Pink End of the Day

A walk round a lake and the sun set and this was
the residual colour in the sky.

12-12-12 Make a Wish

An interesting date.
Some one said today is the day that the world ends. Well not for me.
Some one said that this date is a wishing day.
I am going with the wishes.

I wish to work less at my job and get a change in direction, live closer to the land and enjoy being alive, rather than being a slave to work, more or less for works sake.
I wish to make a living through creativity, photos, crafts, or something similar. Not a huge wage but some spending money. Friends are having a party in Vancouver, can I go? no! No time, I have to work, and I have little money.
I wish for the creative job that would give me time and finance me to go and take photos of so many places in the world I wish to visit. Not sure I want to go to the Arctic or Antarctic, but all other continents have places I would love to visit.
I wish I would give myself permission to take control of my life. I should not worry so much about what others will think of me.
I wish I could work on this blog on a more regular basis, every other day would be fabulous, once a month would be an improvement. How do people blog daily? When do they find the time?
I have signed up for Kim Klassen's Beyond Beyond, I am hoping that I can take the classes next year as I missed so many this year.
I wish that I could read and do each of Kim's Beyond classes, and I wish that when she does her blog class again, I can afford to take it and actually complete it.
I wish for more money, I would love to win the lottery and pay off so many of my friends mortgages, however, as I do not buy lottery tickets this seems a frivolous wish.
My biggest wish is that my family, friends and those around me stay healthy and that the grey negative cloud that has been over our area for a while gets blown out to sea and lost.
I wish for happiness and health for us all.
I wish my wishes come true and that I remember to count my blessings.

Do you think????

Kim's class lasts for a year,

there are 52 weeks in a year, 

so DO YOU THINK ....

that once a week I could 

sign in and do one of her projects

sign on here and make a post?

Apparently NOT!

So here is a pic and a sweet thought.

I love taking photos

    they are supposed to be a way of slowing me down,

looking at nature and taking time.

A New Years resolution that is still on the back burner.

where

Have you ever said something and then realised that God was listening and then whatever you said happens to you?
Seems like God listens to my not too brilliant words often and
THEN
I really commiserate with the person who said/wrote them.
Some time ago Kim said that she had dropped several of the online classes she had signed up for and I thought "she is batty, she paid good money for those and then just dropped them!"
well guess what
I am now so far behind in my classes with Kim that trying to even think about catching up seems like an insurmountable task and I am regretting my words about Kim dropping classes.
I have been every bit as busy as I knew I would be for April, problem is we are now in May and I am not even beginning to catch up.
Well a little pat on the back for me I am doing this blog!!!
Do I have a recent photo for it? no!
Just an old one that I am still messing about with, I did try the RadLab and got hooked so have used a bit of it on this photo.

Push

In our Beyond Layers class Kim has been gently pushing us to explore
our world
ourselves
our abilities.


Today she is pushing, again about ourselves, 
but
like Kim I have an extremely hard time with this.....
taking photos of myself; 
that is why I hold the camera!


I believe we have our idea of beauty so distorted by the fronts of magazines with those gorgeous girls, and although we know those photos have photoshop help, still the idea of not being up to snuff persists for me.


Many years ago there was a British television programme called Butterflies, in one episode the lady was sitting on a park bench and saw a lovely young girl pass by, the older lady reasoned that her own face bore the wrinkles of a longer life with many laughs, the lines from child bearing and the wear on her body from experiences, laughing, loving and living. 
My face and body tell the tales of life experiences, laughing, loving and living.  
I need to accept this as seen from the mirrors reflection. 


Photo, not of me, 
another using Radlab, I love the pictures I can make with them.

Oh this is amazing

In Kim's class she refers to a site called RadLab.
Wow do they have the most amazing stylets, almost like actions, but not!
They have a free down load trial, they are smart because once you have tried this you are hooked!

Here is one of my early tries, not mind blowing but so easy to create.

What Do You Say?

I have 2 friends who are suffering and ask myself, 


What Do You Say? 

One has a very predictable journey with and end in plain sight, 
one has turmoil and we hope and pray that no one comes to harm as a result.


What Do You Say to the husbands who are dealing with this?


What do you say to your friends?

Reba 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPx1HT9pqos

Beautiful B&W

The class was asked to make a Black & White picture.
I do not think in black and white and found this rather difficult.

