Saturday, February 16, 2019

Nature's Best

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I enjoyed a productive Saturday and had lots of art time. One thing I made was a tag to share over at Tag Tuesday and Wendy's mushroom challenge.

I had previously mentioned how yesterday I took a personal day off from work and went to Boston with a couple of friends. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts (known as the MFA) to see a photography exhibit featuring Ansel Adams, people who inspired him and some art inspired by him. It was a fun day out, and a very nice change of pace from work and winter.
For those of you who might not be familiar with Ansel Adams, he was a 20th century American photographer (1902-1984). He is known for his black and white nature photographs. He  liked shooting photos of the west , and his photographs of Yosemite National Park in California are especially famous. 
 One thing I learned at this exhibit was that sometimes Adams modified his negatives to remove signs of people, like removing roads that run through a scene. I'm not sure how he did it since he lived before digital photography.





It was definitely difficult for me to photograph some of these photos between  the exhibit lighting and the reflections on the glass. Plus this exhibit was quite crowded so you couldn't always get a photo standing directly in front of the image.
But there was one photo I snapped that had a lot of reflection in it that I actually like.
This is a great photo in its original form. In the photo the front mountain is dark and and in that darkness is reflected  people in the exhibit space. But see those 3 ladies in the front? That's me holding up my phone to take the picture (in the center) and my 2 friends, one to the left and one to the right of me studying the photo.

I have more to show you another day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.



18 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

That's a gorgeous tag Erika, love it, and thanks so much for joining us again at Tag Tuesday. Ansel Adams took fantastic photos, and I especially love the last one you took with the three of you in it in front of the mountain backdrop, great! Enjoy your Sunday, hugs, Valerie

Astrid Maclean said...

Great looking tag, beautifully collaged, love those mushrooms!!
Sounds as if you had a super time in Boston, fabulous photos, I had never heard of him, so that made for an interesting read....

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Wonderful mix of artwork and photographs. That reflection shot is fantastic.

Jeanie said...

Love this, Erika. You did a great job with the photos -- it's hard in certain spaces. Several summers ago I saw a similar Adams exhibition (maybe even the same) and had the same window reflection issues you did with one of the pieces. I really love your photo with the reflection and am so glad you shared that one. It speaks well to the exhibit with those looking at it and really says something. A good journalistic photo, I think. Ansel would be happy with that!

CJ Kennedy said...

Lovely tag. The bird is making me think of Spring which seems so far off with two more storms coming through this week. Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip to the MFA. The mountain photo you took is great. I love the reflection of the crowd. Mount Rush More. Everyone trying to get around to see the exhibit quickly. Enjoy the sunshine today

WendyK said...

A fabulous tag and a gorgeous background. thank you for joining us on Tag tuesday.

froebelsternchen said...

An amazing tag and what an interesting exhibit! Super!
Hugs, Susi

Divers and Sundry said...

What a wonderful exhibit! I'm glad you got a chance to go, and I do love your reflective photo :) It's impossible to get good pics of art under glass, but yours celebrates not just the art but the viewing of it as well. Nice!

Neet said...

I have always liked black and white photography, I love the contrast and the different shades you get in them. The fern fronds really illustrates that.
The one with the reflection on is particularly interesting, not often you get something like that that is artistic in its own right. Thanks for sharing the exhibition with us.
Great collage on your tag, you got some lovely mushrooms to show to us. I don't know the names of mushrooms but both types here are delightful.
hugs, Neet xx

Meggymay said...

That looks a great exhibition you went to see. Black and white photos always seem to show the details so well and you are not distracted by colours.
Its a fantastic tag Erika, it was for sure nature at its best.
Yvonne xx

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I would have very much enjoyed seeing these exhibits. The work of Ansel Adams is universally admired, I believe, and he was probably responsible for instilling at least the seed of a conservation ethic in the minds of the public.

craftytrog said...

A beautiful nature tag Erika, and your photo is fantastic!
Alison x

Barbara said...

The work of Ansel Adams is incredible! How wonderful to see so much of his genius in one place. Black and white photography was once my forte with my own darkroom and free-lance work for local newspapers and others. It was great fun, but then everything went digital, and the small newspaper world largely ceased to exist. However, the work of Ansel Adams will always be an inspiration. Your reflection photo is an award-winner!

sheila 77 said...

Oh yes, the last photo is great - the actual photo and one of the three of you (and everyone else who was there).
I'll have a look at the other photos when I am back on the larger PC, they look interesting.
It's a super World of Nature tag too.

Lowcarb team member said...

What a nice post.
Lovely to see your art and photographs.
I think that reflection shot is brilliant!

All the best Jan

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I am running way, way behind Erika and have NO idea how much I have missed, but I will start here. I'm sure you will read I learned I have pneumonia and was told to rest. I promise to try to catch up very, very soon.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE Ansel Adams. His photography is incredible. It is definitely difficult to capture anything under glass because of the reflections. I really LOVED the last photo of you and your friends.

When I took photography in college (a fabulous elective), it's easy to alter black and white photos in the darkroom. It's far harder when you have to deal with color. You use masks and filters to block out or eliminate unwanted areas. I'm so glad you shared these photos with us, dear.

Michele said...

your tag is fabulous -- it is like a field biologist's notebook for sure! i do love ansel adams! thanks for playing along at tag tuesday! xo

Marjut said...


Lovely tag, I like it!