Art is What We Call . . .

September 8, 2012 by 5 Comments
Spotted Lily, Olbrich Gardens, Madison Wisconsin

Spotted Lily ©2011 Bo Mackison

“Art is what we call…the thing an artist does.

It’s not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it.

What matters, what makes it art,
is that the person who made it overcame the resistance,
ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making.

Something risky. Something human.”

~ Seth Godin

I read Seth Godin’s words this weekend, and thought, “Oh yes, spot on.” This weekend I’ve been working non-stop on a photography project – a project that means a great deal to me on a personal level. It is my hope that the portfolio I’m assembling will also speak to other people. But what really matters, has already taken place. My photographs speak to me, make meaning, explain life.

What other people think is interesting, and I am always curious to hear what people truly think about a photograph I take and process. But another person’s opinion won’t change my thoughts. I’ve taken the photo, chosen it, looked at it carefully, even listened to it, and  – this is the biggest discovery – I’ve heard the photo speak to me with love.

It took time, and some learning, but finally, I’ve discovered my opinion about my photograph is the most important opinion. Not to say I don’t want to know what others think. I do, but with a caveat.

As Seth Godin so astutely said, in the last line of the above quote:

“Art is not in the . . . eye of the beholder.  It’s in the soul of the artist.”

———————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is currently assembling two portfolios for portfolio reviews — 5 reviewers, 5 reviews, 20 minutes each — for when she attends the Filter Photo Festival in Chicago in October. She is terribly excited about the coming experience!

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

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace – August’s Photo-Heart Connection

September 5, 2012 by 24 Comments
Pink Queen Anne's Lace

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace ©2012 Bo Mackison

In the right light,
at the right time,
everything is extraordinary.
~ Aaron Rice

When asked the question “What kind of photographs do you take?” I usually respond with the same answer.

“Mostly macro-botanicals,” I reply.

When I get a questioning look, I explain further. “Close-ups of flowers and plants.”

And macro-botanical photographs are what I mostly exhibit at Art Festivals. As patrons enter my show booth, they tell me they feel as if they are entering a huge flower garden. There are that many large macro-photographs of flowers hanging on the walls.

I spend lots of time photographing flowers, too. Each week I spend three or four days visiting and taking photographs in the botanical and horticultural gardens near my home. When I travel, I search for the locations of the nearest gardens and I try to schedule time for a visit. Yes, I photograph macro-botanicals!

So you would think when it is time for me to choose a Photo-Heart Connection photograph at the beginning of each month, I would naturally pick a macro-botanical. Not so. Today I realized that this is the first time in 2012 that I have picked a flower photo.

So. Why did I choose this photograph of Queen Anne’s Lace? I loved the colors. It is unusual to see Queen Anne’s Lace this color — they are usually white with perhaps a touch of pink. But this small stand of QAL was bright pink. And I loved how the rising sun shone on this roadside weed and turned it into a glowing, dew-drenched beauty. And I loved that I took this photo while I was on a long weekend with my husband in one of our favorite places in Wisconsin – Door County, a peninsula that juts out into the waters of Lake Michigan.

Three good reasons. Color. Light. Memories. Perfect for August’s photo-heart connection.

 

————————-
Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. During the first week of each month, she re-visits photographs she’s taken the previous month, searching for that month’s photo-heart-connection photo. Bo is always quite thrilled when that special photograph finds her.
Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dahlia and Bud

September 4, 2012 by 4 Comments
Dahlia and Bud

Dahlia and Bud ©2012 Bo Mackison

When words become unclear
I shall focus with photographs.
When images become inadequate,
I shall be content with silence.
~ Ansel Adams

———————-

 Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She photographed these flowers while walking the paths of a sculpture garden near Fish Creek, Wisconsin.

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

Traditional Fish Boil – Sunday Series

September 2, 2012 by 8 Comments
Traditional Fish Boil - Begin with Potatoes

Begin with Potatoes ©2012 Bo Mackison

A visit to Door County is hardly complete until one experiences a Door County Fish Boil, a Scandinavian tradition. Now the Fish Boil is a tourist attraction, but in the 1800s it was the most expedient and cheapest way to feed the masses of fisherman and other workers in a sparsely populated area.

Traditional Fish Boil - Lake Michigan Whitefish

Lake Michigan Whitefish ©2012 Bo Mackison

It is cooking at its simplest. Outdoors over a log fire. A huge black kettle. Plenty of salt water. Basic ingredients – potatoes, onions, and Lake Michigan Whitefish. Tradition has given way to modern convenience in one way – the stainless steel inserts  often come from recycled washing machines. The Whitefish is only hours from Lake Michigan. Three or four steaks are cut from each fish, and fileted by machine.

Traditional Fish Boil - Checking the Progress

Checking the Progress ©2012 Bo Mackison

Potatoes go in almost whole. The ends are cut to allow the salt water to flavor the whole potato. Next the fish boil master adds the onions. And then he adds the whitefish last.

Traditional Fish Boil - Adding a Little Salt

Adding a Little Salt ©2012 Bo Mackison

He adds a huge scoop of salt. This is salt water cooking!

Traditional Fish Boil - Hard to Wait!

Hard to Wait! ©2012 Bo Mackison

And then the wait is on. All the diners circle around the cooking area, all with cameras in hand. The littler kids squeeze up front for a good view. These little guys, brothers who wer 5 and 2, kept chanting. “Hurry up! Hurry up!” Ten minutes is a long time to wait when you’re a little kid (or an adult for that matter) and you’re waiting not only for dinner, but for the fish boil master to yell “boil over!”

Traditional Fish Boil - Regulating the Boil

Regulating the Boil ©2012 Bo Mackison

The fish boil master regulates the fire and the cooking temperatures by kicking away logs. Logs standing on end keep the fire burning intensely. Logs kicked to the side allows heat to escape and reduces the heat.

Traditional Fish Boil - Adding Kerosene to Fire

Adding Kerosene to Fire ©2012 Bo Mackison

When the fish and accompaniments are fully cooked, kerosene is added to the flames. This cause a flash of fire, the water boils over the pot, and the excess oils from the fish wash over the pot.

Traditional Fish Boil - Boil Over

Boil Over ©2012 Bo Mackison

The fish pot is then lifted by two men with long poles, and delivered to the kitchen where dinner is quickly put on plates and served. The clean plate award is a slice of cherry pie. That’s another Door County tradition, courtesy of the many orchards on Door County. Its geographic position, a peninsula stretching into the waters of Lake Michigan, keeps the county more temperate than the rest of Wisconsin, so apple and cherry orchards are plentiful.

———————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She took this series of photos while on a weekend trip to Door County this summer. Bo has been to many a fish boil, beginning with her first one when she was ten years old. She remembers taking a single photograph of a fish boil with her Brownie camera, and wishes she still had a few photos from her earliest attempts.

 

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

Good Thoughts – Be Amazed

September 1, 2012 by 8 Comments
Good Thoughts

Good Thoughts © 2012 Bo Mackison

It’s amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions. ~ Charles F. Kettering

Driving along one of the country roads in Door County, in the rain and fog, I saw this sign. The “good thoughts” part of the sign is permanent, as is the word “BE.” The word under the “BE” is on a hook and can be changed. On the hook dangled the word “AMAZED.”

What a great reminder. It was a real pick-me-up. We had spent the day dodging raindrops, and were a bit disappointed that we were having a rain out on one of our three days of vacation. But the day – the day was still amazing.  We were still enjoying ourselves and having an amazing time, and the foggy scenery was, well, amazing!

————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is looking through the many photographs she took on her weekend trip to Door County, and remembering all – with AMAZEMENT!

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Photography, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »