Snowflake

Last weekend, New York City's Beacon Theater re-opened having been restored to its 1928 elegant excess. Looking up at the gigantic chandelier in the lobby, I could think only of snowflakes. Okay, I know that a snowflake should have only six sides. A snowflake is delicate, glittery, icy, crystalline and beautiful. This qualifies. Compelled to capture the image, I set the timer and placed my camera on the floor. Suddenly a whole lot of people were walking exactly along the path where my little camera lay during those few seconds. It was worth the risk to capture this snowflake.

Bleeding Hearts

My love affair with hearts began in childhood. In the local Woolworth's each February, heart-shaped candy boxes suddenly bloomed like exotic flowers Perhaps the same plastic-rose-and ruffle-embellished boxes would seem tacky to me today but a heart, with its balance of curves and sharp angles remains one of my favorite shapes. I continue to struggle with the challenge of using a shape that is so ubiquitous that it can easily be seen as a cliche. In honor of Valentine's Day, here is one of Nature's own heart-shaped designs: a gracefully arching stem of bleeding hearts.

Dallas: Composition In Blue

I am easily distracted by the art in airports; the murals, structures and installations that my fellow travelers ignore as they head towards the eateries or Gate 9B. In the Dallas airport, I walked around and around a series of large transparent blue panels. Their shiny surfaces bent and bounced window reflections back at me. Looking at one panel through another created varying intensities of blue. The tubular metal framework added a sense of stability. I had so much fun isolating sections of this big blue installation. Each photo looked like the start of a wonderful quilt or collage, with the composition and the light/dark values already figured out to my satisfaction. Who knows if I will ever do anything more than just look at this image when I am in the mood for blue. Just remember, your next quilt might be waiting for you at the airport.

Photo Op

A host of photographers document the competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. When it is time for an awards ceremony, they carefully shuffle onto the ice rink, then huddle together on a patch of blue rug, waiting to capture the gold, silver and bronze medal winners. During the awards for the men's competition, I watched one photographer leave the non-skid safety of the rug island to stake out a spot off to one side, right on the ice. I could relate to his attempt to make a photo that might be better, or at least different from the others . It also made me think about the benefit of finding another viewpoint. There is always a new approach, a different way of looking at something. By the way, the guy did get up and safely make his way off the ice, with no harm to himself or his camera equipment.