statue – Dutch goes the Photo!

Taciturn Thursday – Ep. 1

A quiet moment with a statue

Last night, my wife and I visited Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s Winter Lights; each winter holiday season, they do an amazing job creating a wondrous display of lights, which presents some interesting photo opportunities.

Their lighting creates moments, such as this cherub, simply to be enjoyed and taken in.

Brno at Night

A couple of quick images from wonderful Brno

As it’s a week of business travel and the usual all day affair of meetings and meals, I’ve been remiss in posting; so here’s a quick post of a couple of captures while walking back to my hotel here in Brno.

This statue of the revered Father Martin Streda struck me with the interesting lighting, as it stands next to the Jesuit Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Father Martin Streda’s reverence comes from the time of the siege of the city of Brno by Swedish troops during 1645; according to the stories told, the Virgin Mary appeared to him during his prayers and told him that the city of Brno would not be conquered, if everyone obeyed God. After this apparition, Martin proceeded to be uncannily accurate in his predictions of attacks by the Swedish and the last cannonball fired at the city landed at his feet and remained motionless.

This statue produces another interesting shadow due to the way it is lighted. It is known as ‘Little Mozart’ and stands in front of the Reduta Theatre on the square known as the Cabbage Market (still in operation 6 days a week). In 1767, the then 11 year old Mozart performed at the theater along with his sister Maria Anna. The statue is unusual in that it has the head of a mature Mozart on an child’s body with a single wing; the latter is likely included to mark the tragic death of the composer.

If you get the chance, Brno is a fabulous city to visit with lots of sights, great restaurants and hospitable people. I always enjoy coming back here.

And yes, the meetings and trip have been extremely productive!

Friday Mystery Slide – 2019 #07

The Old Man and the Sea

Here comes a seventh mystery slide post of this year….

I expect that this week’s slide is an easy one to figure out, as it’s eminently google-able (is that even a word?). My challenge to you is to try and figure this out from the clues in the image without the aid of any search tool…

I look across the harbor, as I go out to the sea in my ship…

For extra bonus…try to pinpoint the year that this slide was taken! I’m looking to see how the car aficionados do with this!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 118

Play time is the right time!

Welcome to the 118th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge! Another record week in responses!!

Your responses were all very playful and filled with variety. There were a couple that definitely put a smile on my face in their creativity and unique approach to this week’s theme! Thank you all for putting such wonderful effort into each and every one of your posts!

I enjoyed reading all of your posts, and hope that you’ll enjoy browsing through each other’s posts as well!

Here’s another bit of play…

Something-in-the-Woods_MG_9572 — *Pan will play!*

This image came from a nice walk through Tower Hill Botanic Garden, as we chanced upon Pan hanging about in the woods. With his pipes he lures us into his domain, where we are captivated by its beauty and wander for eternity…

