"Holy"...A Round Robin Promotion

"What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter...a soothing, calming influence on the mind rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue."

-Henri Matisse

One of the things I enjoy most about the Round Robin Challenges, is the complete artistic and creative freedom involved. We Robins come together to share our common love of photography, but leave each challenge with a fresh perspective to ponder, and sometimes to even challenge us further...even after we have moved on to another challenge. So many times, I have submitted an entry for a certain challenge, only to find another photo down the line, which would inspire me and make me want to go back and resubmit my entry. LOL. A recent example would be the subject of, "Signs." That happens to be one of my favorite subjects to look for, when I am out with my camera. Not signs as in OMENS, LOL, signs as in street signs or unique business signs. :) These challenges give me the opportunity to exercise my creativity...to try to think beyond the literal. I think our next challenge, "Holy," chosen by Robin, author of the journal, "Search The Sea," will provide all of us with some excellent opportunities to push the creative envelope.

Robin's suggestion for this challenge is for us to post a photo of something we consider to be holy. That can refer to our religious ideals, but it can also reflect our reverence for nature, or art, or as Karen said in the Round Robin Promotional entry, "Writing and the English language are holy for me." A very understandable idea, in that Karen is an awesome writer who has respected pursuid her talent most of her life. Like me, she fell in love with books when she was a child, and that love has grown into a devotion that will last a lifetime. What can be more perfect then the wish to share a talent, surely from above, with the world. I admire those who give freely of their talents, if they didn't the world would oh so much darker.

For me, as much as I would like to be a writer/photographer, there have been certain twists and turns in my life that make me believe that maybe both aren't necessarily meant to be. That is ok...I am simply allowing myself to go down the roads that are meant for me. So, I am concentrating more on my photography this year, with a greater sense of devotion and care. I am working on perfecting my patience, when attempting to achieve the perfect shot. Sometimes it takes looking at a subject, as if it were already a priceless piece of art. I had a special opportunity one day last year.

For whatever reason, last year, there had been very few butterflies fluttering about here in the Bay Area. I was constantly looking for them, but just not finding them. I was beginning to think I would not be seeing any at all, until one day last August, when I went to Alamo Square Park , in San Francisco, there, to my amazement, was a small garden of flowers, and among them, were three bumble bees and this one butterfly. It was just floating from blossom to blossom, drinking in the nectar and quietly going about his life. I was mesmerized.

For the next hour or so, I photographed the butterfly from as many angles as I could think of. I tried to capture the way the butterfly and the flower seemed to be floating in mid-air, and not at all attached to the flowers stalk. I wanted to photograph this moment of complete beauty, with an impression of what was beyond just what was available to the eye To bring an element of my favorite art movement, Impressionism, to the scene in front of me. The flower was perfect, there wasn't a bit of browning on it. The butterfly was perfect, his wings were undamaged and spread out completely. Nature, and it's beauty are a perfect gift from God.

Also as Karen pointed out, we are in a special time of year right now. With this challenge, we can celebrate our faith and what it means to us. We can share a little about what we hold dear and holy, be it gifts from God, or our personal relationships that transcend this earth no matter what our religion might be. Maybe you aren't particularly religious, but maybe you still have an appreciation for the beautiful architecture of churches and places of worship. Don't feel left out. There are many possibilities to go with. In fact, I looked up some words which are synonymous with the word, "Holy."

Believing, blessed, chaste, clean, consecrated, deditcated, devoted, devotional, devote, divine, faithful, faultless, glorified, god-like, godly, good, hallowed, humble, immaculate, innocent, just,knee-bending, moral, perfect, pietistic, pious, revered, reverent, righteous, sacrosanct, sainted, saintlike, sanity, sanctified, seraphic, spiritual, spotless, sublime, uncorrupt, undefined.

All of these words could be used in your challenge to meet the subject of, "Holy." I hope you will consider joining us for fun. This challenge will play on Wednesday, April 26th. You can post any time between the midnights that day or up to one week after, but if you post on that day you will have the best chance of your photo entry being seen. For all the information you need to play the challenge, simply pay a visit to the official Round Robin journal. Be sure to read the ***Welcome Entry And Rules Of Play***. Then read the entry for, "Holy," and follow the directions. That's all there is to it! :) Come on and join us...you know you want to.

-OndineMonet
"Softly He Smiled"
Alamo Square Park, San Francisco, California
August, 2005
Afternoon