Archive | beauty

Paving my own road…

By John on November 30, 2014 in 35 mm photography, 4×5 photography, autumn, beauty, craft, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paroikia, Paros, Paros Portraits, portraiture, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, Uncategorized, working

–My ‘Cafe/Kafe’ show went very well. It is such a quiet time here on the island that an event like this was a wonderful way to have a get-together. It was a community event in a small community. A good chin-wag with friends on a windy autumnal eve. Mikro Cafe was packed and the opening lasted for about 3 hours. I feel it was a great success for us all. I took down the pictures a few days ago. On to the the next one.

I have begun printing my second portrait show, which I have slated for October 2015, here on Paros. I have ideas about the venue, which I will evolve. The show itself will be a continuation of the first ‘Paros Portraits’ exhibit, but this time I have relaxed my eye. The first show was strictly large format 4×5 and printed digitally. As lovely as the 4×5 is, the process began to feel formal, something I wish to avoid in this next installment. There are a few 4×5 images in the new portfolio, which I will contact print, but the remainder are 35mm. I am hoping for about 35 to 40 pieces and they will only be printed in the darkroom. I want this next show to be more loose, more casual, with an element (just a smidgeon) of the ‘street.’ The prints will also be smaller with most of them falling into the 8×10 category, or thereabouts. If I can print them all by the end of April then I can shuffle them off to the framer and pick them up at the end of the summer.

The weather here turned distinctly autumnal last week. It was about 14C before Thursday and the drizzly, dark streets were perfumed with the aroma of burning olive wood. It was damp, but then the wind is shifted from the south. For the past two days we have seen sun, balmy breezes and well over 20C. Lovely.

I must stay busy with my own work, even if it a small casual show like ‘Cafe/Kafe’. As a friend reminded me tonight at dinner, “you have to pave your own road ahead of you…”

–JDCM

cafe/kafe, romanticism and keeping it light…

By John on November 15, 2014 in 35 mm photography, Athens Greece, autumn, beauty, craft, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, rangefinder camera, silver darkroom, skill and craft, Uncategorized, working

–I was eating my corn flakes and goat’s milk one morning and it occurred to me that I am an incurable romantic.

–I returned from Paris two weeks ago and I am back on Paros, about 2300 km and one vowel distant. My time in France was lovely. My heart was filled with warmth even though the weather had chilled by the time I departed.

–I was able to shoot 4 rolls of Rollei Retro 400s while in Paris. I also gave myself a Christmas present. I found a very affordable Leica M2 at the local Leica store. The deal was good and I was there. I had to get it. According to the serial number it was manufactured in 1966. I find it extremely cool that I bought a an old Leica in Paris. It just feels right. Very romantic.

–While in Athens on Friday, I ran a couple rolls AGFA APX 400 through it. That made 6 rolls. When I returned to Paros and checked my ‘to do’ box in the darkroom I found two more rolls of film (Rollei Retro 100) that needed developing. I spent Sunday afternoon developing of film. 8 rolls from three different places from three different cameras…Here’s the breakdown:

–4 rolls Rollei Retro 400s, Voigtlander r4M w/ Voigtlander 35mm lens, Paris; 2 rolls of AGFA APX 400, Leica M2 w/ the same Voigtländer 35mm lens, Athens; 2 rolls Rollei Retro 100, Balda ‘Super Baldina’ (c. 1956), fixed 40mm lens, Paros.

–While working I listened to The Clash’s ‘London Calling.’ It was released in the UK in 1979. 35 years later it still sounds fresh, complex and vibrant.

–Romanticism…OK. I don’t wish for days gone by. Whatever they say, life was not simpler, or easier. Thomas Hobbes referred to life as ‘…nasty, brutish and short.” He was right. I like living on a remote island. Romantic again.

–The ‘cafe/kafe‘ photographs are matted, framed and behind glass. I will hang this small exhibit this Friday at Mikro Kafe here in Paroikia. It is not a grand exhibition, just something light and easy, something small to keep my hand in while I continue the prep for the second, far more involved ‘Portraits‘ exhibit next autumn. There. I said it. Autumn 2015.

–JDCM

Paris…

By John on November 4, 2014 in beauty, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, skill and craft, working

It’s all bullet points this week…

–I arrived here last Friday evening, in time for a nice dinner with my friend and her mother. Saturday was sunny and hot, so we strolled around town for a bit. Checked into the Jardin du Luxembourg (along with almost everyone else in Paris) and saw a lovely impressionist exhibit in the Musée. Superbe!

–Wifi access in Paris is terrible. The Greeks are years ahead of the French in this respect. As a result, I am posting this from the safe, American confines of the Hyatt Regency in the lobby lounge. I feel like I am in a de facto embassy. The signal is crisp and brisk, the coffee fine. In the background a pianist is noodling “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Not my favorite noodle. Now that tune from “Cats.’ Is that a Lloyd-Webber construct? May his fingers wither…

–Sunday was cloudy and cool and the Jardin de Bagatelle was all but empty. Lovely, really lovely. Shot a roll of film along it’s green anhttps://johndcmasters.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=thesis-optionsd quiet paths. Dinner at home that night.

–Monday was the Louvre. Big place. Lots of art. Mobs of people. Tough to navigate, but we managed to see all the important stuff…almost–skipped the Middle Ages. Everyone was gathered around the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo…No one upstairs in the 16th-18th century Flanders/Belgium exhibit. We had the place all but to ourselves. That precious Vermeer seamstress…Always nice to know there are better works in the museum than La Gioconda and the Venus. Really, there are. Many more. Dinner that night at Le Dôme. Table side service and bouillabaisse. Superb! It was a rainy night in Paris and we had fish soup. Nothing better.

–Today was Musée d’Orsay and, I must admit, I enjoyed it more than the Louvre. Smaller, but loads to see. Dinner tonight was at Bistrot du Parc, down the street from my friend’s house in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

–To be honest, I am saturated right now with art, so tomorrow we will have a day outside. It is supposed to be sunny…the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, walking the Champs Elysées…shopping for charcuterie and cheese to “bring back” to Greece. Mussels, salad and tarte “Grand-mêre” on the menu at home for tomorrow evening.

–Thursday night I head back to Greece and work–my own as well as the labors of others.

–JDCM

“…the streets of Rome…”

By John on October 1, 2014 in Athens Greece, autumn, beauty, craft, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, skill and craft

“Well the streets of Rome

are filled with rubble;

ancient footprints are everywhere.

You almost feel like you’re seeing double

on a cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs.

Gotta hurry on back to my hotel room

where I got me a date with Botticelli’s niece.

She promised that she’d be right there with me

when I paint my masterpiece.”

That song kept running through my head last weekend. It began Sunday morning as I left Pistoia and here, in Athens on a warm Wednesday afternoon, it still echoes…

Thank you Mr. Zimmerman, for the ear-worm…

In any case, I left Pistoia with a scratchy throat and by that night I was slightly feverish, congested, et al…I am dubbing this ailment the Tuscan Plague since it attacked all my friends as well. Each seems to have had some variation on the virus, all miserable. I killed mine with plenty of bed-rest, warmth and the miracle of modern pharma. Arriving in Athens this morning I am much improved. I am also relieved to be back in Greece. I need the local soul food.

Rome was lovely despite my ague. I was able to visit the Museo Massimo and gaze upon the precious and lovely Roman frescos; I wandered through the Galleria Borghese and marveled at the Bernini sculptures, frozen motion and pliant, soft marble. How did he do that? Truly a high point in sculpture–a divine concoction of craft, skill, artistry, aesthetics, hard work and obsessive compulsive desire for perfection. Some would say “madness”…”insanity.”

I ate some glorious grub as well. Roman stuff…fried artichokes, sweetbreads, lemon pasta…Very fancy by Greek standards. Foreign food. Western. Give meat on a stick, tomatoes and capers slathered in olive oil and a plate of fried sardines.

Good to be back in the East.

–JDCM

Pisa…2014

By John on September 23, 2014 in autumn, beauty, craft, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, skill and craft, spiritual journey, Uncategorized

–It has been two years since I have visited Italy. What I have seen still inspires.

–This year I traveled to Pisa with some friends. The sun was warm, the clouds white, puffy and benevolent. The breeze was cool enough to be pleasant and carried a slight tang of the nearby sea. I have always been impressed with Pisa. I find the town charming and the buildings along the Arno fill me with a kind of peace as they gracefully follow the curve of the river. I imagine the Romans in their boats, big and small, navigating…

–The Camposanto is the emotional high point for me. The frescoes are amazing for many reasons, perhaps because they are even there. Anyone who visits is made aware of the damage caused by Allied bombing during the Second World War and the subsequent attempts to repair and restore their delicate structures.

–Of all the great dignitaries, princes, princesses, lords and ladies entombed in the Campo, one resident stands out: Deane Keller. Keller was an American, a member of the MFAA Group that, during WW II, scoured a desolated Europe to save the great artistic treasures either looted by the NAZIs or damaged by the ravages of war. He is responsible for the saving of what we now see in Florence and Pisa, especially the frescoes of Pisa. Much was lost. Much has disappeared. While standing next to Keller’s tomb, I was talking to a friend about this. I began to cry. I was reminded that what we draw, paint, sculpt or photograph is of the finest delicacy and so easily destroyed. Keller tried to fix what he could and his work continues to this day.

