Birthday and Anniversary Week - Glenstone Museum and Old Town Alexandria
My wife and I took a week off of work as this week in June we celebrated our five year anniversary as well as my birthday. We didn’t do any big travel plans, instead opted for a stay-cation. It was really relaxing and fun. We got to explore the place we live in and came across some rather unexpected experiences.
First we had some delicious food at the Barca Pier and Wine Bar in Old Town Alexandria. We also stopped by the Torpedo Art Galleries down by the Harbor. We then continued to simply walk around and explore the area before everything got too hot. Below are a few of my favorite frames from the trip.
This crooked little staircase stopped me in my tracks. The contrast of it all, the textures of the old stone. It was very much in keeping with the vibe of old town.
I like groups of 3. The clouds here served as an interesting background to an otherwise simple foreground. I am reminded though of how much work Ansel Adams would put in to make his skies seem dark. The blue really is not much different, tonally than the clouds in the negative. I worked them a bit in lightroom for the scan, but to do that in the negative for a print will be quite a challenge. Possibly better off using a color filter to make the blue sky much deeper contrast from the white clouds.
We did a little shopping at a consignment shop as well as just poking our heads in to a number of different stores. They were a great respite from the heat.
We then got turned around a few times looking for where we parked. We eventually found it just past with this mural on the Linder Academy. I remember hearing these words she wrote and spoke at the inauguration and being absolutely enthralled. If you have not heard it, I recommend you find the time. Here is the link to the speech.
We eventually came home and I saw this light coming in through the bathroom window. I took a number of frames on my Pentax 6x7 as well as my Intrepid 4x5 of the sink. They are all stunning though I am most excited about the 4x5 frame. I may scan it, I may not. It may just become a print. I am reminded of Edward Weston’s Excusado, 1925. He wrote at length about his attempts to get the image just right.
A couple days later, on my birthday, we went to the Glenstone Museum. The Pavilions were unfortunately closed for construction, but we will certainly be returning. We saw a number of artists work and I am surprised at how many names and works I recognized or simply knew by the art itself. (thats what an MFA degree gets you I suppose). I was very surprised to see a handful of original Diane Arbus prints. But Richard Seras installations sort of stole the show. His use of steel and the common thread of balance is palpable in each of his works at the museum. That being said, there are not many photos of the art itself, you will need to go experience it for yourself as a photo simply does not do any of them justice. You will need a few more of your senses for this museum.
Instead I took photos of the surrounding area, the nature the museum is found in is wild and beautiful in itself. We even had a Heron black our path at one point before he politely walked off into the woods.
There is a lot of procession at this museum. You spend some time walking up to these big art pieces. But the walk is always enjoyable. I was stunned by the landscape which rivaled the art. A very old Sycamore Tree with a curve in its trunk is still whispering to me to be photographed in golden hour light despite being an hours drive away.
You may notice some weird drippy artifacts on these scans, it is due to the negative slipping out of the holder while it was drying. The film unfortunately got a bit crumpled on the ground and dried that way. I have learned this lesson and will be figuring out a solution before my next development.
I still have more photos to scan, but My wife also bought me a 2000+ piece lego set of the Discovery Shuttle and Hubble Telescope, so I am going to go spend the rest of my weekend building that!
I am, and always will be, a child.
