Subtle Leaves

For a second year, the autumn foliage has been muted. Last year it was from the rain, this year it was the heat.

I went up to Central Park to find the trees I skipped on the tree hunt because they look best in autumn. I was headed for the Tupelo meadow in the Ramble. Many of the trees were still green if yellowish.

There was an occasional splash of red, all the more striking against the green.

The colors were otherwise soft.

The Ramble lived up to its name and I wandered around in circles for a while, not sure where the tupelos were.

I did not even recognize one when I found it and I did not take many pictures. Perhaps the others had already shed their leaves.

I am so grateful for these rare isolated spots in the city. When I am stressed, being with the trees and the birds calms me down. I had wanted to see the elms on the literary walk in their autumn splendor.

But it was over. The leaves had fallen.

It seemed odd that some trees were still green while others had shut down for the season. But I was more intrigued about tupelo trees. I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, my other refuge from stress.

 The colors were fairly muted there too. The light was really pretty.

There was a well identified tupelo in the local flora area.

Its autumn colors really are beautiful.

And I know what they look like now.

Autumn Blues

A little autumn light pierces the blue.

Although I have not been posting as often as usual, I have been working. The results have not been very blog worthy. My color printing has been slow going. Film does not have the instant gratification of digital. I am waiting to finish a roll that has what I hope to be some really cool pictures. There is some light I want to photograph that only hits at 10 am on Bedford Avenue. I haven't managed to get there at the right time.

I have also been playing with images that I accidentally printed over other images (ink jet prints here).

I am not sure if these are really more than just experiments. I don't want to go to deeply into a weird Joseph Cornell place, or even worse, descend into kitsch.

Hopefully things will get better soon.

Light on the Subway Entrance

I have been somewhat distracted recently. It has been difficult to focus on art work because of very unartistic stresses. I finished up some film and made some prints last week, but old school photography is a slow process and I have nothing interesting yet. Luckily I came across this light. It is the subway entrance at the foot of the Williamsburg Savings Bank. There used to be scaffolding outside while the old offices were converted into condos which made the entrance dark and a little menacing. The scaffolding came down earlier this year and the light is so startling at times.
 

Incompatability Between Plants and Kittens

The last of the plants on the wall was adopted. I put up this picture of the young plants instead of the empty wall because it is more cheerful. I am thinking about putting the plants out in a less elaborate way since they do not stay for very long. I don't mind that they go quickly, but at dawn the light is not bright enough to take good pictures. My plan is to make pots out of plastic bottles and place the plants in pretty light, photograph them and leave them. Gift - the end.

I wanted to plant some cuttings I had started when I came across a problem.

The kittens really like philodendrons. They had eaten most of the cuttings so I was only able make two plants. 

I moved them to the window in the young son's room,

where they were soon discovered by Voltaire, the gardener kitten.

I have enough plants to form a barrier and the kittens have lost interest. I made some more pothos cuttings from the mother plant.

The Mother Plant

Hopefully I will be able to do one more plant run before winter and try out my new idea.

I want to do more work on the hanging sculpture.  The light has been so abysmal, it is hard to work on it in the gloom. Waiting for the beautiful October light.