Inspired by Now

Category: Architecture

  • Making a Lavender Wand at the Modjeska Historic House

    Making a Lavender Wand at the Modjeska Historic House

    Today I once again was able to discover a gem in our area. I had heard about the Helena Modjeska Historic House before, but I had not visited it. When I noticed an interesting program being run there, I immediately signed up. In the first hour we got a short tour of the house, and in the second hour we created lavender wands from fresh lavender we picked in the garden. I really enjoyed both. I was able to take a few pictures of the place, which I’d like to share with you.

    Very briefly about the history: Helena Modjeska, a Polish actress, moved to America with her husband in 1876 in search of a new life. After a very short time of trying to farm, she started learning English, and soon she was able to perform in the States as an actress. She became a beloved performer all over the country, and after a decade on the road, she and her husband bought a cottage in an Orange County canyon. With the help of architect Stanford White, they built a wonderful house with a beautiful garden. This is what I visited today.

    I don’t want to give away a lot from the tour, you should visit the place if you can. It’s truly picturesque and the stories about Modjeska are very interesting. She was a very talented actress, musician, author, etc. Some parts of the house shown on the pictures were later additions. (Iphone and Lensbaby Burnside 35 images.)

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  • A Walk in Los Angeles – Lensbaby Blog Circle

    A Walk in Los Angeles – Lensbaby Blog Circle

    Towards the end of March my friend and I took a train trip into Los Angeles, and enjoyed a nice, slowly paced walk in the city for a few hours. Since we were not in a hurry whatsoever, using Lensbaby lenses was a good option. Let me share with you a few pictures of the areas we visited, which included Union Station, the City Hall (great view from the 27th floor!), the Bradbury Building, the Grand Central Market (I only ate there, no pictures), and the Disney Concert Hall. The lenses I used were: Twist 60, Sol 45 and Velvet 56.

    Enjoy the brief tour of Los Angeles. (more…)

  • Family Trip to New Orleans, Louisiana

    Family Trip to New Orleans, Louisiana

    Need a destination for a quick family getaway? Try New Orleans, Louisiana.

    In January of 2019 my daughter got 2 extra days off of school around MLK Jr. Day, and we decided to take a family trip during the 5-day long weekend. Although we considered going to New York, NY first, luckily we decided to go to New Orleans, LA instead. (The weather in NY was far from pleasant during the weekend.)

    In this post I just wanted to share what places we visited (with a 14 year old), in case someone else is looking for great stuff to do there. In future posts I will write about a few of these places in detail.

    First of all, after a whole day of searching for places to go to and things to do I decided, that the New Orleans City Pass was not going to work for us. Since this was a family trip and we wanted to enjoy our time in the Crescent City, we did not want to rush from one attraction to the next one all day long. I planned two major things to do every day, and we filled the rest of the time with small walks, etc. I did find many great deals on www.livingsocial.com, and I was able to get discounted tickets for 3 out of 6 places there. If you are interested in the various city passes, this article compares them very well. (more…)

  • Irvine Katie Wheeler Library Grounds – Lensbaby Blog Circle

    Irvine Katie Wheeler Library Grounds – Lensbaby Blog Circle

    On the last weekend of November I suffered from a stress related back injury, and pain in different areas of my back has been troubling me since then. Unfortunately, this also meant fewer photoshoots in the past five or so weeks. Last week I did have a short photowalk on the grounds of one of our city libraries prior to picking up a reserved book, and I’m happy to share the images I took there with the Lensbaby Blog Circle readers.

    The library is located at the Irvine Ranch Historic Park in Irvine, California. It is a replica (2008) of the Irvine family home, which was originally constructed in 1876. The park itself was established in 1996, and it houses 24 original ranch structures that represent the agricultural history of Orange County.

    The double rows of palm trees seen on the fourth image were planted in 1906. The park has many trees, flowers, and it has a section where they are rejuvenating avocado trees. (more…)

  • Architectural Photography (Traveling Burnside Project)

    The weather finally cooperated and I visited the Buda Castle District to try out the Burnside 35 on my second favorite subject: architecture.
    I walked around Matthias Church, Fisherman’s Bastion and the Maria Magdalena Tower. As I had mentioned it in a previous post, I prefer to visit the Castle District in the early hours, before the tourist groups show up. It feels like a very different place when it’s quiet, peaceful, and only a few people (who live there) walk on the streets.

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