Using the layers helped tremendously as I was able to keep going back and upping the contrast which my photo seemed to be lacking once the colour was removed and it converted to black & white.
However, I am so pleased with the result.

You would not know it was a pale pink tulip before the process but the result is wonderful (I think so anyway).

                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                    Another 'Thank You' to Kim.

Thoughts on Fear

The fear of what might happen next and the possibility that things might be in some way able to get even worse are close to paralyzing.
You hear about people who go through something and you wonder how they do it
then
it happens to you!

You realise that the passing of time happens in what appear to be two separate realms,
some things whizz past so quickly and others take on a slow motion persona of their own.

The saying 'One Day At A Time' becomes your mantra and at times one agonising minute is followed by the next minute seemingly stalking up behind the last in slow motion.

You know it will end,
but
will it end the way you yearn for?

Kim asked us to write 10 truths about ourselves, mine seemed rather small and I knew that it would be good to put a photo in with the post, so........
I put my 10 truths on the petals of a white camellia flower I recently took a photo of.
The outcome is not as brilliant as I would have liked but it gives you the idea.

What light from Yonder window.....

Am getting further and further behind in my assignments for Kim's Beyond Layers Class.
One, that I have yet to get done was to find a space and make it into a mini light studio.
You need a table and a backboard or two and your camera. Plus the light you have taken days to find.

I have found the best light in the house, it is in the bathroom, and it really can be quite perfect with the light diffused through the bathroom glass.
Here is the tricky (impossible) bit.
I worked out where I could sit on the edge of the bath to get the correct light, good thus far.
However, next comes the table to place our items to be photographed on, do you think I can get even a mini table in the bath and sit near it to take a photo? Not likely.
Add to this the 3rd item which is back boards in white or cream to bounce the light off, ( I hope you are getting a mental picture of all this).
Juggling boards, table camera and item,
No, it just will not work.

"What light from yonder window falls?"

Good Deeds

No good deed goes unnoticed!

The universe sings with these moments.

I am in the middle of my list of things that make me happy.
Then I decided to write a note to Kim who is running this course which I am way behind on but oh well.

I would just like you to know that although I am WAY behind in the projects that you have given us, 
somewhere you mentioned...
HAVE FUN with this
and I am.
I refuse to beat myself up about being behind with the lessons,
I am still learning lots
and
chances are you will run this again and I can sign up again, 
(even if I was up to date it is doubtful that I would remember everything anyway).
Maybe you could give us work on the word 'freedom' I am so enjoying the freedom that I have granted myself NOT to get upset about being behind, it is quite divine.
Back to my list 
Happiness is life 
and living it the way I choose.
(Just so that I do not sound too awful, I am kind to others, do drive more or less at the speed limit and pay taxes.)

The Wise Owl

Went for a walk at sunset, and there calmly sitting up in a tree was this owl.
Sadly the light was not good and he was high up,
however, I still think he looks splendid.

A little bit of daily wisdom.
Bloom where you are planted. 

As ever it is up to us to bloom where we are, and not wait for someone or something else to determine how we show ourselves.


And I do love hollyhocks.

A Little Dreaming.

Just a little dreaming.

A Photo Dissected

Still not gone and taken a series of photos for a storyboard, this is a dissection of one photo that sort of worked for the format.

Misplaced Enthusiasm

You know those 'tests' that have a series of instructions that you read and then at the end the final instruction is to ignore all the other instructions because they want you to read the whole test first?
Well I just failed Kim's Storyboard Template class,
BUT
I HAD SO MUCH FUN!
Here is my 'work' I realised I was supposed to have 6 different pictures, but I rather liked this montage.
I pulled the template over my photo then cut a rectangle and pasted it on the original and returned for the next piece of my puzzle.

I LOVE the work of my classmates, again I am drawn to the more delicate and pastel images.

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly. "One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." 
Hans Christian Andersen

The Giving Gift.

The Giving Gift is a container, box, jar whatever you want; containing little 'inspirations' written on paper.
Mine came for Christmas and I am hoping that I can get to this blog daily, or at least twice a week, to let you know what my randomly pulled 'words of wisdom' or 'inspiring quote' for the day is.
Todays is
Be Kind
Be Fair
Be Honest
Be True
and all of these things will come back to you.

