By Ted Grussing
… dreams … daffodils or simply a field of great beauty where you can spend time and let your mind wander in a scene of intense beauty. This is a shot from the daffodil fields at Filoli and the field and apple trees were in full bloom. There are paths that you can walk on that pass through the fields, so you can get close macro shots of individual blooms as well as the grander view. Last floral photo for a while.
The presentation I gave to the Sedona Gem and Mineral Club this evening was my first talk in a while that was not about photography and it was fun prepping for it and going over a lot of gem photos I have not looked at or taken in over a year. Perhaps tomorrow I will delve back into finishing a few stones that I have been carrying around for up to 35 years. I enjoy spending time with an opal in the rough and doing a mental markup of the stone as to how I would make cuts through it, how I would shape it and searching for flaws that could detract from the beauty. I have cut more than 150 pounds of opal over the last 42 years, so it is not that I have misgivings, rather it is that when I make the cuts with the diamond saw and then shape and finish the gemstone, all the dreaming is gone and I am left with another gemstone suitable for fine jewelry … sometimes dreaming is best. One of my carry around stones is a piece of gem Andamooka treating matrix. This piece was always kept on the cutting bench of Major George Owens and is only partially treated and polished. Half of the stone is intense reds and the other half intense greens. George taught me a lot about opal, cutting and eventually Corky and I bought his collection of opal back in the late 1970’s. I know there are quite a few on this list who will remember George … he and his partner owned Lapidary International at Ball & Beach in Anaheim. They sold the operation to David Burton and he is still operating it. David is an incredible source for all things opal and a very nice person, so if you live in the area and want to stop in, do so and say hi for me too. His website is: http://www.burtonsgemsandopals.com/
Time to wrap the day … espresso in a few hours. Have a beautiful day and make sure to live the day in a manner that will cause you to have a warm smile on your face in the evening!
Cheers,
Ted
At nightfall…though I know I shall sometime no more
Open my eyes to the light or day, I am one who looks at stars when
Unchained from the work-bench at Nightfall.
They are a sign that I am not ephemeral,
Not you, nor you, whoever you are.
The dawn comes and the dark and the sign sparkling in the brooding night,
Forever and forever.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
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