Open Window

Reflections and Refractions

Any photographer will tell you that photography is all about the light. In fact, the word is derived from the Greek photos ("light") and graphe ("drawing").

Spotlight Refractions in the Fog © 2020 Claudia Ward

One morning this past week, it was quite foggy which did little to nothing for my sunrise images. On the way home, I pass a golf club that happens to have a small pond just off the first tee. It's often quite still and becomes a rather enchanting reflection pool. I pulled in the driveway at the off chance that this might be the case that morning. Much to my delight I found light having quite the celebration - creating subdued foggy reflections of the trees lining the pond's south shore, and stunning spotlight refractions beaming skyward behind the conical pines. 

Starburst © 2020 Claudia Ward

As I moved around the pond, the sun's light became a starburst showing its rays ethereally through the fog and later it wrapped itself around a tree trunk clearly showing off its versatility.

Refracted Light © 2020 Claudia Ward

The light fog muted the bright colors of Spring creating a pastel-toned image with a variety of softened shapes, textures, and light. What a delightful morning surprise.

Foggy Fairway © 2020 Claudia Ward

Placid

A Placid Morning Moment ©2020 Claudia Ward

Placid: "... serenely free of ... disturbance". When I read the dictionary definition of the word placid, I knew it was a perfect description of what I so appreciated about this early morning moment. 

While our days are so crammed with almost nothing but disturbing disturbances, I yearn to have and to hold on to a moment or two "serenely free of disturbance" and I am determined to have them. We all should seek them out and cherish them when they happen. Small jewels in time that no one can take away from us; precious moments that will shine with hope and comfort in our memory. I sincerely hope you can find some of these moments too, in the meantime, I'll share mine.

 

Up With the Sun

April Sunrise © Claudia Ward 2020

Ever since I was young, my favorite time of day was early morning. The peace and quiet is unequalled and there's anticipation in the air. Of what? We never know, but in my opinion that's one of the joys of life.

At sunrise, while others are still lost in slumber or just beginning to climb out of the comfort and warmth of bed, you can find me in one of my favorite places, the beach. Watching the sun rise out of the ocean is never boring and trying to capture the magic of those moments is one of my favorite pastimes. Thankfully pursuing this pastime doesn't involve a lot of effort to ensure social distancing.

There are four of us who regularly share these moments of peace: a German man who has a charming smile, a friendly wave, and is tucked in a sheltered corner of the beach house on the dune; a woman who's generous spirit includes bringing bread or leftover fish from dinner for the seagulls; and, a newcomer who is bundled to the hilt against the chilly ocean winds and steadfastly watches the horizon for the sun's debut. As for me, I am usually at the water line wearing my Hunter boots capturing the wind, water, and sand as they each dance across the shoreline, leaving only fleeting reflections and colors.

I'll be sharing some of these moments with you here. I understand that morning-people are the exception not the rule, so I think it's only fair that you get to see some of what you've missed.

P.S. I know it's been a long time since I've posted regularly, in part that was due to some "technical difficulties" which I believe are now corrected. Please do leave a comment to let me know you're still there. Share an image of your favorite time of day or pastime.

It's Scary Out There

"It's Scary Out There"

Peter and I saw this image on television yesterday and it struck both of us as a picture of how we feel these days ... and we expect many others feel the same. It's scary out there!

For a population that's always in motion and busy interacting with one another for employment or entertainment, coming to an abrupt halt is painful, and if the halt is not startling enough, seeing no true end in sight is scary for some and downright terrifying for others. The good news, if one can call it that, is that this is the 21st century and we live in a digital world - we have the internet, Zoom, Constant Contact, FaceTime, etc. .... So our "isolation" isn't completely isolated. We can smile, laugh and cry together - just not in the same room and sadly with only air-hugs.

But, we should be grateful that our isolation is not solitary confinement. Remember Clint Eastwood in "The Hole" in "Escape from Alcatraz", Paul Newman "In the Box" in "Cool Hand Luke" or Steve McQueen a.k.a. Hilts in "The Cooler" with his baseball in "The Great Escape". You say you're bored and antsy? Watch one of these movies and then let's be grateful for our not so isolated isolation. It could be so much worse.

