INFOCUS June 30

June 30th 2012 

June Theme: Attraction to Abstraction

Cathy Hubman's photo of abstract fungus with her new 105mm macro lens

was selected for our INFOCUS choice this week.

You can view more of her work on her Flickr Stream

Thank you Cathy for participating with us at Focusing on Life!

Take An Umbrella

When my husband was a young man, prior to our meeting (on a blind date!) he got the yearning to become an actor.  He began his "career" at a summer theatre in Traverse City Michigan, "The Cherry County Playhouse".  It brought in at the time "famous" actors for the lead roles and the extras or "co-stars" were those that were considered "the company".  Gary was part of the company.  His time spent at Cherry County Playhouse was a memory that he kept for a long, long time.  While there he had saved all the newspaper clippings & photographs and had made a scrapbook that he proudly shared with all who showed the least bit of interest.

While there, he "costarred" in a play entitled "The Curious Savage", a story about an elderly woman who had been placed at "Happy Dale" by her family.  A place where those that were residence had been brought there by the men in "white coats".  Mrs. Savage was far from needing men in white coats and while there left an indelible impression on all she met.  She taught everyone she encountered that there are many ways to show love, one of those was "to take an umbrella, it might rain".  In other-words I care about you, and love you enough to remind you to take precautions.

This made such an impression on Gary, the fact that there are other ways to say I love you than just verbally, that with each letter he wrote to me before marriage and after we were married he always drew a little umbrella either on the envelope or under his name.  I saved most of his letters and pulled one out today to share his umbrella with you.

So if it happens to be raining in your part of this wide world, "take an umbrella," I care.

"Love has a way of making places sacred and moments meaningful"  ~  Janet Hobson

Don't forget, you only have a very short while to post your "water" pictures on our flickr site.  You may just find your image featured right here.

Creative Uplift

If you read my personal blog you may know that I am in the midst of re-doing 3 bathrooms.  Not a complete re-do but a kinda uplift.  Stripping of wallpaper and painting, upgrading sink tops & faucets, a new shower door, but along with all of this buying and replacing comes creativity.  After seeing the big picture (paint colors etc) then comes the fun part, the decorating which brings out my sense of creativity.  All of us here at Focusing On Life are creative, either with our photography or our sense of decorating style, our landscape design, or creating beautiful jewelry plus we like to encourage all of you to be creative as well.

After spending gobs of money, things always seem to cost more than you anticipate, I am re-using some of my original "stuff" by doing a little creative uplift.  I had two floral pieces that I really liked in the "old" bathroom and decided to try to uplift them to fit into my "new" bathroom.  The new look is bright, brighter than I anticipated, however this room is on the north side of the house that receives no sunlight, yet with this new color it will have sunshine all the time, even at night!!

As you can see the colors are yellow (bright!!!) reds (ofcourse) and just a touch of blue.  My old bathroom was blue & yellow floral wall-paper, so I have stuck with some of the same colors (kinda had to since the tile in the tub area is bright yellow) but added the red.  And I found this great rug at Target that had all the colors, how lucky am I.  Anyway to get back to the original purpose of this post, uplifting floral pieces, oh how I tend to wander, I have taken pics of the before and afters to show you how simple it is to just re-do something that you still may love and want to re-use.

This is a sweet little half-pot that hangs on the wall.  As you can see by adding the red flowers and changing the old tired blue bow for an updated red & yellow it seems to change the whole look.

And with this wreath too, changed the bow and by adding red flowers = uplift.  Truly a simple project so observe what is around your home that you still love that maybe could use a little change.  This was a very unexpensive project, just used a little bit of creativity.  So get out there ladies, update, uplift, be creative and show us your projects in our flickr on-line group.

"Living is doing."  ~  Clara Barton

A visual journey

When I got my first DSLR I was under the grand illusion that since I had a nice camera that it would just automatically take better pictures. I was under the impression that it was about the camera and that having a better camera would make me a better picture taker. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong.

