Monday, July 04, 2005

still life

from Mexico that i found while roaming around my family's home.





41 comments:

vishnoi said...

nice shots!

like the 3rd one. it looks like the object have remained there for quite some time. and i like the idea of putting them up in B/W

Lorena said...

thanks irina, yes i was able to read and understand it all :) (thanks for the practice)
yes this is where my families from and i like the simple life they live and how they don't try to mess with original beauty (by modernizing) of course somethings help but beauty like here in the pictures, i love.

aashish :: thanks, they were taken with b&w film. and the items are used but that is how i found them at the time and felt worth photographing.

- litol figgy - said...

i love the 1st pic and how the eggs seem to jump out of the picture. really nice subjects, lore. you make me miss my camera.

Anonymous said...

Hey a molcajete with two tejolotes (mortar with two pestles). Cool! We have one to make some killer salsas in. It's also used to grind up seeds to add to molé for texture. It's so heavy tho. Nice pictures, reminds me of my visit to Mexico. My mom's from the second largest city in Mexico (Monterrey, NL) but my dad's from a great village with the type of environment as in your pics. Thanks for bringing it all back! :D

Lorena said...

rain :: that is my favorite too. the shadows really make the eggs stand out, you could almost pick one up.
thanks :)

zulema :: isn't it wonderful, visits to mexico. thanks for providing the info. i'm so bad with names of things.
thanks :)

corinna :: thank you. thank you, thank you :)

Aleksu said...

Lorena, thanks for sharing these amazing pictures to the blogosphere.

I specially like the one with the molcajete (or is it a metate?).

Don't know what took me so long to find your blog, but I'm glad I finally did.

Sarah said...

Hey Lorena,
It's Sarah from Last Stop Suburbia, thought I drop by and check out your blog, thanks for checking out ours and leaving comments, they are some incredible photos you have there, I'm really into photography, thanks for posting them, theyre awesome, stay cool and keep blogging...

{illyria} said...

the images are so stark and human. i love them, lorena. you have a way of making your subjects just pop to life.

Anonymous said...

Jesus Christ, dear Lorena! God! Everyday you impress me more and more. Once again, a master of textures and light, and once again the stones. I love your story of the grounded flour, a proletarian praying for the "pan nuestro de cada día". The still life, the story of the food of the worker reminds me a lot the work of Tina Modoti while she was in México in the 20's. And also reminds me to Hernri Cartier-Bresson, and Graciela Itúrbide, Edward Weston, Alfred Stiglitz and Anselm Adams... You go, girl!

Great photos, great storytelling...

God bless you a lot...

Your friend, que te admira y quiere mucho,

H.

P.S. De momento me entraron ganas de comerme unas carnitas... Yum!

P.S. II La pala rota es algo triste, con la luz de la tarde alta tiene algo de vida que se acaba...

Anonymous said...

There is this Swiss photographer, Christian Fitze, who concentrates his work on rocks. The textures in black and white and the grades of contrasts. I think you are going to enjoy him. His site is christianfitze.ch

Take care and God bless you...

Your friend, que te admira y quiere mucho,

H.

Pecos Blue said...

I really liked your phots please take more. We are looking forward to have eggs of our own. The chickens are just 5 months old so we are still waiting.

Lorena said...

blex :: thanks for visiting!! and for your wonderful comment. i will be making my way to pay you a visit soon :)

sarah :: thanks for dropping by! and for your kind words. do visit again.

transience :: thanks :) yeah, there is something 'still life' about them, at least to me when i look at them.

jacob :: sounds good. i always like to go to a new place each year. it could be Brazil this year *fingers crossed*
so you don't understand any of the spanish?

H :: i think you did the storytelling and yes it was great :) thanks for always being kind & encouraging. you are full of so much information!
did you have some carnitas :) i had some over the weekend.
p.s. i did check out the other photographer you had mentioned. he's amazing.
take care :)

potted flower :: thanks, no i've never sold anything. yeah, what's amazing is that all these object were not placed this way, that is how i found them. i thought it was cool.

avik :: thanks, i'll try.

pecos blue :: i loved looking for eggs when i was in mexico years back. it was such a nice surprise finding them. enjoy it!
i will be posting more soon of mexico.
thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Awwww, you got me red all over once again... :0) But, really, girl, were your pictures the ones who told the story...

My words you find encouraging, more than from kindness comes from my admiration to you...

I am glad you liked Fitze's work, hope the same with Jefrrey Curto...

Where did you have the carnitas? In that big place in Western Aveue (Jesus, I forgot the name), the one almost facing the candy store where Al Capone and The Beatles had chocolate (obviously not in the same time)? Or in Avril, by Logan Bulevard? Or that place in the corner of Fullerton and Milwawkee where sometimes I had chilaquiles for breakfast...

My favorite perverse pleasure? It was in Puebla Restaurant, near Logan Square: Enchiladas de Pollo con Mole Poblano... AAAAH!!! I die for mole poblano. I think I'll have some before the weekend... :0)

Take care and God bless you...

H.

mermaid said...

Souls of the Earth, as are you!

