Tropical cool

This past weekend was more like August in Bermuda than April in Connecticut, 25 degrees above normal, which is abnormal.

What struck us most about this little tanktop hanging on a Bermuda shop door is that it says “really cool” when it’s “really hot.” Anyone can show melting ice in a glass or a thermometer in the upper limits, but we feel it is important to complete the story and make someone comfortable in the end.

Peer pressure

We were photographing a special project for a camp in New Hampshire that often pits cabin against cabin and the winner decides the consequences for its less fortunate opponent. One particular girls cabin had to bear the consequences by jumping into the lake as soon as they got up the next morning wearing whatever they wore when they went to bed.

It was just one of those special moments when one has to get up early and wait for the action to begin. Then it's just click, click, click, as the kids jump into the water hand-in-hand. Stack the images and add some special effects in Photoshop and we have a visual story about peer pressure.

While, there are a lot of subliminal messages in this picture, most important is that once one teen takes the plunge, all their friends seem to follow for fear of bearing the shame of being left out.

Think about it.

Bermuda rain

Bermuda is a land of beautiful beaches and stunning pastels. In fact, the local building codes require that no two neighboring houses can be painted the same color. However, the only way to see and photograph the whole island is to rent a motorcycle, hire a driver, or ride a bus from one end to the other.

We chose to take a ferry from St. George's at the east end of the island to the Royal Navy Dockyard at the north end of the island and return to St. George's by bus. Unfortunately it was our last day on the island and it rained the whole day.

While most people would put their camera away and hide out somewhere, we took advantage of the rain as it ran down the window of the bus. The cross on this church was especially beautiful and the "tear" streaked window gave it so much more meaning.

Daffodils

No, these aren’t giant daffodils or white narcissus on steroids but instead a toad’s eye view of these beautiful early spring flowers from the ground looking up.

Each year Laurel Ridge Farm in Northfield, CT, opens about 40 acres of daffodils in the woods and fields for people to just enjoy. There are paths for walkers, benches for sitters and hundreds of thousands of daffodils and narcissus in full bloom for everyone. Best of all, it is free and open seven days a week.

Thai Rice Farmer

It is often said that the best way to get to know a country is through the eyes of its people, and Thailand is certainly no exception. In 2008, I spent a couple of days in the rice paddies outside Chiang Mai watching and listening to the farmers as they worked in water halfway up to their knees. Some wore rubber boots while others worked barefoot. Despite the intense heat, most were in long sleeves with a hat or some kind of head covering and often a scarf to protect themselves from insects which flew around them as they worked.

There were no radios, stereos, or boom boxes, no horns, no sirens. In fact their sparsely furnished homes seldom had electricity, but what impressed me most was their attitude. They were constantly talking to each other and laughing. I know I was the subject of much of their conversation. I was twice their size and weight, barely balancing on the narrow strip of wet grass separating each flooded paddy. For all I know, they could have been placing bets on how long it would take me to lose my balance and join them in the muddy water.

Although we did not speak the same language, the look in this woman’s eyes, says I was accepted if only for a brief day or two into their culture. The scarf covered most of her smile, but it couldn’t cover the joy in her eyes as she turned and looked directly into my lens for a brief moment.

Yesterday, I gave the image to Edward Tuttle an incredible illustrator, friend and former competitor, now turned collaborator, to see how he would interpret her look. To see the results, go to his blog for April 15.

Over the next few weeks, we will be collaborating on many more images as together we stretch our creativity to new levels. Let us know what you think.

k

Just plain and cool!

There's nothing as plain as a stack of scarves in a Bangkok market to brighten your day, unless of course you're me and feel like breaking a rule and moving the camera. I tried spinning it, sliding it left, then right, zooming in and zooming out all with the shutter open.

Static color is one thing, but when the picture moves it has so much more life and beauty. It's no longer "just plain," now, it's "just plain cool."

Dancing in Orange

Once in a while you just have to break the rules. You know, always use a tripod, use as fast a shutter speed as possible, don't shoot in dim light, or in the rain. But then you'd lose the motion of flowers spinning in a spring downpour.

So, next time it rains, go out and break some rules. Enjoy the rich color afforded by nature's huge softbox in the sky. Take your camera out for a dance in the rain.

k

Our Groundbreaking

Well here we are breaking ground on a new project. Yes, we are actually digging in and starting a blog. Our kids are doing it, our friends are doing it, and our competition is doing it. Those of you who know us best know that no matter which one of us thinks of an idea first, we never launch a project until we are both ready to dig, which is usually a good thing.

Enjoy the combined thoughts and imagery of a photographer and a fine artist as together we articulate and illustrate key events in our lives throughout the week.