Bits from Phoenix

The hotel we stayed in was insured by the world famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Every part from the lobby, the roof, the rock work, and even the window coverings conveyed this inspiration. I made an image of the window blind in our room and like that there was a palm tree in the background outside to give a sense of place. Laura and I drove through downtown Phoenix and stopped in at the Phoenix Art Museum, but we got there with only about an hour and a half before closing, and I honestly didn’t think we could do it justice in such a short time. It’ll have to wait for the next trip!

 

 

 

 

[Canon G10]

 

 

Man vs. Creation

Mesa Arts Center, Arizona

Grand Canyon from 11000m (36000′)

 

[Top – Sigma DP1Merrill w/Ricoh GW3,  Bottom – Sigma DP3Merrill]

 

 

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

This sculpture installation was above the ticket windows inside the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. I didn’t see any info as to who made it, but if I was to guess, I would say Dale Chihuly – just guessing though!

 

 

[Canon G10]

 

 

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

A real highlight of our trip to Phoenix in February was our visit to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA). It is a fabulous facility with simply outstanding exhibits and a great bookstore to boot! I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, SMoCA’s minimalist building (a renovation of a former movie theater) has four galleries that showcase changing exhibitions.

SMoCA’s current(until May 4th) exhibit titled Five Senses includes an installation by  Olafur  Eliasson called Beauty that constructs an experience of sensory contrasts which shifts between darkness and light, warm and cool, dry and damp and that amplify the spectacular visual experience of standing amidst water and a beautiful spectrum of fractured light.

Best known among Arizona based artist Steve Turrell’s completed artworks are his Skyspaces. One of these mysterious enclosures, Knight Rise, is located in the Museum’s outdoor Nancy and Art Schwalm Sculpture courtyard. Rimmed internally with a concrete bench, Knight Rise invites you to observe the sky through an elliptical opening in the ceiling. We visited this in the middle of a cloudy afternoon, but evening would be highly recommended as you would then be able to observe the changing colour of the sky as dusk settles in on the desert.

 

 

 

 

 

Canon G10   (#1, #2)

Sigma DP1M w/Ricoh GW-3  (#3, #4)

 

 

Esker Foundation Contemporary Art Gallery

 

 

 

 

[Olympus E-M5, Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18mm]

 

 

Day Dawns

Sunday morning I was up early, so instead of waking everyone in the house up banging cupboard doors in a feeble attempt at getting coffee ready, I decided to catch breakfast at McDonald’s (I know!) Coffee was good though. I headed out of town in the dark and was out near Sylvan Lake somewhere as the sun was coming up. There was some beautiful fog in the small valley I was in which made for some very moody images. I wish I could put thee moments into slow motion and let them drag out for an hour. But, no that’s not how creation works. The earth goes round and round and sunrise doesn’t last long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Olympus E-M5, Olympus M.Zuiko 45-150mm]

 

 

March Morning

I wandered around Red Deer County south of town for a bit this morning as it has been so cold and I haven’t been out for quite awhile. It was good to practice seeing again, not that I really stop anytime, but to go out with the full intention of giving my eyes a workout was great.

 

 

[Olympus E-M5, M.Zuiko 40-150mm]

 

 

Doo, Doo, Doo, Lookin’ Out My Backdoor

Full credit to CCR for the title!  It is so true, except for one small detail  – it’s not out my backdoor, but my good friends Doug and Shannon Williamson’s backdoor in SE Calgary. After visiting the latest Esker Foundation’s latest exhibit (go see it!) and celebrating Doug’s birthday with a great meal at Model Milk, I woke up the next morning to some great light illuminating the many angles of roofs, doors, fences, and steeples.

 

 

 

[Olympus E-M5, Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8]