An Owl and A Guy Named Shakespeare

We began our day by leaving the overcast skies of London and heading towards Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birth town of William Shakespeare. On the coach ride, Mary makes good use of her down time and is inspired to work on her collage book.

As we approached the land o' Shakespeare, the weather cleared and we were greeted with sunny, but brisk temperatures. Here, a typical farm scene as it might have looked in Shakespeare's time.

Leaving the relative warmth of the coach, Sandi, Ivan and Stephanie try to absorb as much of the sun as they can, before heading into Mary Arden's home (Shakespeare's childhood home). Stephanie glances behind and checks for overly-aggressive farm animals in the stable area. Note one of the few forms of entertainment back then: Dangling ribbons from a Maypole.

Once inside the house, we learn more about the chores and duties required to live in a farm setting.

The tools and utensils are simple in construction, but were adequate for the task.

We were told of the servant's role and how it wasn't such a bad job, given that one received both food and lodging, as well as a small amount of money to spend any way one would like, perhaps on small luxuries like fabric or a comb.

We listened intently to our guides, who were dressed as they might have in Shakespeare's time, as they explained how a pot of stew was best heated by placing it next to the fire to obtain the best heat transfer, rather than directly over the flames as is often seen in movies.

More items from the simple lifestyle.

A bed in a warm but smoky upstairs room.

It was a blustery day, not unlike that described in a Winnie-the-Pooh story, with everyone's cheeks made pink by the blowing wind, except Owl's. Angus was his name, and together with Becky, his handler and our guide, they showed us how people of Shakespeare's time used falcons (in this case, an owl) to help them capture smaller, elusive prey to supplement their meals.

Given the proper command and signal, Angus would swoop down mightily, then alight on any willing volunteer who donned the thick leather glove. Here, Angus was too quick for the photographer and a bit too flighty for Ellen's tastes.

Jacob tries his hand at it and has got fellow students in awe of his cool and collected approach to bird handling.

Laura is amazed at just how fast Angus lands on the glove, eats the tiny morsel of flesh that is placed on the crook of the thumb, and before you know it, leaves with several powerful flaps of his wings.

Ivan thinks nothing of having this sharp-taloned bird of prey land on his outstretched arm. "It's a piece of cake," he mutters to himself.

Ross and Angus are completely at ease with one another.

As great as the appeal of Mary Arden's home is, it still had to compete with Angus's captivating show of flight.

As seen in this side view, Angus cuts a low profile. Alina has got Angus's landing procedure down pat.

Paul fastens the last button on his jacket in an effort to fend off the low temperatures, while Ana and Emily continue to enjoy the falconry work.

It was a great display of bird and (wo)man working together. Cheers, Angus!

We next visited Shakespeare's home. It is now a museum preserved and filled with furniture that would have been in use at the time. This house has quite a history and having changed hands a few times, the furnishings are no longer completely original. No photographs were permitted, so we will have to make do with an exterior shot. Here we are, getting organized to enter the museum.

We are now on the last leg of the Shakespeare trail, and our guide Nigel describes the use of extra timber on the exterior of buildings that were seen as a show of one's personal wealth. Even Shakespeare's parents weren't immune to this social pressure to keep up with the Jones's. Their house had multiple pieces built into the walls for others to see, but only on that side which could be viewed from the road. Way fewer wood members are seen on the inside.

A fading headstone seen on the way to Shakespeare's place of burial, but this one is not his. This cemetary can be found just outside the church where he is buried.

The interior is illuminated by ornate stained glass windows. Marrietta, Laura and Ivan stand right in front of where Shakespeare's remains lie.

Although we are even closer to the actual site, one can't quite see it in this shot. You'll just have to cough up your own 50 pence to see it on your next visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

On our return through the town, the last of the day's rays fell on Shakespeare's home.

More Time For More Collage, Please!

Many of the collage pieces are coming along very nicely, and in this photo, Stephanie's curiosity is rewarded when Jennifer reveals her simple secret to successful gluing.

Alejandra, Ana and Karely are getting so involved in the work, they aren't even interested in smiling for the camera!

Based on repeating shapes, this collage offers many areas of interest.

