Twirling

I've been thinking again....

(I know, I know....)

but, first, would you do me a kindness and click on the first image and view it larger? Thanks! =]

~ ~ ~

I've been reading a little book, "The Art of the Moment: simple ways to get the most from life" by Veronique Vienne. It's quite lovely and quirky - what a charming woman - what a wonderful slant she has on life. She brings an attitude of openness and gratitude for the simple moments that, sometimes, we're too busy, noisy, self engrossed or, even, self important to notice. She calls attention to the serendipity of the "every day ordinary" and encourages us to be mindful of it.

My thought is that (and I think that it has been coming on for a long time but I've only just started paying attention to it), the images that often speak the most to me , that are so memorable, are the images that aren't so much about things - subject, light, setting - but are about those things caught in a moment.

It's just a thought. I hardly know what to think of my thought. I really hardly know what to do with it, either, but I like it!

That's all!

Oh! Except that these are blossoms from my weeping cherry tree, taken over a month ago. They were constantly twirling their skirts and dancing in the breeze.

Cup of Cheer

 "If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that - warm things, kind things, sweet things - help and comfort and laughter - and, sometimes,  gay, kind laughter is the best help of all."

From A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

(Although, honestly, I'm afraid that I might get teased for quoting something from that book.... ;-) it's just that, at the moment, I'm enjoying rereading some Frances Hodgson Burnett - perfect for spring and all that. =])

Great Minds....

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt


I know that I've been great, average and small minded, in my day. Well, I do love telling and hearing stories - events. Then, I think that dear Eleanor was really meaning gossip but I do, also, think that it's lovely minded to be able to genuinely say something kind about or to someone else. Then, there's talking about the weather, which is probably even more ridiculously simple minded than "ideas, events and people" -but I just adore it and talk about it all, anyway.

I've been reading a wonderful book called "Visual Poetry" by Chris Orwig and I've been desperately seeking someone who's not afraid of deep thought (and the number 42*, come to think of it) to discuss it with. Anyone free for an afternoon? Person must not take themselves too seriously and not be embarrassed to be inspired - even if they feel like they'll never live up to all of the 'pie-in-the-sky' ideals. ;) Above all, they must be able to laugh and keep their feet planted on the ground (I mean, in a reasonable reality) at all times most of the time. I reward with unlimited cups of tea - occasional scones and genuine and kindly friendship. Did I mention the light laughter? (Alright, truthfully, I love deep guffaws or chortling laughter, all sorts of giggles and a good old pessimistic snort from time to time, too.) Oh, and they have to speak in every day language so that I can understand what the heck they're talking about....

Why is it that people so often insist on staying where it's safe and discussing only the technical bits of photography and, for that matter, life, too? I do wonder....


(er,...by the way, you'll be able to tell that I got kind of excited about the crocus - it's been months and months since I've had a flower growing in the good old ground to photograph.)

*The number 42 - the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything

Three left feet

Do you ever feel full of thoughts but have no idea what to say?

....er, just wondering....

Alright! I know what to say....

Since I've been taking advantage of the winter months inside to go through old images from the year before, I've been disappointed at how many times I've missed a shot because it was blurry or not framed right and I cannot get away from the realization that, sometimes, I just have to use my tripod.

Talk about awkward and gawky! My lovely tripod and I get quite tangled up with each other; so, I've decided that, this March, I would practice every day with my dancing partner to see if we might not be able to start working more fluidly together. There's no pressure to have 'perfect' shots. The goal is just to keep at it to see if I might discover something along the way.

I have no idea why but, after two days, I started feeling silly and wanted to run away from it. I wasn't sure what to point my camera at. Unwittingly, the images feel like emulations of other photographers whose work I admire. (Just how DOES one take an original image of a flower, anyway?) Well, I suppose it's the sincerest form of flattery.

In the meantime, I've decided to stop blushing about it all and to just keep going. One can't steer a parked car and if I ever want to discover a possible fresh vision of my own, I just have to hack away at it. I'm still shooting from the heart, though, and the time spent with this bouquet of flowers was refreshing and fun, which is the best part of photography, anyway.

"If you want to be creative, you need to continually become a beginner."

~ Julieanne Kost

new ideas.....

I saw a quote on a favorite blog of mine, it said,

"One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea."

(~ I don't know who originally said it, though,....oops!)

Matisse said....

"I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it."

Interesting. Are they talking about the same thing? I can, indeed, relate to both, although, the second is more comforting.

I'm fresh out of deep thought, today, though, and I don't know what I'm saying....

It never rains but it pours and I want to mention that, just in the slightest case you were wondering where my other blog, In The Sunny Spot is, I've been wrangling with a better domain name for it, today, and hopefully, if all goes well,  my blog will show up, again, tomorrow.

I can't leave you like that, though...how about this:

"A fallen souffle is just a risen omelette. It depends on how you look at it, that's all - from above or below."

~Rabbi Lionel Blue

What in the world am I talking about.....?