Focus On You

We're winding down our month of spring flowers and word art. The Focus On Life gallery has been overflowing with spring beauty. Jonquils, daffodils, or butttercups, whatever you want to call them, are one the most popular spring flowers. Did you know that they symbolize friendship? Today's image is from Patricia Margaret (teragam). These beauties do make me want to sing an ode to spring!! You can see more of Patricia Margaret's beautiful photos on her flickerstream.

Thank you to all who participated in this month's theme! Next month's theme will be revealed shortly. 

Happy Spring to you!

Focus On You

This simply gorgeous photo by PJ Scott, and the glorious quote, caught my eye immediately. What a perfect way to start our April theme of Spring and Word Art than to showcase this beautiful photo with a quote declaring that winter is dead!

You will find many more beautiful photos when you visit PJ Scott's flickr stream.

I can tell that our flickr group will be overflowing with spring and word art this month!

Lovely Little Flowers...A Study in Violets

by Kelly

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. ~Therese of Lisieux

I've got a yard full of them.

From the back yard popping up in the lawn, to the front yard growing up out of tiny crevices in our sidewalk, I've got violets growing everywhere.

These common blue violets are wildflowers, and this time of year they can be seen flowering throughout the entire eastern portion of the United States.  Although most people call them weeds, I call them darling...enchanting even.

So I decided to geek out a bit and learn a little more about these delightful little flowers. If you're interested, here are a few facts about violets:

1. Violets {Violet Sororia} are the state flower for New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
2. Before being upstaged by roses, violets were considered to be the traditional Valentine's Day flower.  They celebrate celebrate modesty, virtue, faithfulness, humility, and happiness.
3. Violets were Napoleon Bonaparte's signature flower.  He used them to cover his wife Josephine's grave when she died, then later he donned the name 'Corporal Violet' during his exile.
4. Violets have some nutritional value...the petals and stems contain high amounts of vitamin C.
5. Violets have the ability to self-pollinate by means of an underground 'flower' which can then disperse a large number of seeds.

Besides all of these interesting facts, what I particularly love about them is their lovely shade of violet (for which they are named)...a color at the end of the visible spectrum of light (somewhere between blue and purple).  In addition, I find their delicate little flowers to be so graceful in the garden.  Quiet and subtle...a sweet harbinger of spring.

And I also love the idea of wildflowers in general.  Less needy and demanding than garden perennials, violets grow and bloom and live without fanfare.  Doing their work of making seeds to ensure future generations.  Tenacious and persistent, violets endure the longest winters and harshest summers.  They are survivors.

Yes, there is room for every kind of flower in my garden.  And today I wanted to celebrate the humble violet... so grateful for its special charm.

Until next time,

Kelly

Fun With Word Art

by Dotti

Knowing my turn to pick a monthly theme was rolling around, drawing ever closer on the calendar, I searched and searched my pea brain for some inspiration. Finally I found it while trolling the FOL Instagram account and Flickr gallery. Several of our followers enjoy using word art with their photos and use it to beautiful effect. I always love those photos!

So – let’s have some fun this month, shall we?

Let’s continue our Spring celebration but this month, let’s blend it with some word art. You can use favorite quotes, one word, phrases, your own words, whatever floats your boat.

And, I might add, this would be the perfect time to search for and share some favorite fonts. I’m sure we’re all always on the hunt for new fonts. Well, in my case, I haven’t hunted for new fonts for a while, I’m in a bit of a rut. But I plan to up my game, revisit my long neglected Pinterest account where I know I have a board for fonts. And ask you, our loyal followers, to share your favorite and newfound fonts with us in the comments – all month long!

My pulse is beating just a little bit faster just thinking about a month filled with beautiful Spring images and word art. I hope yours is, too.

Oh! Your photos needn’t just be the beauty found in nature, there are many other signs of Spring that we can celebrate, too, and enhance with word art.

So how about it? Are you with me? (To all our Down Under friends: feel free to celebrate your Autumn with Word Art and post in our galleries. It will be a great juxtaposition of art!)

A little word fun . . .

by Kim

 "Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it

cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform

you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could."

- Barbara de Angelis

I spent some time over the weekend ( a ridiculous, lose all accounts of time ridiculous), having some fun with words... words of love. For this one I used a poem I wrote several years ago.

I have to admit it was a bit addictive once I got going. 

And once I started getting into the groove, all kinds of ideas just started flowing.

And then I remembered one I did last year with the word "FLY" and butterflies, that inspired this one. 

