Blog by Kristina Kasparian Veni Etiam Photography

Last weekend: Autumn in New York

28/10/2018

Some cities call out to you even more during a particular season. I always seem to crave New York City at the height of autumn. The way the fiery foliage makes Central Park come alive, the way the autumn light hits brownstones and staircases, the way pumpkins and spooky Halloween decorations adorn the front of homes on gorgeous tree-lined residential lanes.

Last weekend, I had the perfect excuse to spend a day in New York: a Sunday wedding on Long Island. That left Saturday free for a long stroll in Brooklyn and part of Manhattan, and time to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a very long time.

Here are the perspectives and moods that inspired me that day.

If you know me a little, you know I adore the Brooklyn Bridge, so naturally it was the subject of quite a lot of photographs!

And of course, our short visit to Long Island gave us a last little boost of ocean air, to hopefully carry us through the harsh winter.

What is your favorite corner of New York? What's your favorite season in the city? Leave a comment below - I would love to hear from you!

From my heart to yours.

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A love for architecture...in black and white

5/10/2018

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If you have followed my photography for a while, you know that architecture is one of the main themes that draw my eye.

Despite my strong penchant for vibrant color, there is something powerful about architectural photographs in black and white. Doing away with color somehow enhances patterns, textures and moods.

Here are some of my favorite architecture snapshots, from Montreal and my travels.

Do you have a favorite?

From my heart to yours.

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Patience and photography

4/10/2018

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The practice of photography can sometimes be a true exercise of patience.

Of course, in some cases, one has to be very quick to capture a candid pose, a fleeting moment or an action in real-time. A lot of the time, though, a carefully composed photograph requires waiting for the elements you imagined to come together, or crowds to disperse. The scene is there, in front of you and in your mind, but you have to carve it out and freeze it just the way you want it to look in the photograph.

And for someone whose strongest suit isn't patience (ahem! hi!), this can be a therapeutic exercise!

Here are just 5 of the (many) photographs where I remember having to be really patient.

La Cubana (Havana, Cuba). I took 18 variations of this composition. The first couple were just of the empty square. My eye is always drawn to architectural details, so that scene was interesting enough for me. The repetition of doorways, the lintels and columns, the rough texture of the decaying walls, the contrasting colors of the painted doors and fresh laundry, the broken balustrade revealing a touch of sky.

But then, she appeared. From the tip of the square, she caught my eye. Her hat, her off-the-shoulders top, the way her skirt swayed when she walked, her assured step, her shadow cast by the beating midday sun... Her presence anchored the eye, and tied together the whole scene. My shutter followed her across the square, until I settled on this variation. A sense of movement, frozen, hanging, like those of the linens. A sense of character, like that of the aging building.

It may have taken over a quarter of an hour, standing there, repeating the procedure over and over again, to finally capture La Cubana.

Alfama (Lisboa, Portugal). Darkened cobblestones and metal tracks, against the pale church façade and the summer sky. The way the tram lines overhead and the tracks on the pavement gracefully curved around the corner, out of sight. The texture of the crumbling paint on the houses. The elegant details of the wrought iron balconies, lampposts and junctions in the tram lines. "Wouldn't it be lovely if a tram came down this way right now?" Well, "right now" may have been a dozen or two dozen minutes later. But, I waited. I studied the light, memorized the composition I wanted. And waited. I can remember my excitement (and relief) when the narrow lane livened up with the sound of its arrival. It was worth it, in the end.

The Perfect Sea (Corfu town, Corfu). It is already a feat to photograph a place when you've only just arrived - jet-lagged, still only beginning to unwind during those first few hours of your long-anticipated European holiday. But when throngs of visitors crowd the scene that you know has a near-perfect symmetry begging to be photographed, it takes some extra willpower to pause, centered, elbows in the air, waiting for every last person and their shadow to clear the frame.

Tramonto veneziano (Venice, Italy). When I am in my beloved Venice, I make sure that I have time. Time to walk, time to watch, time to feel. With a blank schedule, with only a general sense of where I feel like going, I wander. That allows me to wait for a moment that's all mine -- a reflection that no one else waited to see, a lane without people in it, just Venice. And this silhouette of a gondola, its gondoliere and a passenger, crossing a sunbeam of a thousand fiery crystals at dusk.

La Maruzzella (Santa Maria al Bagno, Italy). It was lunchtime and this small town on Italy's heel had paused for lunch. The menu was written on paper tablecloths stretched beneath the elbows of hungry locals and pinned down by decanters of local white wine. As we sat and savored urchins, spaghetti, clams and mussels, the Sea demanded to be thanked. It crept up and up, splashing onto the deck as though it tried to get further and stronger with each slam. I wanted to see it come through the gate. I waited an absurd amount of time to catch it, but it kept falling short of the gate each time. Until, finally, it slammed through.

Do you ever wait long for your pictures? Leave me a comment and let me know!

From my heart to yours.

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Etsy Made in Canada: Montreal September 2018

4/10/2018

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Well, that's a wrap!

For our September show, anyway. The next Etsy Montréal show will take place in November (22-24) at the Windsor Station, and then there will be one more holiday show in December (15-16) at the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier in Hochelaga.

Last week, I shared with you a little bit about why I love participating in AND co-organizing the Etsy Montreal shows.

If you couldn't make it to the show to enjoy the atmosphere and shop from incredible local shops, here is a taste of what it was like! I snuck away from my booth for a few moments here and there to snap a few photos of the event.

To see my full album, visit my Facebook page.

Mark your calendar for the two next Etsy Montreal shows, will you?

Etsy Montreal Team. Photo credit Julien Lauzon Photography

From my heart to yours.

Photography is hard work! Please remember to credit Veni Etiam Photography if sharing these event photos!

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Made Me Look: Layers of Beauty

4/10/2018

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Some places teach us about contrasts and ironies, fleeting time and persisting time. They marvel us with how they can be aging yet timeless, how they can be captivating without being boastful, how they can emanate a distinct character and mood almost immediately, when we've barely even begun combing its streets.

Some places leave us quite speechless, instilling a sense of nostalgia in us while we are still there, standing on its soil. We follow its lead, go where the place pulls us, linger on the simplest details that hold us hostage for a moment or two. Details that highlight imperfection and time – an uneven street, a peeling façade, a decaying staircase. Every few steps, a sight draws us in, makes us pause, begs to be recorded.

Humble and complex, Havana holds the eye, the lens, and the heart.

This detail of a crumbling wall stopped me in my tracks.

Layers of Beauty looks beautiful on textured or satin paper, in vertical or square orientations. Its rustic details and rich colors also come to life on canvas, acrylic, metal or wood. Frames are available upon request!

Prefer functional objects to wall art? Layers of Beauty has also been produced on a notebook, and on a wood tray or placemart as part of a new collaboration with designers at LAMOU.