March 3, 2616

March 3, 2616

All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see images full screen click on any photo.

   This week we had a particularly foggy day so I went out and took most of the photos in this post in this weather with the exception of the first two which are in Acadia from last weekends trip. The first three images are a part of my interest in painting in Photoshop using photographs as the base from which to create something from. I am enjoying this new direction where using the camera and software as tools to produce images that invoke something that is perhaps mysterious in nature, and painterly as the overall effect. 

    Once again I am moved by the endless versatility of the digital medium to create something more than mere snapshots. We live in a remarkable age where so much is available for use in being creative in whatever medium we choose. It is somewhat scary though as I consider I have really only utilized a rather small portion of the tools available to me. Then again, I have all that I need for where I am and where I am going at this time. It is far better for me to pick up a new avenue of approach and become comfortable with its effects before I look for something else. 

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    "Creativity, as it has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know, Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted." 

                                                                                                                 George Kneller

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One tree in the forest each time I visit stands out -

 a display of personality perhaps ....

The lesson is clear, when we have something beautiful to offer,

let us not hide it in a musty closet

unseen by anyone including ourselves. 

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The house stands on the edge of the ocean,

protected by trees playing Nature's music

as the wind blows through their branches.

The sound of wind in the trees 

pleases the ear that stops and listens.

 "Out of synch"

(Left leg, right leg are the only clues I offer.)

   It was bound to happen - living in the most heavily treed state in the country

I was due to find one of the ugliest trees anywhere. I won a prize for catching the ugliest fish on a fishing trip once (my buddies gave me a mackerel), so do I get a prize for spotting this beauty? 

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                   Four images of fog taken on my return from Belfast, Maine.

   

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Some humor:

   Peace until next post,

                  Bill Lagerstrom

February 14, 2016

February 14, 2016

All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see images full screen click on any photo.

     It has been a month of busyness which is my only excuse for not sending out a post earlier. We had a week of intensive training to start the process of becoming docents at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville Maine, and a week's trip to NYC to see the family there along with our granddaughter Maddie who is now 1 1/2 yrs old. 

    I am adding numbers to each of the photos for identification to be used as I send a few people a different slant on the images then I dialog here. Please ignore them unless you want more info in which case please email me. 

   Photos 3-8 were taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during our trip to NYC. Then there are two images of Queens, the borough where we visited family. 

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    Here is a listening refuge called "Returning Home." Take a listen"

                     https://app.box.com/s/e44b032ab4c2ab7f4d03

1.               Flight Time

Beyond the borders of the Turning,

In the pivot point of here and There,

Lies the Truth We Seek.

Go to that Center, draw a line though its axis,

Then unfold the wings of your soul,

And soar to the Arms of Love.

The home of departure to the Heaven’s,

Lies midway between our soul and self.

All maps that lead to Love’s Embrace,

Are there, in the center of the heart,

          in the core of the soul.

                                                  Bill Lagerstrom 

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2.                                                    "Painting the Museum"

Taken at Colby College Museum of Art.

3.                                                The body pose is the same,

one a stance of beauty the other one of boredom.

(The start of a long day at the Museum.)

4.                                                              Illumination

All these canvases, painted in the 1300's,

still, after so many centuries

are illuminated from within

with a sacred light that continues to shine.

The Eternal Light has been caught by a graced few -

it flows through their hearts into willing hands

holding brush and paint to reveal Creation's Gifts, for all time.

Look carefully at this rare quality of light

not seen too often in this age of busyness.

5.                              The sources of illumination take many forms.

6.

7.                                   Wonder and awe without the overlays

that the world imposes without stopping for a breath. 

8.                                                 "Coming out of Egypt"

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9.                               "Abandon all beauty all who enter here."

Instead of paying the ferryman at the river Styx before entering hell,

here one buys a Metrocard at a machine in order to ride. 

(AKA, The Jaws of the Great Subway Monster.)

10.                                             Highway - Queens, N.Y.C.

11.                               One of our granddaughter Maddie's toys. 

We made a flower during an enjoyable moment.

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Some humor:

  In this age it might be worth considerations before marrying a concept artist:

Peace until next post,

            Bill Lagerstrom

Janyary 14. 2016

January 14, 2016

All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see full screen click on any photo.

       All the images on this post are in the format called "Artistic." I have been painting in photoshop with photos as the vehicle for transformation of images. This is a direction I want to go ahead in as it is far more than photography. It is a means to express the creative urges rising from the heart space where they reside. 

   Here is a list of photographic styles put forth by Harold Davis, a "Fine Art" photographer who does exceptional work. He says there are four styles of photography:

    1- Straight photographs with corrections in software or the dark room. 
            No artistic changes are made to these images.
    2- Photo journalism - documentation of events, etc.
    3- Partially creative. Photos are still present and recognizable in some form.
    4- Fully artistic. Painting is the basis for this format and technique. 

   The photos presented in this posting are all in the styles of 3 and 4.  Computer software is the means of technique only. As I find myself having learned the computer programs fairly well I mostly allow the images to unfold, revealing their nature much the same way Michelangelo spoke of his sculptures - that they were there in the marble to begin with and he only uncovered them. This process for me is more meditative than simply adjusting an image

    If you find something that appeals to you please send me an email with your feedback. 

Full speed ahead in embracing creativity.

This train travels to distant horizons

where the ordinary presents itself

in different dimensions and new directions.

View from Winter Harbor, Maine.

To see Nature in its simplicity,

often overlooked in casual glances, 

reveals a treasure of delights to the heart's eyes.

Grass grows, water flows, and spending time where we are

offers insights that are often not available in the busyness of the day.

A small Winter tree reveals its interior life.

What is there, is there - 

all it takes is time to see.

Stay, look for a while, and a something new will be revealed.

The rocks at the tip of Schoodic Point

have learned to hold back the crashing ocean

for our lifetimes, and perhaps for millennia

before transforming into pebbles and sand. 

This was taken in Fall,

and upon closer observation

the events of next Spring can be seen. 

Schoodic Point, Maine. 

The waves are artists, 

painting the water before them with beauty.

Then impermanence arrives  

and sweeps up the colors and shapes that they created. 

Winter trees seen with new eyes at Schoodic Point last week.

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    Here are two images of cows taken a few months back and reworked to show something different. 

The Three "Moogi" following the star to the stable

where Jesus was born.

(I am already reprimanded for this pun. 

No need to add to the pain.)

Cows on LSD and what they see around them. 

(An exercise with texture being applied to the photo. )

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Some Humor: Why we practice staying in the present moment -

Peace until next post,   

    Bill Lagerstrom