My Grandfather's Hands

Lately, I haven't been doing so well bringing my film camera around with me and getting the few rolls of film I have shot to the lab. So I'm cheating with this post because these photos were all taken with my little Fuji point and shoot digital camera.

At the end of the day a few nights ago I looked down at my hands and felt as though I was looking at my grandfather's hands. I have never thought this before, I had neglected them in this cold weather and looked older than normal and like his. I think, maybe, it is in the knuckles. The funny thing is I don't think of my father's hands. My father is a woodworker and his hands are unique to him alone because they show the time he has spent working outside, working with his tools, and more than likely from the wood itself. For some reason this made me want to photograph things around my house that we have made. My dad makes beautiful clocks (though I realized this picture displays the least impressive part, maybe I'll post more tomorrow). The most impressive piece of his work that I own is in the bedroom where my daughter was sleeping, thus no pictures, perhaps for the next post. Other than that I restored the orange chair (see here), made the cork board, and crocheted the blankets, which my grandmother taught me to do. Now that I think of it we were inspired to make a cork board by the huge cork board my father-in-law made many years ago. The things we make with our hands.

Thoughts on Tchaikovsky and Disney

I still have some of these black and white photos to post from late summer. This was a lime cake with a blackberry sauce. It was pretty easy and really good, though straining the blackberries was slightly tedious. Check out the recipe here.

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Disney. Classic Disney. I have no idea what they are making currently. Actually that is not completely true I know they are returning to some hand drawn animation. Thank goodness, all the digital animation looks the same to me, which is why I don't know what production company made what film. The classic films seem to take more risks and are even somewhat experimental. Of course Fantasia is pretty obvious, but as I watched it during vacation in hopes of lulling my little one to sleep I was impressed, again. I only watched the Nutcracker Suite segment, though I watched it many times, but it amazes me how a major motion picture such as this focuses so much on visual interpretation of music. In some ways it makes me think of Stan Brakhages late films. In my last year of college I saw him speak about how he was attempting to use each frame to visually represent a musical note from any given work of music. For instance he showed this film, Water for Maya. Fantasia is significantly more accessible than Brakhage, but it interests me that they merge conceptually.

At first my daughter would only watch Belle, not even all of Beauty and the Beast, just the parts with Belle. Now she is just starting to broaden her horizons and she will watch some of Sleeping Beauty. I remembered that the film used parts of Tchaikovsky's score, I assumed the most famous parts, but in reality the film uses most of the score. The entire film was clearly created around the music; it inspires the entire film. Much like Fantasia, of course there is a story and characters in Sleeping Beauty. Contrast this with the most recent cinematic interpretation of The Nutcracker, that appears to focus only on the violence of the original story. Granted I've only seen the trailer, but I don't think music is the inspiration behind the film since barely any Tchaikovsky plays in the trailer, just a few notes of Sugar Plum. On a side note, my other complaint about this film is that it credits Tchaikovsky with story and music, when the story should be credited to E.T.A. Hoffman. If your seriously adapting a story it seems as though you'd know who wrote it.

Tchaikovsky has always been a personal favorite of mine. I know for someone who loves ballet that is a huge surprise. I am so excited that my daughter appears to like it as well (or that she wants to like what I like - I know that won't last). I just ordered the entire score of Sleeping Beauty for us to listen to and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for it to get here.

As I have been refreshing myself on classic Disney I am amazed at how each film has its own look and style. For instance Bambi is a watercolor interpretation and Sleeping Beauty has a medieval art look to it. There appears to be so much more thought and care given to these films that I don't see/feel in very many films of today. It is amazing to rediscover them.

Things to Do In Denver

So I may have forgotten my 35 mm camera, but I did bring a little digital point and shoot for Christmas morning. We usually try to leave Boulder's bubble at least once to go to Denver when we visit. For some reason I was dead set on going to the Natural History Museum. My husband claimed he had never seen a T-Rex skeleton and they have one there. He wasn't impressed when he saw it and I may have talked it up a bit too much. To my credit I was substantially smaller the last time I went to the museum so it seemed really big to me!