It's been about 2 years since I took that leap and took my camera off auto-pilot. But that first leg of the journey was a very long and frustrating one. I had no idea what aperture or f-stop was let alone ISO and how they played together. I think I went straight to manual mode and there was quite a learning curve and some really bad photos. But it was being out of my comfort zone that pushed me in the right direction and I quickly realized that this wasn't something I would ever learn once and for all.

I now understand just enough about photography to know that it's definitely a journey and that there is no destination. That it will be an ever changing road as my vision and technical knowledge changes, but that doesn't mean I still don't get frustrated. Oh, I'm sure my husband has heard me on more than one occasion threaten to give it up, because just when I think I've got something figured out, I trip on something else.  But that quickly passes with the next aha moment when technology and vision briefly meet in the middle.

Share some of your abstract vision with us our flickr group - you just might be our next InFocus selection!

These Are The Days

 

 These are the days
These are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you’ll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
It's true
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they’re speaking
To you, to you

~10,000 Maniacs~

I admit it.  I'm a scheduler, a planner, a routine lover.  But when the temperatures begin to rise the landscape business slows way down so there is no better time than now to slow myself down too. That being said.....this summer I'm throwing all caution to the wind and just going with the flow.  This is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I am learning that when I'm not worrying about when and where I need to be that I'm really *here*.  Geez....that sounds a bit confusing.  I guess what I mean is that I'm much more present. I'm living in the moment instead of planning it.  There is no constant clock watching.  Instead I find myself totally relaxed and grateful for this time with my family and friends. 

 

The businesswoman in me is better when I am scheduled, but I'm a better mom when I go with the flow.  It's very tricky to find the balance between the two.  How about you?  are you a planner?  or do you go with the flow?

If you need me these days I'll be sitting on the back porch enjoying a glass of wine.  Instead of counting minutes I think I'll count my blessings instead.  Won't you join me?

Have you checked out our Flickr Pool lately?  You've just got to stop by and see all the amazing photos!  I'll be picking another Abstract photo for our Attraction to Abstraction INFOCUS selection on Saturday.  Be sure to check it out!

(still) Learning from the best

In the "in-law" lottery, I was very lucky.  My MIL and FIL were both kind and loving, not critical or judgemental. I enjoyed spending time with them.  


When Dean and Maxine retired they moved a few times around New Mexico and Colorado.  We would take a road trip to see them every year.  Our visits would include tours of the local surroundings. Dean would chauffeur us and Maxine would be our tour guide.  She would tell us every fact, folklore, tip and trivia about where we were going.  She would even tell stories about relatives and ancestors who had traveled or lived there before.  So interesting.  I have forgotten probably more than I remember and wish I could have some how recorded her narratives.

Dean was not only the chauffeur, he was also the family photographer.  He always had a love of photography and made sure to keep his camera near by.  He was the one who photographed the family when we would gather.  I watched him do this and took mental notes to use when I got back home since I was the family photographer there.  

When he was photographing us inside, he would position us approprietly, take a good look, sometimes adjust something on his camera, then bring the camera to his eye, and look a little longer then "click"  done.  Everyone would then resume eating (we were always eating!) or minding kids or whatever they were doing. Dean would turn around after taking the picture and look around the room.  If something or someone caught his eye, he would move to capture that.

We were often outside in the beautiful mountains and when he would take our picture, the procedure would be the same except when he would turn around, sometimes he would walk toward something.  I watched him do this and saw that he was looking intently at the scenery that was around us.  He walked slowly, silently, gazing at the landscape.  Then stop, adjust the camera, maybe take a few steps back or sideways never looking away from the scene he was witnessing, then slowly the camera came up to his eye and "click"  

We have boxes and albums filled with his portraits.  All thoughtfully taken.  We discovered many beautiful landscapes that he had taken through the years in these boxes.  Some are now framed and hanging in my house.  He was a talented photographer.  


He always shot film.  He did occasionally talk about getting a digital camera.  I knew the reason why he wanted one was so he could take more landscapes.  I also knew the reason why he never got one was because he grew up during the depression and could not see spending hard earned money on a new camera when the one he had was just fine.