And, I've got a few more ideas I want to see if I can work out, with the help of some coffee and chocolate...of course! Both are part of my love language.

Now I need to go print some of these out, get a pen, and write a little love note on the other side. One I know will be sealed with a kiss.

Have a wonderful day!

Kim

Focus On You

Colorful, creative and oh-so-adorable!  This sweet image by Melisa Renee incorporates our monthly theme 'word art' perfectly!  From the 'Mommy's First Mate' t-shirt to the pop of the yellow water goggles... to the expression on that sweet face. Simply... priceless!

Thank you so much Melisa for sharing this image with us! To see more of her beautiful work, check out her links here:  Melisa's flickr page, Melisa's Facebook page, and her oh-so-adorable website 'Capturing Moments with a Click'

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

Focus on Phoneography

Thank you all so much for continuing to share your beautiful word art with us.  So much gorgeous inspiration in our Instagram pool!

@karenmarie63 @shan_leigh71 @fourcornersdesign 

@gabrielabout @jdoust @nikonmomma2 

@debram56 @coppercurls55 @sunnybarb 

We have another week or so with the word art theme, so let us see how you find inspiration in words.  And be sure to tag your images #focusingonlife.

Happy Sunday!

Focus on You

Doesn't this image just scream FALL? It is brought to us by Pam Scott (PJ Scott) who is a fairly recent contributor to our Flickr group but if you haven't had the chance to browse through her gallery, there is some real eye candy there and her word art this month has been inspired! You can find her at https://www.flickr.com/photos/backporchphotos/. Thanks, Pam, for sharing your beautiful images with us!

A Trip with Word Art

by Deanna

I recently took a short trip to Ohio to visit my sweeties' sisters.  I am so fortunate to be such good friends with my "in-laws".  From the very moment I met Mary Jo and Sally I loved them both dearly and that was over 50 years ago.  While there we went on several adventures, ofcourse shopping was included in the schedule but the photo op journeys were the best.  Each day I discovered new sights thru the lens of my camera and since this month we are focusing on "word art" I thought I would share a little of my adventures with the added addition of words.

The first day we enjoyed lunch where I added a new addition to my palate....pickle soup. I was a tad bit hesitant, but I gotta admit it was belly pleasing.  In fact I ordered an extra container "to go" so we could enjoy it a second time.  After lunch we walked around an historic district in Dayton called "Oregon".  It is filled with old historic homes that are being renovated and I was in heaven, a kid in a candy shop with all the sights to behold.

 
On Sunday we took a "Sunday Drive" a lost past-time in America, enjoying the trip and finding this historic barn was the cherry on the top!!

Another day we walked around (with a little shopping involved) the center of "Centerville" and I captured a little bit of Fall making her appearance along an old brick wall.

But the absolute best was finding a field of sunflowers....ahhh

We are so enjoying your additions to flickr using Word Art. We still have a couple of weeks left!! Summer is almost over, it came and went so swiftly with Fall beginning on Monday one of my favorite times of the year.

Focus on Phoneography

Words and photos . . . the perfect combination! These are but a few of the beautiful images combining word art with your photos that have been posted to the Flickr group. Keep them coming!

@coppercurls55 @cristinadallavalentina @groovygrapevine @kellykardos @saurand @anniestril

Focus On You

Thank you so much to Linda Patchwork for this lovely autumn photo and sweet surreal quote.  We're so happy you shared this with us in our Flickr group.  Love!

And for everyone else, keep sharing those images with us! We're having so much fun with this theme!

Visually Speaking

by Susan

I'm so excited about our monthly focus theme! Yeah… I picked it, so I'm a little biased. With that said, have fun with it this month.  See which words and quotes you tend to gravitate towards, whether it's adding them to an image… or capturing with your camera.  Sound like a challenge? Hope so… because with every challenge… we grow. 

We all know that a photograph can speak a thousand words, take us to another place, put a smile in our heart or bring a tear to our eye.  When we put that photo/art out into the public's eye, it is our hope that the viewer gets what we are trying to say, visually.  Sometimes though, we may need a little help. By just adding a few words or a quote, it can completely transform our image and the emotions that may come from it.

For example, the image below started off as a random handful of picked berries that I placed into a heart shape. It didn't really make-you-feel anything.  Once I added 3 simple little words, 'you are loved' my message to the viewer became clear and positive vibes went out to the universe...

