My New Years wish to you.......
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| Antoni Tapies 1923-2012 |
I have taken up photography. Is there ever a lot to learn. I started by taking a digital photography course at Emily Carr University. Then after much research and trial I decided on my camera and lens: a Nikon D7000 with a Nikkor 18-200 lens with polarizing filter. I wanted to get a full format FX camera but decided to get familiar with a DX camera first. I got Photoshop CS5 and Silver Efex Pro 2 (a program that converts color digital photography to black and white photography) as well as several books that I downloaded to my iPad 2 (BTW I love my new iPad 2 which was a gift from a client – thank-you very much!). All of this because I have a very curious mind and a very curious eye. I love the fact that when I look through the view finder of the camera I see the world differently from the way I view the world of Interior Design through my eye unframed. Looking through the lens forces my attention down to a small and very refined focus. I am also a believer of the value of life long learning and the fact that the appreciation of different art disciplines enhances and broadens our experience of life.
The above photo was taken at a client’s home in Whistler just before sunset as I was standing on the edge of the dock. I went there to take photos of the lovely views from their home of the dock and lake, with hopes of getting some good images to frame and hang in their just completed home in Vancouver. Somehow the color version looks nice in a smaller format for viewing on the internet or in the photo album, but when I thought about enlarging it to a frameable size it didn’t look like fine art. I far prefer to hang black & white photography on walls. I converted the digital color photograph to black and white photography with a software program called Silver Efex Pro2 and I quite like how the images below the water show up much clearer in the black and white photography then in the color version.
This image was converted from a color digital to black & white photography using a program called Silver Efex Pro 2.
These are some of the other photos I took.
Fresh fruit for our morning brunch. The sunlight was streaming in the window and this setting was calling out to me to take the photo quickly before 1. either the sunlight moved on or 2. we sat down and started eating. So much of photography I am learning is to seize the moment. Thank-you Nora for the delicious and beautiful meals you prepared.
The picture above and below were taken at sunrise in one of the most beautiful places in the world Whistler.
The morning dew.
I will leave you with a quote by the brilliant French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.
“To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis.”
PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™
I was visiting Qualicum Beach this weekend and someone put this rock down on the beach path. It put a smile on my face. Thank-you – whoever you are!
PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™
I love this quote by Steve Jobs.
What do you think? Is good design more than just looking pretty?
Join the discussion by leaving a comment.
PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™
"Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style." ~Billy Baldwin
I thought the above quote by Billy Baldwin was very fitting to describe the exclusive outdoor furniture collection which was originally created by Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan in the mid-1940s. Just after World War II, the furniture designer Walter Lamb, began experimenting with bronze and copper tubing salvaged from sunken naval ships at Pearl Harbor and constructing prototypes incorporating canvas and yacht roping. The result was a collection defined by it's sculptural curves, sturdy construction and superb comfort. Today, Walter Lamb's furniture is still as timeless as ever and is still handcrafted to Lamb’s rigorous specifications by Brown Jordan. For modern use Brown Jordan has replaced the bronze pipe with weatherproof brass, which over time will develop a rich patina. Vintage pieces of Lamb's are now selling at starting prices of $5,000.00. Which goes to prove that nothing that is well designed and well crafted is 'ever out of style'.
Left: Vintage 1940's Walter Lamb Brown Jordan Rocking chaise in bronze, canvas and yacht roping. Right: Vintage 1940's Walter Lamb Brown Jordan Bronze chaise rewebbed in cotton yacht cord. Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design, architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you. © 2007-2009 Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. A favourite picture and a favourite poem of mine that I am linking together to wish you all a Happy Weekend.
A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever From John Keats' epic poem, Endymion, 1818: Picture from Makanyane Safari Lodge, South Africa
Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design, architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you. © 2007-2009 Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design, architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you. © 2007-2009 Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog
"For a house to be successful, the objects in it must communicate with one another, respond to and balance one another"
Andre Putman
"…a house is much more than a mere shelter, it should lift us emotionally and spiritually.”
John Saladino
“When you’re building a room, you’re building character, and character is the strength and wisdom of a home”
Rose Tarlow
“We shape our homes……, and then our homes shape us.”
Winston Churchill
“It's all in the Details.”
Patricia Gray
A video of my art and art installations. I hope you enjoy it. "There is so much beauty everywhere I look. My desire is to capture ...