My picture above was taken the same day I took the sunset shot I blogged about here.  After I was satisfied with the shots I had, I turned around and broke my arm patting myself on the back walked back to the car.  On my way I saw a pasture of cows standing perfectly still, staring intently at me.  Probably saying to one another "there's that crazy woman who went speeding by here so she could take a picture of that old building!"  

Above the curious cows was a pastel sky.  I thought "WOW!" (I'm a deep thinker like that!)

I surveyed the scene before me now.  I wanted a picture of that sky because it was so very different from the one I had just shot in the west!  The one in the west was brilliant gold and orange, it was on fire! Now, this sky in the east was a calm and serene pastel palette. Just like those cows! I wanted a picture of those cows! 
(great! now the crazy woman wants a picture of us! was what the cows were now saying!  yes, I speak cow!)

I took a few steps back, adjusted my camera, brought it up to my eye, took a look through the viewfinder to be sure then "click"

This one's for you Dean.


Do you have someone who influenced you in some way?  Tell us about it!  Show us how you were influenced by posting a picture in the gallery!

Dont' forget to add your In Focus shots too!  The June theme-Attraction to Abstraction is coming to an end!  Be sure to tag your shots "ATA" for In Focus comsideration!




"Example is not the main thing in influencing others.  It is the only thing."  ~Albert Schweitzer



xo,

Summer Tacky

Welcome to Vermont!

Summer is once again upon us. If we're lucky, we will be venturing out of our homes, and sometimes our comfort zones, to see the world around us. We will carefully photograph what makes each place unique and worth visiting. We will eat the local foods, hear the local dialects, and try to grab a fleeting impression of what it would be like to live a different life in a different place. We'll peruse our photos next winter, not wanting to forget even one moment of our fabulous travels.
But we may find that the thing we remember the most surprises us! One of the very best parts of travel when you are a kid ( and come on - for us too) is the glorious, kitschy, over-the-top, stupendous ridiculous waster-of-money - THE TOURIST TRAP! Is there anything more American?

Luis Aury
legendary pirate of Fernandina Beach

When I was little, our family vacation, more often than not, was a three day car trip to Florida. In the days before seat belts, Dad would strap the suitcases on top of the car, and lay our sleeping bags out in "the way-back" of the station wagon. During the day Mom had a bag up front filled with little treasures that she would dole out when we became fidgety - those tile puzzles that you slide around to make a picture; that magnetic bald guy whose beard you would drag on with a metallic pen; new crayons, COLORFORMS! We'd play endless games of "I packed my suitcase and in it I put...", but our favorite thing by far, was watching for signs for "South of the Border!"

Wikipedia image of Pedro

Those of you who didn't live in the east have missed being part of the greatest marketing campaign to date! When you drive I-95 from New York to Florida, you will pass a roadside attraction (actually more of a glorified truck stop) in Dillon South Carolina called "South of the Border." But that is really the anti-climax. Starting 200 miles before that you will begin to pass billboards telling you to come and see Pedro. There are currently no less than 120 billboards running through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In the past, there were 250 signs between Philadelphia and Daytona. Each one was unique making terrible puns about Pedro, ("pedro says, 'Our honeymoon suite is heir conditioned!') and touting all the wonderfulness he had to offer! http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com/

What kid could resist begging their father for 200 miles to puhleeszzze stop! We never really got Dad to buy into it. The closest we got was a bathroom stop, and a box of Stuckey coconut patties bought at the roadside giftshop in front of the fence. But we could see people leaving with bags of fireworks (legal there), wearing sombreros, and we could see the large statue of Pedro peaking over  the fence at us. Oh how we dreamed of what must be back there as we tucked into those sleeping bags, and were rocked to sleep by the motion of the car, the quiet voices of my parents up front, and the comforting clicking of the blinkers.

Hot Dog Johnny

I caught the moose above on the border of Vermont last summer. The pirate lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida, near my parents. I never pass up "Hot Dog Johnny's" near the Delaware Water Gap, and Lucy the Elephant is classified as historic at the Jersey Shore.

