The Photography Studio

Perspective

kanniduba5 Comments

I realized this morning I should have given a bit more info so you could truly appreciate the mosaic shot that I posted last night.   There are several mosaics on the wall inside Cinderella’s Castle.  The shot I posted yesterday is a tiny close-up of one piece of one of the scenes.  Here are two of the mosaics in their entirety:

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about these mosaics:

Inside the Castle’s archway, a series of five mosaic murals tells the story of Cinderella. Designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and crafted and set in place by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff, the 15 by 10 foot (4.6×3 m), ornate panels are shaped in a Gothic arch. The murals took 22 months to complete, and contain just over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass and rough smalti (glass made specifically for mosaics traditionally used by Italian craftsmen) in over 500 colors. Many of the hand-cut tiles are fused with sterling silver and 14 carat (58%) gold, and some are as small as the head of a tack. If you look closely at these ornate murals, you will notice that each of Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters appears with a little added color – one sister’s face is clearly “red with anger,” while the other sister is a little “green with envy,” as they watch Cinderella try on the glass slipper.

Note:  Other sources claim it took more than two years, and over one million tiles.  Can’t find a “straight from Disney” answer.  Will keep looking.

They are incredible pieces of art, and my photos do them no justice at all.  The play of the light on the gold is quite stunning in person.  Just another one of those amazing details that make Disney Disney.

A Little Jaunt

kanniduba5 Comments

Since I was getting tired of fetching Mister Baby Boy off the couches and away from buttons, I decided to pack him up and get out of the house.  So glad I did!  We headed to our local lake for a little fresh air.  This is my favorite time of year at this lake.  During the summer it is way too crowded with tourists to enjoy.  Right now, it is calm, and peaceful–only the locals taking advantage of it’s beauty.  We kicked off our shoes and walked in the sand, and touched the still icy cold water.  We headed to Ben & Jerry’s for a treat, but found a busload of high school kids there, so had to forego the treat for today.  I took a few photos to share.  Enjoy! 

Neat Finds Amongst the Rambling

kanniduba6 Comments

So Mother’s Day weekend was made up of everything I love.  Time with family, time with friends, outdoor play time, house project time, homemade pizzas…(I made a pesto one that was to die for!)…ice cream shop visits, roses, Lowe’s, Chinese Food take-in, watching home videos of the kids…I couldn’t have asked for more!  One of my gifts from Zan and the kids was a day off to go and play photographer.  They came up with a list of places that they think I should go photograph on my free day!  Can’t wait…I’ve been saying I need a little “alone” time…I was thinking along the lines of grocery shopping by myself, or running errands alone.  This “alone time” will be 10 times more fun!

We started preparing for the deck!  Siding has been ripped off in preparation for the ledger board, sidewalk has been removed, and Zan started digging the holes for the footings.  Since we live so far up north, the footings have to run four feet deep, so it’s a big job.

Here’s the before shot of my messy backyard entryway.

We have lived here for 10 years, and are finally getting around to improving this part of the house.  Our home is 110 years old.  Since we moved in, things like broken windows, old wiring, plumbing problems, boiler replacement, uncovering the hard wood floors, and more have taken precedence over the outside.  It feels good to finally get around to it!

 Zan made an interesting little discovery when he ripped off a board that was covering a space under the house.

There it was, this little charm just sitting on the ground.  His comment was, “This house likes to remind us now and then that we were meant to own it.”  I have to figure out what to do with it.  Any ideas? 

Oh, and one more…wait, no…two more things.  On Saturday, there was this really neat “rainbow” (for lack of a better term) around the sun.  Maybe it could be called a halo?  Neat, eh?

Our Lost Boy said, “You take pictures of rainbows?”

“Yes…”

“Why?”

“Because they’re beautiful and I want to remember them.”
“Huh.”  He says.  “Weird.” 

And last but not least…my roses.  I had no idea how difficult it was to photograph red roses!  This is pretty, but not what my eye sees.