With This Ring . . . I Thee Wed

July 1, 2012 by 33 Comments

With This Ring… ©2012 Bo Mackison

We gather together.

I.

Only days past the summer solstice, the sun
slides towards the horizon, but refuses to lessen its intensity.
Sun-glow settles on this gathering of family and friends.

Barest of breezes waft a flutter through overhead branches.
Leaf-shadows dance on the gazebo’s roof, on the white slatted chairs in rows
and rose petals are strewn on the stone path.

II.

We gather to celebrate the marriage of this couple.

The young man – our son, brother, nephew, grandson, cousin.
A loyal friend, one who offers a kind word and a helping hand to all in need.

The young woman – our daughter, grand-daughter, sister, niece, cousin.
A confidante, a true friend, loving teacher of the youngest children.

Hazy heat-waves rise from the dry grasses.
Bumblebees seek nectar in the nearby spiraea
and ignore the processional of satin red dresses and black tuxedos.

The groom waits in the shade of the gazebo.
The bride comes forward on her father’s arm.

III.

Time lengthens. It sharpens our memories,
intensifies our awareness, focuses our senses.
Vows are read, repeated.

We listen. They promise to love, respect, and be there for each other —
as best friends and wanderers – together – on this life journey.

We stand together, in affirmation, as Jeff and Sara pledge their love to each other,
each of us a witness to their promises, to their joy, to their love.

We watch as they each, in turn, slide a ring on their partner’s finger,
a symbol of their eternal love.
They whisper the words, “With this ring, I Thee wed.”

We celebrate with laughter, cheers, and good wishes:
the couple is introduced.

Mr. and Mrs.

Husband and Wife.

Best of friends.

IV.

Congratulations, Sara and Jeff.

—————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo left her camera at home yesterday, as Sherpa and she attended the wedding of their son. Later, Bo wrote this wedding day poem.

This is my photo-heart connection photo for June. I took this photo a couple of days ago as my son was showing me the wedding ring he was giving his June 30th bride. How could I choose anything else….

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Photography Tagged With: , , , , ,

Awakening the Senses – A Photo-Heart Connection

June 6, 2012 by 22 Comments
Tucson Reflections

Tucson Reflection © 2012 Bo Mackison

Happy are they who see beauty in modest places. ~ Camille Pissarro

Beauty in modest places? Yes.

I went for an early evening walk in downtown Tucson just before I left Arizona to return to the Midwest. I was in a strolling mood, noticing architecture instead of desert scenes, and enjoying the many sights, the people leaving their workplaces, but with no rush to get anywhere. Rushing isn’t such a great idea when the thermometer hovers near the century mark.

I found beauty in the deep color of a textured wall, a red-earth color so appealing, I had to stop and not only photograph it, but touch it. Run my hands along the roughness, the ridges. That red, to my Midwestern trained eyes, was a Red Rock color, one of those desert colors that sang songs of the Southwest to me.

And then there was the purple-gray of the wooden window sill. So purple, I wanted to inhale its purple-ness, a purple so perfectly etched in my past that it grabbed a memory from my youth and held on tight.  It was the purple-gray of grapes fully ripe, grapes hanging in the arbor in my grandmother’s back garden. It was the dusty purple of grapes waiting to be plucked from the vine.

As I studied the contrasting colors, the memories came visiting. I was in the arbor, picking grapes just like my grandmother picked grapes — a handful for the pail and one to pop in my mouth and savor. I looked at the window frame and imagined my grandmother’s presence in the reflection, picking grapes just a few steps from where I stood.

—————

When I went through my May photographs, I stopped as soon as I saw this photograph. The day I took this photo was etched in my mind. All of my senses were on alert that day, intent on remembering a city that I would soon be leaving. The touch of the red-rock walls. The song of the Southwest. The scent of ripened grapes on the vine and the taste of sweet juice. And a sense of connection with loved ones, long gone.

Photo. Heart. Connection. Oh, yes!

I’ve long understood that when I carry a camera, that mere act heightens my sense of seeing. And now I’ve come to realize that my camera and photography can offer me another gift – the awakening my other senses, too.

——————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. During the first week of each month, she re-visits her photographs taken the previous month, searching for THE photograph to post as the photo-heart-connection photo. Bo is always quite thrilled when that special photograph finds her.

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April’s Photo-Heart Connection Photo – An Unusual Choice

May 4, 2012 by 19 Comments
Burlington Northern Train Cars Dwarfed by Kansas Grain Elevators

Burlington Northern © 2012 Bo Mackison

This photograph is about as different from my usual photographs as it can be, but in going through my photo catalogs from April, this is the one I kept returning to. I found myself studying its lines, its color, the subject matter, perhaps a hidden meaning, trying to decipher why this particular photograph caught my attention, and my heart, and so qualified as April’s photo-heart connection selection.

(Kat Sloma from Kat Eye Studio encourages photographers to pick a photo once a month for sharing — a photo taken in the prior month that best makes a photo-heart connection.)

