allThingsMonochrome

This is Stuart. He can hear Sound

Posted by Ellie
 

Week 18/26: Sound #BWProject26 .

We first met Stuart almost 18 years ago. He is a wood turner and he was standing smiling in his booth at a craft show. His wife stepped up at once and explained that Stuart was deaf, so she showed us his work as he looked on, smiling at us and doing his best to chat. Stuart had not been born deaf but had worked as a pile driver for many years and the vibration and loud sounds had gradually eroded his hearing. His wife explained to me that when deafness is caused by noise levels, a hearing aid is not good, because it increases the sound level, which then continues to cause even more hearing loss.

We saw Stuart a few times over the years and he always remained apparently accepting of his condition, smiling when we complimented him on his work and talking about it animatedly. I since found out that he had to put up a fight to get his hearing loss accepted as being work related so that he could receive a disability pension, but he never let on to us about his discouragements or concerns, continuing to turn and produce the things he loved to make.

A few years ago, Stuart had a cochlear implant and, he was able to hear for the first time in years. It was at first a bit strange to be able to speak to him in a more or less normal voice and have him respond, but everyone was so happy for him that this treatment had helped him to hear again. At last we were able to really get to know him properly.

We were all at the annual Nova Woodturners Guild BBQ the other day, when I saw Stuart sitting there listening to the conversation with a little smile on his face in response to what was being said. Those of us with no experience of such impairment can have no idea of the pleasure he must get when he can sit and listen to a conversation going on around him again.

So Stuart is my model for 'Sound', the theme for this project this week.

My photographic posts are all on my blog : www.elliekennard.ca .

Curated by +Tisha Montgomery​ +Brandon Luk​ +Lauri Novak​ +Al Chris​

#hqspportraits +HQSP Portraits​ curated by +Heiko Köster​ +Frank Nöthe​

#portraitgallery +Portrait gallery​ by +Aamir Shahzad​

#allthingsmonochrome +All Things Monochrome​ by +Charles Lupica​, +Enrique Pelaez​, +Brian Cox​, +Dorian Stretton​ and +Bill Wood​

#monochromeworld +Monochrome World​ by +andi rivarola​

#hqspmonochrome +HQSP Monochrome​ curated by +Luis Vivanco S.​ +Оксана Крысюкова​ +Nader El Assy​ +Howard Salmon​ +tri rini nuringtyas​ and +Giuseppe Petruzzella​

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Cuckoo's Nest

Posted by Ellie
 

(One Flew Over the)
Week 6/26: Inspired by TV/Film

I have had a long time mystery solved by getting a photograph for this theme. Over the past few years, in the summer I have been hearing a sound a bit like water gurgling down a drain, coming from one of the large trees in front of our house. I even tried to record it so I could get someone to identify what was making the noise. I never was able to spot the bird or work out what it might be.

The other day while walking through the fields, over the snow which is now about 3 or 4 feet above the ground, I spotted this nest wedged neatly in the fork of this tree. I was photographing it as it looked so intricate, finely woven and yet somehow sturdy, and the film title "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" came to mind. The film had nothing to do with birds, of course. That didn't stop me from making that association and so when I came home and was working with it, I wondered if they even have cuckoos here. I got out my trusty iBird app ( +Fraser Brooks​ AKA Bigfoot) and searched for Cuckoos in my area and, sure enough, the black billed cuckoo is indeed found in Nova Scotia. I played the sound on the app and there it was ! The water gurgling down the drain sound! It was nothing like the cuckoo calls I knew from Europe, which is why I had not made the connection.

For those who don't know, cuckoos do not make their own nests, they lay their eggs in the nests of more industrious birds who then, all unaware of the invasion, raise the hatched cuckoo in with their own young. If the host bird is small the growing cuckoo will gradually push out all of the legitimate young from the nest and grow to its comparatively monster size at their expense, exhausting the confused parents while it does so. So every nest is a potential cuckoo's nest.

I went back a day later (after another snowfall and bout of windy weather) and the nest was gone. Just a bit of the bottom was left firmly attached to the base. Hopefully that will serve as a base to build a new one for the season soon to come. And maybe a cuckoo will lay an egg in it. It will be too high for me to be able to see it so well and hopefully to keep it safe from ground predators.

Are you not able to comment on Google+ because you don't belong? Would you prefer to comment on my blog? It's right here with all my G+ posts on it: https://www.elliekennard.ca .

#BWProject26 | Curated by +Tisha Montgomery​ +Brandon Luk​ +Lauri Novak​ +Alison Christensen​

#hqspmonochrome +HQSP Monochrome​ curated by +Luis Vivanco S.​ +Оксана Крысюкова​ +Nader El Assy​ +Howard Salmon​ and +tri rini nuringtyas​

#allthingsmonochrome +All Things Monochrome​ by +Charles Lupica​ +Enrique Pelaez​ +Brian Cox​ +Bill Wood​ +Dorian Stretton​

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Abstract: Hang Gliding Over the (mini) Alps

Posted by Ellie
 

Week 5/26

The natural artistic forces are expert at creating beauty. It can be terribly cold, with a biting wind, snow like shifting sand underfoot, and deep soft gullies that suddenly engulf you. And then you see the sculptures emerging, textured carvings being revealed. And it doesn't feel so cold. You know you are the only person in the world that will ever see this. Except that now you get to see it too.

Are you not able to comment on Google+ because you don't belong? Would you prefer to comment on my blog? It's right here with all my G+ posts on it: https://www.elliekennard.ca .

#BWProject26 | Curated by +Tisha Montgomery +Brandon Luk +Lauri Novak +Alison Christensen

#hqspmonochrome +HQSP Monochrome curated by +Luis Vivanco S. +Оксана Крысюкова +Nader El Assy +Howard Salmon and +tri rini nuringtyas

#allthingsmonochrome +All Things Monochrome by +Charles Lupica +Enrique Pelaez +Brian Cox +Bill Wood +Dorian Stretton

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Tendrils Reaching Out in a Soft and Gentle Embrace-117/365

Posted by Ellie

This was unexpected, not what I was planning to photograph at all. I had a lovely group of three of these, was getting into just the right position to photograph them when out of the blue (literally) two white paws landed right on one of them and the third was broken on the grass. And my grouping was now two. It no longer worked at all. Then I saw this lonely bloom and this was it.

Is this for the 365 project? I don't know any more. I take what I can and post when I can. So for the moment I keep the tag and the numbers. But they might go, so if they do, don't be surprised, but keep following if you like. And forget the numbers (in the (almost) words of my friend +Ursula Klepper).
#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

#allthingsmonochrome +All Things Monochrome by +Charles Lupica +Ludwig Keck +Enrique Pelaez +Brian Cox

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