In case you missed it, I'm now journaling primarily
over on LiveJournal, but since I'd discussed my Chihuly trip with a few people, thought I'd share the results anyway.
Some of you may remember that I mentor a wonderful girl named Michelle. Anyway, Michelle and I are having a busy week together, covering entertainment (the Enchanted movie), culture (last night's outing), and sports (Friday night -- free corporate-donated tickets to see the Pens play the Islanders -- Let's Go Pens!). (I'm doing the "free hockey tickets" dance right now, just so you know.)
Well, last night was the culture portion of our program. We went to the Phipps Conservatory (a wonderful place, one of the three best conservatories in the country), where they are currently displaying an exhibit of Dale Chihuly's glass art, part of his Gardens of Glass series. It's an amazing exhibit, especially at night. Problem is -- tough to take effective photos in that kind of lighting without a tripod. So I took tons of relatively bad photos that do not effectively show off how absolutely cool it is. However, thought I'd share a few of the better ones nonetheless.
You can see more in my
Chihuly at Phipps folder on Flickr.
I will definitely have to go back before it closes, with a tripod and without Michelle waiting impatiently while I take photos. Poor Michelle! But we did have a wonderful time, and I do try my best to expose her to different things -- the Renaissance Festival, plays, classical music recitals, movies, museums, the zoo, the local amusement park... we've done them all. It's a wonderful experience, for both of us!
For those interested... I was shooting with a Canon Powershot A630. I tried every shot with the flash, in night-scene mode, and in manual mode with a very slow exposure (as I said, poor Michelle!). I got lucky with a few shots where I was able to utilize fences, signs, etc. to hold the camera steady for the slower exposures, but mostly only the flash ones turned out, and those don't effectively show the dramatic lighting of the pieces in the garden setting.
