My grandmother gave me a Brownie camera when I was eight
years old, then proudly showed my photographs of her flowers to her Garden
Society. The joy I felt as a young child while taking photographs for others to
enjoy remains today, and it is this passion that keeps me immersed in
photography.
My husband and I moved to Wisconsin in the mid-1970s and,
on impulse, I borrowed a Pentax K-1000 to take my first photography course. I
later attended the Madison Area Technical College and Edgewood University in Madison
where I took both art and photography classes.
In 2007, I received a digital camera as a gift and the door
to photography opened wider than ever. My world shifted as I saw the
possibilities that could be created using a camera and lenses — infinite possibilities
to document the natural world, architecture, history, seeing everything with a
new perspective.
"Even the smallest of details became intensely
interesting. Maybe that's why I love photography. I try to capture what I see,
my own interpretation, not what someone else might see."
I also became a contributor to WisconsinNative.com, writing
and photographing for both the Wandering Wisconsin and Travel Green
features on the travel website through December, 2008. My photography has also
been published in regional magazines, national travel guides, and in a book on
Functional Architecture which was published in London in 2009.
Though I shoot in many genres, I most love the experience
of photographing the natural world. Nature grounds me. I can be myself --
in the forest, the mountains, the desert, or the prairie -- in solitude with
nature.
My hobby is now a career, as I write and photograph as a
freelancer as the principal of Seeded Earth Studio, LLC.
Sometimes the most ordinary bit of flora– brown, decayed– stands amidst the most amazing of surroundings. With the temperatures below 10˚, and the sun shining, the snow looked like a layering of bitty diamonds.
Anna Surface - The snow does look like tiny diamonds. How pretty. I haven't seen much snow! Lovely flora there alone among the glittering snow. :)02/27/2009 - 1:35 pm
Marcie - Love the sparkle effect. Simply perfect!!!!02/28/2009 - 10:27 am
ybonesy - Bo, I tried to leave a comment earlier on this but got a WP glitch. I wanted to say that winter seems to have become a muse of yours. These simple shots of dormant plants and/or snow are some of your most beautiful.03/01/2009 - 10:31 am
suehenryphotography - So simple; so beautiful.
I was in Western Illinois last week. Lots of opportunities for fog photos -- a new adventure for me.03/01/2009 - 6:04 pm
Gandalf - NIce shot. The snow's even better if it's on a ski hill. :)03/02/2009 - 7:14 am
Debi - Oh, oh, oh.......I love this shot. Perfect capture.03/02/2009 - 1:03 pm
jeju - i like the starkness of it03/08/2009 - 9:07 am
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. ~ Helen Keller
The golden coin-shaped leaves of this plant contrast the winter blue sky. And yes, for once the sky was so blue it reminded me of the bright skies I typically see in the west.
ybonesy - Beautiful. And yes, that sky looks familiar to me.02/23/2009 - 11:20 am
Bo - ybonesy--you are the lucky one who gets to see that big blue bowl of sky above you much of the time. It is such a lovely blue.02/23/2009 - 1:14 pm
bookbabie - We have blue skies today and they do cheer you up even when it's cold outside. Love the pic, soft, soothing colors and simple composition.02/23/2009 - 3:04 pm
morningjoy - It's lovely how you give new life to last season's flora. Your photo is powerful in its simplicity.02/23/2009 - 7:44 pm
Gandalf - A very striking photo. Nice sky too.02/24/2009 - 7:36 am
Bernie Kasper - Wonderful work Bo, I love the contrast between the two !!02/24/2009 - 12:30 pm
Robin - I've been following your wabi-sabi series and really enjoying it. I'm sorry I haven't commented. Life seems to be taking on a little speed lately.
Your wabi-sabi photos are really beautiful. I especially enjoyed the quilt and the story behind it.02/25/2009 - 11:30 am
Wabi-sabi is characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry [emphasizing] simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and [celebrating] the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials. ~ Introduction: Chanoyu, The Art of Tea
Greatness exists in the inconspicuous and overlooked details. Wabi-sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular and enduring. Wabi-sabi is about the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes. ~Leonard Koren
Laurie - Well seen shot. The play of light and shadow on the bark is very interesting.02/19/2009 - 6:26 am
Anna Surface - Shadows, how they lay and play, attract me, and are hard to capture. This is a lovely capture, Bo, because of the light and dark along with the patterns. Very pleasing. I really like the quote, indeed, especially the last part: "...the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes." :)02/19/2009 - 7:37 am
suehenryphotography - Oh how I agree with the previous comment -- shadows are hard to capture.
I think I want to read more about "Wabi-sabi;" a new concept for me.02/19/2009 - 9:09 am
ybonesy - I love this series, Bo. I had not heard of the tradition of Wabi-sabi, but it strikes me as a perfect practice for writers and artists.02/19/2009 - 9:53 am
Marcie - Great eye! Love the surface texture and the play of shadow and light.02/19/2009 - 10:30 am
quinncreative - Lovely. The shadows are perfect, as is the tree, and the combination is well, OMG, if I say perfect, it's not wabi-sabi. Well, then , it is transient. THERE! that makes it wabi-sabi again.02/19/2009 - 6:40 pm
tomwhelan - Fine angle on the shadows and trunk - nice DOF as well.02/21/2009 - 2:35 pm
Gandalf - I agree with Tom W. Nice shot.02/22/2009 - 2:10 pm
The bark of the Arizona Sycamore produces a pleasing composition, the pale greens and brown tones play well off each other.
