I got to spend all day today being a Mommy and I actually feel like I did a decent job of it which, as I think most mothers will attest, is a rare and wonderful feeling. The key, I think - for mothering two year olds, anyway - is patience. Because, really, there are very few times that we really have to be somewhere right now.
If we take a step back and indulge in our child's sense of wonder with them for a minute (or five), we find such amazing teaching and bonding opportunities! And, we learn to slow down a bit ourselves, to admire the ants and find shapes in the clouds and be grateful for the day's new blossoms.
The same goes for photography. Every moment of every day provides new opportunities to capture some stunning facet of the natural world. A lot of those moments we miss. Some we get, but not quite right. We must have patience with ourselves, too. When we slow down, look deeply, engage our minds and truly focus (pun entirely intended) - that's when new and untold treasures appear. In kids and in flowers.
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://www.worldofcolorgallery.com
Showing posts with label flower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flower. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Nature Quote - May 8, 2009
The blythe breeze of a May day is both the delight and the demon of a nature photographer, even more so that of one specializing in close ups. Friday is my photography day (Monday is for Marketing, Wednesday is for Website Work) and it is just windy enough to keep the already high Gulf Coast temperature bearable. . .and just windy enough to make everything that I want to shoot dance, shimmy, and wave instead of holding still. So I took a break and came in to find an appropriate quote. Instead, I found two:
"Rough winds to shake the darling buds of May." - William Shakespeare
(Now, we all know that this is not a literal statement, but still, the Bard hit my dilemma right on the head.)
"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache." - Catherine II
Now back out to indulge that imagination. A May breeze and a little time outside are also quite good for blowing indoor-office-induced cobwebs right out of your head.
http://www.worldofcolorphotography.com
"Rough winds to shake the darling buds of May." - William Shakespeare
(Now, we all know that this is not a literal statement, but still, the Bard hit my dilemma right on the head.)
"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache." - Catherine II
Now back out to indulge that imagination. A May breeze and a little time outside are also quite good for blowing indoor-office-induced cobwebs right out of your head.
http://www.worldofcolorphotography.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
If
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." -- Siddhartha Buddha
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Springing Into Spring
This piece was written for the April edition of Moonshine magazine. To view the whole magazine, please visit www.moonshine.southerncreativity.com
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Virginia and back over the first weekend of spring. Driving northward from the bountiful blooms of the Florida panhandle to the still-skeletal trees of the Appalachians, it seemed at first as if we were traveling back into winter. On the contrary, though, the longer I spent staring, rapt, out the windows, the more attuned my vision became to the subtler signs of mountain spring.
Where the azaleas, tulips, redbuds, and daffodils had already danced onto the stage of the deep South, singing “Spring is here!” the trees and plants of the mountains seemed, still, to be holding their breath, anxious and waiting in the wings for their cue.
This made me think that spring is the season of held breaths. Starting with that poor, beleaguered groundhog in early February, we’re all waiting for Mother Nature to tell us “It’s all right. You can breathe. I’m going to bring the flowers and the leaves and the warm sun and the soft breezes back this year. I keep my promises.”
And we wait and hope and wait and look for buds and tiny sprigs of peridot green and wait and then one bright morning, the natural world bursts forth in its party ruffles like a line of can-can dancers. The birds strike up the chorus and it’s time to celebrate!
So, artists, photographers, sculptors, crafters, knitters, jewelers, weavers, and writers, it is time for us to join the party. Not just to document the joy, but to take some time to revel – to let our own party ruffles fly out around us as we twirl in the confetti of petals. To strut our fine feathers. To turn our faces to the sun, smile, and say, “Welcome back!”
So get out there and party with the primavera! Take all of your supplies outside on the next sunny day and let loose. See your work in the truest (and prettiest) light: sunlight. Listen to the springsong and feel the warming wind, smell the blossoms on the fruit trees and trace the softest petals with the tip of your finger.
Take it all in and then let it go freely into new and inspired work. And, try to remember to dedicate at least one piece to Mother Nature – she deserves a thank you for always keeping her promises.
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Virginia and back over the first weekend of spring. Driving northward from the bountiful blooms of the Florida panhandle to the still-skeletal trees of the Appalachians, it seemed at first as if we were traveling back into winter. On the contrary, though, the longer I spent staring, rapt, out the windows, the more attuned my vision became to the subtler signs of mountain spring.
Where the azaleas, tulips, redbuds, and daffodils had already danced onto the stage of the deep South, singing “Spring is here!” the trees and plants of the mountains seemed, still, to be holding their breath, anxious and waiting in the wings for their cue.
This made me think that spring is the season of held breaths. Starting with that poor, beleaguered groundhog in early February, we’re all waiting for Mother Nature to tell us “It’s all right. You can breathe. I’m going to bring the flowers and the leaves and the warm sun and the soft breezes back this year. I keep my promises.”
And we wait and hope and wait and look for buds and tiny sprigs of peridot green and wait and then one bright morning, the natural world bursts forth in its party ruffles like a line of can-can dancers. The birds strike up the chorus and it’s time to celebrate!
So, artists, photographers, sculptors, crafters, knitters, jewelers, weavers, and writers, it is time for us to join the party. Not just to document the joy, but to take some time to revel – to let our own party ruffles fly out around us as we twirl in the confetti of petals. To strut our fine feathers. To turn our faces to the sun, smile, and say, “Welcome back!”
So get out there and party with the primavera! Take all of your supplies outside on the next sunny day and let loose. See your work in the truest (and prettiest) light: sunlight. Listen to the springsong and feel the warming wind, smell the blossoms on the fruit trees and trace the softest petals with the tip of your finger.
Take it all in and then let it go freely into new and inspired work. And, try to remember to dedicate at least one piece to Mother Nature – she deserves a thank you for always keeping her promises.
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Blooming
Spring is springing out all over down here and it's gotten me to thinking about one of my mother's favorite phrases, "Bloom where you're planted."
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
I've always enjoyed the concept of being happy where you are, but never really delved into it. Now, surrounded by tulips and daffodils and blooming dogwoods and crabapples and pear trees and peach trees and wisteria, I'm thinking about it and getting a better grip on it.
"Bloom where you're planted" isn't just a simple instruction - if we follow the flowers' example, it's a step-by-step guide to a joyful life:
1. Start by sending out roots into your community. If you stay tightly closed in your seed shell, you'll be dark and lonely forever, so break out, get out immediately! Explore and let your feelers find for you places of nature that will inspire you, places of culture that will excite you, and (most importantly) friends that will nourish you.
2. Once you've got your roots taking up nutrition, learn to absorb the place and the people, go slow and take in the good parts while leaving the not so good parts alone, but without judgement.
3. Push through the muck till you see sunlight. Persevere.
4. Keep growing. Stand tall and strong, but let yourself be flexible so that you can dance in the breeze.
5. When the sun is warm and you are well rooted and nourished, open up and share all the best you have to give. You are wise and beautiful; feel the sunshine on your cheeks and know that you are reflecting that light to the world in a way only you can. You are beautiful. You are a miracle and a blessing all wrapped up into one - just like the blossoms of spring.
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
Saturday, March 14, 2009
NEW Frame Style Examples
Zinnia in Technicolor
20x20"
Frame Style: Black with Black Mat
Spring Daffodil
20x20"
Frame Style: White with White Mat
Eucalyptus II
20x20"
Frame Style: Oak with White Mat
Iris
20x20"
Frame Style: Walnut with White Mat
Rainbow of Rocks
20x20"
Frame Style: Chrome with Black Mat
www.worldofcolorgallery.com
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