Now to find a photo from today where I tried to 'shoot into the light' per Kim's inspirational 'homework'.

A camelia, soft and delicate with Kim's  123 texture, I pulled the texture down so the 123 were not visible as I felt they detracted from my 'words of wisdom' quote.

Vision and Blur.

We have our homework, it is in more than one stage.
First find an item to photograph,
(for me finding that item is proving a little difficult).
Second, place the item with lots of space round it
oh did I mention that calm uncluttered photos are a really good idea?
we also had a mini information on lenses, I think if if listen well I could get my head round the information, however, I think it might end up costing as my desire will be for a lens!
Third is the photoshop part.

I am learning that I am really drawn to the photos in the Flickr group that are faded, or appear to be, the ones that are almost monotoned. My pictures tend not to be calm so a big learning curve.
Yay, that is what I signed up for,
to learn.

Not at all sure I succeeded with the vision and blur, however, there is always tomorrow.

6 Word Story.

Kim Klassen's second challenge (homework) is to write a story in 6 words. 
I had heard of groups doing this over the years and often drive thinking up new ones, they are indeed very inspiring as you use words with such meaning to create this mini story.
I have my 'story' however I now see that my classmates have used these words to create a visual accompaniment to their 6 meaningful words......
so now I need to find an appropriate visual reference, well that is the plan!

Feather Light.

Looked at lots of my classmates work and came to the conclusion that I REALLY like the  pictures that are almost monotoned.

So found my little feather and made her a musical place to rest.

Evolving.


I came here to post my pretty darn boring photo that I 'created' for the class Beyond Layers, with the theme less is more and light being the strand.


I went for the theme of simple, and my photo is so simple I came up with 
Keeping 
It 
So 
Simple 
(to the point it is almost boring) and my work is done!
wonder how I post a photo??

NOW
I find wonderful people read and commented on my blog, I feel so special and euphoric 
AND 
light as a feather !!!!
SO .....
now, I am off to find a feather 
photograph that and post it.


Not sure where I will find a feather, 
probably in a pillow which will mean I will feel that I need  to wash the pillow cases 
and .......
when I wash the pillow cases I may find I need to wash all the bedding.

52 Weeks. Ist Post.

Deciding to leave my comfort zone of point, click, panic; I signed up for Kim's class that is Beyond Layers.
Using the winter break I decided to get ahead of the game, HA!

First I created a Flickr page ready for 52 photos!
Feeling very enthusiastic and pleased with myself, camera in hand, computer primed, I was ready for Kim's first lesson!
With baited breath....
came the ...
HOMEWORK
"Write your creative story".
Oh!
Ummm....
Errr....

Typing is not my thing.

I looked at some of my classmates blogs.
WOW these are great, some have masses of colour, some are fine tuned with shades of the same colour, some have fabulous photos illustrating them; all tell tales of their owners, some to make your heart just break, some to make you smile, some so inspiring I wonder if I am in the right classroom, all are beautiful and a visual joy to just mull over.

So, I created a blog to post this 'story' on.
How do I make mine as exotic as theirs?
Where are the magic buttons to add the super colours.
Where do I add photos?
How?
Where?
What?
Why do I feel so inadequate?

Now I have my creative story,
I always want to change things, somehow the sweater I bought needs a few buttons added for individuality, the blouse a brooch to enliven it.
I think I always want more.  Something quirky to make it mine.
Not sure if that is creative or just fussy.

I love colour and texture. I love texture and colour. 
I LOVE LIFE. 
I love colours, how they can make me feel and change my attitude. I love the colours of pens, papers, inks, threads, fabrics, buttons, beach scenes, snow scenes, a field of sheep in a spring green field, ripe wheat against a cloudless blue summer sky, water reflecting the sky, oh and I love clouds. 
I love textures and how one colour in a multitude of textures can 'feel' even on a flat piece of paper, the way fence panels are all the same but different, the patterns made by leaves, or branches against the sky or clouds with no substance but so much form. 

Anyway, I now have ....
a Flickr page, (a few photos as I thought I might try to go for 2 photos a week, how people do one a day is beyond me)
a blog page, (verbally boring and visually uninspiring although it maybe).
So I guess I have learned a lot already!