Lucy The Elephant
(also Wikipedia)

What ridiculously tacky pit-stop resides where you live? Show us in our Flickr pool today - the tackier the better! Give us a slice of Americana to set the mood for our summer travels! Oh, and here's Pedro's forecast for your vacation :

"Chili today, Hot Tamale!"

INFOCUS June 22, 2012

 

June 23rd 2012 

June Theme: Attraction to Abstraction

Natalie DeLuca's photo of tree reflections at Cazanovia Park, Buffalo NY

was selected for our INFOCUS choice this week.

You can view more of her work on her Flickr Stream

Thank you Natalie for participating with us at Focusing on Life!

Peace and Quiet, Interrupted

I thoroughly enjoyed Dotti's post earlier this week, reminding us of the days of summer gone by and to step back and do a little more exhaling. Ah yes, exhaling. I do need a little more of that in my life. But her post also got me thinking about the changes that summer brings to my house.

I work from home. Most of my day is spent solving the world's problems through teleconferences and email. And from September through May, once my children leave for school and my husband for work, the house is quiet and peaceful.....it's just me and the hum of my computer. But come June, the transition occurs and my children are home all day (with their sweet babysitter). The peace and quiet is replaced with playing, laughing, shouting, stomping, singing, creating, building and occasional crying.

I have to admit that once the summer schedule begins, it takes me a few days to acclimate to the increased noise level and the little noses pressed against the windows of my office doors. But I've realized these are changes I wouldn't get to experience if I worked in a regular office.

Who in an office gets to hang out in an elaborate, multiple room, blanket-and-chair tent while taking a break? Who in an office gets to enjoy the jokes and conversation of an 8-year-old, a 4-year-old, and an almost 2-year-old while eating lunch? Who in an office gets to be interrupted by frequent requests for tape, scissors and the stapler (because apparently, the tape, scissors and stapler from the office are much better than the tape, scissors and stapler elsewhere in the house)? Who in an office gets kisses blown to her through her office doors while on a teleconference?

I consider it a blessing to have my peace and quiet interrupted during the summer. Those sweet interruptions won't be around forever!

What about you.....is your peace and quiet interrupted during the summer? Or is summer when your peace and quiet begins? Or do you never seem to have any peace and quiet no matter the season?!!

Don't forget to keep those abstract photos coming! The gallery is full of such interesting shots!

Spontaneous 'Smores

I am a planner and I consider myself a very organized person. My calendars, both paper and electronic, are filled with activities and appointments for myself and my family. I have electronic "sticky notes" pasted on my desktop to remind me of all of those appointments listed in and on my calendars. Siri, my iPhone's "intelligent personal assistant", has lately become more of a full-time employee of mine, sending me constant reminders of all our activities and things that need to be done.

I know that all of my planning and organizing does help me and my family get to everything on time. I do, however, enjoy those times that planning and scheduling aren't part of my day. For example, when I'm on vacation with my family. It feels great to realize that it really doesn't matter what time it is. It doesn't matter whether we do "x" before we do "y." We can just do as we wish, when we wish. That relaxing, free feeling is something that doesn't happen easily with me. What can I say? I'm a planner, I plan.

So on the ordinary day, when plans change and we can do something different, I find it liberating to just be spontaneous. To bring back that "on vacation feel." And boy does my nine year old love it when I'm this way. I see the excitement in his eyes and the big grin on his face. Who wouldn't love to be at my house today? We're roasting over-sized marshmallows and making 'smores on a fire-pit in the middle of a weekday afternoon!

The definition of spontaneous is "of a person having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner." Just reading that feels liberating! When we are being spontaneous we are happy and relaxed. These moments are usually remembered fondly. When I think back to my childhood memories, some of my favorite ones are of those spur of the moment events. Of doing something fun and unexpected - of being spontaneous. I definitely hope my children have some of those same kind of memories.

