Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for photography

Egg Cups, Photography & Plants

April 13, 2019 at 9:39 am by Claudia

The theme here is Getting Ready to Dine.

The pig on the left is sitting at a table, utensils at the ready – he’s just waiting for his egg. (Made for Tiffany.) The chick on the right – given to me by Linda, a blogging friend – is adorable and those tail feathers function as a salter. Pull out the tail and salt your egg.

It’s fun doing this yearly egg cup roundup. Now that I have the cubby, I open the doors, look at all the egg cups, and then I try to put together some sort of theme. The challenge is to remember to include the egg cups that I have displayed in other areas of the house.

Looking at them makes me happy.

I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, vacuumed the house, that sort of thing. Then I sat down and worked on the dollhouse for a bit. I’m using wood putty to fill in some openings. While I was there, I listened to a music app on my bluetooth speaker. Yesterday, my mood was “All Antonio Carlos Jobim.”

Do you remember when I had to put the Boston fern outside and the wind knocked it to the ground? A few days later, in yet another insane wind, it happened again. I ended up putting a heavy rock in the base, but those two falls damaged the fern. Lots of broken fronds. A couple of days ago, I was sweeping the porch and stopped to examine it more closely. It didn’t look good. So I brought it back inside. It’s now up in the office. I think putting it out in weather that was just too cold was a shock to the plant. The falls didn’t help. So I’m nurturing it up there until the weather is warm enough to safely put it outside again.  And it had been looking so beautiful right before I put it outside! All that work to keep it healthy only to have so many fronds broken during those godawful winds.

But it’s already improving.

You wouldn’t know it to look outside at the moment (it rained all night long) but it’s supposed to reach 74 degrees here today! It that holds true, Don may be able to get out and start taking polaroid portraits again. He’s really missed doing that. Our friend Jean Andre Antoine – another Crown Graphic Press Camera photographer – was profiled in the New York Times on Thursday. I follow JAA on Instagram, so I saw his link to the story early on Thursday. It’s a terrific profile of a lovely man. He’s one of many former students of Louis Mendes – although you’re never a former student of Louis. The mentoring is ongoing. In fact, Louis wants to come up here for a day in the next month or two and take some portraits with Don.

We have portraits by Jean Andre and they’re beautiful.

More dollhouse work on the docket today.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Don, Easter, egg cups, houseplants, photography 24 Comments

Butterflies and Photos

August 13, 2018 at 10:28 am by Claudia

I was running around, trying to get a photo of this beautiful monarch who kept flitting from one milkweed plant to another. So sweet.

At the same time, I saw a black swallowtail on the limelight hydrangea, but he was too fast for me.

I had 3 inches chopped off my hair yesterday by my friend, Dawn. She charges $10 for a cut. (Do you believe it?) I always end up tipping her $10 as well because she works long, long hours and deserves it. The cut was overdue as I tend to let my hair grow until it’s out of control – not a good idea when you have baby fine hair. I feel much better. Then, because Don was off taking pictures with his Crown Graphic, I went to the bookstore for the first time in a while and bought some magazines and a few books.

It’s been rainy for a few days now and today is no different. I’m over it.

Don has been getting some great pictures. He has learned how to get the kind of picture he wants  in cloudy or sunny weather. He’s figured out framing. He’s honed in on his particular style. He has done great work for the past few days and I think he’s ready to start asking for a donation for each picture.

I’ll share a couple with you. What these digital pictures of his photos don’t show you is the luminous quality of the Fuji (Polaroid) film. It glows. It’s gorgeous. The digital camera can’t capture that, but let me tell you, when you’re holding that photo in your hand, it’s unlike anything else.

The film is expensive because it’s hard to manufacture and Polaroid stopped making it several years ago. Don has been investing in it, so he can hoard as much as possible until someone else comes up with an equivalent for Fuji’s version, which is still in stock, but will eventually be phased out.

Love this one.

We’re getting a little reflection from the iPhone lens, but you get the idea.

These are all a little lighter than what you’re seeing, but we were on the porch this morning and it’s raining. You can see more of his work on his IG account and in his stories.

I’ve never seen any film like this film. It’s beautiful.

So proud of his work ethic and what he has achieved in a few short weeks.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Filed Under: butterfly, Crown Graphic Press Camera, Don, monarch butterfly, photography 22 Comments

Beauty in the Everyday

August 10, 2018 at 8:11 am by Claudia

I was sitting on the loveseat next to Don late yesterday afternoon and I found myself staring at a glass lampshade I bought many years ago in San Diego. And I realized that I haven’t really ‘seen’ it for a while. You know, we get so used to the interior landscape of our homes that we often forget to really register something. That’s how it was for the lampshade.

So I got up and took a picture of it.

I found this in a little shop. I had been searching for a replacement for the shade that came with this vintage floor lamp and I found this beauty. I forgot how lovely the subtle touch of green is.

I walked around the house, camera in hand, and took some more pictures.

Reflections in the Wallace Nutting.

One of my favorite pieces of McCoy.

The top of the Necco Candies jar.

A mini Eiffel Tower surrounded by Roseville pottery.

Everything so dear, so loved by us. I’m going to do more of this.

We’re in for more rain for the next few days. Will it ever end? The Secret Garden, which always tends to be wet, is so soaked that we can’t spend any time out there. We’re not really complaining as the porch will do quite nicely. But I would love it to get dry enough out there to mow the back forty. And have another stab at mowing the front lawn.

Don’s photography skills are getting better every day. He loves working with the Crown Graphic and usually spends a few hours at a location. He’s now working with light and is studying how it changes and how essential it is to understand where the light is when you are working manually with one shot, one chance instant photography. He came back with two wonderful photos yesterday; beautifully focused, beautifully lit.

He amazes me. I’m so proud of him.

I just won the other Snow White egg cup that was up for auction. Should I have bought another one? I don’t know. But this one has eyes that are painted beautifully and the lettering is more centered on the cup. Hey, it won’t hurt to have two of them, will it? After years of searching, who would have thought I would end up with two of them? I’ll love them both.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: cottage, egg cups, photography 31 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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