Ben Blood – Featured Northwest Artist

Ben Blood’s photography has a way of making me want to step into one of his pictures and experience the moment, but also wanting to keep my distance so as not to intrude on the beautiful scene. Something I think of as the perfect visual experience. Go ahead, read the article and peruse these next few pictures and then, when you can’t get enough, stop on by his site, BenBlood.com to see more of these charming moments. (P.S. Click on the images to make them bigger. Totally worth it.) 🙂

PQ: Describe your approach to your art.   Ben: A majority of my artistic/creative exploration is focused in

Photo Friday – Yummy

I like to photograph food. In fact I should probably write an Obsession Session on it. I take pictures of food all the time. Out at restaurants, at home, at friends’ houses. There is just something so magical about capturing a beautiful dish of food in a gorgeous picture. Maybe it is because it makes the experience last longer. Maybe it’s because it’s calorie free. 😉 I’m pretty sure it’s because food is such a multi-sensual thing and finding an angle where the dish looks beautiful is just a way for me to savor the meal in a different way. This last week I had the opportunity to go to the city for errands and (even better) to visit some friends (and a handsome new baby). It also didn’t hurt that I got to squeeze in a visit to my favorite restaurant. So of course I snapped away. 🙂

Photo Friday – May Flowers

It’s probably a tad obvious to go from a photo friday about April showers into one about May flowers. But that’s what this week has been full of. D & B have been making visits to the nursery and coming back with containers of flowers to add to the beds. The veteran plants have been doing their part to prove we don’t need anymore petals. The smell of lilacs is beginning to perfume the air and everyday a new flower emerges from one location or another. All in all I love the month of May. The weather starts warming up, the world starts to become colorful again, and it also houses my birthday. 🙂 And this year we’re putting our book on sale. So one new thing to add to the fun of May. But mostly this week is all about flowers. Beautiful little faces, delicate lacy petals, and the fruit that some of them turn into. 🙂 Hooray for May.

Photo Friday – Rain

Right now I’m sitting in a sunny room drinking breakfast tea. The idea of clouds seems so distant. However, this entire week has been filled with them. Covered by them. Fluffy and white. Fluffy and grey and pink. Thin and silvery. I know they have scientific names. And perhaps I could even remember a few of them. But the beauty of clouds is that they can take whatever shape you imagine. Whatever adjective you decide to use for them. And not only are they full of imaginative possibilities they also come full of lightning, thunder, and rain. The beautiful sky splitting purple lightning that was impossible to catch with my point and shoot. The booming rumbles of thunder off in the distance. And the heavy drops of rain that soaked my hair and feet. With all those beautiful sensual experiences my camera felt so inadequate. However, I still tried to capture a bit of it. 🙂

Photo Friday – Spring Cleaning

With hints of spring come blatant demands for cleaning. The dust on the dresser that was hidden by piles of projects? Quickly revealed as said projects are finished (due to spring energy) and moved in puffs of sneeze worthy dust. The spots on the window that were unnoticeable in grayer weather? Pointed out by beautiful sun streams. The somewhat musty blankets and comforters? Just starting to feel too warm and begging to be washed and packed away until next fall. So out come the brushes, the soaps, the rags, and the sprays. Everything is going to sparkle soon. And yes, I’m finally packing away my mini Christmas tree.