My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Sometimes I find it easy to approach people on the street and other times I find it uncomfortable. A fellow blogger, Earl Moore, wrote a short blog on this issue and how we can approach photographing people. His blog has been triggered by Bruce Percy who talks about his approach to travel portraits. I tap into both of these two photographers. Because of this young lady’s inviting smile my gut told me to ask her if I could take her photo. Thankfully, yes was her answer. However, if it had been no, I would have honored that and moved on.
I have a wonderful backyard. It’s called Blendon Woods Metro park. I think this image captures what I mean by this. While on an afternoon walk I stopped by the waterfowl overlooks at Thoreau Lake and was treated with both a small deer and a blue heron. Of course I did not have a telephoto lens so they are quite small. The heron is on the right side and the deer is along the edge of the lake. Birds are singing their songs of happiness and the sounds of the city cannot be heard. This parks boundary is right behind my apartments. I do have to drive or walk around to the park entrance.
Want to post and image taken just because it was there. I saw the patterns and the colors but not much more. With the digital era we can take such images for more often and see later on what we have. There are some things I would like to have done differently which is another gift given to us by the digital era. The digital era has invited into a constantly open classroom. There are no grades only the creations of our vision. Green is one of my favorite colors.
…one of these days if I keep driving while my head is turned 180 degrees. Yes, I’m guilty of roaming eyes and not paying attention as I drive along new roads. It’s not unusual to find me turning the car around so I can have another look, maybe even get out and walk around. Anything can catch my attention. In this case it was the picket fence style barn doors on Jugs Road. I parked the car, saw no signs and walked closer, taking a few shots from this angle then this angle, tyring to get the feeling. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I just move on down the road.
I was playing around with Lightroom trying to learn something new when I came across this image of this flower from a three years ago. Wow, I do not remember it having the impact is does today. I think that happens with photography and books. If we reread a book that has been sitting on a book shelf for a couple of years we will find it has gone through some editing process. The same is true of photos and one reason to keep some images for a period of time. We will have changed and see them with different eyes.
When I arrived, the streets of Granville, Ohio were barricaded. The streets were busy in preparation for the 4th of July celebration as food vendors were filling the streets with the smell of their delights and the carnival rides were being prepped. It seems as if this horse is patiently waiting for the young boy or girl to sit astride and take a few turns around the carousel. What fun!
I arrived home from a 3-day trip around midnight and have been sluggish most of the day. After a short night of rest I awoke to overcast skies, cool temperatures and early morning showers. My head was fuzzy, clouded with a dull ache. I had very little energy. I knew I needed to get up and move, so off to Blendon Woods Park I went. It was vital to get way from the noise of civilization and take in all that nature has to reenergize the soul. Going for a walk in a natural area without my camera would feel like I was naked, so with camera in hand I walked the trails. As I came around a small curve I noticed this scene pictured above.
This coneflower was standing out in the crowd. This scene is an enjoyable piece of art where nature has placed this solitary cone flower among a group of Black-eyed Susan’s. Evening is now upon me and I do feel better. I recommend such a treatment for those who experience the doldrums: take a 1-3 mile walk, smell the flowers, listen to the birds, take your camera. Add a good nights sleep and you’ll feel like a new person, and stand out in the crowd.
While walking the streets in Westerville, Ohio, I discovered these chairs on a porch at a small shop. Colorful and eye-catching I raised up my camera to capture in pixels what I saw and felt. But what did these eclectic chairs on this porch lead to?
Ironically the shop is called Serendipity. At first I thought it was a coffee shop but they were advertising ice cream sundaes. After walking inside I discovered it’s an older home where they have converted the different rooms into small coves with tables and chairs. People can come in find a table in a corner that suits them for study time, after all it is a college town, or read a book, or write in their journal or share an intimate conversation. For any of you couch potatoes, you could sink into the couch located in a back room and watch CNN on a flat screen TV. Weather permitting you may want to grab one of the tables on the patio or you could pick one of the brightly painted chairs on the front porch and stare at strangers as they walk by.
I met the owners, a husband and wife team, who hire the college students to help in the shop. I would use the words friendly, outgoing, energetic, to describe them. From the description above you may think I’m describing a coffee shop but it is more than that. They served a little bit of everything including sandwiches, fries, soups, salads, ice cream, malts and coffees. Did I mention ice cream? Their ambiance was inviting enough that I’ll go back sometime and try one of their paninis or a sundae or a salad or a bowl of soup or a quesadilla or a cappuccino or a……
A simple flower, right? Scientifically we know it is a complicated living organism. I do not need to know, nor explain, all the complicated stuff about this flower so see it’s beauty. I can just open my eyes and enjoy with as many of me senses as I can. Why do we not live life like that? There are many who add complication to their lives with the mind set we must control life. Doesn’t work for me. What works for me is to live the day as it is, enjoy it and I will find it is not complicated. When tomorrow comes I will do it again and enjoy it. It’s pretty simple.
