BirchLane.net
June 2007 (editing)
Thursday 28
Art and Love. "Bruce," he said. "All these paintings, the sculpture, the children's books are about love." I said, "Tell me more." And he said "About lost love, Bruce."
Wednesday 27
The Art Project. Today I scanned over 200 drawings for my art client.
Tuesday 26
Odd Nerdrum.
Monday 25
Edward Hopper and Caravaggio. A friend writes to me today:
Bruce, I haven't commented much lately, but I am still viewing your photos every day with all of the awe and appreciation I've ever had. Thank you so much for bringing so much beauty into my life.
Sunday 24
Pauline at the Picnic. I can't think of the name Pauline without thinking of Eric Rohmer's delightful movie "Pauline at the Beach," which really has nothing to do with today's "picnic" in Susan's backyard but nonetheless there is poetry in the title. Pauline is a friend of Susan's. They worked together at Canyon Ranch in The Berkshires.
Saturday 23
Painting Completed.
Friday 22
Painting and Pizza.
Thursday 21
Painting.
Wednesday 20
A Favorite Image.
Hadley, Massachusetts
Tuesday 19
The Internet Art Historian. The Apollo Grill Art Show. And I'm Painting Again.
Part art historian, part detective; part visionary, part scholar.......
This morning I edited more photos of Katrina.
(photo)
I met Victor for lunch (and Rob and Tim) to talk about our photography show at The Apollo Grill.
(photo)
Monday 18
Saving a Bird's Life. I saved a bird today. And sold a few copies of this:
Sunday 17
Father' Day. Daryl called and then a few minutes later Danielle called. Spent the day painting and then made this amazing dinner (recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, March 2007--courtesy of Jackie.)
Tremendous Dinner Recipe and Lighting Information:
Salmon with Red Cabbage
4 5-oz. fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. kosher or sea salt or 1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
6 cups coarsely shredded red cabbage
2 green onions, bias-sliced
Directions
1. Thaw salmon, if frozen. Place salmon fillets on greased unheated rack of broiler pan. Measure thickness of salmon. Brush salmon with 1 tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar; sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Broil salmon 4 to 5 inches from heat for 4 to 6 minutes per 1�2-inch thickness or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in bowl whisk together remaining vinegar and pesto until combined. Remove 2 tablespoons pesto mixture. Add cabbage to pesto mixture in bowl; toss to coat.
3. To serve, place cabbage mixture on plate; top with salmon. Drizzle reserved pesto mixture. Sprinkle with green onion slices. Makes 4 servings.
Lighting:
Softbox 3 1/2 feet away to my right. 4 feet off ground.
Strobe with White Umbrella 7 1/2 feet away from me and 6 feet off ground.
Camera 6 feet away; 4 1/2 feet off ground next to strobe. Sync fired.
Saturday 16
Scallops. I think I painted all day. And then made this:
Recipes for Food and Lighting Follow:
Seared Scallops with Cauliflower, Capers and Raisins
Food & Wine April 2007
FAST
HEALTHY
TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 4
Chef Way: A cauliflower puree and a drizzle of balsamic reduction accompany tender sautéed scallops.
Easy Way: Cook bits of cauliflower in the skillet with the scallops, omitting the time-consuming puree. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking—no reducing necessary. (Note: This is what I did but I saute the cauliflower in oil for 10 minutes before adding scallops.)
Ingredients
1/2 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets (4 cups)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12 jumbo scallops (1 1/2 pounds), side muscle removed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped roasted almonds, preferably marcona
2 tablespoons drained small capers
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil over high heat until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.
In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the scallops with salt and pepper; add to the skillet in a single layer and cook over high heat until golden and crusty, about 2 minutes. Turn the scallops. Add the butter, cauliflower, almonds, capers and raisins and cook undisturbed until the scallops are white throughout and the cauliflower is lightly browned in spots, about 1 minute longer. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir gently to coat. Transfer to plates, garnish with the parsley and serve.
NOTES
Sommelier Choice Blanchard suggests the 2005 Vinum Cellars Vista Verde Vineyard Viognier, which is as exotically rich as these sautéed scallops are.
Easy-to-Find Choice Richard Bruno, co-owner of Vinum Cellars, also makes wines for Smoking Loon, a much larger brand; try the refreshing 2005 Viognier.
We drank a 2005 Clos Du Bois Pinot Grigio.
