Photography – Endless Rivers

Windows of Time

There are moments which mark your life. Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this, and after this… Sometimes you can feel such a moment coming.
Fallen, 1998

I’m excited about this addition to my new and totally random series called “Windows.” I have to say that finding windows that are interesting enough to photograph (and talk about) isn’t as easy as I thought. After my last post, The Clones, a fellow blogger reminded me of one of the things that is so special about street photography:

“Street photography is special to me because . . . it celebrates humanity – the photos captured are so one of a kind and can never be duplicated again because that person (or people) will never be the same they were in that moment and neither will the setting.“

That is so true, and is actually one of the reasons that I love street photography myself. Looking through a lens—or a Smartphone in this particular case—is like looking through windows of time. You have the opportunity to capture a special moment, a moment that will never happen again. That is absolutely precious, and makes me wonder if some of those people who overdo the selfies understand that concept, because they know they’ll never be in that moment again.

Anyway, I went through and selected four images that I really liked from that night, that can also be tied together, and then I forced myself to do only TWO edits. Cropping, and a black and white conversion using Nik Collection (and some mood setting with contrast and style). I’m really happy with these, and it was an exercise in self-control to not butcher them with my manipulations so that the images remain “pure and unadulterated,” if you will.

So, here are the “windows of time” that I’ve captured with a little “superhero” theme…

This next one made me laugh because these men made a point of approaching the statue to look, but they didn’t feel the need to take a selfie. I gave it a little newspaper effect because these men thought the statue was important enough to look at while most people either take a selfie and move on… or walk by without noticing it.

Lastly… this final photo captures those true superheroes that we all know and love…

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
Leo Tolstoy

That’s about all for now. I hope you enjoyed these windows of time!

Peace & love to you all…

The Clones

Life among clones would not be worth living, and a sane person will only rejoice that others have abilities that they do not share. That should be elementary.
Noam Chomsky, Chomsky on Anarchism

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Time Out

Temporarily Closed for Spiritual Maintenance.
Doesn’t that sound like a fabulous idea?!

I was getting (mentally) prepared to post about the word THERAPEUTIC for the letter “T” in my series Life: From A to Z, and I started feeling tired. My mind was exhausted of any thoughts about the alphabet, and I was compelled to work on the featured image instead—with no agenda or plan about how it might fit into my t-word.

“I need a time out,” I thought to myself.

And that’s when it hit me. “T” is for Time Out.

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Observations

The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself.
Bertrand Russell

Life: From A to Z

After working on the featured image—which is a section of a tall yucca flower that I photographed on my recent hike—I thought about the letter “O” and the word Observant.

I enjoy macro photography and working with close-ups because I love the little details in things. Most of the time, I have to get into Photoshop and “zoom and crop” in an effort to find those precious details. That’s why the word observant got me to thinking. If I could just slow down and observe those details to begin with, I’d save myself a lot of time and work. And I’d have more joy.

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Seaside Haiku

Sandy toes, bare feet,

Hearts full of wonder and dreams,

Find your rest in me.

In keeping with my thoughts on “balance,” I thought it would be good to get away from the A to Z series and do something different. The old photograph is from a day at the beach with some of my dear friends, and I’ve given it a dash of double exposure and a dreamy glow. I thought it was perfect for this seaside haiku because when your feet are in the sand… your worries seem to melt away.

Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge: Bare & Full

The Morning After

Everything seemed brand new before,

Our hearts were filled with laughter,

But time has silenced what we had,

And we’re caught in the morning after.

Honestly, I expected my “write something new every day” resolution to yield happier results. I thought and thought about this feeling that I can’t shake, and tried to come up with ideas for things that might help me snap out of it. I don’t know how it happened, but I finally had the realization that maybe I just have to acknowledge and accept how things are, not how I wish they were… or how they used to be. I started going crazy ordering Christmas presents, and then I realized that I was just trying to buy my way to happiness.

Rather than trying to force myself out of the mood I’ve been in, which feels like a very mild depression (and I have no doubt that it’s from my lack of socialization lately), I decided that it would be fun (and I use that word lightly) to try and practice acceptance. Maybe sometimes I just need to say… yeah, things are a little crappy right now. But I know that this too shall pass.

I know this post is totally out of character for me, but it’s kind of an experiment. And the word for what I feel is not really depression. The only word I can think of is “monotone.” Does that make sense? It’s like life is not full of highs and lows anymore… it’s just one flat line. Does anyone else feel like that? Just curious.

Maybe it’s that long paper I’ve been writing. The words on the screen seem to melt together and I feel like nothing is making sense and my eyes start to hurt. Fortunately, I’ll be finishing the last page tomorrow… almost done with the conclusion. Thank God.

My image is also an experiment. I took a photograph of some roses that I dried a few months ago, and they made me think of love… wilting. The composition is a little off, but I kind of like it. I’m trying to send a message… maybe to myself… that life is never perfect. But it can still be beautiful.

Anyway, that’s about all for now. Task completed. I wrote one thing today and I feel better already.

Until tomorrow…

Much love to you all!