Boston Workshop
I am back home from several wonderful whirlwind weeks of wandering. Wandering to and fro in the northern part of the United States. My sweet husband delivered me to the Abilene airport very early...(before the 5's as Judy would say), as I was en route to a much anticipated photography workshop in Boston.
I have been walking the fence in the last two years between academia and photography. Each day one side pulling me away from the other. When I make a picture with my camera and I see a smile from the person who has commissioned me to make that picture I feel as though I am right where I need to be. Then there is a wonderful world of learning, books, literature, bible, social sciences, research...I love it, too. I am driven to find a way to combine these two worlds. I think that is what I was hoping this workshop would do for me. It would bring me greater understanding of where my emotive yearnings meet the world around me. I am still a long way from where I can see these two places collide, but I am certainly a step or two closer.
The workshop was wonderful, among many activities I learned how to make an old fashioned VanDyke print, how to create an encaustic collage (wax coated collage), how to make a dress for a model/client out of plan fabric and some ribbon on location. It was a creative smorgisborg for my brain.
The workshop was filled with awesome photographers. Each amazing and unique. It was a beautiful group to spend 3 days with.
Here is a pic of two the girls I hung out with quite a bit. Peggy and Caroline.
Another great character of the weekend was the Inn the workshop was held at. The Wayside Inn, in Sudbury, Massachusetts. If you are familiar with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (He wrote the poem about Paul Revere's ride) at all, you might have heard the name of the Wayside Inn within his poetry. He was a great fan of the Inn and wrote many of his works there in the tavern. The oldest part of the Inn was built in 1716 when it was a home, but then the Howe Family added on to the home and made it an Inn during the late 1700's. It has been an operating Inn since then. It was truly amazing. The Inn had SO much character, and it was amazing to stay there. Here is a pic of my bed in room #4 (which is not haunted, btw). Rooms 9 & 10 have been visited by all sorts of ghostbusters through the years. Jerusha Howe, the daughter of the homeowner, is reported to have been hanging out there for the last hundred years. Hers was a story of a longing for her love who left for England, and meant to return to his love, Jerusha. He never returned, and she died waiting for him.
The link above gives a great description of the Wayside Inn and all it holds on the property. There are no televisions or radios. But one can pass the time looking for the secret drawer in your room containing letters from past Inn customers who have written about their experience. The grounds were so beautiful, lush and green that there wasn't much time spent in the room. Most of us photographers were roaming around with camera (or iphone) in hand taking pictures of everything we could see.
The Wayside Inn is truly a place that I will never forget.
The food served in their dining room was extraordinary. During the 3 days... some of the meals I enjoyed...I had lobster pie, chicken pot pie, whole wheat blueberry pancakes (the old grist mill on the property still grinds the wheat for the Wayside) and lobster eggs benedict, and they have a pastry shop, too. It wasn't a place to even consider calories, but to just enjoy the experience of the history, surroundings...and the fresh blueberry pie.
I decided to use my hipstamatic app on my iphone for most of the pics on this trip. They give it a quirky, artsy feel more than my big camera. I love the way these pictures look.
This was without the hipstamatic app. Just the iphone camera, I loved this color burst coming through the trees.
This is the schoolhouse that Mary brought her lamb. It was moved to the Wayside Inn property to preserve it. Henry Ford invested in this area years ago to give it all new life. He brought Mary's schoolhouse to the property. There is a church you will see below that is called Mary-Martha. Of course I assumed it was named for the Mary and Martha in the Bible, however, upon further investigation and reading I found out it was named for Henry Ford's mother and his mother in law....Mary and Martha.
This was an amazing weekend. The people, the creativeness, the surroundings, the Wayside. Wonderful.
Up next on the blog...from Sudbury to Boston proper.
I have been walking the fence in the last two years between academia and photography. Each day one side pulling me away from the other. When I make a picture with my camera and I see a smile from the person who has commissioned me to make that picture I feel as though I am right where I need to be. Then there is a wonderful world of learning, books, literature, bible, social sciences, research...I love it, too. I am driven to find a way to combine these two worlds. I think that is what I was hoping this workshop would do for me. It would bring me greater understanding of where my emotive yearnings meet the world around me. I am still a long way from where I can see these two places collide, but I am certainly a step or two closer.
The workshop was wonderful, among many activities I learned how to make an old fashioned VanDyke print, how to create an encaustic collage (wax coated collage), how to make a dress for a model/client out of plan fabric and some ribbon on location. It was a creative smorgisborg for my brain.
The workshop was filled with awesome photographers. Each amazing and unique. It was a beautiful group to spend 3 days with.
Here is a pic of two the girls I hung out with quite a bit. Peggy and Caroline.
Another great character of the weekend was the Inn the workshop was held at. The Wayside Inn, in Sudbury, Massachusetts. If you are familiar with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (He wrote the poem about Paul Revere's ride) at all, you might have heard the name of the Wayside Inn within his poetry. He was a great fan of the Inn and wrote many of his works there in the tavern. The oldest part of the Inn was built in 1716 when it was a home, but then the Howe Family added on to the home and made it an Inn during the late 1700's. It has been an operating Inn since then. It was truly amazing. The Inn had SO much character, and it was amazing to stay there. Here is a pic of my bed in room #4 (which is not haunted, btw). Rooms 9 & 10 have been visited by all sorts of ghostbusters through the years. Jerusha Howe, the daughter of the homeowner, is reported to have been hanging out there for the last hundred years. Hers was a story of a longing for her love who left for England, and meant to return to his love, Jerusha. He never returned, and she died waiting for him.
The link above gives a great description of the Wayside Inn and all it holds on the property. There are no televisions or radios. But one can pass the time looking for the secret drawer in your room containing letters from past Inn customers who have written about their experience. The grounds were so beautiful, lush and green that there wasn't much time spent in the room. Most of us photographers were roaming around with camera (or iphone) in hand taking pictures of everything we could see.
The Wayside Inn is truly a place that I will never forget.
The food served in their dining room was extraordinary. During the 3 days... some of the meals I enjoyed...I had lobster pie, chicken pot pie, whole wheat blueberry pancakes (the old grist mill on the property still grinds the wheat for the Wayside) and lobster eggs benedict, and they have a pastry shop, too. It wasn't a place to even consider calories, but to just enjoy the experience of the history, surroundings...and the fresh blueberry pie.
I decided to use my hipstamatic app on my iphone for most of the pics on this trip. They give it a quirky, artsy feel more than my big camera. I love the way these pictures look.
This was without the hipstamatic app. Just the iphone camera, I loved this color burst coming through the trees.
This is the schoolhouse that Mary brought her lamb. It was moved to the Wayside Inn property to preserve it. Henry Ford invested in this area years ago to give it all new life. He brought Mary's schoolhouse to the property. There is a church you will see below that is called Mary-Martha. Of course I assumed it was named for the Mary and Martha in the Bible, however, upon further investigation and reading I found out it was named for Henry Ford's mother and his mother in law....Mary and Martha.
This was an amazing weekend. The people, the creativeness, the surroundings, the Wayside. Wonderful.
Up next on the blog...from Sudbury to Boston proper.
Comments
I think you have such an eye for beauty and such a talent for capturing faces and moments, that you will figure out this balance of yours...