“Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence.” Wendell Berry
I hope your week is filled with wonder, love, peace, happiness and signs of Spring.!
-
Yes, new growth - architecture, Black and White, Cactus, Candid Portraits, Canyon De Chilly, Cityscapes/Urban, clouds, coffee shops, desert, Documentary/Street, flowers, fog, fountain pens, Great Sand Dunes National Park, HDR, journal, landscape, lifestyles, mountains, National Monuments, natural areas, Plants, sunrises, sunsets
Happy New Year!
I do not normally post favorites of the past year as it just did not interest me. However, it is a good exercise to reflect back over the past year because we can assume nothing much happened. Reflection is wonderful so here are a couple things that happened this past year.
I had a chronic medical problem reach a critical stage in late May and needed to have surgery. The surgery was a success and the quality of my life improved greatly.
I did take in a couple of trips. One trip took me the Phoenix area for about 6 weeks. I did some camping on my drive down; one night in The Great Sand Dunes and one night at Canyon De Chelly National Monument. I was able to spend quality time with my parents which is always good. Then my sister and I flew down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving with family. Awesome time and way to much food consumed.
I’m enamored again with fountain pens. Had several given to me and purchased six of my own. Now have 14 to choose from each morning when I pick up my journal. Let’s see, what color of pen and ink to want to use today is the biggest decision to start the day. 🙂
Most of my photography seemed to be focused on the street scenes, candid portraits and fewer landscapes. I also did a few portraits. I worked more with black and white images for the year. Anyway, below are a few images I like from this past year.
It is my hope everyone has a wonderful 2017 filled abundantly with joy, love, peace, serenity, adventure, family, friends, new beginnings and dark chocolate.
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”57″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”1″ thumbnail_width=”200″ thumbnail_height=”135″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”0″ number_of_columns=”3″ ajax_pagination=”0″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show slideshow]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
-
Found in the Shadows
The Small Details I noticed this plant with delicate small flowers on my walk across campus. The white stood out among the dark shadows so I composed and pressed the shutter. Once I had this image on the computer I started to really notice the details of the small flowers. The are amazing and wish I knew what there are.
-
Palm Trees and Lanatana
Palm Trees “If you only photograph when you feel like it… you’ll never be totally successful as a photographer.” Freeman Patterson
Wherever I have traveled the culture, people and plants are an interesting attraction to me. I have seen amazing plants that are not indigenous to Colorado, such as these Palm Trees. Each area is like a textbook for me as I see these beautiful plants and try to find out what they are and a bit of information on them.
Lanatana Another plant we do not see very often in Colorado is the lantana, a perennial flowering plant in the verbena family. They are used a lot in the housing areas here due to their ability to survive in this arid and hot land. They produce these aromatic flower clusters of red, orange, yellow, or blue with these white florets. They are just beautiful.
Looks like a cold front is moving into the Phoenix area tonight as temperatures are suppose to drop down below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Coats will be coming out for the full-time residents. -
My Walk to Coffee
Red Bird of Paradise Its about a half mile walk from the house to the little cafe at the recreation center where I can sit among fountains in cushioned chairs, sip on a mocha and write. Here are three from the walk.
Yellow Blossom on a Prickly Pear Cactus 
Great Blue Heron -
A New Month
Collecting Pollen “Soon it will be fall. The frost will come… All of this is familiar. And yet none of this has every happened before as it is happening now.”
Wendell Berry -
Closed for the Night
Closed for the Night Plants that tuck themselves in for bedtime exhibit a natural behavior known as nyctinasty. Scientists know the mechanism behind the phenomenon: In cool air and darkness, the bottom-most petals of certain flowers grow at a faster rate than the upper-most petals, forcing the flowers shut. I’m not sure what this flower is but I encountered a dozen of them along a raised garden on a late evening walk. All of them were closed. I may have to revisit these flowers to observe and learn more about them. Hope everyone has a super awesome weekend!
