The Pleasure of Stuff

I come from a family with collections -- salt and pepper shakers, arrowheads, thimbles, African violets, clocks, souvenir silver spoons.  I myself collect demitasse sets (little cups and saucers) and kitschy little buildings, the type sold in tourist centers.  I have more than 80 of them. So I like stuff.  And when I'm wandering around a city, I photograph stuff.

All of these photos were taken in Leon, Spain.  We spent a couple of days there before beginning our Camino de Santiago walking tour with Fresco Tours.  The plates in this photo were souvenirs of the Leon Cathedral, which is about 50 yards away.  Beautiful cathedral with extraordinary stained glass windows and I still regret not buying one of these plates...If you look closely, you can see my reflection in the center bottom.

I used this photo in my calendar last year, for December.  This photo combines my obsession with stuff with my interest in icons -- a double win.

This was a window display.  Love the colors.  What I like about all these images is the rhythm of the objects.

Next April we are going back to Spain -- this time to the Basque country. Fresco Tours has arranged a fantastic trip -- Christine and I will be leading the photo tour, which will lead us through scenery both urban and seaside, medieval and modern, and featuring really good food and wine.  For more information, check out www.frescotours.com.