–JDCM

Frescoe restoration at the Campo Santo, Pisa, Italy 2014

Fresco restoration at the Camposanto, Pisa, Italy 2014

Departures and arrivals…

By John on September 17, 2014 in 35 mm photography, autumn, beauty, biking, black and white portraiture, craft, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, Paros Portraits, portraiture, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spiritual journey, Uncategorized, working

The crowds have thinned out on Paros. The roads have become less treacherous and the island is, once again, for those of us who live here. There is a collective sigh of relief. I have been biking well, using my new Boardman road bike and loving it. In a recent post I stated that I wanted to ride at least 125km per week. I have done that in three days. I will have to up the ante. Maybe 200km? Easy-peasey. My mountain biking has been vigorous and rugged. As it should be.

I continue to build a solid portfolio of 35mm portrait pieces for my exhibit scheduled in the fall of 2015. I think I also have enough ‘cafe-Cafe‘ images for the small show I hope to hang in November. Now all I have to do is print, matte and frame 12 images. This will begin in October, when I return…

I am leaving for Italy tomorrow. It will be a short trip, only a couple of weeks, and I will hook up with friends and colleagues for some art, art history and good eats. I am all but packed with only my shaving kit to stuff in my rucksack. My camera bag is ready, awaiting my laptop and assorted odds and ends. I am only bringing two cameras: my trusty, well-used Canon G11 point-and-shoot and the small Pentax 35mm I bought from a friend last July when I was back in America. I will bring the 50mm and 135mm lenses. I have been having fun with this little machine and so it feels good to continue the joy.

Cavafy’s poetry continues to inspire and fill me with emotion…

Return

Return often and take hold of me,

cherished sensation, return and take hold of me–

when the body’s memory awakens.

and past desire again runs through the blood;

when the lips and skin remember,

and the hands feel as though they touch again.

Return often and take hold of me at night,

when the lips and skin remember.

–JDCM

Cavafy on the beach…

By John on September 7, 2014 in autumn, beauty, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, Paros, quiet islands, spiritual journey, Uncategorized

–A friend recently presented me with a small collection of C. P. Cavafy’s poetry. I am familiar with his work, but not so much with those collected in this small, beautiful anthology.

–Today we lay on the beach on Andiparos. Waves lapped at the rocks; birds sang in the dry, hot September air; we swam, ate lunch. We read Cavafy to each other. I was particularly moved by his poem ‘Ithaca’, written in 1911. It is of leaving and arriving, the maturation of the soul and that this is all we may wish for as our journeys continue.

–We all come to places, places we have read about in books, or perhaps overheard–they are awed, exotic hushed whipsers. We all leave these places, hopefully taking with us what we have been given, what we can carry, gifts from Phoenecians…

Ithaca

As you set out bound for Ithaca

hope that the journey is a long one,

full of adventures, full of learning.

Of the Laestrygonians and Cyclopes,

of wrathful Poseidon have no fear,

you’ll never meet suchlike on your journey,

if your thoughts remain lofty, if noble

sentiment grips your body and spirit.

You’ll never encounter raging Poseidon,

Laestrygonians and Cyclopes,

unless you bear them in your soul,

unless your soul sets them before you.

Hope that the journey is a long one.

That the summer morns be many

when with what delight, what joy

you enter harbours hitherto unseen;

that you stop at Phoenecian markets,

and acquire fine merchandise,

nacre and coral, amber and ebony,

and all kinds of heady perfumes,

as many heady perfumes as you can;

that you visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from the erudite.

Always keep Ithaca in mind.

To arrive there is your destination.

But in no way rush the voyage.

Better for it to last many years;

and for you to berth on the isle an old man,

rich with all you gained on the journey,

without expecting Ithaca to give you riches.

Ithaca gave you the wonderful voyage.

Without her you would not have set out on your way.

Yet she has nothing more to give you.

And though you may find her wanting, Ithaca has not

deceived you.

Wise as you’ve become, with so much experience,

already you’ll have understood what these Ithacas mean.

C.P. Cavafy, 1911

I will continue reading Cavafy. I fall into his words, as one falls into a conversation.

–JDCM

In the shift…

By John on August 31, 2014 in 35 mm photography, autumn, beauty, biking, black and white portraiture, darkroom work, Greece, John D.C. Masters, John Masters, mountain biking in Greece, portraiture, skill and craft, Uncategorized, working

–The August crowds have departed and it is almost September. The summer is slipping away (has slipped away), a tide across the sand. The light has shifted. It is no longer the July glare. Delicate clouds mute the summer fierceness. Autumn approaches. Today it is windy and cooler. A meltemi eases fevered brows. A scirocco will present itself midweek. The breeze will drop to almost nothing.