With the more carefree days of summer upon us I hope to have the chance for more spontaneous moments. I want that vacation feel more often. I want to see my sons eyes light up with excitement. I really will try. But I will resist the urge to schedule my next spontaneous day! :)

Are you a planner like me? Is it easy for you to be spontaneous? Share with us some of the fun and relaxing things you've done in a spontaneous moment. Post your photos of those moments on our Focusing On Life flickr page. And don't forget that this month's theme is "Attraction to Abstraction." Do you have great abstract photos? Be sure to post them as well on our flickr page. Label them ATA to be considered for our INFOCUS selections this month. We can't wait to see them!

Weeds and Grasses

The other day I commented to my cute neighbors how lovely their yard was.

He paused a moment and said, "You know I have been working so hard on all the weeds that I haven't taken the time to enjoy the beauty. But people like you have been telling me how much they have enjoyed it."

Isn't that how too often our life is? Do we tend so much to the weeds that we forget to stop and see the beauty right in front of us?

I live in a sweet community that really enjoys their yards! They painstakingly plan and water and nurture until it is, just like Goldilocks says, "just right."   The common areas are very well tended.

When I was putting this post together I took a walk and realized there was a theme here.

I recall pulling and tugging  tons of grasses out of my yard when I lived in Montana. It was a weed to me...  but here in Utah, the gorgeous whispy grasses are used for texture and backgrounds to showcase the color pops in front. No longer a weed but a beauty alone or in combinations.

The lavender against the green grass is glorious!

The tall grasses almost look like spraying water.

The grasses sway with the breeze and if you pause a moment and listen,  you can hear it rustling.

 Side walks are designed with curves and twists to them.

Now this is urban planning at it's best!!

Have you been tending your garden? Or looking for your weeds?

Oh!! one last thought.  Regarding Abstraction.  Sometimes something wonderful just can happen. And while, typically this photo might have been deleted... Leigh's theme of Abstraction prompted me to save this fun one.

I think I accidentally clicked the shutter as I was driving by some trees-- fun to study huh?   :)

The Abstract Challenge

When Leigh first posted the theme for June, Attraction to Abstraction, it got me thinking. I wasn’t sure I even knew what “abstract” photography was. So I did a little research.  I found out that: 

“If you are looking to try a new form of photography, abstract photography will certainly be an enjoyable challenge and very rewarding if you master the true art.”  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_abstract_photography.

Hmmm, that sounds promising, I thought.  An “enjoyable challenge” sounded like just what I needed.  I read further in that same article and found this: 

“Some kinds of macro photography can be considered as abstract. Close-ups of flowers and other plant life will make great abstract subjects.” 
  
Well, I have been interested in macro for quite some time and flowers are one of my favorite things to shoot.  So I was excited to find out that a macro shot of a flower could be considered “abstract”.

But wasn't taking me out of my comfort zone and I was looking to challenge myself a bit more.  I read further in the same article and found this: 
  
“Abstract photography is a process of using colours and patterns combined to create an image, with no true meaning or no clear subject involved. Abstract photography is not necessarily going to mean the same thing to everyone. Abstract photography leaves more to the imagination and helps us concentrate on texture and colour rather than the whole subject.”

Okay, so it was getting a bit clearer.  Use colors and patterns and create an image with no true meaning or clear subject matter. 

But I was still asking myself, “Why would a photographer choose to create abstract images?” More research brought me to this:

"Abstract images can be very powerful. That in itself is all the justification that is needed. However, there is a second advantage. Abstract images can be created almost anywhere. What that means is that a photographer can create abstract images right at home and in the surrounding neighborhood. This is in contrast to other types of photography, such as landscape photography, where there is the cost in time and money to travel to specific locations to capture images."  http://ronbigelow.com/articles/abstract-photography/abstract-photography.html.

Now, I liked the sound of that -- finding interesting things to shoot right at home!

With a little better understanding of what “abstract” was, I walked around my house with my camera and found some pretty interesting things to shoot like the base of a birdbath in my backyard:

And a basket filled with mini-albums in my family room:

If you’re looking for more inspiration on shooting abstract photography, take a look at all the eye candy here:  40 Astounding Examples of Abstract Photography.

There is another article with lots of great information and inspirational images at  http://www.thephotoargus.com/tips/an-abstract-macro-photographers-setup/.

