My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
I read somewhere about an exercise where we needed to focus on seeing subjects within 15 feet of our bed. So on a rainy day it seemed as good a day as any and we had nice diffused light. There was more to see but three images is enough to bore you.
This exercise could also be an ongoing project. Just thinking, yes I know that’s dangerous, that maybe setting aside one day a month or a week and look around my room to see what presents itself.
“Illness and the limitations of old age can help us become more focused and reflective, more creatively introverted.” Thomas Moore
I’m just not a photographer who posts 12 of my favorite/popular images of the year. It seems 12 images is too small a number as I enjoyed more than that number. Lightroom shows just over 5,300 images archived for the year. Almost the same number as 2013. Over 50% of my images were taken with the Fujifilm X-E1. My peak shooting months were May and June, signifying I prefer fair weather shooting. But, the year was not just about photography.
Fulltime retirement started in March and life not the same. I’m now on a fixed income, which really is not much different than while I worked. Pay raises are only for the higher ups. I now know how much of my income was spent on the luxuries of life. I worked more for the “extra” spending money than just paying the bills. Spending on unnecessary things is what our culture throws at us on a daily basis. I learned that well. The flying was definitely taking a toll on my body as I have less trouble with my back since I stopped flying.
I travel less now that I’m not flying, staying around home more. Some of that is because I want to stay closer to home and I no longer have someone paying for a hotel room. My street photography is almost entirely focused on Fort Collins. I did make a couple of road trips in the car, taking my time driving rather than hassling with air travel. And, I spend more time in the local nature areas in Fort Collins.
My daughter and two grandchildren moved out in July so I now have my condo to myself again. I no longer need to knock on the door to use my bathroom. That also means I don’t have to close the bathroom door. And, flatulation sounds are again the norm in my kingdom. On a more serious note, I so enjoy the solitude in my life for reading and my prayer/meditation.
I picked up a carving knife and couple gouges, gifts from my dad, and have successfully not cut myself, yet. We will see where this leads me. It supports the quiet and solitude I enjoy.
I made a second Blurb book as a gift to my family for Christmas. I have about 90 images in the book from the over 60,000 images in my archives. I included a few words and thoughts of my own words and added some of my favorites. I’ve also created a portfolio book of black and white portraits. I would like to be able to shoot more portraits over the next few years.
I ate way too much fudge this season and may have to buy bigger pants. 🙂 But, I did that last year. And, my New Years Eve plans: hot apple cider and reading or carving in my recliner. I’m pretty wild, ya know! Enough babbling. My wish is for everyone to have a safe New Years Eve and that the coming year bring you joy, adventure and good health! Happy New Year!
Can’t take the cold anymore. So, my sister and I are boarding a airplane this morning and heading to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with our parents, our sister and our favorite brother-in-law. Checking the forecast we see temperatures to be near the 80 degree mark. I can live with that! My sister and I met Sunday morning for coffee and plan our attack. After settling on our plans we headed out to a woodcarvers show. My dad has been carving for the past 20 years and now Sheree has been bitten by the bug. She’s joined a local club who is sponsoring the show. I have seen some nice carving through photographs in my dads magazines but seeing these carvings up close will take your breath away. Here a few images from the show. I’m not taking a laptop nor expecting to be connected to the internet for the next week. Stay warm!
Pianos About Town is a collaborative project among Bohemian Foundation, the Downtown Development Authority and the City of Fort Collins. Each of these entities brings their own passion and expertise to the Pianos About Town project to produce a whimsical, interactive artistic installation, adding an element of surprise to Fort Collins. The concept behind Pianos is twofold: (1) for residents and visitors to experience seeing art in action as the pianos are painted in public by local artists, and (2) for residents to have the opportunity to both play the pianos and enjoy them as works of art as we rotate the finished pianos about town. A couple weeks ago I watched and talked to the artist on this piano named Gail Whitman. Each artist is given a theme and two weeks to paint the piano in the town square. She did a heck of job as was the young man tickling the ivory was not doing too bad.