Tag Archives: Nature

Art, Recent Personal Images

A Forty Year Love Affair

nature, tulip, parrot tulip, flower, art, photography, photograph

Professor Rontgen Parrot Tulip

New York, New York City, art, flower, parrot tulip, tulip, art, photograph, photography,

Parrot Tulips on 29th Street, New York City

I’ve had a forty-year love affair with the parrot tulip.  There are a few moments when I meet someone or discover something in nature when a connection is established that lasts a lifetime.  I’ve been blessed with a few of these moments, the first time I saw Patti’s  eyes, she’s been my wife for 45 years.  The moment I looked into Layla’s face in the delivery room, 26 years later I am still in love with my daughter.  Then there’s the parrot tulip.

The first time I saw a parrot tulip was forty years ago while walking in the rain along Madison Avenue in New York City.  A corner flower shop had a  funnel-shaped galvanized bucket full of parrot tulips among the flowers on display.  Even now I remember the response I had, it was mainly wonderment.  Looking at the tulip was like looking at a flame painted into a flower.

A few years ago I had a florist importer order direct from Holland two dozen parrot tulips.  They were delivered every Monday during their blooming period.  I would take them into my studio, study them and make new visual discoveries each week. The first image with the black background is an image from one of those sessions.

Earlier this year while walking in the rain along 29th street near my apartment in New York City I came upon two parrot tulips.  There were growing within a metal enclosure around a Ginko tree. I got down low to take a closer look when I noticed the taxis heading westbound on 29th street.  The image of that moment is the second one in this post.

To see more images visit: Eastep Image Archive

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art, perception, abstract, mirror, sculpture, photo, photography, New York City,

Reflection of the Flatiron Building from mirror sculpture at 23rd St. and Fifth Avenue, New York City

Art in public space Singapore

Art in public space Singapore

broken mirror,nature, woods

Broken mirror in the woods, Sarasota, Florida

When I think about how we see, I sense that we look optically with our eyes and we perceive with our minds eye. The amount of information we see at one time is enormous. Our minds eye selects, filters, organizes, categorizes, defines, and correlates what we see, then creates meaning by integrating with our consciousness. Did I mention this is done in a micro second?

Art can frame and re-frame the physical world and help us see and think about what we often take for granted.  It presents  an opportunity to expand our perception and enter a state of observation and hopefully, awareness.

These three images that did that for me.   The broken mirror reflecting the surrounding woods was alongside the road.  The women in Singapore were having fun with a freestanding set of translucent and mirrored panels and the sculpture near Madison Square park in New York created segmented and reflected views of the iconic Flatiron building, the Empire State building and a tour bus along Fifth Avenue.

These images posit the question, what is consciousness?  They even challenge our assumption of what reality is.  Is it what’s in front of us, behind us, what we see within one plane or what we saw just before we became aware of what we are now seeing?  More often than not, the role of art is to raise the question rather than propose the answer.

Art, Recent Personal Images

Planes of Perception

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Nature

Advertising in Nature

Cuban brown anole with dewlap extended

Cuban brown anole with dewlap extended. Sarasota, Florida

The Cuban brown anole advertises his presence by extending the dewlap (erectile cartilage).  This anole was outside my Studio early this morning.  I photographed with a 350mm lens with the lens wide open through two layers of screen and wire mess, that’s why the image is slightly soft.

More nature images at my image archive www.EastepPhotography.com

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Nature, Recent Personal Images

Aloe Vera Final Phase

Aloe vera flower, Sarasota, Florida

Aloe vera flower, Sarasota, Florida

Final phase of the Aloe vera flower open. No further caption needed.

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Nature

Aloe Vera Stage 2

Aloe vera flower bud

Aloe vera flower bud

Nature offers a counter-balance to the hyper speed pace of our modern instant gratification lives.  Last week I posted an image of this Aloe vera flower bud shortly after it had formed.  I had thought, “it will flower in a day or so and I’ll post the image of it open.”

Well, mother nature had a lesson for me.  She’s not on my blog, twitter, facebook, linkedin schedule. It’s been a week and you can see the delicate orange color developing slowly at the base of the petals.  When the time is right I’ll share with you the image of the fully open aloe vera flowers. Wouldn’t these buds make wonderful earrings!

To see more visit: Nature Studies at EastepPhotography.com

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