Tag: life

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…

MEN IN BLACK

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.

WHO IS THIS MASKED MAN?

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

MOTHERS

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…

Simplicity

Simplicity boils down to two steps:
Identify the essential.
Eliminate the rest.

LEO BABAUTA

Welcome back to my series Life: From A to Z and the word Simplicity for the letter “S.” And just for the record, you have no idea how excited I am that there are only SEVEN letters left! Don’t think for a second that I’m finding it easy to write through the alphabet. But, I’m proud of myself for sticking to it. The last thing I need on the blog is another unfinished series.

Anyway, I love simplicity. I wish I was able to live simply, but I have a little too much craziness in my blood. A perfect example is my featured image. I had the word simplicity in mind today and then I took my mom to Hobby Lobby. I found a simple piece that made me think “yes… that is perfect! It is nice and simple.”

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The Patchwork Quilt

Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time.

I’m back for my series Life: From A to Z, and I’m on the word QUILT for the letter “Q.” A Pop Art painting by the Brazilian artist Lobo inspired me to try the featured image, and the idea behind it was to create a “quilt-look.”

It would look a lot more like a quilt if I would have stayed away from the drop shadows, but I was having too much fun with the dancers to leave the image flat. I’m going to try another version at some point down the road, but for now I’m happy with the end result.

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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.

Continue reading “Observations” →