Then there is the message of Ghandi… so powerful yet… so surreal.  If you could hear how the image spoke (that image below) the day I was photographing it. The tall soft grass made a gentle sound as the slight breeze moved each wispy piece from side to side.  Ghandi's quote brought this image, and what I was feeling that day, to fruition.  

Just as there are images we add words to, there are also those images that start right with word art from the get-go. The image below was a fun-filled day at the beach with my family and at the moment, all I wanted to do was hold on to this fantastic day… forever.  It's a great little pick-me-up on those not-so-great days. You know the ones I'm talking about…the shitty days… 

Yes… I said 'shitty'… and hopefully it made you chuckle.  If not… well… refer to the image above. :)

In all seriousness my friends… have fun this month with your photography! Add a few words, relay a little message and share! You may touch another's soul more than you know… 

~ play along with our monthly focus and share your images in our flickr pool! maybe you will be our next 'focus on you' this week! 

Focus on Phoneography

The first mosaic full of word art! Oh so lovely! 

Row 1- @coppercurls55 @timelesscourt @jolie_fee
Row 2- @kellykardos quotation by Ansel Adams @saurand
Row 3- @shan_leigh71 @viv_halliwell @anniestril

Thank you for sharing your pictures with us!

...

Focus on You

This photo by Michelle (three times a charm) is the perfect introduction to September and our Word Art theme. Make sure to check out her Flickr Photostream to see many more wonderful images.  Thanks so much, Michelle, for sharing it with us.

Fall Distractions

by Deanna

I think we need the distractions of Fall.  We have had a summer filled with rather grim news, the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO had a similar look to Baghdad, more threats from the Islamic States, the devastating effects of the Ebola virus in Africa.  Now combine all this with the droughts in California, the crisis on the Mexican border, the sad death of Robin Williams, the loss of faith in our elected official….so yes, a distraction is definitely needed. 

Fall brings, along with it its distractions, a sense of order that can’t be found in the non-structured schedule of summertime.  Fall brings back a more ordered life, a new season of football, a brand-new season of TV (altho some may be cancelled in the first 2 weeks) and to those with young children, a new school year.  And to us photographers glorious colors and golden light to capture. 

This age of constant breaking news, through our computers, through our smart phones,  even on large screen TV’s when I enter the bank or a restaurant surrounds us continually. A professor at Purdue University, Glenn Sparks, recently stated “The research clearly shows that when the predominant characteristic of the news flow is negative, people can really be affected by that in terms of their overall mood state. There can even be reactions that resemble post-traumatic stress symptoms when it’s really severe.”

So again I say....I think we definitely NEED the distractions of Fall.  Pull out those sweaters, bake something with pumpkin in the ingredients, revel in the cool days and even cooler evenings.  Grab that camera and capture those brilliant colors that come and go so quickly. 

This is not to say that we should forget about the problems, or that we should stop listening to breaking news, it just means we need to take a mental break from all the bad news and welcome the beautiful distractions of Fall.  

TMI? - lessons from a caterpillar

by Linda

camera settings: 100mm, f8, 1/60sec, ISO 800, processed in Lightroom using my own preset then PSE for type-"Talking to the Moon"

...

Recently, a well known business magnate and inventor did something controversial and smart. He gave away some of his patents. And it wasn't the first time. At a news conference, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla motors, said he was opening up his patents for electric car technology so others could give it a go. (I'm paraphrasing) If you don't know what a Tesla is go here, it is one sexy electric car I wouldn't mind seeing in my garage, but I digress.

Seems crazy, right? Why would someone give away something like that?

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most prolific inventors in history. He built many devices that were designed to help improve or solve everyday problems. Some of his inventions, like bifocal glasses, are well-known, while others are more obscure. Of the numerous inventions Franklin created, he did not patent a single one.

Franklin believed that "As we benefit from the inventions of others, we should be glad to share our own...freely and gladly."

For a photographer, all the settings we use on the camera to capture a shot, all the tweeks and twerks we go through as we edit could be our "secret" shhh! Our "patent" for the image we create. Yes, we do create images, from conception till final processing, our images are created by us, they come from us, they are our own ideas, the visions we see that are expressed in each photograph. So, we can't tell anyone how we did it! Or could we?

One of my guilty pleasures is perusing photos on places like flickr. When one especially catches my eye, I will go to the exif of that photo. (exif is metadata, the settings, equipment, copyright, software and more of a photograph on flickr, you have the option to include it or not) I want to know as much as I can about how that photo was created. Things like lens, aperture, shutter speed and ISO at least are what I am looking for. Sometimes the owner will post processing information in the description. I love that. I learn from all that. When exif is not available, I'm a little bummed out.

