CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO: Photography

January 29, 2015

One must have a mind of winter

Snow Man by Wallace Stevens

one must have a mind of winter

One must have a mind of winter

To regard the frost and the boughs

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

one must have a mind of winter

And have been cold a long time

To behold the junipers shagged with ice,

The spruces rough in the distant glitter

one must have a mind of winter

Of the January sun; and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the wind,

In the sound of a few leaves,

one must have a mind of winter

Which is the sound of the land

Full of the same wind

That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

1954

Photographs taken on January 28th 2015 at the Red Butte Botanical Garden by myself.

This post is for Laurie whose amazing creation made me very happy yesterday.

Posted at 12:01 PM in Photography | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 07, 2014

Sunday Evening

While Finn is trying not to cry/throw a fit/talk when doing his homework I let me eyes wander around the room. The light is just so interesting, I try to hold on to the peace around us. Sunday evening are just what we make of them I realize.

Sunday Evening

Posted at 06:23 PM in Home, Kids, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 01, 2014

Summer interlude continues

Garden update August 1st

You would think that with all the sewing happening here I would have something to show for it, but no. It's all about taking my time these days, making a gazillion muslins (4) and going overboard with the fretting on what size fits best... Logically I should have some great/complicated finished projects to show you soon. In the meantime, much like call waiting music but for the eyes, here is a tour of my garden. I love growing things as much as I like making things so I think it's a fair trade off!

Garden update August 1st

This Dinner Plate Dahlia is currently my favorite thing, I love its speckledness (not a word I bet).

Garden update August 1st

On the side patio, I created a felt bag veggie garden and infant rose nursery. This is my fist year trying out this technique and I am still in observation phase. The roses were mail order from Heirloom Roses and High Country Roses, some David Austins some not. Because they are own root and come very tiny they cannot go in the ground right away and must be cultivated in pots. Makes hoarding all the DA containers a brilliant move in hindsight.

Garden update August 1st

I give my winter Amaryllis a bit of fresh air in the summer and make sure to fertilize them with the rest of the garden. In fact this is what happened this morning and the smell of fish is following me everywhere. The cats are both intrigued. The tiny peonies are being nursed from roots I found at Walmart (!). They are "bowl of beauty", a very interesting pink and yellow flower. I really doubted they would even grow roots but voila, I was proved completely wrong. Two peonies for $5, winning! The cannas are also started from Walmart roots, it was an experiment as well.

Garden update August 1st

My friend Ambre gave me a bag of Hens and Chicks to plant in this salvaged strawberry pot. They really seem to enjoy it. I plan on adding a few more varieties when I come across interesting specimens.

So there you have it! a little update on what makes me smile and now it's time to wash off the fish stink and turn Big Bertha on (Big Bertha= BERNINA 780, because you know, it is The Bomb! in a good way of course!).

Posted at 10:42 AM in Bernina 780, Gardens, Home, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 21, 2014

Summer Break

Capitol Reef 2014

Capitol Reef National Park

It was never my intention to take such a long summer blog break but my mind and hands have been well occupied elsewhere, filled with road trips, bike rides, cooking and even quite a lot of sewing ( I am making clothes all the sudden!).

This year we decided to become a host family for a month and welcome a teenager from Versailles, France. She loves to bake and we have been experimenting with all thing sweet. It's fun to have a partner in the kitchen! She is almost ready to go home by now alas, the end of the week will see us back to normal. I am planning on taking Lauren's online class through Burda Style to occupy the last stretch of this summer vacation and see if my brain still can boot up for something completely new.

Meyer Lemon cupcakes, Apple pie, Hand rolled cones and zoku pops

Posted at 11:19 AM in FOOD, Photography, Travel | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 20, 2014

Red Butte Botanical Garden - Completely Amazed

Evelyn, rose show at Red Butte Garden

David Austin Evelyn rose, at the show

When my mother first came over to visit we gave Red Butte Garden a try, thirteen years ago. I was pretty unimpressed and failed to return until about two weeks ago. Shock and awe, that is how I describe what awaited us. Since this first return visit I have gone back twice, for the Utah Rose Society show and with a family member. I think it is the perfect place to go think or relax by one self and I decided to make a small investment in a single most basic membership to do just that, think and relax by myself amongst the plants.

The Rose garden is a marvel in and of itself but it doens't stop there. I loved the aromatic garden just as well and the orangery, I could go on and on but enough words just take a look:

Crocus Rose, Red Butte Garden

David Austin Crocus rose

Henry's Clematis, Red Butte Garden

Henry's Clematis

Hens and Chicks splendor, Red Butte Garden

Hens and Chicks planter

Golden Celebration Rose

Davis Austin Golden Celebration

Apple Serviceberry, Red Butte Garden

Apple Service Berry (Amelanchier Grandiflora)

Golden Wings rose, Red Butte Garden

Golden Wings rose

Dream Artichoke and Kale planter. Red Butte Garden

Kale, green tricks and artichoke planter, now replaced by something more tropical, too bad...

I hope you liked this little tour, I will post a few pictures of some great things growing closer to home very soon but time to get back to sewing a blue raw silk Wiksten tulip skirt now!

Posted at 12:06 PM in Gardens, Photography, roses | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 14, 2014

a grand day out

As the house construction soldiers on, I do not find myself in a creative mood. More in a planning mood, as in: "think of all the things you will be able to accomplish once your sewing space opens". I am dreaming of doll clothe right now, but that is a story for another time. Let's just say one word: Blythe. I think my subconscious is screaming for a baby girl, but that will never happen so I must be compensating somehow...

Zoo outing

We did have a date with two of my favorite little people and their mother today, they took us to the zoo and it was grand. Hoogle Zoo in Salt Lake City has in the recent years upped its game considerably and now closely resembles the swankier zoos of San Diego and Berlin to name a few. I lugged my Canon full frame along and captured a few images of my favorite exhibit, the butterfly collection tucked behind a yellowed scratched and dusty vitrine in a corner of "the stinky pavilion" and some of the vibrant animals of the carousel.

Zoo outing

To see larger versions of the images simply click on the pictures to visit my Flickr stream.

Posted at 09:37 PM in family, Kids, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 19, 2014

Back in Black and White

First rolls of Ilford 120 in the Mamiya c220

The French interlude is over but I have not quite landed yet. I find that with the years, jet lag gets harder to combat and I spend most days very sleepy and comatose the first week home. Regardless, I have to stay awake and re-acclimate to the American rhythm of life and the responsibility of parenting. In two restful weeks I dropped five years off my face but put on a good 4 pounds eating cream cakes and baguettes... Maybe I'll keep them on, they make me look happy.

While visiting, my mother's companion let me borrow and take home his Mamiya C220, a medium format film camera from the seventies. The pictures you see here are the results of my first two rolls of film. I had them processed and scanned yesterday.

They did not turn out all perfectly but I have learned enough to keep going. Whether you like that sort of atmosphere in photography like I do or not, it is undeniable that they look nothing like a digital shot. I have a long way to go in learning how to become a proper film photographer but it is a bit of a siren song if you see what I mean...

Another below and the rest on Flickr.

First rolls of Ilford 120 in the Mamiya c220

Posted at 05:57 PM in Photography | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 04, 2013

Christmas Cards, step one

If the trip to France this summer showed me one thing it's that the Christmas cards I sent last year are very important. Every single home of family+friends we went to was still displaying Finn's smiling face in August. Right then I realized that I will have to do this every year, no fail, no excuses.

It's not easy to come up with a good greeting card. I have been stressing about step one for a while now. Step one is of course: take a perfect picture, or have one taken for you. In the past, a fantastic photographer would come to Finn's day care and she would work with him until she got the money shot. That was before, now it's up to me to make it happen. The black board wall at the cabin was going to pay me back the effort. This weekend is one of the last of cabin season, hence the sinking gut feeling on Saturday at lunch: "we have to get there now, before we loose the light and you need to take a bath and pack all at the same time! now! now! now!".

It's a wonder Finn was so cooperative. Slipping on a dress shirt in the cold room but lamenting the lack of tie!

Christmas shots

It helps if you give the child the trigger remote in the beginning, they can get their wiggles out like this for example:

Christmas shots

I do love his "normal face". Or more accurately what he decides to look like when I say: "normal face FInn!"

Finn's normal face

We took 224 pictures at once on saturday, some very bad ones, some blurry ones and a few of the three of us. I did manage a few winners, but they will be a surprise for the family... Now Step 2: shell out the big bucks to tinyprints or minted or make them myself...

Posted at 08:03 AM in Holidays, Kids, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 02, 2013

Gilding a frame in my pajamas

I have a song stuck in my head this morning, and it's complicated. I heard it a few weeks ago here; at minute 36 David Sedaris sings Goldfinger in the style of Billie Holiday and I can't help but hum it while I gild this thrifted faux-bamboo frame.

I have always been a fan of faux-bamboo. My mother owns an actual antique bamboo mirror that she used in our bathroom above the sink. It's not grand but charming with a chain at the top holding it up. I picked up the frame above from Goodwill as it reminded me of it all, the mirror, my mom and living with her in Provence. The frame came from a framing shop in Murray, at some point someone put a lot of effort in matting artwork and generally doing a good job putting it all together. I intend to replace the artwork but not being sure with what this picture of our cats will do for the time being...

the cats

Their lazy naps are a good reminder even though I am still in my pajamas everything will be fine in the end.

Posted at 11:34 AM in CRAFTING, Home, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 27, 2013

getting over night time photography

While attending Sewing Summit last week I slipped into Melissa's photography lecture a little after its start. Even though I missed the beginning it made me think about a few issues a lot of us bloggers face. Melissa joked about only cleaning her house when she needs to shoot, the inverse will often happen at home where I will shoot only on Monday afternoons because the house is at its cleanest!

More than sparkling surfaces, I feel that often what is missing is natural light. It's either gloomy, as today was or night time the only option for peace and quiet. Melissa showed us a few shots taken in such conditions, her famous student/basement room notably. Last night I set up an experiment of my own, with a tripod, a diffusing shield held precariously over my head, some wood boards and a basket of knits.

Taking pictures with artificial light

We have replaced almost every lights in the house with warm LEDs, in the living room six cans flood the hardwood floor. Armed with a reflector and a diffuser screen I was not able to minimise the shadows much. The warm wood boards underneath counterbalance the cold crisp light (even with "warm" LEDs) as the white boards seem to emphasize it (below):

Taking pictures with artificial light

Looking at those pictures doesn't fill me with cosiness, and the shadows need a lot of bouncing but if a little white/a little color corrected (above right) goes a long way I still would rather use the warm brown background. If Anyone of you wants to chime in on this subject, it would be most welcome!

Note: Melissa has published her lecture notes here.

Posted at 10:40 PM in Photography, sewing republic | Permalink | Comments (1)

CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

January 29, 2015

One must have a mind of winter

September 07, 2014

Sunday Evening

August 01, 2014

Summer interlude continues

July 21, 2014

Summer Break

June 20, 2014

Red Butte Botanical Garden - Completely Amazed

April 14, 2014

a grand day out

March 19, 2014

Back in Black and White

November 04, 2013

Christmas Cards, step one

November 02, 2013

Gilding a frame in my pajamas

September 27, 2013

getting over night time photography

Search

Become a Fan

Weekly Inspiration