Tag: nature photography

NPM | Black and White | Joyful, Faithful, Patient

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butterfly joyful in hope

For this third week of National Photography Month (NPM), I am sharing some of the monochrome photo inspiration “cards” I made during Sheila D’s September 2021 Creative Gathering. I divided the month of creativity into thirds—days 1-10, abstract photo art; days 11-20, doodle art; days 21-30 black and white photography. The common thread was scripture. I shared one of the photos for a #ThursdayTreeLove in January.

In light of the recent racial violence committed by one individual against Black citizens in Buffalo, New York, I am sharing images that feature Bible verses that can provide solace and hope. I will not comment (much?) on them. Sometimes the world is so absolutely crazy that I am convinced we need only the voice of God. Everything else is just…noise.

 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. –Romans 12:12

NPM | 52 Frames | Long Exposure | Walking Meditation

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52Frames Week 12 Long Exposure

Walking Meditation
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Take my hand.
We will walk.
We will only walk.

We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.

Walk peacefully.
Walk happily.
Our walk is a peace walk.
Our walk is a happiness walk.

Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.

We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.

Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.

Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.

Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.

About the Image: The photo above, like the one shared Monday, is from Green Mountain Nature Preserve. This one was for the 52Frames Week 12 challenge, “Long Exposure.” I have some work to do with long exposure, but I love this scene. I hope you find some time to walk and mediate this weekend!

#ThursdayTreeLove | Look Up!

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Inside the Magnolia

Study nature. Love nature. Stay close to nature. It will never fail you. –Frank Lloyd Wright

The Southern Magnolias and I have had quite a bit of quality time this week. I have had to take frequent breaks from my freezing cold office and from sitting. Since our year+ in front of a computer screen, I find it difficult to sit for more than five minutes. I have a “standup” desk waiting to be positioned and I’m looking into alternative seating that puts less stress on my back and hips. Until then, I stand as much as possible and take frequent, short walks in the area closest to my building.

Based on previous tree love posts, you probably know there are many, many trees near my office. I typically obsess over a particular tree or stand of trees for some time before moving on to others. This week, the magnolias have been commanding my attention and I have been filling my phone with shots of them. I stood underneath the magnolia above while working with a parent to get her daughter enrolled. I looked up and beheld this glorious sight.

This first week back in classes and in person (for me and my kiddo) hasn’t been too difficult, but it has had its mini challenges all week. My many three-minute breaks with the trees have helped shift the load and reduce the stress; they have also reminded me that it pays to look up!

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.

Seven Days Ago…

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Seven days ago
my oldest nephew was murdered…
while helping someone in need…
in a case of mistaken identity.

I have not
found the words to name this pain.
I do not have the capacity to hold it,
so I hold my breath
and scour his Facebook page
for pretty words
and praise for who he was

and think about small moments of joy
and celebration,

like the time I spent two weeks ago
with Colleen’s flowers.

Rest in Peace, Dear Byron.
Thank you for the gifts of your smile,
your open heart,
your joyful presence.

Until we meet again,
I will hold you in my heart.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  (I Corinthians 15:51-54 KJV)

“She Glories in Being Abandoned”

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She says she glories in being abandoned.  –J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Earlier this week while out for a drive, I caught a glimpse of an abandoned building I’ve photographed many times over the last several years. I’m always intrigued by how much the building changes, but I was stunned by the beauty of its neighbor [photos #1, 2, 4, 5].

I was pleased to find nature doing what it does–reclaiming what the humans left behind.

I had a difficult time choosing which photos to share for [not-so] #Wordless Wednesday–the originals or the edits. My hubby remarked that color photos tell a story, and the black and white ones are more artsy. Since I can’t decide whether I want to share a story or art, I’m sharing both sets.

Did you ever wonder
Why abandoned houses looked so sad

Much like the people
Their exterior was only for the function

We would not feel so sad
If we recognized

That the spirit of the house
Had already moved on

The dream remained.

Maria Lehtman, The Dreaming Doors

[For earlier shots of the building in photos #3 and #6, check out a 2016 post.  You’ll be able to note some of the changes in the building’s condition].

Just Because | A Packet of Flowers

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Earlier today, I read Our Little Red House’s “spring’s hello to fall” post and that reminded me that I have had flower photographs by Rift Vegan sitting in my WP media library since September. The flowers, photographed from May to August, are from her garden and her various excursions in and around Eugene, Oregon.

