Open Window

Open Window's Second Year

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself. 

The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter. 

Antique Hood Ornament
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker 

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.   

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories". 

  

Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard 

 

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.

 

 

Beach Weekend

Beach Weekend  painted by Barbara Andolsek

I get such pleasure out of seeing Barbara Andolsek's paintings of my photographs, and if I were to be quite candid, I often prefer the painting to the photo. I truly believe there's a frustrated painter inside of me and her only means of expression is through photography - thank goodness! - but this painterly side of me gets immense satisfaction from seeing Barbara's paintings. 

Thank you so very much Barbara, I'm so glad we met.

 

Tomato Art

 "Meaty Tomato" painted by Barbara Andolsek

If you've followed me for any period of time, you know I love the paintings of a California based artist named Barbara Andolsek. Despite the fact that we've never met, we've become quite good friends over the internet, one of the delightful and rewarding benefits of the 21st century. Barbara sources the subjects of her paintings all over, as she has a keen eye and a life-loving spirit, and I'm hugely complimented by the fact that she has chosen to paint a number of my photographs. I'm always surprised and thrilled to see them on her blog, which I encourage you all to follow.

Once again Barbara has painted one of the images posted to Open-Window just last month. She calls it "Meaty Tomato" and rightly so because that's exactly what that beautiful heirloom was. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Heirloom Tomato photograph ©2011 Claudia Ward 

Artist in the Luxembourg Gardens - The Painting

Artiste at Luxembourg Gardens by Barbara Andolsek 2011

Barbara Andolsek is a wonderful "California oil painter", one I'm fortunate enough to count amongst my friends. I love her paintings and encourage you to visit her website to see all that she can do. Barbara seems inspired by so many different things from nature to ordinary things to moments in our lives. The water lilies on her fine art sight I find captivating, her still life paintings of red grapes and other fruits and vegetables are simplistically stunning, and her paintings of moments are imbued with all of the emotions of those moments. How she does this I don't know, but she does.

Barbara loves to paint "en plein air" which means she likes to paint in the open air, she does wonderful work in her studio, and from time to time she'll use outside sources for her subject matter - things like photographs. Barbara has painted five of my photographs, which I take as an incredibly high compliment. I guess that means in some ways we must look at the world in similar ways. Every time she paints one of the photographs, I'm convinced that she could read my mind at the time I took it because she captures in color and texture all of what I saw and felt and more. Barbara has done it again by painting Artiste at Luxembourg Gardens. I think the painting is stunning and I hope you do too.

 

Barbara Andolsek - Painter

Most of you know that Barbara Andolsek is a painter that I've struck up a friendship with over the internet. We're our own "mutual admiration society". I love her style of painting and she likes my photographs, and once again she's painted one of them.

Homemade by Barbara Andolsek

Last spring, I made Homemade Dill Pickles and photographed the mason jars full to the brim with onions, cucumbers, and dill, waiting for the hot vinegar and spice "broth". I think Barbara has captured the medley beautifully, including the light reflection on the jars.

Visit Barbara's Fine Art website to enjoy more of her wonderful art work.

 

Open Window Anniversary

One year ago today I began this blog called Open Window. The name was derived from something that Maria said in The Sound of Music. "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." Eighteen months ago, I was laid off from a job on Wall Street, and Peter and I vowed then that we would make this our "open window", thus the name for the blog.

When I look back to one year ago, I can't believe all I've learned and all we've done. A year ago I knew absolutely nothing about blogs. The internet to me was used primarily for plane reservations and a computer was used for word documents, excel spreadsheets, and tweaking jpeg photos. Well all of that has changed. Our blog is now firmly established and I've learned to post from anywhere, even from 35,000 feet over the rockies. I've learned that the internet is a phenomenal source of information on any and every topic you could ever want, and the land of blogs is the friendliest and most generous community I've ever known or been privileged enough to participate in. These days I follow ten blogs religiously on the topics of photography, food, art, and french words - no surprises there. I've learned a great deal from those who have gone on before, through their example, and sincerely hope that they agree with the adage that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". These days you will also rarely find me without my computer in hand. All of our photography work is done on a computer, our address books, calendars and my recipe box all reside on my MacBook, my homepage provides me with up-to-the-minute weather, stock prices and surf conditions, nearly all of my ongoing contact with friends occurs via email, messages or video chats, and whenever we have a question, we "ask our best friends", my computer or Peter's iPad. We have happily taken up full-fledged residence in the 21st century, something we never had time to do before.

First and foremost, one year ago, we set out to entertain on Open Window and we sincerely hope we've achieved that goal. We've made 231 posts to Open-Window over the last twelve months which is an average of 4 posts a week, mostly focused on food, photography, and travel. Want to know which posts were your favorites? The post with the most pageviews was Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts by Ina Garten, and the second was Cooking with Patricia Wells in Provence. Posts on my two favorite cookbook authors lead the way. The next two most viewed posts were Tomato Tarte Tatin and, believe it or not, Participles and Prepositions. But perusing all of the stats reveals to me an equal interest in travel, photography and food.

In 231 posts, which included 35 slide shows, we've shared a lot this year: Flying Tigers, Reflections in an Icicle, and a Narcissistic Swan; the big picture and the smallest details of trains, planes, boats and antique cars; snows of last winter, the flowers of spring, summer surf, and the brilliance of fall; pictures of the shorelines and skylines of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, in addition to those of Chicago, Nantucket, Provincetown, Lake Placid, Bridgehampton, and Paris; and recipes galore, including Homemade Dill Pickles, Mushroom Soup without Cream, Sautéed Corn off the Cob, Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges, Salmon & Israeli Couscous, and Pear Sorbet.

Your participation in the blog is what has inspired me to keep creating something I hope you'll find pleasing to look at, thought provoking, humorous, or just plain entertaining. Blogging is all about communication and I have thoroughly enjoyed our connection over the last year. Thank you, one and all, for all of your enthusiasm and support. Let's see what the new year will bring.

In the meantime, I took this opportunity to do a photographic summary of Open Window's first year. This slide show is longer than most so you may want to hold off watching it until a quiet spell comes upon you ... maybe Sunday morning. The video itself is 13 minutes and 39 seconds long, but summarizes the year we've shared, and what a year it was. Merci beaucoup and leave a comment - let us know what you think of Open Window's first year.

 

Photographs ©2010 Claudia Ward and Peter Tooker
Music: Mozart - Sinphonia Concertante in E Flat, K 364 - 1. Allegro Maestoso by Levon Chilingirian; Neville Marriner: Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields

Click on the square of outgoing arrows in the bottom right corner to expand the slide show. 

 

 

Sisters in Paris - The Painting

Sisters in Paris - Painting by Barbara Andolsek

Barbara Andolsek has painted yet another of our photographs, this one Peter took (haha!) of two sisters in Paris on Christmas Eve in 2007. The sisters are marveling at the "dancing diamonds" of the Eiffel Tower, having just enjoyed a long leisurely lunch at the Jules Verne Restaurant. Looking forward to walking along the Seine on a chilly Christmas Eve, back to a warm apartment at the back door of the Louvre, the sisters enjoy, a memory-making moment of togetherness in The City of Light.