Monday, July 27, 2009

Independence Day

On July 4th Parlez and I went exploring in the trees. It been a while since I'd played with him and my camera. We had a lot of fun.


Here he is doing his Cheshire Cat impression.


As I craned my neck upward he said to me
"Mama, guess what?"

What, Parlez?

"I can see Russia from here."


Really?

"Nah, not really. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lola and the Green Smoothie

Today I was pup sitting for a lovely girl called Lola. She and I went down to the garden to pick fresh greens for a nice summer green smoothie, because... I found a Vita Mix in her kitchen. (And it really is her kitchen :) If you have never used one, they are amazing whipper whirlers that blend solid food into a pureed liquid, while still retaining the desire to actually drink it.


We put in: arugula, red chard, blueberries, apple, peach, young coconut flesh and coconut water, strawberries, unfiltered apple juice, and a cup of still mineral water. You can add just about anything as long as you remember to keep the greens dark and leafy. The sweetness of the fruit makes the greens taste delicious, and the enzymes in the raw begin working on your system immediately.

Tips I just learned: Keep the ingredients simple–mine may have been a bit too exotic. Don't use starchy veggies like carrots. And most important, don't chug your smoothie. You are meant to chew it, so that the saliva starts to break everything down, and begins to secrete digestive enzymes to aid in digestion. Voila!

My sweetie had been gardening and he said the ache in his shoulders went away about a half an hour after drinking it. Can I say he was none too keen to taste it in the first place? Now, he's a convert. Lola, on the other paw, still prefers her dog biscuits.

2009072210_VitaDrink

Friday, July 17, 2009

Fabulous Femme Photographer: Lillian Bassman at 92

ARTS / ART & DESIGN | July 17, 2009
By GINIA BELLAFANTE

Photo by Damon Winter/The New York Times

A great article in the New York Times about Lillian Bassman here.


I'm going through my collection of photography books. I found one by Lillain Bassman and wondered who she was, apart from being an editorial and commercial fashion photographer. "Was" being the operative word. To my delight she is alive and well, living in NYC, and using Photoshop on her old fashion photographs, like every 92 year-old photographer does. Wot?

It is very inspiring to me to see she was a graphic designer in the 40's, a photographer in the 40's–60's, and now a digital dame (for the last 5 years). I bet her Keds are part of the secret... Thank you LB for sending me the link.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Wonder and One Blue Eye...

Seahorse in the desert. ©2008, Elsa Kendall.

A little point and shoot close to the glass and this guy and I had a very nice interaction.
His eye is about the size of a pin head.
I love these marvelous creatures and feel blessed to have spent some time with this one
and his tank mates. Click on him and you'll see more eye to eye. Magic... Whimsey...

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Julia in the Raw

Photo from National Geographic's website. Click here to go see, and listen.

I just found this blog through a google group for the pure and wondrous doTerra essential oils. Julia has some amazing recipes for green smoothies (blech, you might say, but they look surprisingly good ;), and various other inspirations.

Her latest post shows a prairie dog praying/contemplating, with a quote from Terry Tempest Williams' latest book, Finding Beauty In a Broken World. I'm currently reading and loving this: I've spoken about Terry's work before on Bird's Eye View. Click here to see this dear photo of the prairie dog, and read a brief excerpt from her book.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Friday, July 10, 2009

Photographic "Bake Sale" at the Santa Fe Photo Workshops this Saturday


If you happen to be in town on July 11th for the International Folk Art Market, or for any other reason, please take a short detour and come by the Santa Fe Workshops' HQ to browse and add a print or two (or three, or four, or more!) to your collection.

Karen Kuehn, David Michael Kennedy, and I will have vintage silver prints, cibachromes, C-prints, polaroid transfers, and some pigment and encaustic pieces for sale this Saturday, 9 am - 12:30 pm. Prices from $50.

Click on this link for Google directions and a map. Come by, smell the roses, crunch an apple, and share some stories. There may even be brownies...

Need more info? You can find me here: blog@elsakendall.com

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Seeing Into the Life of Things

"With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
we see into the life of things." –William Wordsworth







Photographed at the Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institute of Oceanography,
San Diego, California. ©Elsa Kendall, all rights reserved.