Welcome 2012! My new year’s resolution is to post regularly to the three blogs I write: on art photography, gourmet vegetarian food, and natural healing with essential oils.

Though my SpringMoon blog has appeared utterly neglected (no posts / updates since April 2008), I’ve been VERY busy with photography and art behind the scenes. Was gifted a new camera: Nikon 5000D and a 28-300mm lens by my incredibly generous sister in this time period. Have been teaching myself to use it and investing in professional quality equipment such as:
~ a Vanguard carbon fiber tripod and pistol grip swivel mount
~ a tabletop lightbox for food and product photography (still need better lights)

Also, with the encouragement of a Facebook friend, Ethan Tweedie, who does spectacular landscape photography in Hawaii, started taking a Lynda.com course on shooting in RAW, which is improving what I can do with my photography ~ preserving max exposure details in the highlights and shadows and a wide range of color hues. More on this in specific articles I have planned.

Sunny Gerbera Daisy ~ A summery flower to brighten your New Year.

Images to greet the new year: This pale ivory Gerbera Daisy shot several years ago is one of the first ‘high-key’ images I’ve taken with it’s dark center being the only strong point of contrast. Liked the image and have wanted to make Read more

'Crabapple Blossom & Buds' Copyright 2004-2010 Cynthe Brush All Rights Reserved.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is celebrating its Centennial in 2010. This summer a Garden-wide exhibition 100 Years, 100 Stories including a special selection of photos and memorabilia in the Steinhardt Conservatory Gallery display will showcase BBG’s history—important achievements and lesser known milestones, as well as personal stories from members, visitors, neighbors, volunteers, and staff.

The 100 Years, 100 Stories Opening Reception is scheduled for:
Sunday ~ June 13, 4 to 6 pm.

The exhibition will run:
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 – Sunday, September 5, 2010

With their goal of making the celebration personal, Brooklyn Botanic Garden solicited photo entries via a special Flickr group with accompanying stories of folks’ recollections: what they especially enjoy about the gardens, how they’ve spent time there.

Here are the images I shared on the BBG Flickr group: Read more

2007 ~ We never would have found the corner store in San Francisco’s Chinatown without Julia & Helen. And I’m so glad we went when we did, because the shop where I bought my SpringMoon Chinese signature stamp closed down a few years ago…for some reason or another.

Julia’s one of my Li’s Tai Chi Academy classmates. We’ve been buddies since 2003 or so and especially enjoy practicing Yang sword forms together. Her sister Helen, whom I’ve never met, worked in Chinatown in 2007 when I was planning to purchase my signature stamp or “chop” as some folks call it. (BTW, if any of you readers know where the term “chop” originates, I’d appreciate knowing. My Chinese friends seem not to have heard of the expression.)

Helen recommended this particular store as a good place to go to purchase Read more