Greetings and salutations!  I have decided to transfer this blog over to a Tumblr.  So for anyone looking to see my new work, please check it out - it will be updated a lot more frequently.

MeganElyseCain.tumblr.com

Thanks!

Untitled (Arthur's Seat) - Edinburg, 2012.

More From Orkney

 Untitled (street), Orkney 2012.

Untitled (alley), Orkney 2012.

More of that wonderful subtle light in Orkney.  I also couldn't seem to get enough of the deserted street scenes.  There are a lot of wonderful people on that small island, but none of them made it into any of my pictures.  I had planned on taking a lot of landscape pictures durring our stay, but the one day we had to explore and do a nice long 15 mile hike was also the day of a massive and extremely cold storm, so these post downpour shots were all I managed to capture.

The Light of Orkney

(untitled) - Kirkwall, 2012.

So, I spent two weeks in Scotland this April.  It was my first time in that neck of the woods and I tried to make the most of it by going on a sort of whirlwind tour of the country.  Started in Edinburgh, on to Aberdeen, took a ferry up to the Shetland Islands, down to Orkney, further down to the mainland at Scrabster, through Inverness and back down to Glasgow.  It was travel at quite a fast clip but well worth every second.

And I have to say, the highlight of the trip was the time I spent in the Shetland and Orkney islands.  Wonderful, brilliant and stunning places.  They command a very humble awe.  And the light in Orkney was positively stunning.  Sunset seemed to linger on forever with the most delicate grace.  A bombastic medley of brilliants oranges and reds it was not.  Rather it was a devastatingly subtle glow that made the otherwise stereotypically scottish weather ever so slightly warmer in color.  In fact it gave me a whole new appreciation of subtle color, something I've only ever experienced with a few of the pictures I got back from Japan.  Perhaps this is a new trend.  Or perhaps it just means I need to go back and play  in that light a little bit more.  And so, a (sort of) diptych:

In - Kirkwall, 2012.

Out - Kirkwall, 2012.

More From Poland

Wawel, Krakow 2012.

Fascis(t), Krakow 2012.

Untitled, Krakow 2012.

I loved my time in Poland so much and am eager to go back.  The winter reminded of Colorado (my home), the specific feel of the cold - if that makes any sense.  Brilliant food and art everywhere.  Krakow is easily the most walkable city I have ever been to in my life and is so old and miraculously preserved.  It truly is a pleasure to explore.  I would love to go back and get to shoot some more film, and maybe one day I will, but for now this is the last of what I shot there.  Hope you like it.

Big Bang Big Boom

So, I've been looking at more of Blu's work since my last post and stumbled upon some videos of his mural animations.  They are mind blowingly impressive and completely inspiring.  It is art transforming the world around it as well as itself in the process.  This video is my favorite so far, and totally worth watching to the end.  Please enjoy.

 Never Follow (ver 1-6), Krakow 2012.

When I said the street art in Poland was amazing, I wasn't kidding.  Given the history of the country it is also some of the most politically charged work I've seen.  This particular piece is HUGE, it covers the side of an entire building on an otherwise rather unassuming street in the Podgórze district and was done by Italian street artist Blu.  I ran into it on the walk back from the Museum of Contemporary Art on my last day in Krakow.  I'm still a little bummed that I only had black and white film in my camera since the horn/bell is quite brilliant in color but I think the results are still arresting.  Not sure which image I like best and its always a tricky line when it's an image of someone else's work but I am curious to know what peoples thoughts are.  Does it work? Any particular image stand out?

The mural truly is amazing and, if you happen to find yourself in the area, well worth a visit.  For those that aren't however, there is a pretty nice 360 degree image here.