Weaving techniques are incorporated into this altered page from a book.

There just doesn't seem to be enough time in class! Up Next: An Owl and A Guy Named Shakespeare

Paris In The Fall

After class, students met at King's Cross/St.Pancras station to board the Eurostar train to Paris. We were all anxious to visit this grand city with a huge history.

In London, as in many densely populated cities, there are queues to contend with and lots of waiting around. If you are of the impatient sort, it is really better to read a book or a magazine and edify yourself as Nick does here. Notice that he's flipping through pages of The Economist and not The Daily Mail.

This is not to say that there isn't some merit in cuddling up and reading together, as Joan and Erwin demonstrate here. I guess that Cosmopolitan must be the French word for The Economist.

It is true too, that our students have often gone without enough sleep, given our full schedule of activities and classes. Sometimes, you just have to catch up, no matter where you are. Nick, however, does not need to sleep. Megan and Ana do.

Our hotel chambres in Paris were wonderfully outfitted and decorated.

The servez-vous (that's French for "go get it yourself") breakfast buffet had a good selection and this helped stave off any possible bouts of scurvy, too. Missing from the photo are apple sauce, orange juice, and yogurt. The croissants were one of the reasons why we made this trip, of course. And oh, for the art history, too, right?

Some students were so excited to visit the Louvre museum that they ran ahead through the arch that leads to the pyramidal entrance designed by US architect, I.M. Pei.

Jennifer and Stephanie imagine what it might be like to get crowned by Napoleon. What dress should they wear? What would they say in their acceptance speech? What would Empress Josephine have done?

Ashley and Ana find comfort together in front of Théodore Géricault's, The Raft of the Medusa, which depicted a very tragic naval incident in 1807. Many of the paintings in the Grande Format Salle are huge.

A brief regathering of some of the troops, before heading out to explore another part of Paris. Brian, in front, was struck by the beauty of the paintings as well as by the red-orange auto-focus-assist light from another camera.

Street scenes like this can still be found in Paris.

Bikes have become very popular again, and we saw many old bikes from previous decades resurrected and put back into useful service, alongside the new public bike rental program instituted earlier this year, all in the name of helping to relieve traffic congestion.

Brocantes (second-hand items from the attic for sale) are still held during weekends throughout many locations around the country. This one, near the historic rue Mouffetard, was letting go of a framed portrait, a lot of glassware, and a birdcage. The origin of this street goes back to when it was part of the road from Rome to Paris.

Ms. Reber and Mr. Timmerman have the Tuileries park (designed in 1664 by Le Notre, who also did the garden in Versailles) all to themselves, or so they would like to believe. We'll just let them go on thinking that way.

Our visit to the Musée d'Orsay permitted our group exclusive access so that we were able to avoid the crowds. Just kidding. This is a photo of a scale model of this renovated train station that is now a museum. The fifth floor had an exciting collection of Impressionist paintings and sculpture. This must be the reason why we came to Paris!

Ms. Reber (left, in black) and Mary (right, in purple) both try to photograph the maddening crowd inside the Musée d'Orsay as part of a photography assignment to capture people in a public space in the manner of photographer William Klein. It's not as easy as it looks.


Although the Eiffel Tower has been photographed a million times, this is the first time a UFO has been captured circling the tilted structure, at least to my knowledge. No Adobe Photoshop was used in the creation of this photograph. Photography students, can you do any better? To paraphrase recent President-Elect Obama, "Yes, You Can." So send me your "take" of this favorite site.

Two Foothill-De Anza students got to Paris long before our group did. On the right is Pierrick, who heads Marketing and Communications for a French company and on the left is Alexis, a photographer and website designer. Both attended Foothill and De Anza Colleges respectively, and are now married and living and working in Paris. Isn't it romantic? They met us under the Eiffel Tower (and isn't that romantic, too?) and later guided us up the steps to the Trocadero area so that I could make that tilted photo of the tower with the circling UFO from afar. Then they took our hungry group of students to a restaurant that specialized in crepes from the Brittany area for a late snack in Montparnasse. After trying the salty caramel crepes and special cidre (cider), Erwin is a new convert and swears he will return to that restaurant again, no matter how long it takes. "Thanks," and "Bon Courage" to Pierrick and Alexis! (See Alexis' website: http://www.bohemebox.com)

OK, we confess. We all came to Paris for the café and pastries. Au revoir, Paris! A bientôt!

