Minimalist

Columbia St Marys Womens Hospital

On the East Side of Milwaukee Wisconsin, on a bluff overlooking the waters of Lake Michigan, stands the Columbia St. Mary's hospital complex.

Bike Rack

A single bicycle in a bike rack at the Golda Meir library on the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee campus. April 2, 2021.

Moonbeams on the Attic Window

"Such a deep silence surrounds me, that I think I hear moonbeams striking on the windows." --Lucian Blaga A midnight moon shines its light through a dull pane, signing its name on the crumbling plaster walls of a long forgotten attic room. Of the days of joy and sorrow, love and loss, life and death, only a century of dust, and the deep, deep silence, remain.

Paper Spiral

A spiral of cut white paper on a bright white background. A composition focusing on shape and shadow.

Line on the Horizon

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." --Christopher McCandless A line on the horizon in a field of whites and greys where sky meets water. This is Lake Michigan in very simple form.

Metal Bench Against Concrete Squares

A metal bench against a wall of concrete squares taken at the Columbia St. Mary's hospital on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hidden Stairway

A mostly hidden outdoor stairway at the new wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The Questions Worth Asking

A tiny, solitary feather floats in the warm glow of the evening light. These are the moments I live for as an artist. The simple, quiet, profound moments when the cacophony of the day fades away and nothing is left but the exquisite calm. In these moments, it does not matter if I create or not. What is important, is that I can be open to what I see and feel and that I listen to the questions being asked.

Tree Seed Pods

These three seed pods are part of a collection of found objects my wife keeps in a little bowl in our bedroom. While I don't really know where she found them, after an internet search, I believe they are from a London Plane tree, which is a hybrid of the Oriental Plane and American Sycamore trees. Of course, that matters not when it comes to this image - I just thought they were cool and would make a great photograph.

Spring Blossom

Another early Spring blossom, this one brought inside to isolate it on a bright white background.

Wave

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." --Henry David Thoreau Shot through a glass partition, this is a passing swell of water from the wave machine at Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Discovery World.

The Eye in the Sky

"I am the eye in the sky Looking at you I can read your mind I am the maker of rules Dealing with fools I can cheat you blind And I don't need to see anymore To know that I can read your mind" --from the song Eye in the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project While it may look like some science fiction alien mechanical robot eye or perhaps the Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, it is, in fact, an articulating LED desk lamp. Well, at least that is what I think it is. Perhaps it really is some form of artificial intelligence - an eye in the sky - that sees all and hears all. I wonder if it is a friend or foe?

Picture of Hope

"We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon." -- Franklin D Roosevelt In the dark despair and loneliness, there is always beauty and hope - you just have to look for it.

Light and Shadow I

A play of light and shadow on a wall inside the Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Wall

"I'm woven in a fantasy, I can't believe the things I see. The path that I have chosen now has led me to a wall. And with each passing day I feel a little more like something dear was lost" --from The Wall by Kerry Livgren/Steve Walsh of Kansas. Abstract lines, shapes, and colors from a wall inside the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Seashell by the Seashore

I wanted to capture something "summer-y" and minimalist to commemorate the impending end of summer and the slow downhill slide to the dead of winter. What better way than with a nice sandy beach and a seashell or two? The only problem with that is I'm in Milwaukee and nowhere near the ocean. Oh sure, we have Lake Michigan. And with the right light and conditions, the lake water can look just like a Caribbean beach in a photograph. But that wasn't today. What to do? My solution involved a white foam core backdrop, natural light from a window, and a pen light. I was planning on creating the blue sky and sandy beach colors in Photoshop, but as luck would have it, the blended colors of the natural and artifical lights worked together well to create the two-toned look in camera. All I had to do was enhance what was there. The light from the window camera left acted as a large warm softbox. With just that natural light, the window just barely lit the scene at a 20 second exposure. So I used the pen light to "light paint" the shell and fill in the rest of the lighting. Finally in Photoshop, along with my normal color-correction and contrast adjustments, I added just a slight bit of texture.

Blue and Amber

On a short walk at Three Bridges Park in the Menomonee Valley area of Milwaukee, I shot this amber grass covered hill with the partly cloudy blue sky in the background. My goal with this image was to capture the contrasting (sometime referred to compementary) colors of the orange of the native plants and blue of the sky in a simple and straightforward way.

A Riff on Magritte's The Pilgrim

One of the great things about my 365 project, is the necessity to experiment, or riff, on different styles and techniques. To keep the daily image fresh and exciting to both me and the viewer, I have to constantly push out of my comfort zone. Today, I decided to borrow some ideas from Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte. His work is crazy, witty, and though-provoking and has always been a favorite of mine. For today, I am using his work "The Pilgrim" as inspiration. I didn't want to copy the entire painting outright, but just riff on the theme, like a jazz musician might approach a standard melody.

Limitless

For the artist, the world is limitless. But to truly see this world, we must first learn to believe in ourselves and our abilities, lead with the heart, and let the voices of doubt, both internal and external, fall on deaf ears.

The Mast

The bridge mast of the cable-stay footbridge over Lincoln Memorial Drive that connects Wisconsin Avenue to the Milwaukee Art Museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Curved Lines 1

Curved lines in the architecture of the Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The artwork in the museum is breathtaking, but the building itself is a work of art. I could spend hours walking around the interior and exterior of the structure and not even look at what is hanging on the walls. This building is that beautiful. As Arthur Erickson said, "Great buildings that move the spirit have always been rare. In every case they are unique, poetic, products of the heart." This building is certainly unique, poetic and sensual. Do yourself a favor, if you are ever near Milwaukee, you have got to go visit the art museum.

Shape and Line I

Abstract shape and line minimalist photograph.

Unzipping

I actually had a tough time coming up with something to say about this image beyond the title. I called it "Unzipping" for obvious reasons. And my goal in shooting it was very simple - I thought the graphic nature of the line of the zipper and the metal teeth coming undone would make for a very cool high contrast minimalist photograph. Beyond that, what was there to say? But after a bit of reflection, I thought the zipper could represent the undoing of civility and respect in our communities. It could also represent the opening of our minds to alternate realities. Or perhaps, if you turn things around, it could be symbolic of the coming together of two opposite sides to create a strong partnership. While all those interpretations of the photo are valid, in reality, not every image I create has a deeper meaning, at least at the beginning. Sometimes, I just thought it was cool.

Line of Sight

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." --Jonathan Swift A clear line of sight all the way to the horizon. Since I'm in the homestretch in my photo a day project and starting a new month, I thought I'd revisit the minimalist theme here (huh, did I ever leave it?) but with a bit of a twist. I've discovered through this year long endeavor that when I forget about they way things should be done and do what I feel, with no inhibitions, wonderful things will happen. And that helps remove the obstacles that block my clear line of sight to my creative horizon.