Warner LeMénager

Japanese Poetess Warner LeMénager

Rendered Photograph 17" x 11" $700

Madame Fujiwara no Tameie was an orphan who was named Abutsu-ni and went on to gain the fame her husband had already obtained. She is amongst the great poets of Japan. In a dispute about the will of Fujiwara no Tameie, she traveled to see the shogun for resolution. In the 13th century, the attire you see in this photograph would have been the dress for a noblewoman to wear. Today in the Festival of Jidai Matsuri held in Kyoto, she is depicted by a local geiko. Though it is rare today, you may see women emulating this dress when taking religious treks. I have attended the Jidai Matsuri twice (this photograph) and twice seen women dressed like this on religious trails.

Myopic Raindrops Warner LeMénager

Rendered Photograph 11" x 14" $700

I walk as often as possible at the Huntington Gardens and take random pictures of whatever catches my eye. Since I get there so early in the morning, 8:00 am, the gardeners are doing work they can’t do when the regular public is there. Watering is one of those things and it leaves water standing loose on leaves. Under certain lighting, the effect is of a prismatic pattern of circles in different colors than we might expect. I experimented in Photoshop with what could be generated with a kind of overlapping prismatic effect and this is the image that resulted. With the drops of water that land on a variety of plants and finding the right light source, the water creates so many different images. Realism is a great thing in some cases, as my other picture depicts, and there the experiment of other things you’ve seen through the lens will give you much pleasure when you find an unusual possibility. I am not motivated by creating pictures; the image is out there and I can take it or not. I seldom plan any photographs in the future, but let those things that catch my attention warrant the click of my silent camera.