What do I choose to see?

Life is made up of experiences

We may label them good or bad, but finally they are just life experiences.

They come into our lives without pattern or plan.

We are the ones who are so clever at interpreting what happens to us

of labelling it

of giving it meaning.

When I look at my life right now, I can decide what I choose to see

and this will have an enormous influence 

on how I feel about this moment.

My balcony is a wonderful reminder when I need to choose.

I live in an urban environment, albeit out of the city centre.

The road I live on is a busy one,

Cars, motorbikes and trucks of all sorts pass by throughout the day.

There are two ends to my long balcony: the road end and the small park end.

When I want to see beauty, when I want to feel serene and content,

do I go and watch the noisy trucks filled with earth go by as they rush to some building site?

Or do I choose to face the park and the beautiful trees and a golden sky?

Where do I decide to focus my attention?

Can you imagine?

I CAN CHOOSE!

Am I not fortunate?

What do you choose to see

in your life

at this moment?

This is my Photo-Heart-Connection for the month of January.

It is nice to look back and see why I was connected

to an image more than any other

during the course of the month. 

The photo I choose is always one which tells me something essential

about life and how I connect to it.

One which touches my heart and helps me to move forward.

When tree silhouettes grace the sky

Outlined against a pastel sky

the winter trees bring us back to the essential

and the rising moon teases the branch tips.

Like graceful dancers in flowing robes

The majestic Poplar tree plays ball with the moon

and the Cedar tree stretches its limbs against the sunset

Delicate tendrils pay homage to the earth.

Artistic Blur

Pine tree branch in the snow

This month's Exploring with a Camera exercise is about

Artistic blur!

This is much more difficult than I thought!

The  above effect was created by using a long shutter-speed with a small aperture.

 I also put the camera on manual mode

to create the amount of blur I wanted.

I sometimes  used 'intentional camera movement' 

using the direction in which I found gave

the most harmonious effect.

All the photos were taken with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Could this be a gale force wind  in a blizzard?

You can tell in which direction I was moving my camera for this composition.

If you look carefully, you can see the benches and a park lamp.

These first shots were taken in my local park this morning

and it was cold work, so I went inside to warm up 

before a second outing.

How about blurring up a picture

I have in my home?

Then into the bedroom 

to move across the turquoise duvet cover

and the bed spread.

Into the office

to play with the coloured files!

A Mother-of-pearl shell 

in my living-room.

After warming up at home with a hot drink,

I returned to the park to capture this lamp.

Then I noticed some people going shopping with their umbrellas

to protect themselves from the still falling snow.

I like this one of the lady dashing along

down the hill to the shops with her

shopping caddie.

And how about this one with her shopping bag

and cheerful yellow umbrella

creating a scene reminiscent of Impressionist painters?

Kat Sloma

from kateyestudio 

has organized this very interesting

and instructive exercise in photography.

Check out her site and the work of others here:

Looking beyond

A flower is so much more than a flower

every detail  amazes us.

And each new bud

unfolds

to reveal the very essence of life

and delicate petals allow the light to reach us.

On being a bird

Robin Redbreast fluffed his feathers

and looked at me from the corner of his shiny bright eye.

I hardly breathed as I adjusted my focus

to capture his beauty

before he hopped out of the picture

and then flew away.

It's always worth looking up.

Do the birds say the same about looking down?

I wonder what it feels like to sit high up upon a tree?

Knowing that if the wind blows hard

to shake their branch

they can fly away.

How lovely to be a bird

and not ask when or how or why!

In the Picture: Celebration

Communication

The optional theme for this last gathering of a year of self-portraits is: Celebration!

What comes to mind is how important hands are

how they express so many things in a discreet yet meaningful celebration

as we go about our daily lives.

Touch

Acknowledging the being of an object

or expressing a heartfelt connection with another being

expressing love and understanding.

Creating

The simple and therapeutic art of making bread 

and coming back to our centre and our roots

as we put all our attention into the work at hand.

Shaping

Our lives are shaped by all that we do.

Giving

Celebrating colour and creation

and the soothing movement of the hook and yarn.

Nurturing

a plant, a person

any living being.

Celebrating humour

and

embracing the experience of meeting this physical aspect of myself

knowing that this is only a part of who I am.

The essence of who we truly are cannot be seen with the eyes

but felt through the heart and soul in a place where we all connect.

Celebrating all those I have met along the way and have befriended.

Thanking Christy who has offered this space in her own life

to allow others to participate in this photographic journey.