By cult standards I’m doing pretty bad. I have 8 followers and have yet to extort a single penny!
-
-
Izis Paris Des Rêves
The Paris I found myself living in left me cold. Whilst friends proclaimed their strong love for this city I felt more and more out of place. What is wrong with me? And what’s the French word for ‘desiccated’? Things to do, learning the language, getting a job, quickly mounted up like gigantic ever accelerating Tetris blocks falling from the sky. I just wanted to put everything on pause and experience the Paris I loved, the Paris of Izis Bidermanas photographs.
Izis’s poetic black and white photographs show an optimistic post-war Paris. These are unposed and unpretentious photographs of real people.Children playing in the streets. Women watering their plant pots. Couples secretly stealing kisses. Izis also affectionately photographed the homeless and drunks found sleeping on the streets. Who in actual fact look in much better shape than the seemingly invisible homeless people sleeping on the streets today.
-
The Leeuwenhoek Lecture
I recently attended a fascinating lecture, ‘How new science is transforming the optical microscope’, at The Royal Society, given by Dr Brad Amos FRS.
The lecture started with a brief history of the microscope and the father of microbiology, Dutch Microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. And progressed to the theory, trials and tribulations behind the development of the Mesolens.
Dr Brad Amos and his research team developed the Mesolens, a lens able to show anatomy at the sale of micrometers and subcellular detail. It has been called Mesolensto convey its intermediate position between a microscope objective and a photographic macro lens. It’s a pretty impressive invention when you consider it’s capable of seeing and recording every cell in a piece of tissue or entire mouse embryo in three dimensions with subcellular detail.
I felt really privileged to be at this lecture especially not being a microbiologist myself. I did have some nerves before entering the lecture. Being able to understand anything was my biggest worry. However, Dr Brad Amos had the ability to explain mathematical and scientific concepts so clearly and precisely that I could easily follow the theory.
The Royal Society, founded in 1660 really is a gem. The society democratically inspires interest in the joy, wonder and excitement of scientific discovery. Lectures are completely free and open to anyone and everyone (so long as you arrived early enough to bag yourself a seat).
It was a thoroughly enjoyable lecture and I just know it wont be the last time I visit The Royal Academy.
Top- Mesolens image of a human flea
Left- Leeuwenhoek drawings
Middle- Leeuwenhoek microscope
Right- Brad Amos, research team and Mesolens
-
Image © Eloise Batterbee 2012. All rights reserved.
-
Laura
Image © Eloise Batterbee 2012. All rights reserved.
-
The National Portrait Gallery
I have a completely free day tomorrow and I plan to spend a good part of it at The National Portrait Gallery.
The Irving Penn exhibition back in 2010 just blew me away. I fell in love with Penn’s corner portraits (as shown). So I’m looking forward to what visual treats lie in store tomorrow!
The gallery has spent around £1 million digitising its collection to make it widely available. So, if you can’t visit at least you can appreciate some of the finest portraits in the world on-line.
Top- “Mrs William Rhinelander Stewart, New York, 1948” Left- ”Marcel Duchamp, New York, 1948” Right- ”Truman Capote, New York, 1948.”
-
V&A
I’m pleased to see the V&A Museum made it on the alphabetical series of 1st class stamps, celebrating famous British landmarks. After all, it is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing over 4.5 million objects. With 145 galleries every visit I discover something incredible each time.
-
Styled Still Life Shot
The lovely Anthony Thompson approached me after seeing my still life shots for www.otisbatterbee.com. Anthony is an art historian, lecturer and guide who has recently started offering gift vouchers for his art tours. He needed a picture to illustrate his vouchers as a perfect gift in a stylish way. It was sightly challenging to make a gift voucher into an interesting image.
-
Studio Recording
Documenting recording artist, JP Palin recording his debut album.
All content © 2012 by Eloise Batterbee. All rights reserved.
-
JP Palin
All content © 2012 by Eloise Batterbee. All rights reserved.
-
-JP Palin
All content © 2012 by Eloise Batterbee. All rights reserved.
-
I was playing around with ideas for the banner of this blog. This didn’t quite work….but I still like it.
All content © 2012 by Eloise Batterbee. All rights reserved.
-
"It begins in delight and ends in wisdom"Robert Frost
-
-Stress (Monumental) by Yoan Capote
