[Intermezzo] Bedridden with a Monstrous Cold

Posted on December 16, 2013 by maedez

I’m stuck in bed today, tired from coughing. Croaky-voiced. Re-reading Ansel Adams’ autobiography and dreaming of great snow-capped mountains. I catch a glimpse, through the dirty window, of a white-blanketed roof and try to make do. Persuade me that there is no difference on the scale of majesty, and I’ll be impressed.

The Sick Girl by Michael Ancher, 1882

Words to the wise: On gloomy days, imagination is the best tool of all.

Inspiration Board: 12th December

Posted on December 12, 2013 by maedez

I’m feeling frosty! Can you tell?

Cavern in an ice wall, near Commonwealth Bay

Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914

Au Clair de la Lune Children’s Book, 1910s

Blue Snow, the Battery by George Bellows, December 1910

Asta Nielsen

Old Pscov by Konstantin Gorbatov, 1913

The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928

Portrait of Fritza Riedler by Gustav Klimt, 1906

Sunset over Waterloo Bridge by Emile Claus

The Tetons and the Snake River by Ansel Adams, 1942

Valeska Suratt, 1917

Women playing hockey outside of Varsity Arena, Toronto, 1910

A Year in Books/Day 110: Ansel Adams An Autobiography

Posted on April 23, 2012 by maedez

Title: Ansel Adams An Autobiography
Author: Ansel Adams
Year Published: 1985/This Edition:1996 (Little, Brown and Company)
Year Purchased: 2000/2001
Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
About: Iconic is an over used word and idea. Very few people truly and permanently achieve that status. Ansel Adams, the Californian known for his crisp black and white nature photography, certainly deserves the label. His expansive, down-to-earth and gruff nature flies off the page, making 82 years of wide experience seem fresh, lively and interesting. For eight decades, he witnessed the extremes of a rapidly changing America; as a pioneering artist and activist, he was responsible for much of that transformation.
A photo portrait of photographer Ansel Adams, which first appeared in the 1950 Yosemite Field School yearbook. Deutsch: Portrait des Fotografen Ansel Adams, erstmals 1950 im Jahrbuch der Yosemite Field School erschienen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Motivation: I love to learn what drives and shapes creative people and their processes.
Times Read: 1
Random Excerpt/Page 55: “The snapshot is not as simple a statement as some may believe. It represents something that each of us has seen-more as human beings than photographers-and wants to keep as a memento, a special thing encountered. The little icons that return from the photo-finisher provide recollections of events, people, places; they stir memories and create fantasies. Through the billions of snapshots made each year a visual history of our times is recorded in enormous detail.”
Happiness Scale: 9 1/2