“Paradise Lost” an angel was disorientedand his wings were broken. fallingfrom the sky, he reached outto someonewho had lost faith and could no longer seehim. cutting through the clouds,his tears splashed bitterlyagainst the leaves,washing them in bits of scattered blue  and fading memories from heaven. only the lake caught him,folding round his water-logged wingsinto a gentle, but relentless embrace. —photo and poem by Lynn Langmade. Copyright 2013.
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“Paradise Lost”

an angel was disoriented
and his wings were broken.

falling
from the sky,

he reached out
to someone
who had lost faith and could no longer see
him.

cutting through the clouds,
his tears splashed bitterly
against the leaves,
washing them in bits of scattered blue 
and fading memories from heaven.

only the lake caught him,
folding round his water-logged wings
into a gentle, but relentless embrace.

—photo and poem by Lynn Langmade. Copyright 2013.

“Wetland” there are places lost to the world— a loneliness built from bridges that are too tiny and lead to waters that eddy the evidence of life unwitnessed and forsaken by history.   here, knee-deep in sorrow’s water, I ask you: where am I if I’ve been found?                   —-photo and poem by Lynn Langmade. Copyright 2012.
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“Wetland”

there are places lost

to the world—

a loneliness built

from bridges that are

too tiny

and lead

to waters that eddy the evidence of life

unwitnessed

and forsaken by history.

 

here, knee-deep

in sorrow’s water,

I ask you:

where am I if I’ve been found?

                  —-photo and poem by Lynn Langmade. Copyright 2012.

Today is kind of a cool day. Why? Well, because it’s Brad Buckmaster’s un-birthday of course :) Brad is becoming known for his animal photos here and on G+, but honestly there is just so much more to him than cute fox shots. Brad is just a joy to be around. He not only writes the most thoughtful comments on posts, but also writes some brilliant posts of his own. I can still remember a hilarious post he wrote for #ThrowAwayThursday last fall. Brad also has a deep background in art and art history, and we often like to post photos that recall different visual artists that we love. For example, I’ll post a photo, but he’ll be the only one who notices the Mondrian influence. Recently, he’s been experimenting with different styles of photography and posting his own paintography and even drawings. So I wrote a special poem to go with this photo for Brad on his un-birthday to celebrate our mutual love of painting and the visual arts. Sorry Brad! It’s not a cute little fox, but I hope it will do  ;) [photo was taken at Monet’s gardens, Giverny, in France] Happy un-Birthday my friend! epistemology like Monet, who painted his water lilies while going blind, I’m driven to look at what I can’t quite see. it is not the impression of lily pads floating like purple clouds in a muddy sea-green sky but the way the light hits, forging a white void from a heaven too oppressed by gravity —a space where beauty is stolen by sight and light and replaced by a revelation of the world first ravaged by the eclipse of night
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Today is kind of a cool day. Why? Well, because it’s Brad Buckmaster’s un-birthday of course :)

Brad is becoming known for his animal photos here and on G+, but honestly there is just so much more to him than cute fox shots. Brad is just a joy to be around. He not only writes the most thoughtful comments on posts, but also writes some brilliant posts of his own. I can still remember a hilarious post he wrote for #ThrowAwayThursday last fall.

Brad also has a deep background in art and art history, and we often like to post photos that recall different visual artists that we love. For example, I’ll post a photo, but he’ll be the only one who notices the Mondrian influence. Recently, he’s been experimenting with different styles of photography and posting his own paintography and even drawings.

So I wrote a special poem to go with this photo for Brad on his un-birthday to celebrate our mutual love of painting and the visual arts.

Sorry Brad! It’s not a cute little fox, but I hope it will do  ;)

[photo was taken at Monet’s gardens, Giverny, in France]

Happy un-Birthday my friend!

epistemology

like Monet, who painted his water lilies

while going blind,

I’m driven to look at what

I can’t quite see.

it is not the impression of lily pads

floating like purple clouds in a muddy

sea-green sky

but the way the light hits,

forging a white void

from a heaven too oppressed by gravity

—a space where beauty is stolen

by sight and light

and replaced by a revelation

of the world

first ravaged

by the eclipse of night

“Memory” Do not forget how the red leaf floating alone crumbled into blue. [photo and haiku by Lynn Langmade] When my mom was a child, she lived in Japan. Consequently, our house was full of Japanese paintings, screens, and scrolls. I became fascinated by Japanese painting early on, and studied it more depth when I went to college. The photo today is really my way of thinking about the Kanō school of Japanese painting, which had a distinctive style that set it apart from its predecessor. The school was founded in the 16th century and broke with established tradition by moving away from the black ink of Chinese painting and toward bright colors and large flat open areas. They also commonly painted birds, plants, water, and animals. In particular, Kanō ink painters composed excessively flat pictures, which usually featured a very detailed object/animal in the foreground and a very abstract background, sometimes, entirely blank. This background would usually serve as negative space, suggesting mist, clouds, and sky or water. I thought it would be a fun experiment to translate the stylistic elements of this particular school of Japanese painting into photography. To go with it, I wrote a little Haiku in the spirit of Basho, the 17th-century Haiku Master who is credited with introducing Haiku, [Hokku], as a standalone poem in Japan. Happy SaturdayStyle everyone :)
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“Memory”

Do not forget how

the red leaf floating alone

crumbled into blue.

[photo and haiku by Lynn Langmade]

When my mom was a child, she lived in Japan. Consequently, our house was full of Japanese paintings, screens, and scrolls. I became fascinated by Japanese painting early on, and studied it more depth when I went to college.

The photo today is really my way of thinking about the Kanō school of Japanese painting, which had a distinctive style that set it apart from its predecessor. The school was founded in the 16th century and broke with established tradition by moving away from the black ink of Chinese painting and toward bright colors and large flat open areas. They also commonly painted birds, plants, water, and animals. In particular, Kanō ink painters composed excessively flat pictures, which usually featured a very detailed object/animal in the foreground and a very abstract background, sometimes, entirely blank. This background would usually serve as negative space, suggesting mist, clouds, and sky or water.

I thought it would be a fun experiment to translate the stylistic elements of this particular school of Japanese painting into photography.

To go with it, I wrote a little Haiku in the spirit of Basho, the 17th-century Haiku Master who is credited with introducing Haiku, [Hokku], as a standalone poem in Japan.

Happy SaturdayStyle everyone :)

“Splinters” You smeared your streets with blue rain. And sent it to me by the crate. Scooping the rain up with both hands, I drank until stained ‘til I was drowning in azure ‘til the rain splintered into great shards of glass — within my veins.                                       ——Poem and Photo by Lynn Langmade
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“Splinters”

You smeared your streets with blue rain.

And sent it to me by the crate.

Scooping the rain up

with both hands, I drank

until stained

‘til I was drowning in azure

‘til the rain splintered into great shards

of glass — within my veins.

                                      ——Poem and Photo by Lynn Langmade