Lorena said...

let me know if you need a translation jacob :)

H :: i guess pictures have a unique story depending on who is looking at it. about the carnitas, i don't know but they were good! thanks.

mermaid :: that is such a beautiful way to look at these objects, as souls. i couldn't quite figure out how to describe them. thank you, thank you :)
you are amazing with words!

Mariposatomica said...

Enjoyed your blog! Great pix. I love photography! Do you exhibit?

Mariposatomica said...

Lorena, sorry for being so dinky but I did work for Andy Frain. I think I know you. Did you used to live in Bridgeport and your family is from Chihuahua? If not disregard.

Lorena said...

mariposatomica :: first off, thanks, glad you dropped by. exhibit, i wish :)
2nd, you have the right info, wow that is wierd!!! who are you? of course you don't have to say but wow, you have the place where my families from too!!

avik :: thank you for the sweet words and what you said about friends, beautiful. thanks for sharing that.

Unknown said...

hola lorena. your pictures are gorgeous. i never thought eggs could be so beautiful.

btw, beware of the atomic butterfly.

bablu said...

Reminds me of all the things in our old house.

Srikar said...

You seem to be someone who appreciates photography. DO chk my photo-blog and tell me how you fell abt it.

sk8rn said...

How gorgeous. The crispness of the image of the eggs is particularly striking to me.

Paul said...

Don't know anything about photography, but like the way you use black and white.

I'm noticing that, for some reason, black and white can sometimes look more real than color, which doesn't seem to make sense.

Maybe it's because with color, the colors are never really quite right - so b & w is the equivalent of radio v. TV, where you have to use your imagination to fill things in?

thoughts said...

amazing snaps girl !

Sue hardy-Dawson said...

Black and white photos have a special place for me mainly nostalgic I think but also much more dramatic

jac said...

Plain and simple...nice shots.
Why don't you move around ?

Anonymous said...

Ay, Lorenita, I just can't stop staring at your pictures. They are so clean, so pure, its reality trascends the secondth dimension. It is not just like you are telling the story, but that the story is born everytime I look at the image. I know, I told you that before, but, you know, it is the same feeling over and over again. It is like if the object jumps away from it's frame to make itself part of your world. It is kind of an act of love... Maybe this whole blogg is the story of a girl who has a so loving nature that love permeates her images so much that the images themselves love every eye that fall on them, generating life and the perception we can touch, and be touched, because, somehow, we can and we are...

Dios te bendiga y cuide...

De verdad que te admiro,

H.

By the way, the African young men selling purses on the foreground of the Colisseum tells something about time itself, and the particular moment of your encounter with the structure...

Lorena said...

racked chancla :: thank you. thanks for visiting.
beware? okay :)

bablu :: really, cool!

ok srikar.

johnny crash :: ok, i'll try my best to make them delicious although that is not my specialty, not that i have any :)

sk8rn :: thanks :)

potted flower :: of course, i already thought i had and then realized i hadn't. well you know.

paul :: imagination to fill things in. i like that although b&w photographs are beautiful on their own, they don't need color, in my opinion.

thoughts :: thanks!

sue :: i agree, that is why i like them a lot.

jac :: thanks. "why don't i move around?" must be in reference to 'still life' clever :)

the scientist :: i'm glad that these photographs can create such feelings in you.
and what a pretty story behind my blog :) you are so good with words. seriously when are you starting your blog??? I urge you to do so!!! muchas gracias por todo :)

p.s. you noticed. yup purses in the foreground. they do give the time away.

EGO SVM CAROLVS said...

Lorena, I love the egg photo! :) And the stone & shovel ones too. :)

stella said...

Lorena,

You are so talented and artisitc!! They are simply beautiful. You can even make an egg look dreamy to me ;)

DeeM said...

bellisimo, lorena. bravo!
i love the eggs as well. somehow, they are quite romantic!

Lorena said...

thanks gangadhar & carolvs!

stella :: thanks, you're sweet :)

deem :: gracias :) oh, romantic, love that they can be seen that way!

thank you jenn see :)

Anonymous said...

such simple yet striking pix. wonderful lorena, loved the first, something about the shape of eggs, texture...i think.
we in india also use mortar and pestle to ground pastes etc, more food processors now but nothing to beat these still.

gulnaz

. : A : . said...

You do have an eye for this. Still life is not an easy subject to shoot, especially with so much of it around. Liked the last one the best.

Lorena said...

thanks gulnaz and A! :)

ESIH said...

cool snaps...black n white always wins..:)

under the red sky said...

I don't know about "...poverty has a mysterious beauty in it..." but I was impressed with your images. I know photographers dont like to give away their tools but what kind of camera do you use??

Lorena said...

thanks sushmita :)

hi gustavo, i'm with you on the poverty thing, meaning these objects where not representative of poverty. (i think that is what you were meaning?) anyhow, thanks for the nice comment and the camera i use is the Nikon N55.
thanks for visiting :)

Lorena said...

thanks :)

Anonymous Poet said...

You have such a wonderful talent for working with the light.

Lorena said...

thanks :) i got lucky here!