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

Sarah kicks this week off with a wonderful little dog in By Sarah! That dog looks ready to play! (FYI – as Sarah’s blog is marked private you may have to request access).
Nicole’s post in Un Photo Une Poeme has really captured the game, and it certainly looks like a lot of fun!
A wonderful post in Banactee brings about a real game changer with a stunning photo!
Kammie’s post in The Nut House has lots of variety of play and they sure look like they’re having fun!
There’s lots of play at the beach, as we can see in MV obsession‘s post; a bit of sand, lots of water and unbridled fun!
Very colorful is what we get to see in theOnlyD800intheHameau! The kids will be ready to make use of that cornucopia of play!
In Don’t Hold Your Breath, we go very mathematical, as Fibonacci leads us on some floral exploration!
In Geriatri’X’ Fotogallery, we go to the ballgame and those kids are just having a blast!
A great post in Touring with Kids (cool blog!) shows us that it’s all kids play! And those kids know how to play!
The awesome post in Chill Mom’s Photos and Reviews finds us at just the right water hole, which looks like a ton of fun!
Debbie’s post in Travel with Intent takes us to some of the most amazing play spots, which can be pretty competitive!
In Na’ama Yehuda‘s post, we get into the wonderful world of child’s play, and this one is creative!
With awesome photos in Chateaux des Fleurs, we get to see several varieties of play; which one is your favorite?
In a simply fantastic post in One letter UP – diary 2.0, the ultimate enjoyment of play is shared! Go check out the facial expressions!
Xenia’s post in whippetwisdom brings us the awesome treat of falling water, which is sure to be enjoyed by Eivor and Pearl!
Robert’s photography in his blog Photo Roberts Blog is truly amazing! His captures for this week’s theme demonstrate that again!
Emily’s post in her blog, Zombie Flamingoes, shows some of the fun that can be had playing on the ocean!
Jason breaks out the spirit in the sky in his post in Proscenium: it may just be the best place to play!
Candace found some truly serious play in her post in Netdancer’s Musings, as that is not your everyday play occurrence!
Lee’s post in ladyleemanila possibly has the largest variety of play documented in her post! Awesome!
In another great post in WoollyMuses, the dogs get to play to their hearts content and they know how to do it!
Petra’s post in Photoworld vol. 3 is a great bit of play, as the Smurfs are hard at play! You can also see this post in Lilliput is Everywhere!
Susan’s post in Musin’ with Susan documents one of the classic elements of basketball: the pick-up game!
Cee’s take on this week’s theme in Cee’s Photography knows the value of dogs, and their wonderful play!
Olga put together another great post in Stuff and what if…, where she take a playfully creative approach to her photos!
Todd brings out some wonderful play in his post in Serendipity. Encouraged. Do you have a favorite among them?
Bend Branches is a wonderful blog, and this week’s entry gives us the opportunity to see marmots at play!
An outstanding post in Life Amazing, treats us to great play in its most pristine form!
In her blog Out of my Write Mind, Sandy put together a fantastic report on the state of play!
In pensivity101‘s lovely post, there’s proof that Darwin’s love for playing in water is shared with other dogs as well!
The awesome post in The 59Club gives us a great view of some of the outdoor play opportunities!
Another wonderful post in CitySonnet, which shows that waves can be playful as well!
Marie takes us to the ball game in The New 3Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect! Batter up!
Sonia talks about passing on the love of the game of football in her post in Sonia’s Musings.
Margo documents play time in her post in That Little Voice, and the playbows show that it was indeed playtime!
Debbie wrote a wonderful post in ForgivingConnects, where she talks about moving and happiness! Looks like there are big things happening!
Nicole has some fun, playing with raindrops in her post in Doar Nicole, and her photos are simply gorgeous!
Khürt goes for a hike and finds wonderful spots for play in his blog, Island in the Net; fantastic photos!
George really captures play in his post in The Alchemist of the Woods: these dogs just have a load of fun!
Stella found some awesome playgrounds that she captured in Giggles & Tales; they look like great fun!
Ilka demonstrates that computers are kids play in her blog A Thousand Miles; it’s a wonderful post!
Miriam shares some of her wonderful playing for your listening pleasure in Out an’ About; there are also some fun photos to round out playtime!

I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!

Eternity?

Looking across the ages…

The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge has the theme of Waiting. An interesting theme, that made me think of a number of images that I shot over the years. On Wednesday, I posted a photo from a model shoot that had a Lady in Waiting, so today it’s time for something a little different.

This particular model stood very still indeed, as she gazed across the ages with the wistful look of love lost. Is she waiting for her long gone paramour?

What are your thoughts?

20150705-Tower-Hill_57A2346 — Serene Beauty

This image came to be at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts, where this lovely statue was placed among the plants in the Orangerie.

Hope you enjoy!

Out of the Shadows

Does evil lurk?

In photography, shadows are some of the most interesting features, as without them most definition is lost and drama is greatly reduced. So when I saw the WordPress Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge of Shadow, you can imagine that I might get a little excited 🙂

In most of my photography, you’ll see that I tend to shy away from the standard approach of keeping the sun in your back and you’ll be safe… As a matter of fact, I love shooting into the sun and adjusting exposure to get the subject in there just right.

This image is one where I had the luxury of getting multiple shadow sources to work for me and a bit of assistance from years of water nourishing plant life…

out-of-the-shadows_mg_6880 — *Out of the Shadows*

Some may find this image a tad disturbing, as vacuous eyes look out toward the viewer, not revealing intent of any kind. She really is a beautiful water feature at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.

How do you use shadows in your photography?

Technical Details

This image was taken with a Canon EOS 5D MkII using an EF 24-105mm f/4L lens. Exposure settings were at 1/50 second at f/13 and 200 ISO.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Face

The lady thinks…

The theme for the WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is Face, celebrating our many different faces.

As the face is our primary interface for communication with one another, it has been featured in art throughout the ages; from the beautiful bust of Nefertiti to the grotesque expressions of gargoyles on cathedrals, the face has been central, such as in this sculpture at Tower Hill Botanic Garden.

The expression on her face draws us in to wonder what thoughts are crossing her mind. Is she thinking of a love long lost?

What do think is on this lady’s mind?

Technical Details

This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mk III using an EF 24-105mm f/4 lens. Exposure settings were 1/200 second, f/8 at 400 ISO.

Hope you enjoy this post inspired by the Daily Post WPC – Face

Friday Mystery Slide – vol 5

Pointing skyward?

After last week’s pretty straightforward slide, it is time for another pretty simple one. I’m confident that someone will get this one!

Where is this statue? What can you tell me about this statue?

Like I said…pretty straightforward in this day and age. My challenge to you is to not use Google (or Bing, etc.), so we can find out who might have this in their memory banks!

Hope you enjoy!