View allAll Photos Tagged Stem
Someone on Flickr once remarked that... if I was ever stuck for a subject... I should just post a picture of my legs.
So, yeah. I'm stuck. I haven't had much chance to get out shooting lately. Plus, this gives me a chance to prattle on about the topic of legs in general.
Men seem to dig them. So do certain women. And I guess I could see it from a purely aesthetic perspective... except that it seems kind of arbitrary.
Like.... what about arms? They're very similar. Both consist of long bones, covered with layers of muscle, skin, sinew and whatnot. Both have nifty things that bend in the middle and useful multi-digited devices on the end. Each fulfills its own practical purposes. And each is pretty indispensable for most of us.
So... why no "arm" groups on Flickr? (At least none that I've seen; perhaps I haven't searched enough.) Why no men self-identifying (again, at least not in my experience) as "arm men"... the way there are so many "leg men"?
Is it because legs are, in general, more likely to be covered than arms? Is that why feet (again, in general) tend to hold more allure than hands?
I watched a documentary a while ago about feet in early Japanese culture... back in the day when women's were bound to keep them as teeny-tiny as possible. Apparently, the smaller a woman's feet and shoes, the more status it gave her husband. More to the point, because the feet were almost always covered, they were fetishized. And... (who knew?)... the porn of the day featured graphic depictions of men fondling (and doing all kinds of unspeakable things to) their ladyfriends' stunted stumps.
Fast forward (and shift west) to the Victorian era, where even a small flash of ankle was considered incredibly risque. I'm still not sure why the same standard didn't apply to wrists, or necks, or fingers... or anything else that was typically covered by "polite" women in "polite" society.
Fast forward yet again to here and now. We've been through the 60s and 70s; through minis, micro-minis, polka-dot bikinis; through Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler et al; through Deep Throat and all its progeny (and progenitors); through women's lib and burned bras and so on... so what's the big hairy (or shaved, or waxed) deal with legs, anyway??
Don't get me wrong. I'm not whining or complaining. I find the whole phenomenon amusing, and flattering... since long skinny legs like mine seem to be appreciated.
This is on my mind today because our weather's warm, and I've only just recently taken the legs out of winter storage and got them back on the street, so to speak.
Anyway... just musing. No heavy thoughts today. We're heading into a long weekend (the last one of my 30s!) and I'm looking forward to getting a bit of sun on the stems... walking them around the 'hood, taking them out to the lake and putting them to work in the garden.
Because... all else aside... they're pretty darned useful. So, here's to legs. Long may they reign.
Orion plants his left, then swings through with his right as he executes a turn while running free at full speed on scent in the forest near my home...
Weather-wise, the day was nice. While January was mostly cloudy and gloomy with drizzle, we've been remarkably snow-free, so far. I'll take it. One good day is one less chance for a bad one. The rest of the week looks more like a typical February, our worst Winter month for cold, snow and ice storms.
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Three rose stems in water in a three sided glass vase. Other stems are reflections.
Shot with Profoto 600 overhead and to camera left. Metered with Sekonic 358 but underexposed by two stops. Image cropped in post.
Painting my kitchen today, "French Blue", which is probably an inappropriate color for a kitchen, but we like it.
Have a good weekend, and I will check your photos soon!
NASA astronaut Alvin Drew poses for a photo with guests during the White House Easter Egg Roll, Monday, April 10, 2023, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
The Stem of Bacteriophage model: the famous syringe like structure to attach on bacterial cell wall and inject its DNA into bacteria for replication of phage. An artistic piece made of glass to honor the scientist who made the discovery.
Nobel laureate Lecture to celebrate Dr. Sydney Brenner Scientific Voyage at Biopois 2015
This was a stained crossection of a cypress stem I think. All stained crossections were taken in my 2nd year Plant Form and Function lab.
Please also see Candida Killworth's artwork of this picture here www.flickr.com/photos/theupstartstudio/7711485142/in/phot... and her website here www.theupstartstudio.com/
© 2016 Antoine H