Loyalty and Devotion

How I shot this: ss 1/60 f 4.8 ISO 2500 – natural light – Nikon D800, Nikkor 100mm f2.8

In the Victorian language of flowers, Alstroemeria mean devotion and loyalty.  My husband gave me a beautiful bouquet of them on our 20th anniversary in November.   The flowers kept their beauty for three weeks, when I finally had a chance to photograph them.   The funny thing is, they have never been my favorite…I am unsure why, and needless to say my husband was teased about brining home flowers that he knew were not my favorite.  His intention, however, was perfect.  The Day Lily is the flower for the 20th anniversary.  As he was not able to find Day Lilies he purchased another flower that is in the lily family.   Now that I know the meaning of the Alstroemeria, and because of the occasion that introduced me to the meaning, they will become a flower I appreciate and treasure.

And with that, I leave you with a quote that could not be more perfect to accompany this post.

“Through devotion, your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.”

~ Saint Francis de Sales

Bars of Light

ss 1/80 f 4.5 ISO 500

About this photograph:  I am teaching a teen photography camp this week.  I have 15 students ranging from 11 to 15.   The camp sessions are from 9am to 3:30pm Monday through Friday.  During the morning hours, we simulate a classroom setting and I teach the students about photography.  Thus far we have reviewed manual settings and the technicalities of cameras, which none of the kids had previously been using, composition and light.  Today well talk about posing human subjects.   After the lessons, we venture outside to experiment with cameras and use the information learned.   After talking about light yesterday, we took a hike to a near by covered bridge.  In between answering questions and guiding the teens on how to use their cameras, reminding them of compositional “rules”, and pointing out light and it’s qualities, I took a few shots myself.  This photograph is taken of one of the walls of the bridge.  I noticed the light peaking through the slats, between the boards.  Instead of focusing, I intentionally decreased the focus so that I could create a bit of blur to capture the circles of light in each strip, which the shallow depth of field helped create.  As I was shooting, my intent was to convert the file to black and white.  I do think I like that edit better than the original, but the green and white strips of light are also appealing to me.

To see the photograph in black and white, please visit my Thursday post on Monochromia. Which do you prefer?

A Corner in the New York City Public Library

Yesterday I had the great pleasure to wander around New York City with some amazing people: Leanne Cole, Stacy Fisher,  Robert Marsala, and Nicci Carrera.  One of our stops was the New York Public Library – wow!  If you have never been inside you need to add it to your bucket list.  The architecture is inspiring and the people watching…entertaining.   And if you are a lover of books…you’ll feel right at home.

SS 1/60 F 4.5 ISO 2500

Edits: Slight Curves Adjustment in Photoshop CC

 

If I were a flower…

ss 1/60 f 5.6 iso 400

“If I were a flower.. I would be a sunflower.
To always follow the sun, Turn my back to darkness,
Stand proud, tall and straight even with my head full of seeds.” ~ Author Pam Stewart

Tulip I

Tulip I, a Day Dream

SS 1/60 F 4.5 ISO 640

Tulip I is the first image in my 2015 tulip series. I used natural light to photograph several tulips that were decaying. Tulip I is a day-dream. I used back lighting, ambient light, and a shallow depth of field to achieve the swirly, dreamy effect.

In post processing I did a simple curves adjustment, just to give a little color pop.

Lucid Dreaming – A Portrait

Lucid Dreaming

“Lucid dreaming has considerable potential for promoting personal growth and self-development, enhancing self-confidence, improving mental and physical health, facilitating creative problem solving and helping you to progress on the path to self-mastery.” – Stephen LaBerge

Mystery of Love

mystery of love

mystery of love in black and white

“Love leads us into mystery where no one can say what comes next, or how, or why.”

– Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

The pink rose, depending on the color being dark or light, represents thankfulness, grace and joy in the Victorian Language of Flowers.  In words, the quote above does not correlate directly to the meaning of the pink rose, however, in my heart, I am thankful for the love I’ve experienced and the mystery of what it will bring in the future.

How about you?  Are you thankful for the love you’ve experienced? Do you find yourself wondering about the how and why and what might happen next?

With love, and all emotions, we as humans tend to rush into the future wondering and hoping for the next phase or the next event.  Instead of being mindful of the present moment and savoring the joy of it, we overwhelm ourselves with anticipation and perhaps fear.  This fact can often lead to shortcomings in relationships, a loss of joy, much anxiety, and overall hopelessness instead of the peace of love and an abundance of smiles.

It’s imperative to stop, cherish the moment, be mindful of the love in our lives, and just let life be.  This is not a simple task, but with patience and perseverance, we can all accomplish mindfulness and experience the joy of true love.

 Details for the image above: SS 1/60 f3.5  ISO 2000

Which do you prefer – color, or black and white?

Pointe Shoe Series – I

Pointe Shoe Series I

Joy and Cheer

Cheer and Joy

F 4.2, SS 1/60, ISO 1000 Nikon D800, Nikon 60mm F2.8 Micro

 

 

 

Cheer and Innocence

F 3.8, SS 1/60, ISO 1000 Nikon D800, Nikon 60mm F2.8 Micro

“When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace,
love, prosperity, happiness… all the good things.”- Maya Angelou

 

Summer Goodness – in the Fall

Summer Goodness

 

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.”- Lewis Grizzard