The museum is now called the natural science center or something silly like that and they had all these newfangled interactive displays and such. My favorites are all the oldies (but goodies) like that rocks and gems and the life size dioramas. I love that the rocks and gems displays apparently have not been touched since I was a kid and it was always my favorite area so visited it whenever I went. Very nostalgic for me. Plus, there are not nearly as many people in those displays so my daughter could run all around and play without being in anyone's way.

Christmas Passes So Quickly

It seems as though I have been from the computer for a long time. I have spent the last few weeks everywhere but at my own house. We have an iPad that we bring with us when we travel, but I don't like to type on it. Thus, it has been quiet on the blog for awhile. I don't have any interesting photos of my vacations because I forgot my camera! I always forget something and this time it was the camera.

Before I left I received a roll of black and white prints back from the lab because I have to send B & W away and can't use the local lab it usually takes me a long time to send it out. Case in point these photos are from the summer. Of course, this is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed and so they seem apropos.

Black Swan

I thought I would share some experiments I took with toy cameras of a ballerina. I am excited to see how the pictures turn out in a studio or similar.

I posted these photos because I saw Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan today. It seems as though I have been waiting awhile for this film to come to theaters and often when that happens the film is somewhat disappointing. Fortunately, this wasn't the case with this film. The opening shot was a sparse, yet, beautiful dance amid blackness. And very quickly the beautiful grain of the film was eloquently apparent. I love when filmmakers eschew that perfect, crisp look for grain with movement and imperfections. The film was shot on super16, which makes perfect sense as to the larger grain (smaller frame size will be blown up more). Anyway, enough about film grain, as beautiful as it may be.

Some criticism of the film has been the use of cliched story lines, yet I felt that the acting was so good that the ballet cliches did not bother me.  There could have been more dancing, but it may also be in that perfect middle ground of just enough. I'll have to watch it again. Many of the shots were subjective medium shots either in front of or behind Natalie Portman, thus, most leg work was not visible and there were rarely long shots showing the entire stage. When the stage was shown it felt too small to be either of the stages at Lincoln Center.

I know that I will have much more to say about this film as it is still fairly fresh on my mind. It was also exciting to see so many filmgoers out on a Sunday to see a ballet film.

Food!

Lately, I haven't been able to make it the computer too often. I guess the holiday season is keeping me busy. I am trying to finish crocheting a blanket for me daughter as well as re-watching every ballet movie I own. I have had these pictures of our second Thanksgiving dinner for awhile. This past weekend I made a variety of cookies for a cookie exchange in Durham, but forgot to take pictures! I guess my New Year Resolution will be to keep up with my photographs!

A Day of Infamy and Cold

It snowed this weekend! 2.5 inches. Of course, it was as beautiful as can be and I didn't get any pictures. I really need a small camera that I can keep in my purse to use as needed. I have a digital one that I recently found in an old purse, but I don't want to mix digital/film too much. It snowed on Saturday and on Sunday most of the picturesque sights melted quickly. You wouldn't know it though from the weather today since we have not gotten above freezing. My daughter has a slight cold and I don't want to take her out in the freezing weather. We've spent all day inside and looks as though tomorrow is more of the same. I need to think of cold weather activities for us. I got out crayons today and some things were unnecessarily "decorated," such as an upholstered chair and the floor.

I was also taken aback by the passing of Elizabeth Edwards. Since it was only yesterday that it was announced that her cancer was no longer treatable. It is amazing to consider all of the heartache she had gone through in her life and, yet, she always seemed to be upbeat and grateful. A couple years ago I worked with a cancer survivor and John and Elizabeth Edwards came to our campus. My colleague was able to share a small moment with her when they shook hands and it was impressive how through the few words that they shared Elizabeth Edwards inspired such hope in and created a personal connection with my colleague. It is rare that a person can do that and we are lucky to have had her be a part of our country and our great state. May she rest in peace.