The EAGLES

What a majestic avian wonderment (is that even a word?). It was an awesome day. (For those of you new to my blog, click on the underlined word 'avian'. )

It was my first day out (I mean really out) with the new camera and the new lense. It took me half the day to figure out something important despite my reading ahead but... It.Was.Worth.Every.Minute. I would have enjoyed even without my camera being the long time bird watcher and passionate about the raptors (particularly owls).

This day...revitalized my feeling of honor that this is OUR BIRD. A true feeling of freedom and beauty and just all out AWESOMENESS.

The Hallway

A dear friend of mine has a wonderful way of putting things. It always stimulates my thought processes, which on many days are way to weighted down with 'life'. So when she sent me this message today -

'One door closes, another opens.....but the hallway is HELL! I am sure sick of the "hallway" '

It reminded me of this hallway which I get to enjoy a couple times a year...a hallway I always enjoy strolling through. I believe we just need to figure out how to make all those life hallways full of color and excitement. We so earn and deserve them.

SNAP, CREATE, SHARE

One of my main goals this year is to learn to add a bit of post process pizazz to my snapshots. Simple ones. I still pride myself in wanting to share my photos SOC (straight out of camera) with little to no editing. The winter months have me pacing the floor; chomping at the bit; stir crazy; major photography withdrawal. It settles me a bit when I can take a shot as this through my window on a single digit evening and a just a bit of a creative texture to it to result in my own little creation. It was very dark when I took this picture. The lighting did come from the camera shot...not post process. Stabilize your camera, preferably with a tripod, widen the ap, put the shutter speed at 'turtle', hold your breathe and snap!! Voila.

FOR THE LOVE OF.....

...the snow. She loves it. She is a January baby. She lives for the winter months. The snow that she digs her nose in. The rabbit tracks easily found.The chance to run outside when shovelling is required. The friendly towel drying when she returns inside.

She will always be a January baby. My January baby.

(I don't take black and white photos straight in the camera. I always post process for it. You can post process color to black and white. Can't post process black and white to color.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIS

I'm so glad you came to spend your special day with us.

(zoomed in, wide ap, candle in the back ground for the lighting)

Mums the Word

There are those days when I've been out and about with her and I go home and remind myself once again that I hope I'm not 'like that' when I grow up, age. She lives only a couple miles away. I had so many years when she lived thousands of miles away and I didn't see her often enough, didn't talk to her half as much as I should have. Life. Now I work long hours...silly. Devotion. Stupidity. I get home exhausted with my physical self saying...work out and my mental self saying I'm exhausted and a nap would be great. All the while my subconscious smiles as it knows it will win the battle...as it nudges me...pushing me to go visit...knowing that there are these days...when she shows her 'free spirit'...and I quietly say to myself 'Oh, I so want to be that free spirit'.

Love you, mum.

Follow Me

(Yes, I let RESPONSIBILITY get in my way last year again. Totally got side-tracked with this 8 to 5 (or rather 6 to 6) thing that helps keep a roof over my head. I had good intentions in 2010. I guess I do at the beginning of every year. Let’s see if we can get back on track again.)

Photography is my passion. It has been for so many years. A lot more than I ever imagined. I put a photo book together for my Mom for Christmas and as I rummaged through boxes and envelopes and albums of old photos, it hit me how much photography has really been a part of my life.

During my teenage years my brother was in to it and developing in his own room at home. I was the second oldest child of six and the oldest daughter and was expected to be the responsible one. Based on that, I learned way too fast how to put my wants and desires aside for other things that were required of me.

As life’s pathway led me to motherhood, being a wife and holding full time job responsibilities, the creative desire got lost in just trying to hold everything together for many years. As the children grew older, I was able to discover it again to a certain extent but the financial aspect of film cameras still kept it at bay.

Having children helped in giving me the opportunity to play with it for a bit and as I rummaged through those old photos, I was half way impressed with my capabilities, as unknowledgeable as they were back then. Okay, maybe I should give the camera a bit more credit than myself!!!

I dived into it again a few years ago (thank you to my awesome daughter) and now…it’s my everyday thought. My everyday desire. My passion. Photography now sidetracks me a bit more from my responsibilities…oops. Hehe. Smiling. I still let the 8 to 5 thingy get in my way as well as some other responsibilities, but slowly I’m learning that it is okay to…do something for myself.

Digital has given me the opportunity to play with it a bit more, although much too hurriedly as I still try to squeeze it in between everything else. It has given me the opportunity to meet some new people. It continues to give me the opportunity to discover new things. It helps me see things that I normally wouldn’t notice. It makes me smile. It warms my heart especially when I can use it to warm other’s hearts, make others smile, help others see the beauty this world has to offer.

Again I begin this year by blogging, photo journaling, sharing with all who might be interested. I hope to make you smile. I hope to show you a world you never knew existed. I hope, that if you are the slightest bit interested, I can teach you a few of the minimal things I have learned about photography. All along the way…I will be learning also.

See where I’ve been so far. Check out my day to day photo word journal. Follow this photo blog to discover the world of photography and life with me.

SLIPPING BY

Time has a crazy way of slipping by, doesn’t it? Another year gone. Another year of age being tacked on. Another chapter of life closed. Another door opened with another opportunity to make yet another list of wants and hopes and goals…with the major hope being that this year a few more will be checked off.

Time has a crazy way of slipping by, doesn’t it?

I have a list. Realistically, I have more than one list. A personal, every day life list. A personal, photography list. The every day list filled with ‘really need to dos’. The photography list filled with ‘really WANT to dos’.

A short term list.
A month to month list.
A this year list.
A bucket list.

I didn’t make resolutions last year.
I didn’t ‘not meet’ a goal on that list and although that should feel good…I feel I need to have that list in order to keep sight of everything that gets lost in the ‘responsibility world’ that surrounds me and drags me down on a regular basis. Before you know it, I was repeating that phrase ‘Life is what happens when you are making other plans’. Many days…I hate that phrase.

Time has a crazy way of slipping by, doesn’t it?

I start this year, probably as I do every year…with high hopes. Goals. Wants. Desires. All mixed in with anxiety, questions, confusion. Maybe I need to mix it up a bit and let the anxiety, questions and confusion be mixed up for once amidst the Goals, Wants and Desires.

Time to take those lists, grab them by the tail, and run with it!!!

Happy New Year to all!!!!