Melissa's Photoblog
Untitled
Posted by Melissa W. (Warsaw, Indiana, United States) on 29 May 2008 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.
Taken at one of the gardens at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, TN.
Graham Russon from Cape Town, South Africa
Great perspective and well captured. The pic does feel slightly tilted.
29 May 2008 7:04pm
Ron from Saint Louis, United States
Beautiful job of balancing the shadows and highlights ... has a lush stillness ...
29 May 2008 11:09pm
danthro from Suburbia, United States
wow. beautiful shot. it looks like the setting for a romantic movie set in the 1800s
30 May 2008 12:49am
MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Beautiful shade and light in this shot Melissa.
30 May 2008 1:09am
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
Talking Memphis gets me thinking of the movie Mystery Train.
30 May 2008 1:51pm
@Twelvebit: I've never heard of the movie, so I did a search on IMDB. any good?
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
I'm hesitant to recommend certain movies because movies are very much an acquired taste, and those tastes change with the number of movies you watch, especially if you watch good ones. I probably watch something like 500 movies a year and have more than 2,000 on DVD.
Jim Jarmusch happens to be one of my favorite directors, but Mystery Train is probably less accessible than some of his other movies like Broken Flowers (with Bill Murray), Ghost Dog (Forrest Whitaker), Dead Man (Johnny Depp), Down by Law, Night on Earth, or Stranger Than Paradise (one of his first). I'd try one of those first, probably Dead Man, or maybe Ghost Dog (because Broken Flowers and Night on Earth are probably the most mainstream of the bunch). If you like that you might try Stranger Than Paradise, and if you're still on board the Jarmusch train, then take a ride on the Mystery Train.
30 May 2008 3:45pm
@Twelvebit: My first husband was a HUGE movie buff; we'd watch movies all the time. He was really into sci-fi, fantasy / horror, and independent films. After we got divorced, I kinda got away from watching movies. Today, if I watch one movie a month I'm doing good. The last movie I watched was Atonement and that was probably 3-4 weeks ago...and the last movie I saw in the theater was Stardust...so it's been awhile.
My first passion has always been music. I don't play any instruments now (though I did take 4 yrs of guitar lessons when I was younger). I prefer rock genres (mainly alternative), but I also enjoy bluegrass, blues, and some classical. I'll listen to just about anything.
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
My first passion used to be music. I've been a trumpet player for over 40 years, but I like all kinds of music. Frankly, there is nothing better in life than making music, though I think I could get into making movies.
BTW, for taste reference, I thought Atonement was up there with No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood for a few of the last year's best movies. I've seen Atonement twice now. But I also enjoy small scale independent faire like "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With." I also enjoyed Stardust and just recently finished a Neil Gaiman novel --Neverwhere-- as a result. I don't go to the theater much though. I have a home theater with projector and about a 10 foot wide screen, and I watch most movies projected on DVD. And I NEVER watch television.
30 May 2008 4:43pm
@Twelvebit: Well, you don't have to brag. ;) (just kidding) Heck if I had that set up at home wouldn't leave my house.
Love the Coen brothers (though I haven't watched their last one yet).
Neverwhere was the first novel I read of Neil Gaiman (loved it). I got into a kick of downloading his audiobooks lately. His humor and wit really comes through in his audiobooks.
You NEVER watch television??? Seriously?! There's only a few things I have to watch. I'm a huge Office and Lost fan so Thursday night is my big tv night.
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
Perhaps it depends on how you define watching television. I NEVER watch commercial television. I refuse to watch anything with commercials. That's not to say I watch cable channels without advertising, either. I do pickup some TV shows on DVD and watch them on DVD. Some of them, like Rome, I watch in my theater; but most of them, like Seinfeld or the Simpsons, I watch while cooking.
Ten years ago or so, I used to tape shows during the week and watch them all on Friday night, FF through the ads, so I'm familiar with some of the old stuff now out on DVD --like Seinfeld. But the last time I actually turned on a TV to watch something was on 9/11. Sometimes I'll read about a new show I haven't seen before and pick it up on DVD --like Veronica Mars (bought the 1st season cheap, watched it in my theater, and immediately went out and bought the other seasons).
Otherwise, I find television to be addictive (physically in fact, as studies have shown) and disruptive. And now, not having watched it in a long time, when I get confronted with it at some place like a doctor's office, I find it so ridiculous and insulting --particularly the supposed "news" shows, talking head stuff, and advertisements-- that it is repellent.
BTW, neither of my kids ever had any interest in watching television, and they don't watch it now that they're in their 20's either --they've always preferred books.
I was reluctant to pick up the audiobook of Neverwhere when I saw it was read by the author, but it was one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. Neil is a great voice actor with an impressive range. I travel a lot in the car and listen to a lot of audiobooks and can't remember hearing a better reader --I can only think of a couple that come close.
2 Jun 2008 3:36pm
standley from brou-sur-chantereine, France
Beautiful perspective. I like the shade and light!
2 Jun 2008 8:04pm
Canon EOS 30D
1/320 second
F/6.3
ISO 100
50 mm