You wrap yourself tighter in your blanket, curl up your feet enrobed in warm wool socks, pour hot fresh coffee from the french press and then spoon homemade blueberry syrup from last August's blueberry harvest over the sweet french toast and tuck in to one of the amazing delights of being snowed in. Everything is right with this moment...and winter will pass soon. Maybe next week is when the first early crocus will sprout through the snow, upholding the promise of the groundhog.
10 on 10 February 2016
Last month I posted a series of ten sun drenched film photographs from our holiday trip to Puerto Rico. We experienced more than a bit of climate shock to return to the frozen north and we seemed to develop this 'look' between us. The silent look that whined "I want to go baaaaack."
Back to reality. This month's series of ten film photographs were shot on January 10th. Winter in Michigan, the direct contrast of winter in the Caribbean. Winter in Michigan, where I cower indoors under multiple wooly layers, feeling like a bear hermit-ing away deep in a cave, always looking out the windows. And since I have no choice but to go outside many times a day, always yearning to be back on the warm side of the glass.
Today the ground is bare, the snow has melted and the sun shone for a day, but it is frigid cold and the snow will likely return. I take my dog for her daily walk and as I dream about hot days at the lake and tending my vegetable garden in bare feet, I notice the tiniest green crocus and daffodil sprouts braving their way through the earth. And I know the worst is behind me.
Fellow photographers Bethany and Charlene also shared 10 film photos this month. Please go view Bethany Petrik's blog from Woodland, CA which will then lead to Charlene Hardy's.
Color Colour Lovers and Pink
in Projects
Last week on the Instagram Color Colour Lovers challenge my task was all things PINK. There is very very little pink to be found in my house. As I captioned on one of my pink photographs "I only work in black, and sometimes very very dark grey." (I AM Batman.) The funny thing is, color pops up everywhere when you have your eyes open to it. Every time I spotted something pink my heart did a little somersault. Pink in all this dreary grey sky and slushy brown snow...I'll take it.
Color Colour Lovers and Yellow
in Projects
When I teach photography classes I always do a project-based lesson. It is one thing to sit in a hard chair and have formulas and light ratios and camera manuals and beautiful examples thrown at you just to go home and pick up your camera and say "wha?"
Each of my classes is based on a start to finish project involving story, composition, perspective, exposure, editing, saving, archiving, artwork creation, printing and displaying. Along the way, you actually master your camera and the art form and have something to show for it. Win win. One of my first project-based lesson results in a lovely color collage on a photo field trip, similar to this one.
If you are interested in joining one of my photography classes, please contact me at denarobles@gmail.com I currently have a middle school group forming, a high school group, and an adult group.
That Michigan Moment in January
It's that Michigan moment in January when the holiday decorations are finally tucked away and the Christmas tree is snow dusted at the curb awaiting pick up. You gaze out the frostbitten windowpanes at a world covered in ice. The layers of snow are old, showing their variegated hues of white, grey and slushy brown, the trees are spiky and bare. The rush of December has passed, the novelty of winter has worn off. The cold air bites your skin, and the only sign of life is from the call of the birds hoping for a refill of seed. January is a time to cuddle up and hunker down, to renew your body after the gluttony of holiday baking and festivities, and to replenish your soul with quiet stolen minutes spent deep inside your head. It is a time of self-care and nourishment. January is what "comfort food" was meant for. Your efforts turn to the kitchen, to the earthy goodness of oats, nuts, seeds and rich cream, ready to warm your body and comfort your soul as you cultivate the will to forge another day in the frozen north and await the appearance of the verdant and brown earth again.
Steel Cut Oats are my favorite way to start every winter morning. I prepare a large pot of oats every Monday morning and have enough to last me until Saturday if I portion it right. I know there are recipes out there for steel cut oats in a slow cooker, but not being a gadget-y person I have never owned a slow cooker. I prefer my food to retain texture and a bit of crunch, so after about 20-25 minutes on the stovetop, even my oatmeal is al dente. You could cook it longer if you prefer it to be creamier. Sometimes I find I need to add more water or milk during the last 5 minutes. I hope that you enjoy one of my winter survival recipes which I like to eat next to my bird feeder window and with an earl grey tea latte out of one of my favorite ceramic mugs by artist Gwyneth Leech.
Color Colour Lovers
in Projects
After returning from a technicolor tropical paradise I am living in a cold, cold world covered in snow, everything around me is wet, white, mostly grey and sometimes icky brown and slick. I am craving warmth and color! I stumbled across this tumblr from Xanthe Berkeley and took her challenge to inject some color into my winter.
Here is one week of my hunt for RED RED RED. All iphone captures, keeping it simple and quick! I did take waaaaay more than 9 photographs, but this project (for me) was meant for a great little Instagram grid. :)
10 on 10 January 2016
Winter and I are not the best of friends. Too much cold, grey, lack of sunshine, and outdoor activities I enjoy. However, I am thankful for the forced hibernation for a month or so and for the chance to slow down, reflect and hunker down into my craft a bit. I do imagine if I were living in a milder climate I would still find a way to do all this though, so snow and frigid temps are not necessary!
As always, I have a few photography projects brewing in the background of my commercial photo jobs. This year I am focusing on a weekly project I will unveil soon and also this monthly project: 10 on 10. On the 10th of the month I will release 10 film photographs on a theme. Simple as that really. The following photographs were actually created on Christmas day during our Puerto Rico vacation while my daughter and I shared a walk up the shore of Playa Flamenco. Enjoy!
Mushrooms on Film
in Projects
This lovely veggie portrait is from my on-going Kitchen Table project. It is my hope to work all winter long on the kitchen series and be ready to publish Kitchen Table late 2016. It is going to be delicious. So very delicious.
Newborn Aidan
in Portraits
Just as I was trying to dig myself out of busy season madness and prepping to immerse myself into a few family birthdays this week, anticipating holidays around the corner, and feeling so much UNrest and sadness around the globe...spending a few hours with this new little guy put my world right. Welcome baby Aidan. There is so much to see and you are very curious. May you always remain curious and safe and loved.
Two Postcards
Earlier this year I started a collaboration between photo artists around the world called The Kindred Art. One project is titled "Two Postcards." The postcard on the left is submitted by one photographer and then picked up by a second photographer in order to gain inspiration and create a 2nd postcard. The idea is that our artwork has more than one audience. As a creator of the photograph a) we have a relationship with what we see in front of us, b)many times with a living subject, and c) always with a viewer. We cannot always control how our capture is perceived by our audience. This is an exercise in learning how our photograph is viewed and used as an inspiration to our viewer.
On the left is "Rickshaw in Delhi" from Alpana Aras, on the right is "Red Bicycle in Michigan" by me.