This tree was photographed at Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, just north of Phoenix. The Monument protects Native American dwellings tucked into the breaks of a mountain. The property has many Arizona sycamores and velvet mesquites....
Gandalf - I do love the texture in this photo. You've even captured remnants of someone carving initials in the bark.02/18/2009 - 2:57 pm
Marcie - Nice abstract. Love the soft tones..the colors..the textures. Interesting about the Arizona Sycamore.02/18/2009 - 6:05 pm
Debi - Montezuma's Castle is one of my favorite places on this earth, Bo. The air smells sweet and that's the first place I witnessed Arizona Sycamores. We have Sycamores in the South, but those in Arizona are mosaics of textures and subtle colors that call to the artist and photographer. A Beautiful photo highlighting a beautiful place on this earth. Thank you for lighting my memories of that place. Sigh.02/18/2009 - 7:13 pm
montucky - I've spent many hours in the shade of the Sycamores. Your photo brought back pleasant memories!02/18/2009 - 7:32 pm
jeju - nice abstraction02/20/2009 - 7:12 pm
edvatza - I love Sycamore bark. I swear it had to be the model for camouflage. The patterns that remain can be and are fascinating.02/21/2009 - 3:05 pm
Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. –Leonard Cohen
I am working in my photography archives, inspired to begin a new project that celebrates the beauty in the old, the worn, the natural, the simple, the impermanent, the...
Anna Surface - Ah! Yes, I resonate and agree as there is "beauty in the old, the worn, the natural, the simple, the impermanent, the imperfect," as you said. Wabi Sabi... indeed.
Here is a quote from the book, 'Living Wabi Sabi-The True Beauty of Your Life' by Taro Gold: "Appreciation--emotional appreciation, artistic appreciation, appreciation on every level--is an important part of living Wabi Sabi. Appreciation manifests joy. We don't need to live by some impossible standard to have a joyful, contributive, "enlightened" existence. We don't need to become someone else or wait until things are "perfect" to appreciate the whole of our lives." This is a wonderful book on Wabi Sabi, I might add.
Lovely photo, and great idea for a theme, Bo. :)02/17/2009 - 8:26 am
Gandalf - Wonderful photo. I love the symmetry and the texture.02/17/2009 - 8:36 am
bookbabie - "...that celebrates the beauty in the old, the worn, the natural, the simple, the impermanent, the imperfect." Just like me;)02/17/2009 - 9:04 am
Joanna Young - This sounds wonderful Bo, I can't wait to see the rest of the photos.
I think I need to apply this principle to my exploration of memoir writing - starting with an acceptance of the (many) imperfections of my life...02/17/2009 - 3:15 pm
Robin - Wonderful image, Bo.
I'm looking forward to seeing how you explore wabi-sabi in photos. I read about wabi-sabi a couple of years ago, and have been fascinated by the concept ever since.02/17/2009 - 5:19 pm
montucky - I love that one, Bo and am looking forward to more in the series!02/17/2009 - 5:40 pm
mon@rch - Nice and for some reason rust is such a great natural color!02/17/2009 - 7:54 pm
Marcie - So interesting to read about wabi-sabi. Finding and accepting beauty in the everyday ordinary is what it's all about for me. Love the image. Am looking forward to seeing this project unfold.02/18/2009 - 6:53 am
quinncreative - As a deep practitioner of wabi-sabi ways, I'm so pleased to see this series. It's comforting and beautiful, and fills the eye with great appreciation.02/19/2009 - 6:39 pm
Bo - That is a lovely compliment, Quinn. Thank you.02/19/2009 - 10:03 pm
Bo - Anna, thanks for adding the quote. I'll have to check out the book.02/19/2009 - 10:05 pm
Bo - It seems a worthwhile concept to apply to writing, art, life. Thanks, Joanna.02/19/2009 - 10:06 pm
montucky - What a great story! That serves to catch one's attention and stimulate the imagination. I hope it becomes a regular tradition!02/15/2009 - 7:25 pm
Marcie - This is incredible..and such a great story. GREAT FUN!!!!02/16/2009 - 3:16 am
Carsten - Interesting story.
The images from the webcam are pretty good even at night time. It seems as if she got her crown finished.
At first I took it for image manipulation. :)02/16/2009 - 3:23 am
Anna Surface - That is so neat! That would be oh so fun to do at our small town lake! :)02/16/2009 - 8:31 am
quinncreative - I love this quote from the story: "segments of the bust were worn by time and rodents". . .ahhhh, so are we all.02/16/2009 - 10:32 am
Laurie - Interesting. Great story too.02/16/2009 - 11:00 am
Gandalf - Talk about oops. How did she get to Madison?02/17/2009 - 8:34 am
Robin - lol! That's so cool. :)02/17/2009 - 5:17 pm
suehenryphotography - Simply lovely capture. I can feel the wind and smell the freshness. Love the way the flower heads are placed in the image.02/13/2009 - 6:23 am
Gandalf - Looks like summer on my computer, but more like yucky March when i look out my window.
Nice shot.02/13/2009 - 8:00 am
by Bo
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