Puerto Rico: Part Two

In one of my previous blogs, I discussed my love of architecture and in another post I discussed my trip to Puerto Rico; so today, it's all about Puerto Rican Architecture!  The reason I chose this topic today is because of the rich history of the architecture.  It is difficult to find examples of truly historic architecture in the United States because we are a truly young country in comparison to many others.  My dream trip is visiting up and down Italy (the architecture and history being the main reason) and Paris, France (for the same reasons).  Soon one day.... soon!  Okay back to Puerto Rico.  We stayed in San Juan and there's a section called "Old San Juan" because it has all of the older buildings and structures, cobblestone streets and antiques.  What was truly unique is that you had modern conveniences and stores built into these aged structures.  Another beautiful trait is the wondrous colors of the buildings all around you.  They would just pop up out of nowhere and stand out like a true piece of art.  I was simply drawn to the beauty of these buildings and below you will see why.  The following four images are typical, yet beautifully stunning examples of Puerto Rican architecture and the two images following these examples are two pieces that I created from some the images that I happened to capture during my visit to beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"Aqua House" (c) 2011

"One Zero One" (c) 2011

Abstract Winter...

What I enjoy so much about the kind of work that I do, is when a piece can actually surprise you.  I had recently snapped some images of the lovely snow that had fallen and began editing a couple of images when I decided to really play and stretch the boundaries of one image in particular.  On its own, it was a simple image of snow softly laying on the branches of a pine tree, nothing too spectacular.  Once I finished editing the image, there lay a beautiful abstract image of snow that puts a creative spin on this subject matter.  I was pretty thrilled with the end result of my work and wanted to share it with you!  This image along with all of my work is available via my website www.simonehester.com (if you have an opportunity please visit and leave a comment) and if you or someone you know are interested in purchasing, please visit www.simone-hester.artistwebsites.com. Thanks a bunch!

"Abstract Winter" (c) 2012

A Change In The Weather...

Living in the city of Chicago, the weather can change in a moment.  The city is actually known for it, a joke amongst fellow Chicagoans is that we truly can experience all four seasons in one day.  Recently we have had a wonderful start to winter, meaning Winter has not really shown it's head.... until this week.  Welcome to Winter! For me, it is not one of my favorite seasons by far (and if you are a friend of mine on Facebook, this is the only thing I actually complain about).  The ONLY benefit of Winter for me, is a change in scenery and a chance to shoot new pictures.  Snow can really change a landscape and create that special "postcard" moment.  I was home when the first snow hit last week and captured some great shots, there is nothing like snow when it first falls, it looks like sparkly cotton candy.  It's just wonderful fluffy, beautiful stuff.  Afterwards, it turns into salty, dirty mush.  Today, we got hit with a pretty big winter storm, with a bone chilling cold.  It was a perfect day to edit some of my new shots and drip a rather large mug of steaming hot green tea.

  "First Snow" (c) 2012