–All the forecasts point to the possibility of a light shower this week. Whether this will happen on Paros or another nearby island is never certain. I shall just have to wait and see.

–The mountain bike race on Andiparos has been cancelled. The next event I can participate in is the race on Naxos, at the end of October. That’s OK, although I was looking forward to Andiparos.

–In a couple of weeks I head off to Italy to visit with friends, eat some steak Florentine, and allow the Renaissance to inspire my eye.

–My portrait work continues. I would like to shoot and develop a couple of rolls of 35mm before I head to Italia.

–I continue my biking. I need to pump up the kilometers a bit. Now that it is cooler and there are fewer cars, this is easier. I pay the final installment on my road bike tomorrow. Then I can begin that dynamic routine. 200 km a week total with both bikes. That is all I ask…

–JDCM

Paros, Athens, Amsterdam…

By John on August 18, 2014 in Athens Greece, beauty, Greece, Paroikia, Paros, spiritual journey, Uncategorized

I have been back in Greece since…August 1st? July 31st?…It feels blurry…I remember a 27 hour travel day: cars, planes, boats…my body temperature shocked from a cool New York July 70F to a sweltering Athens August 38C…dehydrated, jet-lagged, sleep-deprived. I experienced daily periods of vertigo and lightheadedness for almost a full week. Water, sports drinks, sleep and more water…7 days later I was 100% and feeling fine. A friend believes I may have picked up a mild virus during a leg. Perhaps. At least it wasn’t my suspected Google-diagnosed brain tumor or West Nile Virus.

Paros has been jammed with tourists, as it always is this time of year. Too much, really, for me to handle. I found the best thing to do is bike early in the morning, go swimming, have coffee, check email and make sure it is all done by ten in the morning, then hide in my apartment until a reasonable hour, like 19:00 hours…we dine late, 22:00 or even later…

I left Paros last night (this morning?) at 01:30 on the Blue Star Naxos. The large ferry was mobbed with Athenians returning home after the religious holiday (The Ascension of the Virgin Mary) and we docked just a couple of hours ago. While on the dock, weaving through the crowds, I heard an American voice say, “How can this be so stressful? I thought Greece was laid back…” Ah, yes, the great illusion…

I was tired so I took a cab to the Attalos Hotel, my oasis. While my room is not ready yet, I am out of the chaos and look forward to snoozing most of the day away on cool sheets.

I am en route to Amsterdam, NL for the week. My little scheme is to visit some top-notch museums (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Rembrandt House, Modern Art), eat some Indonesian food and visit some good friends outside of the city during the weekend. Pretty simple. Then back to Greece and Paros for the very end of August and most of September…

–JDCM

Ancramdale, NY 12503, July 2014 part 2…

By John on July 30, 2014 in 35 mm photography, beauty, biking, craft, darkroom work, Greece, mountain biking in Greece, Paros, spiritual journey, working

Soon I will depart for Greece, and Paros. It has been splendid being back here. I have spent my time visiting with good friends and family, eating American food, driving around…

I joined the local gym the day after I arrived and have been able to work out 6 out of 7 days. I have stuck with the treadmill. Why not the stationary bike, you say? Simple: boring. All exercise aside, the stationary bike has none of the qualities I look for in bicycling. There is no wind in my face, no exhilaration of speed, no constant vigilance concerning traffic and/or obstacles. It contains none of the rewards I glean in a long uphill slog on a rutted, rocky road. So I hike the treadmill. I have been able to walk 8+ miles (12.9 km) at a stretch, keeping a constant 4.3 mph (6.9 kmh). The only variable has been the grade. I start off at 6.5% and by the time I am finishing up mile number 4, I am at a 15%. It is all downhill from there. I finish at 0.0%. I count the time, the miles, and watch the calories drip off. I manage to burn off 1800+ per session. I think, let my mind drift. The exercise has allowed me to indulge the American palate. To be honest I have also been eating a lot of watermelon and grapefruit. At my age, I cannot pretend my metabolic rate is the same as when I was 40, or 30. Move a muscle…

I attended an estate sale last week and purchased a neat little Pentax ME 35mm camera with a nice F/2.0 50mm lens and a F/3.5 135mm telephoto to go along with it. I figured I couldn’t go wrong for $45. I ran a couple of rolls of film through it as a test. For technical sake it was roll of TRiX 400 and TMAX 100. I developed them both using Rodinal 1:50 for 11.5 minutes. They look pretty good. The camera is light-weight and easy to use. I will carry it with me.

I have missed Paros terribly. My heart is there. Greece has gotten into my blood. My senses are full of the place. I have succumbed to Her wiles. The seduction is complete.

Pentax ME w/135mm lens

–JDCM

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