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Showing posts with the label Monticello

A New Wall Clock

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O ur living room wall clock has been an intermittent problem for months and it finally bit the dust about a month ago.  So, we were on an internet search for a better clock.   There was a beautiful clock at Monticello that is sold as a reproduction that both Sheila and I really liked.  I've mentioned this before in this blog but I should mention it again here in this blog entry that I have always been fascinated by Thomas Jefferson and his Monticello homestead.  I even studied this historic home design while in college as an engineering student.  I like Monticello's fusion of old European, French Provincial and Early American styles.  One could also argue that Monticello has many Craftsman features and details as well.  These are all styles I am fusing together in our own home.   So, finding a wall clock at the Monticello gift shop was a plus and we both really liked this clock.  The problem was that I had never spent more than about $40 for a clock in my life and this clock co

Monticello Glassware

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I've always been an admirer of Thomas Jefferson and, as an engineering and architecture student, I've also always been an admirer of his home, Monticello, in Virginia.  We have many things in our home with a relationship to Thomas Jefferson and Monticello. Among these things is some glassware. The latest additions to our glassware are two matching tankards and I thought I would try to capture some decent photos of them. Shooting photographs of glassware (as well as jewelry) is difficult so I knew this would be a nice photography exercise in lighting. Getting light where you need it and where you want it while avoiding blinding reflections while, at the same time, keeping some reflections is crucial in effective glassware photography. I knew this would be a bit of a challenge since I have not attempted this type of photography in quite some time. I pulled out some flashes. I pulled out a constant studio light. I pulled out a remote flash trigger to mount on my came

Christmas Gifts from Monticello

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Quite by coincidence, Sheila and I each received gifts for our home from Monticello this Christmas! Monticello is a home I studied in high school and college as an architecture/engineering student. It has always been one of my favorites. As luck would have it, I also highly respect our founding father who designed and built this spectacular home, Thomas Jefferson. He was a wise man who has shared many of my own beliefs and who understood and has written extensively about the growing pains our country would face in the coming centuries. He is often pushed aside and minimized in history but someone whom I admire, respect and try to emulate. Having gifts in our home from Monticello is a nice reminder of an honorable man. Accompanying these gifts, we received a letter written in the hand of Thomas Jefferson. Here is an excerpt from this letter... "...Although more than two hundred years have passed since I've written this letter to you, through the magic of Christmas and t

A Rendering of Monticello

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I've been exhausted and in significant pain (relentless bone pain and spinal pain) since arriving back home from our Christmas trip but I have a few projects which have been nagging at me. One such project is to create a rendering of Monticello. Actually, I'd like to complete a series of renderings related to this historic property but I need to start with one piece.  I decided to do some drawing and sketching this morning to put some ideas on paper (in my usual notebook where all my thoughts go) but I also created some digital files of my artwork. Below, is one piece of my ideas for this series... I'm still not sure about how I want to put together a Monticello series but this rendering is a start to this series!

A Monticello Christmas

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This is a view which is seen in countless books and photographs but I felt compelled to shoot this angle too. Sheila and I had an opportunity to visit close friends in Virginia for Christmas so we spent the bulk of our Christmas week in and around Monticello. The weather at Monticello was sunny and in the 70's... flowers were in bloom... the grass was green... the weather was typical beautiful springtime weather! I started studying Thomas Jefferson and his architecture decades ago and had always wanted to walk these hallowed grounds. I have to say that this was an inspiring experience to meander through history.  If there ever was a time in history needing a visit from Thomas Jefferson, it is today. I have always based my beliefs on Jefferson's philosophies and this visit reinforced my convictions even more. It truly was a moving and inspiring experience to see and touch all I had studied for decades.   I shot hundreds of photos and I will probably put together an