patricia emerson mitchell photography
the way I see the world
Red & Rain, 12.4.14
Dan and I went to a wonderful concert tonight, that included both The Choral Project and San Jose Chamber Orchestra, along with American jazz pianist/composer Taylor Eigsti; jazz vocalist Juanita Harris, boy soprano Ghythe Hahhad; and oboist Michael Adduci. The music included Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, as well as some wonderful works by friend Michael Touchi. What a delightful evening! A perfect way to move into this Christmas week.
Red Rose with Water Drops, 12.4.14
Red Amaryllis, 12.10.14
I will take my leave with this red Amaryllis, which I found at Santana Row. That shopping area brings back such special memories of Christmas shopping with our family. We’d often stop at the sweet little bakery there either before or after shopping for cocoa or coffee and something tasty.
Hm. I think I need to go back there this year, despite having no children home for Christmas. Just for the memories.
Earlier today I posted this Amaryllis, again from Santana Row. I post it in memory of Irene Dalis. I’m so very sorry to have to write that she passed away yesterday morning.
White Amaryllis, 12.10.14
Working with red can be a bit of a challenge. The camera has a tough time handling a really intense red. ( The same can go for purple, and certain blues as well.) My husband, G Dan Mitchell, has explained the why of it to me several times, but I’m not able to wrap my slow brain around it all, or at least I’m not able to hold on to the knowledge for much longer than the blink of an eye. Or shutter. Or something. That being said, I continue to work with the color. This time of year I work with it quite a bit. Much of the time I have to turn down the saturation. I’ve noticed that highly saturated photos are a big hit with a lot of people, but I want something to look the way I remember seeing it, and I don’t usually see things so ultra-saturated.
This photo above took some work. And yes, I did slide that saturation a bit to the left. At this point I think I may try to print it, as I think it would make a lovely card, and for a variety of events: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, special occasions … it works for all. It think it would make a good larger print as well. I guess it’s time to feed some paper into the printer!
Side note: I’m not sure if I’ll be posting anything for the next few days: I’ve been hired to perform in some Christmas concerts out of town, so I’ll just have to play it by ear. The posting, that is, not the music. Dan will hold down the fort here … you can always go look at his absolutely fantastic work. Needless to say, I learn a lot just by studying his photographs.
Yep. Already. My house is partially decorated, but other than that I’ve done very little. With no Nutcracker this December (our struggling local ballet company is using tape this year, sad but true) I think I was a bit thrown off.
Today, though, I started working on Christmas cards. This is just a quick hand-held shot of what I’ve done so far. Soon I’ll post each of the shots so you can see them more clearly: I have a few more to work on so I want to get back to those before I post.
I always enjoy making cards. I enjoy sending them as well. There’s something about a card like this, where one can put a personal message inside, that I really like.
