Thing 1 :: Thing 2 :: Thing 3

by Dotti

Thing 1

Happy Monday! Yes – it is Monday, not Wednesday. You didn’t miss two days.  And you’re in the right place – this is Focusing on Life blog. No, I am not Carol or Terri. But – there’s a very good reason why I’m here to greet you bright and early this October Monday.

It gives me great joy to announce to you this morning that Judy Salcedo is returning to the pages of FOL.  Judy collaborated with us for about three years, if memory serves, maybe more. Unfortunately, she had to take a leave of absence early last year due to job related pressures. Judy’s photography is breathtaking and she always has great tips to share so we really missed her. Not to mention that she's such a warm, friendly person.

A few weeks ago, Judy emailed Terri and me asking if she could return. She missed us, she missed the creativity and she missed you, the readers. Well. Neither Terri nor I missed a beat and said, “YES!” So today, I am beyond delighted to tell you that Judy’s return post will be this Wednesday, October 19. She’ll be sharing Wednesdays with Deanna. Please be sure to pop by on Wednesday (actually, please pop by every day!) and give her a warm and rousing, “Welcome Home!”

Thing 2

 Last week, Deanna shared A Taste of Rhode Island with her lovely post and beautiful photos. If you missed that post, please go check out the link in the previous sentence. I’ll wait.

Did you see the beautiful birds? Deanna’s bird photos are always so extraordinary but the photos she shared are particularly special. As she mentioned, we visited Kim, The Song Bird Lady, on Block Island. Not only did we all learn a lot of interesting things about her work, we all got to share in the thrill and heartwarming experience of releasing these small creatures into the wild.

It took many attempts since I don’t do a lot of video but finally I was able to get a passable slo-mo video of Terri releasing a bird. I’ve watched this several times and it always sets my heart a-flutter (pun intended) so I want to share it with you today. It’s slo-mo so be patient at the very beginning – you’ll be well rewarded.

Thing 3

You may remember that last summer, our friend Susan Licht “hosted” a #weekofdiptychs on Facebook and Instagram. It’s open to anybody, just be sure to use the hashtag #weekofdiptychs..

I wrote a post about how much I enjoyed it. It’s a great way to jumpstart your photography and to challenge yourself to think and see differently when you’re taking pictures. My personal experience is that it’s way too easy to get in a rut in a big hurry. It's also a fun way to tell a story. So I do hope you’ll join Susan and me on either/or Facebook and Instagram. In fact, I’ll be disappointed if I don’t see you there!

That’s it for today, Thing 1 :: Thing 2 :: Thing 3. Thanks so much for stopping by! We love seeing you and we love hearing from you. Comments are open.