One thing this exercise taught me is that it is so easy to get into a rut, shooting the same things in the same way, and not challenging yourself to try something new. Thanks to Leigh’s June theme, I challenged myself, learned a lot and had a blast!

So go out and capture your version of "abstract" and share it with all of us in the Flickr pool. Don't forget to tag it with "ATA" to have it considered for In Focus.  Can't wait to see them!

Livin' Easy

Summertime ... and the livin' is easy ...

Fish are jumpin' ...

And the cotton is high ...

Deanna's post on Friday reminded me of the lyrics from George Gershwin's Summertime and I began to think (always a dangerous thing): Remember when summertime living really was easy?

I do! When I was a child, summer days and summers themselves seemed to last forever. As Harper Lee tells us in the first chapter of her classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird,

A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer.

Our days were filled with swimming holes, catching fireflies, ice cream, bicycle riding, laying in the grass watching the clouds roll by all the while imagining shapes; always outdoors no matter how hot it was for few of us had air conditioning.

Ah! Those were halcyon days!

As I look about me now, it seems that we've lost the magic of easy summertime living. Do kids these days even know how to stare at the sky and let their imaginations wander? It seems we have camps, organized sports, various lessons, travel ... every minute of the school break is scheduled with some activity. And don't forget all the electronic gizmos Linda told us about last week.

We adults are just as bad. If our kids are still home, we're frantically making sure they don't get bored, scheduling this, scheduling that, driving them hither, driving them yon. For ourselves, we struggle to cross just one more thing off our to-do list before bedtime.

... *sigh* ...

It seems Claudia was of a like mind when she wrote her latest post on her personal blog, Dipity Road, where she shared this gorgeous photo that so beautifully depicts what I've been thinking. With her permission, I'm happy to share it with you because I know you'll love it, too.

So today let's continue to muse on this topic of "summertime". My proposal is for all of us to take time to "exhale". That's right. Stop dead in your tracks. Breathe in. Breathe out. Look around. Smell the roses or whatever else is blooming near you. Lie in the grass and watch the clouds roll by. Catch some fireflies.

We photographers like to brag about capturing the beauty in our everyday lives but do we really do it? Or are we so busy on the treadmill of life that we only do a middling job? I'll be the first to confess that for the past several weeks, I've just been doing a middling job of it. So for today, at least, exhale. Look around, really look around at your world.

As for me, I'm heading out to the back porch with a good book ... as soon as it cools off.

... now hush little baby 

don't you cry ...

While you're exhaling, let your imagination run wildly abstract and conjure up some fabulous abstract photos to post on our Flickr page for our theme, Attraction to Abstraction. Be sure to label them "ATA".

INFOCUS June 17, 2012

 

Amy Dunaway's photo entitled Shadows was selected for our INFOCUS choice this week.

You can view more of Amy's work on her Flickr page.
Thank you Amy for participating with us at Focusing on Life!
 

Let's Hang

It's summertime, so let's just hang.  Ignore the list of things to do.  Ignore the piles of laundry and bills and the boxes of unfinished business, and certainly ignore the fact that so many others are rushing around getting things done.

Hang out with yourself where you are most comfortable.  Hang out with a friend.  Hang around the house if it's a rainy day.

Hang out at the library.

If you feel darkness begin to develop, surrounding you with doubts, hang in there, this too will pass.

Take your pretty necklaces out of those boxes and hang them where you can see them.

Hang bird-feeders close so you can watch all the activity. (hang in there little guy)

Hang new curtains. (Just a peek at the new bathroom)

 Hang your favorite pictures all over everywhere. (a new canvas print of my husband's hands)

And always have an angel to hang on your bedpost...

So where do you like to hang?  Let's see some of those "hang-outs" on flickr and don't forget this is "abstract" month too.  I am lovin' those abstract pics...I am so bad at abstract, you are my inspiration.

"Dreams, ideas, and plans not only are an escape, but they give me purpose, a reason to hang on."
                                                                                                                                       ~ Anonymous

Until next time.....