The first music seminar I attended last weekend at Blue Cloud Abbey was led by an experienced musician and organist, Rev. Richard Collman, who is also an oblate of St. Benedict, associated with Blue Cloud Abbey. He shared old and new music available for church musicians by passing around various collections as well as individual works. By playing excerpts he made it come alive. Below are some photos.
Last week I drove to Blue Cloud Abbey, near Marvin, South Dakota, for a private retreat. I knew ahead of time that the South Dakota Chapter of the American Guild of Organists would be holding a retreat for musicians. What I did not know was the inspiration and delight I would experience by attending music workshops, a talent show, rehearsals and the performance of Music of Creation, a festival of word and sacred music.
These events provided me with a wonderful venue for learning to use my new Leica. Most of the time the weather was "rotten" so my Canon DSLR and telephoto lens stayed in the camera bag. There were few birds in sight and, with way below zero temps and high winds, I was not eager to leave the Abbey. Nevertheless, I was busy filling up memory cards with images of musicians performing their art. Over the next several days I will post some of my photos.
For those interested in such details, most of the photos were taken with the Leica M9 and 50mm f/2 Summicron wide open -- ISOs, except for the few outdoor shots, ranged from 400 to 1000. The wide angle shots were made with a Leica X1.
Below is a group photo of the participating, talented musicians.
Where can we find inspiration for our photography? There are tons of sites and blogs by and for photographers, of course. However, I believe we can learn a lot from other artists as well. One that I have admired and followed for some time is the Canadian painter, Robert Genn. I have found his twice-weekly email letters inspiring and full of ideas. You can read about them here.
If you have recently followed this blog, you know that I have been exploring new directions in photography. Some of my feelings about photography in general and its purpose in my life specifically are well expressed by David duChemin in his blog. Be sure to watch the cited video. I just wish transformation would happen more quickly! I am interested in your comments.
In yesterday's post I told you why I purchased a Leica M9. A 14th century English proverb tells us, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." I will leave it to you to judge. Please keep in mind, as I pointed out yesterday, that at my age I cannot afford to be rational; that applies to my choice of subject matter as well. All of these photos were taken within the last two weeks.
A half-century ago (literally) I worked at a research photo lab for the University of Minnesota. It was there I became acquainted with Leica cameras. Of course, this was pre-digital. I learned to develop film, use enlargers, and make prints. I used view cameras -- some as large as 16"x20" on rails, 8x10s, and 4x5s. I would make contact prints from the larger cameras with sharpness that had to be seen to be believed. My favorites, however, were the Leicas.
This was before the days of the M-series (for those of you who may be familiar with Leicas). I still remember the models: IIIf and, my favorite, the IIIg. They were light, compact, with lenses that seemed to rival the view cameras. Alas, I was in college and could not afford them. Today, if I was a rational person, I still cannot afford them. But at my age, I cannot afford to be rational. So, early this year I decided to start small and get what some may call a point-and-shoot, the Leica's X1. It is not a single-lens reflex. It has a fixed f2.8 lens. It will not focus closer than about 20". The auto-focusing is slow. So why did I get it? It has three things going for it -- things that are very important to me.
