• insects

    Todays Work

    July 17, 2010
    Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains

    “All you can work on today is directly in front of you. Your job is to develop an imagination of the possible.”

    Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

    While on a trip to the Smoky Mountains I dropped and broke my Nikon 80-400mm VR lens, a $1400 loss. Ouch! Needles to say I spent the last 3 days of our 7 day trip with nothing but two other Nikon lens, a 16-35mm and 24-85mm. Now my longest focal range dropped from 400mm to 85mm, what was I going to shoot?

    The first morning we were able to shoot in Cades Cove we were met with fog, wonderful fog. Along with the fog comes the heaviness of the morning dew, so needles to say we were pretty wet by the time we returned to the hotel. I noticed a barb wire fence covered with dew near the Tipton Place and wandered over to have a look-see. I discovered this grasshopper hanging upside down and patiently waiting for the morning sun to dry his body for the days activities. Since the 24-85mm also had macro capabilities it worked great for me to get some nice images. The fog was burning off and you can see the sun approaching in the background. This image was one of my first attempts at macro photography and spurred the purchase a nice macro lens. So, I ended up working on what was in front of me.

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  • Art/Design,  writing/reading

    White knuckles

    November 15, 2009

    20091027-_DSC6661-Edit
    Tight Grip

    Working as a flight attendant I get to see people who are afraid to fly. They will have a tight grip on the armrest, breathing is short, eyes are open wide and constantly searching all that is around them, ears are alert to every sound. Once the aircraft lifts from the ground their bodies tighten and become rigid. Fear is in control.

    Fear runs ramp-id in our world, cheating some of us from living life to its fullest. The biggest regrets in my life have been those times I failed to try due to fear of failure, which is failure. I wonder how many images I have missed because I was white knuckling it. Each day I have the chance to experience life outside my comfort zone and maybe learn something wonderful. It’s all about letting go and trusting.

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  • Plants,  quotes,  spirituality

    A Spiritual Way of Life

    April 30, 2009

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    Spiritual Light

    “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know  peace, No matter how far down the scale we have  gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others, That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.” Alcoholics Anonymous

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  • writing/reading

    One Foot in Front of the Other

    March 8, 2009

     

    Moving Forward
    Moving Forward

    “Most fears arise from uncertainty. When we’re stuck in fear, we can’t put one foot in front of the other unless we know what lies ahead. Our life doesn’t even feel like our own life, it’s so controlled by fear” Dzigar Kongtrul

    Fear is paralyzing. I have many regrets in my life, those unfulfilled dreams and plans, because I did not try. As I’ve grown older it has become apparent how much of a role fear played. I may have feared failure itself or the effort it may take or the time it may take, the list could could go on forever. Yet, I know from experience how fulfilling it can be to step forward and see where my steps will take me. My dreams and plans may only be the tip of a larger iceberg where bigger and better things will unfold.

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  • spirituality,  writing/reading

    I've Lost Some of My Fear

    November 9, 2008
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    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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