Stay well

The String Game

Birthday parties were such fun events when I was growing up. Having so many kids over to play, and eat ice cream and cake was pure bliss. Mom always made us take a nap before our birthday parties, which really was intended on getting us out of the way so she could set the stage. 

My favorite birthday party event ever was the string game. Mom would wrap a "party-favor" in tissue paper, tie the end of a small ball of string to it, hide the little treasure, and then weave the ball of string throughout the living and dining rooms, wrapping it around the legs of tables, chairs and the piano, and anything stationary but not much higher than about 2 feet, ending every string at the doorway between the kitchen and dining room - the starting line.

Unlike the photo above, Mom had cut out of cardboard a dog bone labeled with each party guest's name and tied the end of the string off around that. Each of us would wrap the string around the dog bone, untangling it from furniture and friends, eventually revealing the "prize". As children who were always being cautioned to be careful and organized, cleaning up after ourselves all the time, we LOVED the chaos of it all. The parents loved the game because it would keep us all busy, and out of random mischief, for a good half hour or so.

Once completed by everyone, the game would be followed up immediately by party hats and poppers at the table while waiting for the birthday cake and ice cream to arrive. Simple? Yes, but a cherished, dear memory. In fact I loved it so much, that I once staged the same string game for a friend's birthday party in my apartment in the city and we were all  in our late 20s! It too was a great success.

Any one out there have special birthday party memories to share?

 

Open Window's Sixth Year - 2015

Open Window was ajar most of 2015 as energies needed to be directed toward our photography business. In fact, there were only 47 posts to Open Window in 2015 compared to 231 in its inaugural year. Sadly I found it much easier to post a photo or comment to Facebook from "the field", and I know many of you don't participate in Facebook.

"Second Thought" © Claudia Ward

At the beginning of 2015, we'd planned on exhibiting in two shows in Florida, the plans for which had to change as Peter hurt his back just before we left and needed surgery once we got there. Brave soul that he is however (and with doctor's approval), we did meet up with our friends in Rincon, Puerto Rico where Peter rested and recuperated, and I got some of the best wave images I've ever taken. 

Chatham Arts Festival 2015

Spring, Summer, and Fall were filled with art festivals in New York State and Massachusetts (Memorial Day to Thanksgiving). In all, we participated in 12 art festivals (10 outdoors and 2 indoors). In addition to those, we participated in our own private show at Ashawagh Hall along with two other incredibly talented artists, 4 gallery shows, and one Christmas Fair. There's a lot of work involved in planning and executing the participation in these shows, which I hope explains my absence from Open Window. It simply could not be helped. Not only did we meet incredibly wonderful artists and sponsors, but we also found individuals who truly love our work. Connections have also been made with a Surf Clothing Company, a couple of galleries, and a framer/gallery in the Design Center in Boston. As we all know, "it's not over 'till the fat lady sings" - please pray she sings.

Good fortune had us shooting in the Southern Caribbean for a week just before Christmas. Water may have been the draw but it was the sunrises, sunsets, and fall skies that truly took our breath away, every single day. 

The Freedom Tower © 2015 Claudia Ward

As I watched the attached slide show before sitting down to write this, what struck me was how very fortunate we have been in addition to having worked harder this year than either of us have for several. Given all that, the highlight of my year was spending two nights in downtown Manhattan in the beginning of December. Having been on Wall Street on 9/11 and living down there from that day until I left in 2009, I'd seen the cleanup, read about the plans, and watched the beginnings of rebuilding, but it wasn't until December 7th (truly) that I saw for the first time, in person, what has replaced all of that destruction/construction and I must say, it is nothing short of breathtaking.

Past & Present Downtown New York ©2015 Claudia Ward

We came upon the reflecting pools our first night walking back to our hotel after dinner and I can honestly say I wept to see what we have created in memory of so many and despite so few.

The Reflecting Pools in Lower Manhattan After Dark 2015 ©Claudia Ward

The next day we explored it all and Peter was even able to coax me to the top of the Freedom Tower - something I will remember for all of my days to come.

