The Ringling Estate

On October 29, 2009, students from Ms. Steger’s Creative Photograph II class visited The Ringling Estate in Sarasota.  During their time at the estate, students completed two photo assignments - an architectural assignment using black and white film and a floral assignment using a digital camera.

First students dispersed to discover an elaborate mansion whose Venetian design was chosen by Mabel Ringling in the 1920s.  One entryway passed through a rose garden with circular pathways and statues; the other past two ominous statues, each part woman, part lion guarding the main path to the Estate. 

Mike Pica said, “The architecture was cool…I took my best photos of the outside of the house, especially the towers.”

Inside the mansion, students could take photos but could not use flash photography.  The result challenged them to use available light to its best advantage.  The mansion was furnished with original furniture including a grand piano, ornate chairs and settees upholstered in velvet, and lots of gold gilt light fixtures.

“To experience timeless art in its finest form was nothing short of spectacular,” said Kayla McCurry.

Although the subject was set in stone, the student’s choice of location was not.  They were allowed to walk the property which included the Art Museum, Circus Museum, Gardens, and Estate.  From this classroom without walls, the result was a beautiful mix of images that more than satisfied the assignment.  Each image was touched with the history, structure, philanthropy, and a legacy of art from the Ringling Family.  Some images touched off a memory.  “I definitely liked the circus stuff; it reminded me of when I was a little kid,” said Natalie Montalvo.

Developing the film, making prints, hand-painting (painterly style) photographs, and learning sabattier (a technique that produces Mackie lines around images) were the related assignments.  The floral segment of the assignment shot digitally would be the first assignment to be processed using Photo Shop to store the photos and reproduce each image.