Environmental Portraits Examined and a New Focus on Blurred Photos To Come

Today's photography class reviewed an assignment that required students to make environmental portraits of a person previously unknown to them. The subjects could be anyone, so long as the sitters agreed to be photographed and would be willing to share some of their written thoughts when the photographer returned with a printed photograph. We saw a variety of occupations in these photos, including a coffee barista, a street musician, and an artist. Our budding photographers learned many things from this assignment: The important role that the background plays in helping to shape the story, the need to avoid coinciding elements that blur the distinction between subject and background, and the best moment to make the exposure. Below, Mary shares her assignment for feedback.

Ana reads the written response portion of the assignment to several very interested classmates. A big part of this assignment was to encourage students to meet someone new and learn to overcome the fear of photographing people.

In just a few weeks, we will be seeing some new photographs that make creative use of blur and motion through skillful selection of the appropriate shutter speed control. Stay tuned.

Westminster Hall, Victorian Clothes and Styles

Our gray, rainy morning began with a thorough x-ray check of our backpacks and belongings at a security checkpoint. Having passed through a metal detector which looked more like a time-machine made from an old door-less frame than an anti-terrorist device at the Visitor's Entrance in Westminster Hall, we were now ready for the next step on our tour of the Houses of Parliament. After stepping through the portal and much to our surprise, we were transported backwards in time. The soaring stone walls and the feel of the hard stone floors beneath our feet were bathed with cool filtered light from the Gothic windows above. What our hands and feet experienced today was probably not any different than the way it was over nine hundred years ago. The interior hall in which we patiently waited for our guide to arrive was originally built in 1097 and was the site of many historical events, including the trials of King Charles I and actor Mel Gibson (as Sir William Wallace in the film, Braveheart), joked our Welsh tour guide later. Although rebuilt over a period of several centuries, the roof is made of wood, as were the interior paneled walls of the inner building. Unfortunately, photography within the House of Lords and House of Commons is prohibited (unless you know an MP-see below). Some students did try for the full tour experience by attempting to sit in the very same deep leather seats that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other MPs would sit in, but were largely unsuccessful due to the diligent eyes of our tour guide. Ornate and beautiful carved wood can be seen and felt almost everywhere, including the post to which prisoners of the court were chained while awaiting their cases to be reviewed. We also saw Queen Victoria's chair and ottoman, as well as the secret door to her private toilet. For other official photos (but not of the Queen's toilet room), see this site: http://www.parliament.uk/about/visiting/virtualtours/lords-tour/index.htm

While in a holding pattern in the great hall and to help pass the time, Aaron shares a joke with Ross and Ivan, while Jacob and Alex wait patiently on the bench for their turn to pay money and hear the joke.

One highlight of our tour was a pre-arranged meeting with a Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Graham Brady. Mr. Brady is a representative of the Conservative Party and he generously gave his time and shared his views with us on the recent US presidential election, the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, and the Scots, to name but a few. As a reward for his insightful remarks on former Prime Minister Tony Blair, we decided that we wanted a photograph with MP Brady. Note the booted legs of the Duke of Wellington portrait in the background. (Click on the photo below for a slightly larger view)

(Photo by Nick, but camera owned by Megan)
A visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum in the afternoon led us to the room where a model of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton is housed. This was a modular outdoor building created for the world-changing Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London, that employed the latest construction methods using cast iron and glass with pre-fab parts which were not unlike our modern-day Erector or Lego building sets, only on a much larger scale. In a nearby side room, Nick and Ashley discover what it is like to wear period clothing. Not shown are photos that depict Nick helping Ashley put on her corset. (This is, after all, the Victorian period, with its emphasis on moral standards and decency!)

Students of the art history class also found a part of the museum dedicated to the emergence of the NeoClassical period, as well as this room which is decorated in the dominant style from the year 1756. Errmm, is the style of this room Baroque, Rococo, or NeoClassical? This question would be a good one to ask on the next exam!