A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 48~ Palace Of Fine Arts

"There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, architecture is art you can walk around."

~Dan Rice

 

The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco is one of my favorite places to do photography. The grounds are so lovely and peaceful, I have found myself getting lost in the beauty of the place many times. When I am not enjoying it for it's trees and plant life, I am often amused by the birds. I have photographed many ducks, egrets and a heron or two, but the swans are the royalty of the palace. Its a lot of beauty to appreciate. It has a rich history in that it was built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, as a place to display works of art, and later becoming an and a 966 seat Exploratorium theater.

"Architeture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul."

~Ernest Dimnet

The earthquake retrofitting that was being done a few years back was finished in 2009, so now it's time to go back over to the city and revisit the palace and do some more photos of this amazing place. I CAN'T WAIT. As I have been revisiting all these photos from my archive, I had a really good idea where I want to jump back in with my photography. San Francisco has NO end to the wonderful places to take the camera. I completely love it here. Gas prices are stabilizing. My health is doing better, and I am ready to get my groove back. So, the first week in August is it. New Photos. New experiences to share. New adventures. No more excuses. Hold me to it... okay?


;) 

"The mother of art is architecture. Without an architecture of  our own, we have no soul of our own civilization"


~Frank Lloyd Wright

My friend Steven, who I miss very much, every day, once told me, that if I couldn't get out daily to do photography on a grand scale, then try backyard photography. Flowers, bees, birds... . He said it would help me keep moving forward. He was right. I wish I could tell him. I wish I could say THANK YOU. I hope wherever he is, he knows how much I appreciated his advice and friendship.


~Me:)

Now, here is where you can find JR and what he is seeing today...




JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/06/apadf6-47.html

Secret Joys

"Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way."

-Douglas Pagels - These Are The Gifts I'd Like To Give You

I have been trying to soak up the last of the summer, so yesterday I decided to spend a little time at the Palace Of Fine Arts. The grounds are simply stunning this time of year, and there is a lot to see with the camera. The sun was moving in and out of the clouds and fog... I love it when that happens. The scene in front of you can at one moment be softly lit and cool, almost dreamy, and then the next minute it seems to come alive with the warm sun and vivid color. It is a peaceful place to meditate, and then do some brisk walking. Beauty everywhere. Ahhhh... that's better!

-OndineMonet
Palace Of Fine Arts
San Francisco, California
September 4th, 2007
Mid-Morning

Weekend Assignment #181: The Reveal

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best."

-Henry Van Dyke

For those of you who read my Weekend Assignment entry, and guessed that my lie was #2... congratulations... you are absolutely correct! :) While I completely adore the pelican, my actual favorite bird is the Snowy Egret. I found a beautiful one at the Palace of Fine Arts last week, but as you can see the lighting was not with me. It was in the afternoon, and it was way too bright, so I am hoping to get back over to the palace a littler earlier in the day, one day next week, to again photograph the egrets. I also saw a gorgeous Blue Heron that day, and I am especially looking forward to photographing that bird as well. We'll see what I come up with next time.

-OndineMonet
"Snowy Egret"
Palace Of Fine Arts
San Francisco, California
August, 2007
Late Afternoon

Winter Time

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection."

-Anais Nin

It was cold in the Bay Area today, the weatherman said there would be sun, but no, not even a little bit managed to peek through the relentless clouds. Sigh. So, what's a girl to do? Well, two choices came to mind. I could sleep the day away like I do most days in winter, or I could go across the bay, and see if there was just even a little hint of spring in Golden Gate Park. I found a splash of yellow in the form of some gorgeous California Poppies, which I will post later this weekend, but for this entry, I thought it would be nice to show you this amazingly beautiful swan I found at the Palace Of Fine Arts. Isn't it lovely? I wish I could have stayed there all day, just spending the whole day admiring the beauty of that swan, but the cold air was causing me a good deal of pain due to the Fibromyalgia. As much as I hurt, I was so happy for just a few hours out with the camera, and to be able to step outside myself for a little while. The weather is supposed to be warmer this weekend. Here's to hope.

Winter Time (Haiku)
By OndineMonet

Floating In Silence
Memories Of You Fill Me
As Time Moves Us On

Palace Of Fine Arts, San Francisco

-OndineMonet
"Winter Beauty"
Palace Of Fine Arts
San Francisco, California
February 1, 2007
Afternoon