John Ruskin, Giotto, and William Henry Fox Talbot

This post continues my Story Structure series.

Scenes from the Life of Christ: 10. Entry into Jerusalem (1304-6) by Giotto

(Click pictures to enlarge)

For those readers who are puzzled why I’ve posted so many entries about old art but implied they’re relevant to new stories — and to screenplays — I offer the following quote from the great Victorian era critic, John Ruskin.

(excerpt from)
Giotto and his Works in Padua

by

John Ruskin

But what, it may be said by the reader, is the use of the works of Giotto to us?

Buffalo — Nighttime snow

View the other photos in this gallery: Buffalo — Nighttime snow. “Snow at night — phantasmagoria.”

It’s part of a series on Buffalo, NY. My photos are at Smugmug.

Buffalo — snow on Delaware Avenue

“What,” you exclaim, “still more photos of snow in Buffalo?”

“Well,” I reply, “that’s reality.”

The fact is that I love it here and returned after 20 years of what I regarded as exile in a place that didn’t have 4 seasons. The fact also is that, this year, we haven’t had much snow at all — all the snow pictures are from a few years ago — 2002, I think.

View the other photos in this gallery: Buffalo — snow on Delaware Avenue. “Driving down Delaware Avenue, in Buffalo, NY, one snowy afternoon.”

It’s part of a series on Buffalo, NY. My photos are at Smugmug.

Buffalo — snow on Anderson Place

View the other photos in this gallery: Buffalo — snow on Anderson Place. ” Deep, quiet snow, late one night, on Anderson Place in Buffalo, NY.”

It is part of a series on Buffalo, NY. My photos are at Smugmug.

Blue-green winter evening

View the other photos in this gallery: Blue-green winter evening. “Pictures taken, one blue-green winter evening, of a boy and his dog in the snow. Pure west side: Buffalo, NY.”

It is part of a series on Buffalo, NY. My photos are at Smugmug.

Shelter — pictures by Lucky Michaels of homeless LGBTQ youth at home

Untitled, 2007, Courtesy of Lucky Michaels (click picture to enlarge)

The picture above was taken by Lucky Michaels, a photographer and also a counselor at Sylvia’s Place, located within the Metropolitan Community Church of New York. The shelter (named after Queer rights activist Sylvia Rivera) is a temporary safe haven for homeless LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer) youth.

I find this picture pretty startling — rich in inexplicable, incongruous juxtapositions. It shows a homeless young man, at home — for the time being — apparently in bed.

Where is it that he’s at home? In a public, sterile space where nobody could be at home but people are trying. Judging from his expression, he lives there. I won’t mention the impossible, necessary, Christmas tree in the background.

Snow in the Bronx and Manhattan

View the gallery containing this photo: Snow in the Bronx and Manhattan. “The walk when these pictures were taken started, after a winter snow storm, near the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. I walked down Jerome Avenue to the Bedford Park station and took the train to Manhattan, where I wandered past the Chrysler Building and the Flatiron. Eventually I returned to the Mosholu Station and walked up Jerome a bit to find dinner and then back to Mosholu Parkway.”

It is part of a series on New York City. My photos are at Smugmug.

Peace Bridge

View the gallery containing this photo: Peace Bridge. “The Peace Bridge spans the Niagara River, just at its source in Lake Erie and about 15 miles above the falls. It connects my home, Buffalo, NY, with Fort Erie in Ontario, Canada. I took these pictures on the Canadian side and on the Bridge itself, one wintry day.”

It is part of a series on Buffalo, NY. My photos are at Smugmug.

This is just to say

I meant
by
William P. Coleman

I photographed
the pears
you left
in the blue bowl

on the table
and were probably
planning to do
in black and white

Forgive me
they were delicious
so brown
and so green

(a parody of a poem by William Carlos Williams)

View the gallery containing this photo: Pears.

My photos are at Smugmug.

A winter solstice greeting

photo by Joan M. Coleman

This is a holiday scene we saw in a shop window (click to enlarge).

This year, 2007, the winter solstice will be at 1:08 AM (Eastern Standard Time) on the morning of Saturday, 22 December.

I’d like to wish all my readers a happy holiday — whichever one you celebrate, or lack thereof. Thank you so much for making this blog a success!

– Bill

Wellsboro Diner

View the gallery containing this photo: Wellsboro Diner. “Semi-abstract pictures taken one wintry evening at the diner in Wellsboro, PA.”

My photos are at Smugmug.

A historical webpage about Diners that discusses the one in Wellsboro.

The Wellsboro Diner’s homepage.

December

View the gallery containing this photo: December. “Some semi-abstract pictures taken in my old house one December. The thing the photos have in common is looking like they were taken in December. Short days. Decorative Winter Solstice lights.”

My photos are at Smugmug.

Morning

View the gallery containing this photo: Morning. “These 4 pictures are abstract fabrications. They have no meaning beyond what you see — which hopefully is enough.”

My photos are at Smugmug.

The Battery, NYC — late afternoon

View the gallery containing this photo: The Battery, NYC — late afternoon. “One late afternoon in Battery Park at the lower tip of Manhattan in New York City. The people I saw there—a couple, some fishermen—and the buildings at the park’s edge. The Staten Island Ferry coming in. The Statue of Liberty in the distance.”

It is part of a series on New York City. My photos are at Smugmug.