becoming…Nikon D750 f/2.5 1/1000s 35mm 800 ISO multiple exposure, 3*
” Receding, dwindling like a child glimpsed in a hall of mirrors – Anouk at nine, still more sunshine than shadow. Anouk at seven, Anouk at six, waddling duck-footed in her yellow wellingtons, Anouk with Pantoufle bouncing blurrily behind her, Anouk with a plume of candy floss in one small pink fist – all gone now, of course, slipping away and into line behind the ranks of future Anouks. …Marching faster and faster towards a new horizon –“**
*becoming first included in July 31, 2019 post, Dreaming Dreams.
As I spent part of the afternoon revisiting photo files in response to Tina’s invitation to share five favorite photographs, I began to ponder, “What are the variables within photographs that come together to create a place within the heart of the eyes?”
Photographs tell of silent, vague, faded memories. Photographs are of visual moments that have grasped one’s attention. Photographs share times of exploration, of travel, of life. Photographs are representations of impermanence, light and shadow, fantasy, composition, challenges, points of view, …
Even in Kyoto— hearing the cuckoo’s cry— I long for Kyoto. ~Buson
an image created in 2013 that awakens memories of 1960s
an unforgettable smilea telling of impermanence a pear
a time of light and shadow
Thank you Tina for this quiet Sunday of reflection.
Pianos About Town is a community collaborative effort that brings art and spontaneous music to a community. Donated pianos are transformed into whimsical painted pieces of art which are then placed in various outdoor locations about town…this form of interactive public art invites the creation of music as well as opportunities for photographers.
An authentic smile … arouses an authentic feeling of freshness, and I think the smile belongs only to human beings.~ Dalai Lama
If we want those smiles, we must create the reasons that make them appear. ~ Dalai Lama
I love smiles, and my wish is to see more smiles, real smiles …~ Dalai Lama
Leya has invited bloggers to “share something that made us smile, made You smile – and make the world smile with us! Old or new smiles, big or small, we welcome them all!”
Looking backward … I cannot see the ancients days. Looking forward … I cannot see ages yet to come. Only heaven and earth have remained, and will remain forever … I am alone, I grieve, I drop tears into the dust. ~Chen Tzu-ang*
Images that speak of solitary … alone … by one’s self evoke feelings of contemplative sadness.
winterwalk
Leya has extended a lens-artists challenge: setting a mood
*cited: Translator: Anonymous. The Project Gutenberg Ebook of the Jade Flute, by Various
This week’s Lens-Artists, walking the neighborhood, challenge is offered by Travels and Trifles.
During the heat of the summer, walks occurred during the early morning with its cool(er) temperatures. This time of day parking lots are mostly empty, one may greet people who rise early to walk their dogs or to begin their day in quiet contemplation. Well … there are people who are multi-tasking on these morning photo walks as they open their eyes to see life through a camera lens and begin the challenge of 10,000 steps walking to the groceries to buy Skyr and raspberries … hum. Skyr, blackberries and nuts … hum, hum. Blue berries, anyone?
As my great-granddaughter is known to have said, “It sounds like a parfait!” I read that parfait is the French word for “perfect.” Creamy vanilla skyr is the best! Hum, hum, hum!
This week’s lens-artists challenge is offer by Tina who invites us to share images/stories of habitats.
The Oxford Languages defines habitat as 1) the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism or 2) a person’s usual or preferred surroundings.
I understand the Earth to be the natural home for all the amazing diversity of life; from the Posidonia australis (the largest living organism on Earth: it is spread across 180 whopping square kilometres) to bacteria which are the smallest living organisms on earth (an average of 2 micrometres long and 0.5 micrometres thick).
But then again, the Guinness World Records recognizes the Nanoarchaeum equitans as the smallest living organism. Their habitat is a hydrothermal vent off the coast of Iceland on the Kolbeinsey Ridge by Karl Stetter.
For today, I will share these four examples of my usual or preferred surroundings, (sub-habitats of the earth?)
Imagine the dimension of time as a vertical line. Place yourself in the present on that line with the past above you and the future below you. Establish yourself in time. See all your ancestors that have come before you. The youngest generation of your ancestors is your parents. All of them are above you on this line of time. Then below you, see all your dependents, your children, your grandchildren, and all their future descendants. If you have no children, your descendants are the people you have touched in your life, and all the people they in turn influence.
In you are both your blood ancestors and your spiritual ancestors. You touch the presence of your father and mother in each cell of your body. They are truly in you, along with your grandparents and great-grandparents. Doing this, you realize their continuation. You may have thought that your ancestors no longer existed, but even scientist will say that they are present in you, in your genetic heritage, which is in every cell of your body.
Look into a plum tree. In each plum on the tree there is a pit. That pit contains the plum tree and all previous generations of plum tree. The plum pit contains an eternity of plum trees. Inside the pit is an intelligence and wisdom that knows how to become a plum tree, how to produce branches, leaves, flowers, and plums. It cannot do this on its own. It can only do this because it has received the experience and heritage of so many generations of ancestors. You are the same. ~Thich Nhat Hanh (No Death, No Fear, 137-138)
This posting was created in memory of Dustin, Bob, Elberta, Donna, Chris, Larry, Margaret, Thella, John, Clive, and Jeff who all live on within the lives of my beloved.
“Photography is all about evoking feelings and emotions. They can be hidden and obscure, or specific and obvious. They flow right on the surface of a photograph, slapping you across the face, or swim below, awaiting discovery.”~Peter Grof*
a meditative journey 
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