Monk with Chrysanthemums

When I lived in Thailand, garlands of silk chrysanthemums and plastic jasmine blossoms were draped respectfully over every Buddha statue, Thai spirit house and Bodhi tree in my little city. Spiritual practice was woven into the fabric of daily life. We burned incense at our gate to keep wandering spirits at bay. We made food offerings to statues of Thailand's first kings to show respect, and we gave morning alms to the monks who walked barefoot past our house in the early morning.

My son, who is half Thai, has only our little Buddha statues at home and this life-sized statue of a seated Chinese monk to ponder in our Hudson Valley home. Perhaps because of this, each time we go to our favorite local market, we visit the Chinese monk seated quietly in the window of an unrented shopfront nearby. We bow respectfully to him to honor the practice of mindfulness and the teachings of the Buddha.

It always makes me a little homesick for my beloved Chiang Mai. (Not too homesick, however, because there are no raspberries, good chocolate bars or affordable bottles of red wine there!)

Candid

B Boy Boston - RW#8, a photo by Jarrod Reno on Flickr.

 
Primp, a photo by unclear on Flickr.

Instant film makes a camera candid.

Historicism

Britt / Samurai portrait. Paris, 2011, a photo by LzoPhoto on Flickr.

Untitled, a photo by ludwigwest on Flickr.
  
A perfect medium for exploring the past.

Of Sea and Sand

... vacation is wonderfull ..., a photo by Norbert H. on Flickr.

dive i n, a photo by oknoahok on Flickr.

5 days. 1,394 photographers. 3,879 photographs (and I looked at every single one).  

This week I'll share some of my favorites from a long list of remarkable images (on the off chance you didn't stay up 'til the wee hours every night last week surveying the postings for Polaroid Week 2011).

Polaroid Week 2011. Tuesday

Today was the perfect summer day.

An afternoon with my boy by the pool following a lazy morning.  Hot, yellow sunshine through the bedroom curtains and pj's until noon.

Captured with grace and elegance by Silver Shade instant film. When it's good, it's really good.

Boy, My Boy

Portraits scare me. And, so portraits I must make.

Getting this close to someone and letting them just be is tricky. Cameras are off-putting, unless you are five. And you've been captured by this particular photographer about 8,549 times. And you really like to make faces.

My portrait mojo is starting to cook, and I'm feeling a little braver about heading down the hill into the little village and getting some of those great faces on film. Instant film, of course.

Stay tuned.

Dad

He calls himself The Mountain Man, and he's a far cry from the suburban guy I grew up with. Here's to all the dads out there who are living as they see fit. You can learn a lot from a guy like that.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Mosaic

Photographer Maurizio Galimberti, whose Polaroid mosaic subjects include Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga and George Clooney, will be at The Impossible Project's New York space on April 26th. A little demonstration of his technique, a chance to chat, and a glass of wine all to launch Impossible's newest version of its Silver Shade film.

Galimberti works exclusively with Polaroid film. Terribly inspiring (and a great opportunity to work Johnny Depp into my teeny photo blog!).

Ordinary Things

Until the weather clears around here, I've been keeping the shutter finger contented with photos of ordinary things around the house. Things I just like to look at (and so does my little helper... now, if I could just keep him from wiggling the old farm table...)

Tuesdays in Thailand

Cambodia, actually. Remembering a little trip I made to Angkor Wat. Hottest, most beautiful and puzzling place I've ever seen. Ate crunchy little fishes on bowls of rice and downed Coke like it was (clean) water.

Tuesdays in Thailand

 

For several years, I lived (quite happily) as an expat in Thailand. My camera went with me everywhere. I'll dig through the archives once in awhile to give you a taste of "the land of smiles."