Ranunculus, Part II

My cat loves sticking his nose in my business.

I love the light that comes through my bedroom window in the early evening.  I took these photos at the same time as the instant ones I posted earlier.  These are much lighter because I was working with 400 speed film and a 1.8F lens with my Nikon SLR, versus 100 speed film and a 2.8F lens with my Mamiya medium format (although I can handhold my Mamiya at 1/30, versus 1/60 for my Nikon, so that helps).

{photos: nikon fm2 and kodak portra 400 film}

Ranunculus

End of the week ranunculus bouquet, evening window light, instant film.

These flowers are so gawky and delicate - love them.

{photos: mamiya 645 pro, polaroid back, fuji fp 100c instant film}

only flowers

As I've discussed before, I find special beauty in aging flowers.  I photographed these tulips at the height of their blossoming glory and again, as shown here, at the end of their lives.  These aged tulips have poetry.  They fling themselves open with grace, crumple with dignity.  Their color, texture, and posture all intrigue.  They kind of break my heart, which is probably a sign that I am too sensitive because they are, after all, only flowers.   

{photos: nikon fm2 and fuji superia 400 film}

A Late Night, A Quiet Morning

I awoke this morning to the remnants of a small dinner party with excellent company that I hosted last night: tablecloth, partially burned candle, roses cut from my balcony garden.  Luckily, my husband and I had the presence of mind to clean up at 1 a.m. before bed.  Few things are better than waking up after a late night well-spent to a fresh home, the day set to unfurl slowly and quietly.  Despite a considerable amount of gin and Campari, I feel refreshed, sipping coffee and listening to Kate Bush on vinyl with a stack of periodicals by my side, ready to be enjoyed.  Any to-do's I have can wait until tomorrow - the beauty of a holiday weekend.

I captured the images above this morning with my brand new (very old) Polaroid Land Camera 250 and Fuji pack film.  The gorgeous photographs of the sweet light inspired me to hunt down this beauty on eBay.  I can already tell that Ms. 250 and I will have a lot of fun together. 

Sunday Morning Polaroids

A quiet Sunday morning, filled with tulips, cats, and instant film.  :)

Chloe the Cat is always up in my business.

I captured these images with my Mamiya 645 Pro medium format camera, using a Polaroid back and Fuji FP 100C instant film.  Can I call these Polaroids or...Fujis?  :)  I scanned the mini photos, not the negatives, otherwise the results would be sharper.

Now I'm going to enjoy some time outside, bike to the neighborhood garden center, and begin planting my balcony garden!

The Unique Beauty of Aging Bouquets

Keeping vases of flowers in my house is a new habit of mine.  In the past, I did not see the point of buying flowers, only to have them die so soon.  Now I am beginning to appreciate the unique beauty of the lifecycle - perhaps due to my own aging.  While I love the luxurious scent and vitality of fresh blossoms, I enjoy flowers more once they start to crinkle and fade, creating a more interesting visual than bright perfection.   For a prime example, see my masthead above, an aging tulip. For another example, below:

These photographs, which I took last night with my Nikon FM2 and Kodak Portra 400 film, show pink carnations that my friend brought when I had her over for dinner...two weeks ago.  Go carnations, go.