Ice, Dams and Trees: Smith College and its Botanic Garden

On Saturday, I joined New England Oddities in their voyage towards Northampton, MA to visit The Botanic Garden at Smith College. I managed to capture some still photos inside and to film the surroundings around the garden. Outside, it was cold, cloudy and Black & White seemed the right choice to go for the video. However, inside the houses it was humid and warm and hence the photos got to keep their colors!

The video series starts on College lane right by Paradise pond’s dam, then follows the trails towards the Japanese garden & Tea Hut area.

And finally, I head back towards the Botanic garden and wander around the streets of Northampton, MA

By Kinan Faham

"the Silent Camera" was conceived in 2009 and was inspired by the music of Arvo Part especially his piece "Silentium". I perceive the modern world as oscillating between two extremes that are analogous to two of Arvo Part's pieces: "Perpetuum Mobile" represents the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the sea of people surrounding you, the noise in the streets, the deadlines, the challenges and the lessons to learn, the new technologies and risks facing our civilization, the musical pieces you learn [or fail to master],.. etc. "Silentium" represents the resolution of every musical note, every spoken word and every movement of your day. It is the moment that you are most likely to remember after the day's noise has settled and its turbulence has subsided. It is the moment that we all crave and the moment that will allow us to persist to the next day when the Perpetuum Mobile cycle starts again.

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