"Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." ~Walker Evans
I love today's quote. I try... try mind you... to put all of my senses to work when I am taking photos. I want the full feeling to dictate how I approach a subject. Touch is usually the most difficult to use, because obviously, you can't always be in a position to touch the subject of the photograph! But when I can, I do.But when I can't I try to make some sort of contact with the subject. That usually means a smile or wave. Sometimes eye contact fills the moment just fine. I took this photo way back in February. It is a bouquet that a lovely young lady was holding, while posing for what I think was her engagement photo. She and her man were at the Queen Wilhelmina garden in Golden Gate Park, and they were posed, on a blanket, sitting next to the emerging tulips and multicolored California poppies. It was a very cold day, but with his arms around her, she was perfectly warm. He had a smile of a man who had found perfect happiness. All was right with the world on that cold, slightly drizzly day, for him it was bright and sunny outside, and just watching that much happiness, made me happy and warm inside as well. I felt warmer, just by witnessing their happiness. After the photo session was over for the couple, the young man helped his lady up, and they moved to another part of the park. I didn't want to disturb them when the photos were being done, so I didn't photograph them, but when the young lady placed her bouquet on the cement while she got up, I took a quick snap of the flowers. When I lowered the camera from my face, I saw the groom-to-be looking at me, patiently waiting for me to take my photograph of the bouquet, with the sweetest smile on his face. His expression seemed to say... I know... right? :) It was a good day to STARE, PRY, LISTEN, And EAVESDROP!
"We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works."
~Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt
What a day yesterday was! When I woke up, and logged online, one of my email accounts began self generating emails and sending them to folks in my address book. Fortunately I realized it soon, and contained it. Changed all my passwords. Ran multiple virus and malware scans. And deleted the original email the started the whole mess to begin with!
I knew as soon as I saw the mess, exactly where it came from. It can from the insurance carrier who handles my car insurence! Frankly... I am mad at myself, because when I asked them to send me over a quote on how much the new car would add to my overall payment, there was a strange attachment. It indicated a photo, which I assumed was part of the brochure, and when it loaded empty, I just didn't put two and two together.
I know better.
Anyway luckily the offensive email opened in my business account, which has very few direct contacts. So, the virus sent emails, sometimes multiple times, but they ended up bouncing back as undeliverable.A lucky break? Well, yes and no. You see, when I jumped onto the WWW I did a lot of reading about online safety, and took those pointers to heart. One such being that it is never wise to do business out of an account you share social media with. Keep friends and business separate. So, all's well that ends well. Mostly. My brand new Samsung Galaxy tablet arrived yesterday, amid all the fun, but somehow it just doesn't thrill me! I have been wanting a tablet for a long time, so when I got that included in an offer from AT&T when I signed up for broadband and Uverse, I jumped at the offer. It was going to save us a few dollars every month, and it included a nifty tablet and a $100 gift card. Win... Win. But as it sat in it's box on my desk, I couldn't help but wonder what new wonderful trouble might come by way of it. Hmmm? Still... it's a cute little thing, and I have ordered a new leather case for it, so I am sure I will get over the grr. I will. But you know... sometimes... Mood: Not Happy But It Will Pass ~Me
"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." ~Henry Ellis
Letting go, and holding on. Yes. That is the true process of living a life isn't it? I have always been someone that was stubbornly reluctant to let go... of anything! Well, there were some small exceptions along the way, such as the letting go of our 2007 Saturn ION last week, but I tell you what, it really does take extreme circumstances for me to walk away. One thing I never managed to walk away from was my love of reading! And really, why would I want to? Oh I have gone moderate amounts of time without picking up a new book, but mostly because I couldn't bring myself to remove to the storage room the tall towers of books I had already read! Each of them, in their own ways, had become a dear and comforting friend. And so with the books, as with my friends, I only leave when I am told to do so.
That's just me. Thank goodness a good book will never kick you to the curb, tell you that you aren't good enough, or religious enough, or too religious, or that it no longer feels superior to you. No. A good book takes you on vacation, without all the pesky travel costs, or unnecessary airport lines. Books. They are some of the best friends I have ever had. So, you can see why this sculpture is a favorite of mine... right?
"There are certain half-dreaming moods of mind in which we naturally steal away from noise and glare, and see some quiet haunt where we may indulge our reveries and build our air castles undisturbed." It may be April on the calender, but it feels more like the dead of August. I am not a fan of hot weather, I can't think straight if it is too warm outside. I like beach weather... if I am near the beach... but when I am just making my way around the suburbs I find hot weather intolerable. So, the last few days I think I have spent about 2 hours of day to day thinking, and 46 hours of daydreaming. And that's fine I guess. If for no other reason than to make it all more bearable. Everything in it's time. Mood: Quiet ~Me :)
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers." ~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
Questions. Doesn't it seem like all of a sudden, well in the last few months anyway, that there seems to be more questions occurring without any real answers to them? About a lot of subjects and situations... 1. An Entire Plane Full Of People Disappears Without A Trace... Q. What Happened? Q. Where Did It Go? Q. Was It Terrorism? Q. Was It Murder Suicide? Q. Was It Something Else? 2. General Motors Knew They Were Selling Potentially Deadly Automobiles... Q. Why? Q. Will Anyone Ever Do Jail Time Over The Scandal? Q. If Corporations Are People, By The Standards Of The Supreme Court, Shouldn't They Be Prosecuted As Such? Q. Should General Motors Be Financially Exempt Due To The Earlier Bankruptcy Protection? 3. David Letterman Is Leaving Late Night Next Year ... Q. Who Should Replace Him? Q. Can He Be Replaced? Q. Will Late Night Be As Fun Without Him?
4. The World Seems To Be On It's Period. Q. Is Global Warming Real? Q. Are We Headed For Another World War... Like SOON? Q. Will Jellyfish Be The Last Species Standing? Sometimes I think I think too much. Q. Do I Think Too Much? A. Yeah... LOL. I Do. I Can Admit It! Well, We Seem To Be Making Progress! It Looks Like Things Are Looking Up!
"An infinite question is often destroyed by finite answers. To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy."
~Madeleine L' Engle Mood: Quietly Perplexed ~Me :)
This will have to be another brief blog post, as I am tired and I still have a ton of things to do. This post is another view of the amazing sunset of last Thursday. Honestly, the colors in the sky that early evening just mesmerized me! I simply couldn't look away! This is a slightly earlier version of the sunset, as apparent by the muted tones. I decided this would be a nice one to do a little editing magic with. I am pretty happy with the end result!
Muted Twilight Reflection...
Both versions bring about very different feelings for me. Very different memories. I like when I pull some distant memory from a newly taken photo. I am constantly learning from my photography. It is what keeps my mind free of cobwebs, and useless chatter. Photography allows me to really experience my life, and the world I would have missed otherwise. A Little Night Music...
"A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of it's going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east." ~John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath I am not feeling particularly verbose tonight, so I will just let the sunset speak for itself! And oh what tales it could probably tell! ~Mood: Quiet ~Me :)