Now to work my way through the feelings/thoughts attached to this photo:

  • The subject matter is less typical for me than many other genres. I shoot macro-botanicals with passion and abandon; I am ever fond of architectural photos; I’ll drive miles to explore a landscape – particularly those in the wilderness, in National Parks, often with no sign of human activity; and yet here is a rural scene, a scene that is agricultural in theme.
  • I take 95% of my photographs with my Canon DSLR and then spend extra time in post-processing. I am a tinkerer of the post-processing process. I love to use software to create new ways of seeing a routine subject. I will consider many options regarding a small aspect of a photograph, and then go on to another small aspect, and another, and another. When I photograph with my DSLR, I love to take my time, study possibilities, set up my tripod and try lots of options before going on to the next subject. I shot this photo with my iPhone using a Hipstamatic app preset. Sherpa and I were on the long drive home, and we stopped briefly on a country road for a truck to make a left turn. I opened the car window, grabbed my phone, and took a single photo before the car began to move.
  • I like bright colors and focused, close-up details. And my love for the colors associated with the US Southwest has deepened since I began living in Arizona part of the year. I see more color in my photographs – the bright cerulean skies, the turquoise and orange buildings, colors that make a strong statement. But in this photo, the colors are muted. There are a few patches of a rusty color and the remainder is in soft greens, whites, browns.
  • I love the play of light and shadow in photographs, and this photograph hasn’t much light nor shadow. It was taken mid day under a cloudy sky, not typically a good time for photography.

So why this photograph?

  • Well, I am attracted to the composition. It feels satisfying to me, the blocks of different colors, three almost equal rectangular spaces, plus the darker colors as contrast. I do not often take symmetrical photographs, and honestly, I would probably not have composed this photograph as it is if I had been taking a more deliberate photo. But the symmetry provided by the grain elevators, and the strong horizontal and vertical lines seem to emphasize the subject of farm work and transportation in the country’s Midwest.
  • I like that the train car is marked with the logo of the Burlington Northern line. I grew up in the Midwest not far from Burlington, Iowa – the train company’s namesake. And several of my relatives – a grandfather and two uncles — worked for the Burlington Northern. I remember bits of their stories, I sometimes saw them return home from night shift duty with coal stained coveralls, and I associated the smell of their smoky clothes with a night of hard work.

So, an atypical photograph can be a favorite. A photograph with the vaguest memories of family can add a strong sense of human connection to a seemingly straightforward scene. And perhaps there is special thrill about a photograph taken on the run, the knowledge that taking a photograph isn’t only about f-stops and sharp focus and the rules.

Maybe it is also the appreciation of timing, good instincts, and a little luck!

————————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. After three months in the Southwest, Bo is back home in the Midwest. And just in time — her first art show of the summer season is tomorrow — Madison’s Audubon Art Fair at Warner Park on Madison’s east side. Seeded Earth Studio’s booth will be inside in the glassed-in annex. Hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

 

Filed Under: Photography, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

A Tree in the City and the Photo-Heart Connection

March 7, 2012 by 30 Comments
City Shadows

Tree in the City © 2012 Bo Mackison

I have been following a photographer, Kat Sloma, whose photos and words speak to me in a kindred sort of way, even though we do not know each other, have never met, have not connected in the blogging world way of comments passing back and forth. And yet, I have felt a connection for many months. Then I read Kat’s words a few weeks ago, and was struck by many commonalities.

I’ll quote her words, a summation of things I also have been thinking about.

“…this theme of connection keeps coming up. I want to extend the connection I find through Find Your Eye [an online course Kat teaches which I have only read about] to everyone, so I’ve brainstormed this new idea for a monthly blog series:The Photo-Heart Connection.

The idea: At the end of each month, review the images you worked with in that month for the one that gives you the strongest connection to your heart and soul. Write about that connection to the image in a blog post or in a photo description on Flickr, then link into the monthly link up. You can get to know the other photographers seeking the same connection, by visiting the links and reading their experiences. We will find our kindred spirits.”  ~ Kat of Kat Eye Studio

—————

Intending to do this, I went through only my Flickr photographs thinking that I would more likely sort through a hundred edited photos compared to a thousand in un-edited form. Since I was in the Southwest all of February, living on the fringe of the Sonoran Desert, I thought naturally I would pick one of my desert photos. After all, one of the reasons I am in Tucson is because I feel a deep connection to the desert. But as I watched the slideshow of my February photos, one kept catching my eye.

Yep, the shadow photo above. I t was taken in a tree-lined courtyard of the Tucson Museum of Art. I had gone to see a photo exhibit of Nickolas Muray, the personal photographer (and sometimes lover) of artist Frida Kahlo. There was no personal photography allowed in the museum exhibit itself, but I found myself taking copious notes as I studied each photograph.

Then I wandered outside, through the courtyards of the museum, and began photographing the museum grounds and the nearby historic Presidio of Tucson.

This is the photo I chose to represent “the strongest connection to [my] heart and soul”. Part of my choice was influenced by the strong colors, the strong lines, the balance of top and bottom (something I seldom do). But I think the decision-maker was the composition of the tree and its branches. The shadows head off in unexpected directions.

Just where is the tree? And why is there an uneven continuity when the shadow on the pavement meets the shadow on the wall? Does the photo represent a tangled mess or a continuity? What is the relationship of nature (or nature’s shadow) and the man-made wall and walking surface?

I chose this photo as my photo of February because of all the questions it asks me. And because of the challenge it gives me to answer those questions.

—————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona. She is quite enthralled with the idea of choosing one photo each month as her heart-photo connection. Everyone is welcome to participate, per Kat’s website info, so check out the project if it appeals to you.

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