basha's bijoux {jewelry}

as i gear up for holiday & jewelry trunk shows - i always get excited to look thru images of my work to use in promos and invitations.
luckily - i can still use gorgeous shots that photographer friends ( seen here are 2 from shoshanna white)  have made over the years and combine them with my own more recent " point & shoot" images.
we have always used available light & simple, mostly natural materials for backgrounds.
i think its time to get a little dramatic. use lights. contrast. dark surfaces. i'll keep you posted....

bateaux { boat, ship, dinghy}

as we head into fall, i am  looking back at some of my favorite photos from june, july & august.
this particular summer was filled with amazing experiences on the maine coast in BATEAUX - boats of all kinds, sizes, shapes and makes. we rowed, sailed, cruised, raced, towed, floated, powerboated...you name it, we did it. slept on many, took friends out, hit rocks, had close calls with other vessels, rescued others,  had picnics & cocktails many a day and evening.
one highlight  was cruising with our berlin friends about their gannon & benjamin built classic sloop, painted black - elegant. another was teaching myself to sail a bettlecat ( NOT easy) and then race it at our local club with my son.
one particularly fun experience was being with girlfriends in a recently launched vintage lake cruiser ( see yellow boat above). it hadn't been in the water for 20 years. while cruising around it was taking on water at a rapid pace and seawater was sloshing around our ankles....we nervously giggled and just kept on going.
maine has 5,500 miles of coastline and about 2000 islands- we are doing our best to get out there and appreciate it .

brouillard. fog.

brouillard: french word for fog, mist, haze, murk, curtain, fogginess.
lately i have been feeling a bit "hazey" myself, be it the seasonal change, a new home, the harvest full moon, a combination of things - and i decided to kick start my way out of this by getting back to basha's oog blog posts. so here i am.
this summer i happened to be down by the ocean on a few particularly foggy mornings. the beauty that the fog created by making certain colors pop was breathtaking. it was sometimes like looking at a black & white photograph with just one or two parts in color. ( the blue of the boston whaler in the harbor boats image - an example) or the mystery, unknowingness that the fog implied like the dock above that seemed to end nowhere. somewhere. who knows where.
autumn has arrived. the sun is sparkly and has a very different quality than in summer. i am snapping into focus & clarity. the winds and cooler air have arrived - and fog is rare...

fiets. bicyclettes. bikes

biking was our main source of transportation - what a life changing experience.
this past fall/winter while living in the netherlands, this family of three relied soley on our loaner bikes.
we got to school & the office this way, we grocery shopped, we went out for dinner, to the library, to the bus & train stations, out to parties, to judo & soccer practice....and even to other neighboring towns.
we even used bikes on all our dutch vacation adventures. (try getting around amsterdam on christmas eve with your six year old and attending an elegant dinner and then a symphony! )
we biked in very hot & humid weather in august to the nearby beaches ( 5 - 7 km).
we biked in the pelting rain more often than i would have liked and actually learned how to ride WHILE holding an unbrella.
we biked in very cold weather, snow & sleet & freezing rain. we even crashed, wiped out, skidded, fell over - all three of us.
but we loved it all. it changed the way we approached everything from shopping to editing how many things to carry on a daytrip to the way we observed life in and around our corner of holland. it pushed our limits,  and  simply put - opened our eyes and minds and strengthened our bodies.

snow white

today is the vernal equinox-  THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING and we are  recovering from yesterdays snow day . the vernal quinox means that now days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the sun rises & sets due east and due west. during yesterdays storm i made myself get outside into the snow and take a few walks in hopes of some beautiful photo opportunties. it was too blustery for much but i did find some wonderful natural textures like these snow covered twigs.
i was lead back to an all white still life i made one day at home with barnacles, porcupine quills ( that my son & husband graciously collected from roadkill), local farm eggs, yarn & twine - all set into a white glazed dish i made at a friends pottery studio. the white pitchers are from an interiors shoot i got to work on with photographer marjon hoogervorst while in the netherlands.
the snow white landscape is quite beautiful and all looks so clean and austere - but i am ready for spring & green.

green. vert. groen

GREEN
little hints that spring is coming; the grass, the mud, the wet  & the little bits of promising green here & there.
i am reminded that winter in holland is so MILD compared to the northeastern usa and that one
sees grass, GREEN grass almost all winter long. the tree shot was taken on our christmas holiday to
the north of holland. it was taken in Drowen. the vintage volvo was seen on the same trip on the streets of Groningen, a charming city...i just love the boxy simplicity of this model and could imagine
owning one of these. i have to admit, i am missing the daily sight of so many wonderful vintage cars - in the netherlands i saw a few a day - it makes you pine.
the swans and train shot were taken right near our house in wassenaar on my favorite bike route along a canal.
spring is coming.
SPRING = RENEWAL + FRESH BEGINNINGS + GROWTH + NEW LIFE

m u l t i c o l o r & k i d s

color color color kids kids kids.
just back from working on a kids shoot in texas ( lucky me!)
 so much energy & fun & silliness & hard work.
the clothes were vibrant & patterned & inspired.
only two images are from my shoot the others i took recently around town. ( the one of the little one with his back turned..i had to laugh as he was trying to sneak off set thru a teeny space where the set met the wall)
others:   * at my house, birthday party dutch verjaardag paper garland. my mom always had these for our birthday parties growing up. i keep this one up as it spruces up a maine winter interior
* pillows & lime painted wall at a friends house as well as the index cards - recipes from the 1970's in a clear acrylic box.