Coming To A Tree Near You

"Beware of missing chances; 

otherwise it might be altogether too late one day."

~Franz Liszt

Here it is... the first pre-autumn leaf of the 2017 season, and it's from my own yard! We don't have a tree in our yard, the lovely one we planted, just after moving in sadly died. I will be replacing it next spring, but we do get plenty of leaves from our neighbors. Not so much as to be a nuisance, but enough to make me smile. I kind of like the brittle ones. They are fully ages and they had fully matured and transformed from dark green, to lemon yellow, and then finally that lovely brown shade. It's a life lived. Each unique. Each never given up despite it's ultimate outcome. I know, leaves do have much choice on what they give up on, but somehow, they still give me hope, because, after all, I an in the autumn of life now and it's kind of beautiful, in spite of the dark days and approaching cold. 

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Colors Of A Single Autumn Day...

"Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers."

~Ray Bradbury

 Dandelion Wine

Leaves, bees, flowers, sunsets, sunrises, everything seems so much more vibrant in autumn! It made me happy to study that tiny little creature, as it hopped from mum to mum. It even paused for a brief moment among some leaves, as if he appreciated them as much as I did, but then it was right back to the flowers! He was an active guy, almost as happy as I was think! I hope all this beautiful color lasts long into winter, as it does in some years, but we are almost at the half point of the this season. Can you believe how fast this autumn has gone by? Hopefully that is a good sign for continued color!

The Colors Of A Single Autumn Day... 

Leaf Of The Day

October 28th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

Autumn Fenced In...

"Autumn stomps around outside the house like

 an annoying little sister, tapping on all the shutters, 

kicking up the piles of leaves you rake,

 pretending to howl like a wolf.

 But I'm glad she's here, so we can cuss at summer together, pretending we don't even remember her name."

~Karen Finneyfrock

The Sweet Revenge Of Celia Door

Some folks don't agree with me at all about autumn! The leaves that are glorious, messy and loud with color and joy for me, mean a dirty, time consuming, mess for others. Rather than being a giantic party of colors, the leave rather represent a sad notion that soon the world will be covered in snow, and the trees that are so vibrant right now, will turn to mere skeletons. Stick figure ghosts of their former selves. The world will become cold, lonely, and perhaps the thing of a Stephen King novel. But I am happy to see the dark days come, and bring with it shadows that I can build nightmares on! Maybe that's why I love horror movies so much, it reminds me of autumn, even in April!

Autumn Fenced In...

I love doing fence line photography, 

and I hope to do more this season!

Leaf Of The Day

October 24th 2016

Mood: Happy

 

~Me :)

The Way New Leaves Grow

"In every change, in every falling leaf there is

 some pain,

 some beauty.

 And that's the way new leaves grow."

~Amit Ray

Just today's Leaf Of The Day for today's post. But look at it... isn't it gorgeous?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Late September Sunset

"Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it.

 And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are. 

There cannot be one without the other, yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel, I remember wondering, to be always together, yet forever apart?"

~Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook

The sunset Tuesday night was nothing short of amazing! It was the softest shade of purple on the outside, but the center of it was the most vibrant orange I have ever seen! 

It was GORGEOUS!

I really do need to photograph more sunsets!

:)

Leaf Of The Day

September 30th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Week Of Pink: Days 3 And 4... Blossoms In Dark And Light

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

~Anais Nin

Blossoms. To me, they are the most beautiful part of spring. We are currently in the middle of my least favorite season, and it is more like summer than anything resembling spring! All the blossoms came and went by the early part of the season. California has been unseasonably warm this year, in fact, I only remember a few truly cold days back at the end of November! Otherwise it's been depressingly bright and sunny! If everything is this green now, and the temperatures continue the way they are going, I think we will have a very early autumn this year! Not that I am complaining, it's my favorite season, but I hate the thought of it being cold and rainy for Halloween! Oh well, if it is, I will be warm, I am thinking of going as a Sock Monkey this year to match my car!

;)



About the photos...

The top photo was taken right as the sun began to set. I waited until the very last moment I could to snap it, and then applied a little photo editing magic to achieve the desired effect of a night blossom. I loved working with that photo! It has always been one of my favorite projects!

Photo #2 was a simple photo to do. It was taken on a clear, crisp, cool spring day. It took almost no effort, which makes it one of those photos I have a hard time taking any compliments for. I didn't do anything but see a moment of nature, and save it for all time. It took no special talent, just maybe the ability to spot the beauty in an otherwise ordinary day.

Photo #3 below, was taken on a very foggy, cloudy late winter day in 2006. It was the end of February I think, and it had been warm the previous week, then turned cold and misty suddenly. I was lucky to find some blossoms that didn't have much, if any, cold damage to them. I loved photographing this white blossom. There was just something about the scene that could have kept me there forever!

 

Okay, two days, and three different looks at blossoms under different natural conditions, and the opportunities they provided me. I loved these times, and I am still referencing back to what I learned on those days! That's my favorite thing about photography, while you are grabbing a moment to save forever, you are constantly learning from that moment the rest of your creative life!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Orange You Glad You Read My Blog?

"Orange strengthens your emotional body, encouraging a general feeling of joy, well-being, and cheerfulness. Orange vibration foods are: oranges, tangerines, apricots, mangoes, peaches and carrots."
~Tae Yum Kim, The First Element: Secrets to Maximizing Your Energy

I didn't have a chance to get out and do new photography yesterday, so I tip-toed through the archives looking for something that I hadn't previously posted on Ellipsis, and as I searched for new images a general theme began to emerge... the color Orange. So, here are some of my favorite orange things! Each on never fails to make me smile, I hope you smile to.

 Enjoy!

 

About that last one. Self portraits do not make me smile, but I have to confess I did enjoy doing that one. If memory serves me, it was for one of John Scalzi's Monday Photo Shoot assignments. When I first heard the topic I considered sitting the challenge out, but somehow that just made me feel like a bit quitter! Hey, what's the definition of a challenge? Something that challenges us to rise to the occasion... right? Anyway, at the end of the day, I met the challenge, and I did it by showing what I consider my best feature, my eyes. My one eye in particular. MY CREATIVE EYE.

:)

Mood: Happy

~ Me :)

It's What Happens In January

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within it's heart.

~Charles G. Slater

The leaves continue to turn and fall. It's what happens in January. Still. Quiet. Dark. No fanfare. Just a necessary event to encourage an earthly renewal. It's a good thing, and I am already planning which roses will bring new life to the rose garden in 2013. Perhaps I will embrace the muted tones this year. Honey Dijon and Pumpkin Patch. Both unusual and lovely. We'll see. For now, I share the last of the roses of 2012.

Just a little something to keep you warm.

 

 

 

And some leaves...

 

You knew there had to be leaves... right? ;)

~Happiness :)

~Me

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 59~ Outrageous Color

"Imagine a delicious glass of summer ice tea. Take a long, cool sip. Listen to the ice crackle and clink. Is the glass part full or part empty? Take another sip. And now?"

~Vera Nezarian, The Perpetual Calender of Inspiration 
 



Color... Crazy, Vivid, Picturesque... Color. I enjoy photographing grays and muted earth tones, but how could anyone with a camera ever pass up the bright, cheerful shades of summer. Blue like the ocean, purple of royalty, the bright sunny oranges, which will transition to soft pumpkin shades in autumn. Color.... Crazy, Vivid, Picturesque... AMAZING COLOR.

 


Happiness.


~Me :)