Macro May 2020 - Day 2

I managed two days in a row...woohoo! 

We got in the car as a family today for the first time in over 6 weeks, instead of just walking round the corner to our local park, which is what we had been doing and which we are SO over. We are allowed to drive short distances to exercise, as long as the exercise lasts longer than the drive to get there. Well our drive only took 12 minutes but we walked for over an hour and were surrounded by green and sunshine and it was just what we needed. 

This is a gorgeous English Bluebell and this is their season; which is always too short. There is nothing as spectacular as walking through woods, carpeted with bluebells, it is quite breathtaking. That wasn't today, we were more out in the open, but there were plenty of these growing along the hedgerows. 

At some point this month I'll show a Spanish Bluebell, also common here; similar but quite different.

February Photo Project - Photo A Day - Day 24

I look at the world differently, depending on which lens is on my camera. Today, as we took the dog out, I grabbed my 105mm 2.8 micro, which is great for close up details. Instead of looking at our 'big picture' as I might if I had my zoom lens with me, I was keeping an eye open for interesting flowers, for example, when Bryttain, who'd slowed down to look with me found a ladybird, or ladybug as the Americans call them. I had exactly the lens I needed to get the shot, it was great teamwork :)

(As in years past, I've decided to do the February photo project and take a photo a day. It never hurts to have a bit of discipline and with all our transitions my creativity has been sorely lacking, so I'm looking forward to jumping back in. No real rules, just our life documented a little. Maybe there'll be captions, maybe not, there could be the occasional phone photo thrown in on busier days and sometimes it may be hard to narrow things down and there could be bonus photos. I'd love for you to follow along, or even join in. Let me know!)

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 15

52 Weeks of 2013 - Week 43

They are the tiniest of birds. Absolutely mesmerizing. The sound of their wings, the speed with which they move, the hovering and darting, the flashes of color, captivate me completely. They are truly amazing. I could watch and wait, patiently for hours.

We all grow weary at times, that's when we really need to open our eyes and look around us. We are surrounded by beauty, sometimes we have to search it out, but it's there for the finding. We all have days that are harder than others, or more exhausting, or maybe it has been longer than a day and feels like a season. Take the time to find your hidden treasure, that something that can lift your spirits again and breathe new life into you. It may not be easy, but it's waiting for you.

52 Weeks of 2013 - Week 32

We had a terrible week of sickness in our house and then we got to go away for a long weekend. It was a little rough, none of us were one hundred percent, but it was good to be away from our usual routine and space and slow down. You see things differently when you slow down instead of racing to the next...whatever it is.

Hubby fought the sickness and I was the last to get it, so everybody else was a little ahead of me in terms of energy and motivation, if not appetite. As the kids and James fished, or played in the water and in kayaks, I mainly sat around or read or slowly meandered, seeing what I could find through my lens. Of course that's something I always love to do.

And we have a lot of changes coming up. Children going back to school, one starting school for the first time, I have a big birthday approaching and a husband getting closer to graduating from Seminary. By the end of the year we will move, somewhere, we do not yet know where, we will be starting anew. Right now I do not have the energy to either wish, or plan, so I will take photographs and live in denial for the time being. When we know more, if you follow the blog, you'll be amongst the first to know!

52 Weeks of 2013 - Week 12

Some weeks are just harder and longer than others...but there is always hope!

52 Weeks of 2013 - Week 9

I do not enjoy winter, the cold and the damp and the gloom. I know that I can no longer really complain, our winter here, compared to other states, or even countries, is incredibly mild. It is not the biting cold that I experienced with my English winters, when I would walk through the snow and come home, my eyelashes frozen and clumped together, my cheeks stinging. I no longer experience the agony of my poor frozen toes swollen and blistered from chilblains...yet I still look forward to spring. There is anticipation and longing.

I can often be found telling myself, reminding myself, yet again, this is just a season. A season of living on one income, a season of a husband in school, a home that feels too small....but I live in expectation that our spring will come. I will once again see the buds on the trees and the weights will be lifted. I would not trade these days and the challenges we at times face, for any other life. There is joy and beauty to be found each day, there are smiling and laughing children and hugs and "I love you"s and the security that comes from a best friend by my side.

