2012.05.31 Being actively receptive

[ Kim Klassen Zuzu texture VividLight ]

Part of it has to do with the discipline of being actively receptive.

At the core of this receptivity is a process that might be called soft eyes.

It is a physical sensation.

You are not looking for something.  You are open, receptive.

At some point you are in front of something that you cannot ignore.

~ Henry Wessel

Linked to:

Share the Joy at Meri's Musings

Flower Art Friday at Photos by LeAnne

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen's Cafe

This or That Thursday at Deb Duty

Shutter Sisters

2012.05.28 The well-ordered life

But a well-ordered life isn't stiff and consumed by schedules, but is full of joy,

free to give 100 percent in every situation.  An ordered life is flexible yet focused,

available to meet the demands of the moment but still aimed toward a clear goal.

Having an ordered life takes effort and isn't always comfortable,

but it creates the security of knowing that the important things

are being preserved and emphasized daily.

When God Writes Your Life Story, page 176

by Eric and Leslie Ludy

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.

~ Dorothea Lange

2012.05.25 An Anne update

She started work last Monday, May 21

and has a long weekend already because of Memorial Day.

She and some co-workers went on a camping road trip

and have been to . . .

Crater Lake National Park . . .

the Pacific Ocean . . .

and the redwoods . . .

Love you, kiddo!

2012.05.23 Public Library . . .

anticipation, the thrill of what may be discovered,

hours of enjoyment inside . . . 

and later, more hours of reading indulgence.

Nothing happens when you sit at home.

I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times...

I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.

~ Elliott Erwitt

Exactly!

~ Me

Now linked to:  Share the Joy at Meri's Musings

2012.05.21 Go on, see what's inside . . .

. . . open the door, begin the journey to elsewhere . . .

Not that it's difficult to photograph mundane things,

but it's difficult to see them as significant.

The hard thing to do of course is to find a way to photograph a mundane subject

or mundane event in a way that makes it exciting.

~ Brooks Jensen

2012.05.18 Hydrangea

"Light glorifies everything.
It transforms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary subjects.
The object is nothing; light is everything"
~ Leonard Misonne

Linked to:

Photo Art Friday at Pixel Dust

Flower Art Friday at Photos by LeAnne

2012.05.17 Missing you . . .

Remember lunches like this?

It would be errand day, just you and me,

and we'd treat ourselves (me?) to pizza

and reading and note-taking and doodling.

Miss you.

Even though you haven't lived at home for a while,

college was only 45 minutes away,

so we could have some face time every couple of weeks.

Miss you.

We would wander the streets and visit your favorite vintage stores.

(Now, my favorites, too.)

Stop for coffee at an outdoor cafe, people-watch for a while.

You introduced me to the fair trade store (earrings!).

I could take photos and you never minded the waiting,

but encouraged me and pointed things out that I would be interested in . . .

Miss you.

Easy conversations about what was going on in our daily lives.

Today, I'm doing laundry, bookkeeping, working at the mission this evening.

I'm wearing a pair of jeans you helped me pick out at Goodwill.

Also the fish earrings you bought for me.

You are somewhere in Utah, heading for your job in Oregon.

Miss you.

2012.05.16 And still more decay . . .

I should find a more positive word for the metamorphosis of things . . . other than "decay".

I'll work on that.

Peonies . . .

"What you have caught on film is captured forever ...

it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything."

~ Aaron Siskind

2012.05.13 One day at a time

For those of you using the Streams in the Desert  [by L B Cowman] devotional,

today's entry is awful, wonderful, piercing, hopeful.

Almost the last of my recent peony photos . . .

And, for Nancy of A Rural Journal, here is the full Sarah Bernhardt peony . . .

Linked to:

Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Weekly Top Shot at The View From Right Here

2012.05.10 In my garden . . .

. . . peonies are in full bloom.

Here is one photo of just part of a flower, but processed with two very different treatments.

The first photo uses Pixel Dust's Everything is Illuminated texture . . .

This second one is the same photo with a Dark Charcoal Sketch effect . . .

Very different results.

Linked to:

Photo Art Friday at Pixel Dust Photo Art

Flower Art Friday at Photos by LeAnne

2012.05.10 Looking deeper . . .

. . . and, surprise!  (see second photo)

This shock of seeing what was hidden to my eyes

(while looking at the camera screen)

never ceases to amaze and delight me . . .

. . . looking deep into an English iris . . .

Linked to:

Share the Joy at Meri's Musings

This or That Thursday at Deb Duty Photography

2012.05.08 Fungi, flower, ferns, and a frog

Relaxing in the small front garden last Sunday with . . .

I love how the water outlines the lily pads . . .

2012.05.07 Focused on the Light

Jesus said . . . I am the light of the world.  John 8:12

2012.05.05 Today, she walked . . .

out of college life . . .

Lee, Vince, Melanie, and I helped her celebrate . . .

Next week?

Heading west.

2012.05.04 Drawn to decay

I'm not sure why.

Maybe . . .

I love the contrast between what was and what is . . .

the abstract appearance . . .

the unstoppability of time . . .

These four photos are from one long wall of a building.

The first two have processing using Topaz Labs,
the third one has a PSE filter,

and the last one uses Coffee Shop's Ice Pop action.

Linked to:  Photo Art Friday at Pixel Dust
Bonnie's challenge this week was to illustrate the title of a favorite book.
Luckily, she always includes the option to link up any piece of photo art.
I could not figure out a photo to illustrate a (favorite) book title,
so, I took the second option :)
If you can think of a book title which these photos illustrate,
please leave the title in a comment!  Thanks!

2012.05.01 A sense of wonder

Everyday, my grandson, Ian (age 5), draws a picture

and writes a sentence or two about it . . .