TREMENDOUS DINNER!!!!!! Served with Parmesan Couscous and Green Salad.
Lighting:
Softbox 3 1/2 feet away to my right. 4 feet off ground.
Strobe with White Umbrella 7 1/2 feet away from me and 6 feet off ground.
Camera 6 feet away; 4 1/2 feet off ground next to strobe. Sync fired.
Friday 15
Your Heart's Desire.
Thursday 14
Portrait Lighting.
Wednesday 13
New Hampshire Wedding and Miss Teen Massachusetts. Today I finished editing the photos from the wedding that I photographed at Searles Castle in New Hampshire.
Late in the afternoon the new Miss Teen Massachusetts, Katrina, came over for a photography session.
Tuesday 12
Training. Today I had training at cDeVision on how to update and use my new website, which will function as an excellent sales and marketing tool.
Monday 11
Sunday 10
Saturday 09
Friday 08
Art at The Apollo. Lunch today with Victor (and Rob and Tim) to talk about our upcoming photography show at The Apollo ("Down at The Lower Mill Pond and All Around Town").
Thursday 07
Wednesday 06
Images.
A friend of the family just purchased a gift certificate from Brookview for a portrait session... they gave it to my husbands uncle and aunt for their 25th anniversary. They intend to hire you to shoot a 1.5 hour portrait session of their family (two parents, three daughters in their early 20s)....I'll keep you posted on when this happens......We'll leave it up to you to work with them to select a date and location.Hope all is well!Jen
Tuesday 05
Painting Rooms.
Jen
Monday 04
Sunday 03
Saturday 02
The Wedding. I went to New Hampshire today to photograph a wedding. I was the "Guest Photographer" for a group that was reviewing my capabilities.
Friday 01
Communication. Yesterday, in the late afternoon, when the sky was starting to darken from the approaching thunderstorm, I went for a walk along The Manhan Trail, the bike path behind the building where I live.
On the trail I ran into my friend Maggie. She said there is a family performing Blue Grass over at The Manhan Cafe. It was The Doerfel Family (All ten of them!). I got to talking with Tom, the dad, about family and communication.
He told me how important talking is; how communication is the tie that binds his family together--people together. It was a wonderful conversation and I was sorry he had to jump up at one point and play the stand up bass!
I was reminded of this quote:
"Sir, I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintance."
~ Samuel Johnson (James Boswell: Life of Samuel Johnson)
At "The most comprehensive collection of Samuel Johnson quotations on the web" we read:
Johnson's persistent need for human contact is pretty well known, but the diversity of his friends isn't often thought about. He was on friendly terms with important painters, major politicians, historians, musicologists, writers, and attorneys; people from countries such as Italy and Ireland (and Scotland, too, of course); people his own age, and people significantly younger than him. I think it's safe to say that for Johnson, meeting a person for the first time often introduced new worlds to him; and as a result, I think this line from Boswell's Life of Johnson is a song to diversity. Life can be surprising, and offer interesting tales and facts you'd never anticipate.
I was also reminded of Theodore Zeldin's book, An Intimate History of Humanity, in which he writes: "...no life can be considered to be fully lived if it has not benefited from all the encounters of which it is capable." And:
The first know conversationalist was Socrates, who replaced this war of words by dialogue......Before him, the model for all speech was the monologue: the wise man or god spoke and the rest listened......His (Socrates) brilliant idea was that if two unsure individuals were put together, they could achieve what they could not do separately; they could discover the truth, their own truth, for themselves. By questioning each other and examining their prejudices, dividing each one of these into many parts, finding the flaws, never attacking or insulting, but always seeking what they could agree between them, moving in small steps from one agreement to another, they would gradually learn what the purpose of life was...... But conversation is not made just of questions: Socrates invented only half of the conversation. Another rebellion was still needed, and it came with the Renaissance. This time it was a rebellion by women......
The model whom everyone ultimately copied was Madame Rambouillet (nee Pisani, she was half Italian)......(she) showed what it meant to sociable in the most refined way, so that it no longer mattered how rich, or how well born, or how physically beautiful one was, provided one knew how to take part in a conversation.
She organized conversation in an entirely new way......People of all classes and nationalities met in her salon--and in many other salons which imitated hers--for conversation......they concentrated on expressing their thoughts with elegance.
"I look upon every day to be lost in which I do not make a new acquaintance," Dr Johnson. (I have always loved this quote.)
Only when people learn to converse will they begin to be equal.
