• spirituality,  writing/reading

    I've Lost Some of My Fear

    November 9, 2008
    2008-06-23-103933dsc_7593
    Blurred Vision

    “Fear always got me down. It made me an introvert, an ingrown person. When fear was replaced with faith, I got well. Have I lost some of my fear?”

    I am thankful for the day the blurry vision of myself was replaced with a clearer vision. As I’ve grown in years I’ve realized how fear had dominated my life. I wanted to have the courage I saw in others, yet I could not tell you what courage was. With the help of friends and accepting my inability to control the world around me I’ve learned about faith and this word called courage. With this clearer vision, and the vision of people I trust, I can better see some of the fears that have dominated my life. Once we see these fears our next step is to put into practice the definition of courage, “When fear was replaced with faith.” When we live life with trust in a higher power, whether that is God, or Allah or Buddha or whatever, our fears fade away. When I live each day with the desire to live the will of God, better choices are made and pages of life can be clearly seen.

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  • leaves,  quotes

    Autumn Leaves

    November 8, 2008
    Autumn Leaves

    “The camera has become my passport to unfamiliar ground. While painters use a brush and authors use a pen, the photographic image is the vehicle with which I express emotions and convey experiences. My photographic style is to seek out and isolate, using small vignettes that, when seen together, give my impression of the greater whole. By omitting extraneous detail, I strive to strengthen the visual impact of what I choose to include, the analogy being “The fewer the words, the stronger the statement.”

    Light on the Land by Art Wolfe

     

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  • landscape,  sunrises

    The Morning Sunrise

    November 7, 2008
    Morning Sunrise East of Fort Collins
    Morning Sunrise East of Fort Collins, Colorado

    I have been known to leave my warm bed and stand in the cold to take a photograph of the sunrise. Each time I stand there with my camera a feeling of expectation rises within me. I love to see the colors of the sky turning red, blue and orange as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. When scattered clouds appear I know they will only add to the image as the sun loves to paint them. Each new sunrise is different and no two are ever the same. The sun always rises.

    In the past I have stayed away from voicing my opinion on politics. Politics has never interested me. I falsely stated that politicians were corrupt or soon would be and put and end to that conversation. Probably the biggest reason was my lack of knowledge on the issues and candidates nor did I want to be wrong in what I thought or said, basically fear. In this past election I reacted the same way, staying distant to the campaign, but there is a difference this time. After discovering Obama had been elected as our new president, a feeling of hope rose within me. The American people want something new and something new is about to unfold before us and I want to see what it is. It feels different. Let’s look with anticipation and hope! The sun always rises.

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  • Photography,  Travel

    Rainbow of Hats

    November 6, 2008
    Rainbow of Hats
    Rainbow of Hats

    New York City offers some wonderful restaurants. While visiting a couple of days ago Kirsten and I discovered this great little Szechwan and Chinese cuisine restaurant called Ginger’s. We ordered two plates, a vegetarian dish of Shiitake Mushroom with Shanghai Bok Choy and the other was Chicken Pad Thai. Both were wonderful but the brown sauce on the mushrooms and Bok Choy was amazing. We found both of us licking the sauce without any embarrassment. I will need to return there for more.

    New York City is also a great place for photography as it provides an amazing array of lights and colors vying for your attention. Somewhere near Times Square I found this stack of hats creating a rainbow of colors and patterns. Anyone for a new hat?

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  • Photography,  reflections,  Travel

    Showing Our Colors

    November 5, 2008
    Showing Our Colors
    Showing Our Colors

    Over time, photographers will learn to see the world differently. They see colors, patterns that were just glanced over in the past. They learn to see the unexpected. Once we find a subject of interest we will work around the subject looking for special lighting or angle that helps us present the object of interest to our viewers. A few days ago I posted an image of a piano player at the Charlotte airport and had time to visit the piano again this week. No player this time but I did wander around and discovered this reflection of our American flag in the pianos  shiny surface. Sort of appropriate as we just had our election yesterday.

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  • animals

    City Fox

    November 3, 2008

     

    City Fox
    City Fox

    I am one of those concerned as we invade the natural environments of animals who then must try to adapt to their changing world. My condo in Fort Collins, Colorado is small and nestled in a low lying area away from the noise of traffic. I like that. Outside my door is a small holding pond where wildlife such as deer, raccoons, geese, ducks herons and foxes use the pond. One morning while on a walk I discovered this fox on his search for breakfast. I watched him going in and out of the reeds until he come up on this mound, stopped to scan the area, let me take three shots and then moved on.

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