New York After Dark from the Top of the Freedom Tower ©2015 Claudia Ward

Despite all of the despair we all felt that day, there is nothing but hope in the air as you traverse the park, or linger to contemplate  - watching the waters cascading into the reflecting pools.

As 2016 begins - there's an Open Window for all of us.

I hope you enjoy the slide show of 2015.

 

Photos and Slide Show ©2015 Claudia Ward
Music: "Up with End Credits" from the soundtrack, Michael Giacchino

 

Good Morning!

Another beautiful morning, in one of my favorite locations for enjoying the early morning hours of the day. 

Photo Exhibition at Ashawagh Hall

 

Peter Tooker & Claudia Ward Showing at Ashawagh Hall

Nearly everyone knows by now that there was a photo exhibition last evening, sponsored by Hampton Photo Arts (HPA) and curated by Laurie Barone-Schaefer, at Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton. It was a lot of fun and the turn out was fantastic - guess it helped that we had rain this year rather than snow like last year. Over 50 photographic artists were featured and hundreds of people milled throughout the hall admiring the art and enjoying the the food from the Nutritian Dragon. 

Peter and I each had two submissions that seemed to be very well received. Three of the images were frameless -  printed on metallic paper and mounted on acrylic board. This is a new service at HPA and they looked incredible. Many images sold last night including one of mine - The Narcissistic Serpent!

These are the images we featured at the show.

"Barbed Wire" ©2013 Claudia Danforth Ward

Sagg Main July 24, 2009 ©2009 Peter H. Tooker

Sagg Main July 2009 ©2009 Peter H. Tooker

If anyone is interested in buying one of these photos, feel free to leave a comment here and we'll work with HPA to get you the image you like.

Reflections

I adore reflections - I don't recall ever seeing one that didn't catch my attention and imagination. They mildly distort the world from what is known to something recognizable but oh so appealing, especially if there is color involved. This was dawn in Bloomington Indiana last September on a cool late-summer morning - this makes me want to return.

John's Jellyfish

Time passes way too quickly and we who are in the second half of a century of living know that it only accelerates - one of those sad realities with which we must live.

"Live for today." "Don't put off until tomorrow ..." "Embrace the moment and those around you." We all nod when we hear these expressions and then most of us resume our busy work-a-day lives, dashing to and fro, texting, surfing, and heaven only knows what - with all of the impatience we can sustain, not really savoring anything to its fullest, even each other.

In this life I've been incredibly fortunate to meet many people from a lot of different backgrounds, traditions, and religions, and I've enjoyed learning from them and appreciating the contrasts and similarities in our respective journeys. I've also worked with hundreds of people in and around banking, most on stress-filled days when our best attributes were probably not the most apparent. Since "retiring", I've had the good fortune to get to know some of these people much better than I did when we were working together. I believe there was always respect but once the veil of self-inflicted roll-playing and privacy was dropped, a true appreciation for the other evolved. Such has been the case with John.

Once we were settled in our retirements, John and I weren't close geographically but we "followed" each other - through email and this blog - and learned we had a number of things in common. We both love to rise early and gravitate to the ocean for sunrise; we both enjoy photography and showing what we see in this world; and, we both truly appreciate little things.

Well, sadly, John is no longer with us, which is a loss for this world in my opinion, but I found these photographs in my files today - images he shared with me, images that brought smiles to my face and he knew that they would. I think they are incredibly beautiful in their simplicity, but mostly because John saw them and "captured the moment".

Please do the same.

 

Reflections in Rome

Like most major cities, Rome combines lots of glass in their new architecture and it reflects all that it sees - old and new.

By the time we got toRome, we were exhausted and hungry, so we gratefully accepted directions to a nearby trattoria where we could get a late lunch. I didn't know it when we made our reservations but we're staying near the financial district of Rome, so there was an assortment of languages to be heard over lunch including German, French, Hungarian, and lots of English. Once we were "stablized" with lunch, it was easy to find things to catch our attention on the way back to the hotel.

I love reflections of nearly every kind and these are a few of what I saw - in this very old and new city.