Could I go out and create the exact same image now that I possess all the relevant information?

no

Could I go out and create a similar image with all the relevant information?

maybe

Do I want to recreate exactly an image I see?

no

I have always thought that if 10 people stood together and used the same equipment, same settings, and had the same subject the resulting image would be different each time. Like my caterpillar picture above, now that you have the information, could you take that same picture? (who knew caterpillars were so smart!)

So why not share the exif data? I understand that sometimes there is personal information you don't want to share to everyone, but what is wrong with sharing the basics?

If sharing settings/processing I used helps someone else, good. Maybe sharing this information could result in someone learning something new about their camera and maybe they will create something amazing!

Do you share?

...

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
 ~Benjamin Franklin

...




Speak Easy

by Leigh

I'm so glad Susan has chosen "Word Art" as our theme for this month although words have never come easily for me.  Well…that's not exactly true.  Sometimes words came too easy…..actually too quickly….as in not thinking before I speak!  The true, authentic words are hard for me. At the beginning of the year,  I chose mindfulness as my word to focus on in 2014.  I wanted to be more mindful of how I speak to others, how I speak to myself (you know…that nagging inner voice that tells you that you're never good enough) and I wanted to be more mindful of what was around me in that present moment which means more listening and less interrupting.  It hasn't been an easy journey and it's not one that will ever come to completion, but I can feel a difference.  I notice myself really listening to what people have to say instead of being so quick to get my words in that I often interrupted people.  In turn conversations are more meaningful and my words are chosen more carefully and with more thought.  Thinking back I realize that I took words for granted.  I was so quick to spit them out that I was just grabbing what was floating on the surface.  When I dove in deep the words became more special and held more weight.  Does that even make sense?  I am inspired by my fellow FOL contributors whose words flow naturally.  I'm starting to feel like I can get there if I stay on this path of mindfulness.

A friend commented on one of my photos,

"Perfection.  Woman, you have a tremendous gift pairing images and words.  Truly."

Was she really speaking about me?  a gift with words?  Then it dawned on me.  It's not only the words you speak, but the words you choose! The only time words have come easy to me is when shooting my daily instagram photo.  Most of the time the words….or the idea of what I want to say is in my head before I even click the shutter.  It feels good to hear that the words I choose to accompany my images make people feel something.  I can't always come up with the most poetic of words myself, but I always know how an image makes me feel.  There is a strong visual and emotional connection and I search out the right words to express that.  Sometimes I need a quote….other times just a few words will suffice.  It's a balance of knowing what to say, how much to say, and when and how to say it.  I know I'll get there….I've just gotta keep on searching out those words.

From a Place of Love

by Kim

Do you see it, the love...the word "l.o.v.e." spelled out with the photos.

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." Powerful words really. Simple words. But how many times have we done what we think others want rather than what we love, and our work suffers for it.

Without hesitation and, because how something makes us feel is sometimes more important than what someone else thinks.

What I mean is, photographing something because it moves us without first considering if it's something that others will like.

I've been soaking in, slowly, a book about photography as a healing art. I know for me my subject matter has often been just as healing as the act of photographing itself. But our photography also has the power to heal others. To reflect and honor life. Our cultures, our similarities and the opportunity to learn from our differences. To connect us even through language barriers in a world that continually wants to separate.

At the end of each chapter there are some reflections in the form of questions or suggestions. Do my photographs say anything about what's going on in me? Could a stranger look at my work and discover something about who I am and what I care about? What things do I focus on when I photograph? All great questions, and never asking what is your "style", something for which I once thought would make me a great photographer if I were to have one.

But what I've come to realize is that if I'm continually growing as a person and photographer, that so called style will always be evolving. So, I'm asking myself some different questions that I hope will eventually give more meaning to what it is I see and receive through my lens, and in return how others respond.

Each of us will tell a different truth about our subject from a place of emotion and vulnerability, a place of love. And the power of that truth will be determined by our focus and attention to the details. Same subject, similar story, just a different path.

That "style" I thought I once wanted has been replaced by asking myself if a photograph was powerful enough to move someone with emotion rather than someone knowing who took it.

So I'm going to default to letting the beauty of what I love drive what I do . . . without hesitation. . .because my hope if that if it comes from a place a love, others will see and feel it to.