Firefly Photography

Have you ever noticed that when fireflies come together in a group, over time they start blinking their special little lights in unison?  Apparently this is connected to the same force that makes people breathe at the same speed when lying next to each other, or a field of crickets to synchronize their chirps.  I read
this cool little article a few years back about this phenomenon called, 'odd sympathy' and it really stuck with me.  It feels pretty good to know about some of the tiny details happening out in this huge world.

These lovely images come from a japanese digital photo blog (I wish I could remember how I stumbled across them, darn!).  From the blog + google chrome's handy/slightly ridiculous translation, it seems like they're testing out several types of cameras while documenting the annual firefly season in different areas.  Whatever it is, I want to take a walk in these woods right now.  Oooo-di-lolly!

A Natural Order

Acorn with Possum Stew, Wildroots Homestead, North Carolina

Lucas Foglia spent several years photographing people in the U.S. who could really give me an education on how to survive.  Its always fascinating to see the different lifestyles people lead.  There is a familiarity in the way these folks have houses amongst the trees and swim in the rivers.  It reminds me of my community.  But as I click through the photos from his A Natural Order project, I realize pretty quickly that I'm more of a city girl than I thought.  The whole series is beautiful and worth spending some time with.  Heres a little description from his website:

From 2006 through 2010, I traveled throughout the southeastern United States befriending, photographing, and interviewing a network of people who left cities and suburbs to live off the grid.  Motivated by environmental concerns, religious beliefs, or predictions of economic collapse, they build their homes from local materials, obtain their water from nearby springs, and hunt, gather or grow their own food.

All the people in my photographs are working to maintain a self-sufficient lifestyle, but no one I found lives in complete isolation from the mainstream.  Many have websites that they update using laptop computers, and cell phones that they charge in car batteries or solar panels.  They do not wholly reject the modern world.  Instead, they step away from it and choose the parts that they want to bring with them.

Homeschooling Chalkboard, Tennessee

David in his Wigwam, Kevin’s Land, Virginia

Fish Cooked in Campfire Ashes, Falling Leaves Rendezvous, Georgia

Rita and Cora Aiming, Tennessee

Patrick and Anakeesta, Tennessee

FEBRUARY 29!

 Here is some art by Zander Olsen to make you smile.

Luigi Ghirri

The first time I saw a Luigi Ghirri show was at a gallery in Paris when i was 21.  Along the back walls, were rows of small, framed photographs showing interiors of rooms.  The walls physically in front of me were flat and white, but the spaces in these photos were warm and very alive.  Every inch showed texture, 5 different shades of the same color, peeling wallpaper, a nail poking out of a plaster wall, and spaces that looked like they had been well used.  They were nostalgic and visually harmonious.  As a painter, I immediately felt connected to what i saw in the colors and textures and it was the first time I fell in love with photography.

He's playful with light, scale, and atmosphere and often uses backgrounds or objects as stand-ins for something 'real'.  In the loveliest way, he shows us that we cant always believe what we see.     

 

 

     

Myth or Mammal

From top to bottom: Intertwined by Wangechi Mutu, Picasso being silly, Quigauk For Hyacinth and May Wit'l Elk by Rick Bartow

Patti Smith

"I stand naked when I draw. God holds my hand and we sing together."

-Robert Mapplethorpe according to Patti Smith

I just finished Patti Smith's book, 'Just Kids' and this photo really stuck with me. Her hands, white feather, black sweater... too good.

Landscapes

Christopher Rauschenberg has a photo exhibit at the college art gallery right now. A few nights ago I went and saw him speak about his landscapes. Here are some that I liked and some that I found on his website.

Art comes to my neighborhood

So I recently went to the annual
Alberta Art Hop near my house.
 I got sunburned, ate some shave
ice and checked out the goods.
 There were some wild creations,
but I definitely stopped a few times
to talk to different artists and
tell them how much I liked their
art. I unfortunately didnt get all
their names, but one artist I
liked, is a local photagrapher
named Elizabeth Soule (www.esoule.com). She had prints of miniature
animals set up with background environments usually made
out of paper, and lovely lighting.
 Here are a few of her photos
that made me happy.