Here’s the set:

Forget Me Nots. Photo by Rift V.

Peace. Hybrid Tea Rose. Photo by Rift V.

The Peace Rose was captured at Owen Rose Garden where Rift enjoys walking along the Riverbank Path. The Peace Rose, made famous by the U.S. Postage stamp, is her favorite to photograph.

Lady Beetle on Love-in-a-mist. Photo by Rift V.

Rift reports that the Love-in-a-mist flower self-seeds better than the sunflowers in her garden.

Wild Geranium? Photo by Rift V.

Rift doesn’t know what type of flower this is, but she thinks it is a type of wild geranium. The bright green center and the deeply colored “veins” are fascinating [Is that what all the lines are called?].

Columbia Lilies. Photo by Rift V.

According to Rift, Columbia Lilies are often mistaken for Tiger Lilies, the garden flower from Asia. These were found in the middle of the forest in the Pacific Northwest.

The flowers are becoming rare, Rift says, because people dig them up to plant in their own gardens–where they don’t do well. :-/ This makes the flower more enjoyable when she sees them in their natural environment.

Sunflowers. Photo by Rift V.

I used this sunflower for my first day of autumn post. It is one of three types of sunflowers that grow in her garden. The blossoms of this stunning dark rusty flower are only about eight inches across. All the birds snubbed the seeds from this particular type of sunflower, but she couldn’t vouch for the seeds–since she didn’t taste them either. 🙂

Rift, who is in the A Thousand Words group on swap-bot, sent the photographs “just because.” Isn’t that the best reason to send and receive flowers?

Snapshots from an Early Evening Walk

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As I mentioned in the previous post, my guys and I took an evening walk some days ago in a nearby nature preserve to see if we could spot the recently released rabbits that were under our care. We didn’t find the bunnies, but we found nature being her wild best.

We love walking in this park. We encounter beauty with each step, whether on the open trail which frames the pond, or the covered trails where we’re more likely to encounter the creatures that make the park their home.

Though much of the brilliance of summer has faded, there’s still so much to enjoy: Unloved flowers showcasing their beauty for those who have learned to see it.

Bugs that feast on the flowers. [Look closely]

Sun-kissed clouds floating above the trees, making way for night.

Random splashes of color.

Feasts for birds…

and the smallest animals.

Remains of fallen trees that continue to give life.

A surprise gift–a moth waiting patiently to be photographed.

A brightly colored flower captured as we exited a trail.

The final gift of the evening.

I hope you take some time this weekend to sit [or walk] quietly in nature, find strength, heal your soul, connect with the Divine.

Lanai Views | #WordlessWednesday

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“Lanai“

“In the Mountains,” Li Bai (Chinese Poet, 701-762)

You ask me what my idea is, staying in the green mountains?
I smile but have no reply, my heart at peace in itself.

As the peach blossom on the flowing water goes into the unknown,
there is another heaven and earth, not among people.

Trans. William P. Coleman

About the images: Photos from a trip to Maui, Hawaii many moons ago. The photos were shot from a yacht early one evening.

#ThursdayTreeLove | Notice, Pause, and Wonder.

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In her October 11 #ThursdayTreeLove, Parul Thakur wrote about how people are oblivious to the trees they pass every day. She urged readers to “notice things around you and within you. Take nothing for granted. Nothing.”

My work environment is filled with gorgeous trees. I generally pass the same trees during my [almost] daily walk, but I “never, ever, ever” tire of them; there’s always something new or different to note. In fact, yesterday, as I was on my way to a warm spot to meditate and write, I was so distracted by the trees that my writing hour slipped away.

Unlike my tree venture two weeks ago, yesterday the trees provided the therapy I’d planned to find in writing.

Like Parul, when I’m enjoying the trees, I see others passing by with absolutely no awareness of them. Every now and then, they stop, wonder, and ask about what I’m observing or photographing. After a brief conversation, they pause and take note before walking away. I “cross my fingers” and hope they will no longer take the trees for granted.

If we’re not careful, trees will become part of the mundane, ordinary of our day to day, and they are much too beautiful, too knowing, too giving, too spectacular to be ordinary.

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.