Spring would not be so sweet without the preceding winter. That is how life is. We need to go through the trials and the darkness, to really appreciate when the sun breaks through. To feel the warmth on our faces, to see the flowers in bloom and feel the hope rise within us. Can we really appreciate what we have, unless we have had not?

52 Weeks of 2013 - Week 1

We are surrounded by beauty. Yet in the busyness of our daily lives, do we really take the time to look for it...every day? There are lunches to be made and dishes to be washed and groceries to be bought and the list goes on. When we open our eyes though, really open them and look, intentionally, we can see and appreciate so much more. When I have my camera I look in a different way, I see things that I might otherwise miss and this wonderful tool has taught me so much.

Today I took my little girl and met a good friend for a hike; we drove out to the Mill Valley waterfall, a place new to me. It was truly beautiful and I would have enjoyed it regardless, but with my camera over my shoulder the light streaming through the trees grabbed me, the water splashing down drew me in, the buds on the branches and the fungi tucked into hollows were treasures, waiting to be discovered. Gifts for me!

The End of Summer

We don't have a garden at the moment so when I visit friends who do, I love to get out my macro lens and see what I can capture. It was slim pickings last week, but I found this beauty. Nothing can compare to the elegance of a rose.

Today's storms reminded me that Summer is well and truly gone, but there is a welcome familiarity to the changing of seasons. Christmas is around the corner, bringing with it more family time and the chance for life to slow down again. So as I listen to the rain, or my children bickering, I remind myself again that I get to choose if my glass is half full, or half empty...and I strive to look for the positives. It doesn't always come easily for me, but I am being intentional, reminding myself of all the good things and hoping for much more.

Last week was so disappointing, it was Spring Break for my two oldest and it rained...almost all week. I am so happy to feel the sun on my skin again, to not be cold, for the days to feel bright and cheerful.

In celebration of this lovely weather I thought I would share a few recent florals, just because sometimes it's fun to have a change from photographing people and it gives me a good reason to get out my macro lens.

Happy Spring!

52 Week Project - Week 51

*Just as a reminder, this is a personal project I am undertaking this year, in order to shoot more and share more. Each week of 2011 will have a corresponding favorite photograph; snapshots from my life.

We have had a wonderful end to our year with my husband on break from school and taking extra time from work to spend time as a family. On one of our days we headed up to the beautiful Spring Lake and the kids cycled as we walked, in the great outdoors. There is something so special about slowing down and appreciating what is around you, all the little details. It all really is so amazing and deserves our time and attention.

52 Week Project - Week 38

*Just as a reminder, this is a personal project I am undertaking this year, in order to shoot more and share more. Each week of 2011 will have a corresponding favorite photograph; snapshots from my life.

I love trees. There are people who would rather be in the mountains, or at a beach, or in the countryside, but there is something about being in the woods that captures me. There is a certain mystery, a romanticism. Old weathered leaves coupled with new shoots of life. The sound of a stream, or a bird, or the crunching underfoot. Whatever 'it' is, stirs something within me that excites me. I can breathe more deeply and feel more fully.

We recently took the children to Muir Woods, a place that is amazing, but also throws me for a loop. Where else would you find paved paths, in a wood? I understand that it makes life easier for families with strollers, or the disabled in wheelchairs but I cannot truly enjoy my woods experience until we have ventured onto the trails. It takes away from the natural and brings in the man-made and I want to enjoy nature in all it's glorious natural beauty. Don't even get me started on the entrance fee! Our visit was on a National Parks Free Day, for which I am grateful.

52 Week Project - Week 13

A little late posting this one; the recovery from international travel with children, was harder than anticipated. I blame it on a certain three year old and her body clock, whose schedule dictated how we got to recover from the jetlag.

Freesia

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. Spring is here, officially here!

Freesias were my mom's favorite flowers and I had taken some photographs back in February but not really played or posted anything.

So in celebration of spring: