India: Delhi: Red Fort

Here's a Throwback Thursday to the time when we visited the famed Red Fort in Delhi, at the perfect time of the day: magic hour....aka sunset and just imaging the Mughal emperors of India living here...

Here I am capturing the shot below for Instagram:

Savannah: Squares and Surroundings

There are twenty-two squares in the city of Savannah. The layout of these squares began with just four squares in 1733, expanding as a grid in the city with each being named in honor of a historic figure or event.

One of the more popular Squares is Chippewa Square, known for being the location of the famed park bench from the film Forrest Gump and the First Baptist Church also filmed in the movie (true story: the bench in the movie was just a prop, and is now at Savannah's Visitors Center).

And let's talk about how gorgeous the architecure surrounding the squares is....

Magnificent mansions, wrought-iron gates, ivy and moss covered walls (and stairs!)...the greenery, Spanish moss and live oaks are endless...add to that the clomp of horse-drawn carriage tours? It's like being on a movie set...

E.Shaver Books, recommended to me by Jamie, and where I ended up buying this book!

Savannah: Wormsloe Plantation

Definitely at the top of my list of places to visit in Savannah was the Wormsloe Plantation. That visual of the famous Forrest Gump road lined with live oak trees and hanging Spanish moss was forever emprinted on my mind and on a drizzly morning it looked exactly how I imagined....

The drive (I wanted to walk) down the live oak road is about 1.5 miles, with nothing but Spanish moss above and gravel beneath and it's completely magicial.

Once at the end of the road, there's a small museum with artifacts that were unearthed at the plantation. Then it's a short walk to the tabby (material used to build the structure) ruins...There are a few nature trails and look-out points along the way, as well as a pile of "tabby" material, now worn down to the ground.

To imagine the plantation the way it once must have been...

Boston: MFA, John Singer Sargent Watercolors

Violet Sleeping, ca. 1907-1908, Brooklyn MuseumIt's always such a treat to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Remember this?

For me, it's a way to decompress, find inspiration and reflect on my work as a photographer. There's always so much to learn. With the MFA's newest exhibition of Johh Singer Sargent's Watercolors, it's the first time that his most significant collections of watercolors from both the MFA and the Brooklyn Museum have been exhibited together.

I invited some of my favorite ladies in Boston, Elizabeth S who I love to see at Neiman Marcus events, Elizabeth H who I recently dined with, Ana and Alaina who I often have tea with, to join me at the MFA. We were honored to get an inside look of Sargent's Watercolors from the MFA's own Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the Americas, Erica Hirshler.

When I studied Art and Art History back at the University of Toronto, John Singer Sargent was always one of those painters who we looked to for his work in oils and always for his ability to capture LIGHT. I had never had the opportunity to view his watercolors in person, until now and they are beyond exquisite.

My favorite piece  "In Switzerland" dated to 1905 is of Sargent's friend Lawrence Harrison whose lanky frame barely fits the bed. The fore-shortened view adds to the interest of the painting, highlighting the shoes dangling off the bed frame.

Sargent's watercolors can be looked at as fragmented moments captured in time; little snapshots, all of which speak volumes of an artist ahead of his period. It's incredible to think that his works were created on moving gondolas, along the hillsides of the Alps, situated in middle eastern bedouin camps, even such challenging locales as the Carrara marble quarries in Lucca.

If only Sargent could have used Instagram....

Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the Americas, Erica Hirshler, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Simplon Pass: Reading, about 1911, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Simplon Pass: Reading, about 1911, Museum of Fine Arts, BostonSimplon Pass: The Green Parasol, about 1911, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Gondoliers' Siesta, 1902-1903, Museum of Fine Arts, BostonBedouins, 1905-1906, Brooklyn Museum

Thank you to the Museum of Fine Arts for having us!

The Sargent Watercolor exhibit at the MFA is on now until January 20 2014, for tickets visit the MFA website.

Savannah: Alex Raskin Antiques

In gorgeous, historic Savannah, every square is surrounded by regal, magnificent homes, rich in architecture and the promise of great stories to tell.

Happening upon what looked like a run-down, deserted and "haunted" house on the corner of Monterery Square, with a sign that said "Antiques", my curiosity was instantly piqued. The door was locked, but there was a note on the door with a number to call for it to be opened. The note also stated that the home was large so it would take some time.

There was no response.

The next day however, the door was unlocked. As I pushed it open, it creaked just like a horror movie door.

But very much not like a horror movie, was the sight of an enormous front room filled to the brim with heavy pieces of antique furniture and sculptures. A perfect antique shop. With all the mystery of a haunted mansion gone, it was easier to walk in, and browse amongst the vintage furnishings.

The shop-keeper invited me to explore the other floors (3 more!), so I set off upstairs. At the top of which was a door with an instruction to "shut the door behind you"....

Join me within the walls of the historic Noble Hardee Mansion of Monterey Square...

Alex Raskin Antiques, 441 Bull St  Savannah, GA 31401