Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: The Colors Blue & White

First, many thanks to Cee for featuring my post last week – Freeways, Expressways, and Highways – among many other wonderful ones. I’m very humbled, since my expertise lies in the photography of humans from the inside out – though I have just as great an amateur passion for trying to capture the beauty I find in the world around me to share with others. So thank you for allowing me a venue for that. 🙂

Now onward to Cee’s challenge for this week, highlighting the colors white and/or blue. For this one, I thought I’d share a few my own little C’s photos that she took at her uncle’s (and now new aunt’s) wedding, using my camera. Whereas I most enjoy taking wider expanse landscapes, she most enjoys closer views of flora and fauna (often mixed with eclectic angles of life from her perspective).

She had no direction, assistance or editing help with these – she just took off with ‘camera in 10-year-old hand.’ So it was great fun for me when I later downloaded the SD card and got to see segments of the day through her eyes!

I often wonder how much more wondrous this wounded world would be –
If we too but tarried and took the time through others’ eyes to see.

Here’s to time well taken,

-jody

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Freeways, Expressways, Highways

Cee threw out another of her Photo Challenges this week, the topic being: Freeways, Expressways, Highways – in another words, roads where you can travel fast on.

She left me thinking of how very many places I’ve gotten to travel this past year, and how very different those places often were. I thought I’d put a couple of high contrast images on here as examples (contrast of places and temperatures, not necessarily photo technique).

The first was taken on my iPhone-5 (yes, I still have a 5 & would have my 4 if I hadn’t fallen on it while crossing a creek – what’s your point?)… while traveling on I-70, I believe, on my way toward Idaho Springs. It was last late July; but as we went up into those mountains on the Guanella Pass, the temperature dropped quickly from 80-something degrees to 40 degrees at the top.

Contrast that with the second image from the first of March this year in the Yei, South Sudan area (in which I dug quickly for my Nikon and stuck it against a dusted plane window around the propeller). I believe this should be the Kaya Highway down below (the large dirt road in front of the mountain range). You might also imagine the contrast in temperature, which was around 105 degrees when we flew out that day (and felt like 140 degrees on the plane), with temperatures that didn’t dip below 90 degrees even in the middle of the nights. I also don’t have to point out the contrast in the types of roadways.

As for speed…were you to see the ruts on the Kaya Highway, you would think, “that doesn’t meet Cee’s criterion of roads you can travel fast on.” True…unless you put it into perspective compared to the roads back in the gaba (the bush)…or unless you’re a UN truck on Kaya Hwy. You should see those convoys barreling down that road while waving all pedestrians, livestock, boda-bodas, and four-wheel vehicles out of their way (as if we’re not already wanting to give right of way of our own accord). “What ruts, they say? Only you, if you don’t get out of the way!” (Besides that, I was in a plane when I took this picture – okay, a puddle-jumper, to be exact – but I figure that added some extra speed when my photo was taken!)

Happy trails (and byways) to you!

-jody

Weekly Photo Challenge: Life Imitates Art

Clandestine garden meetings among young lovers has long been the stuff of which art is made – whether in an historical romance, or a drawing or painting throughout various periods in history.

Garden Gate etching found advertised on ebay

A very impressive piece of collage art by Laura at:  http://artfullymusing.blogspot.com/2014/02/secret-rendezvous-or-maybe-not-so-secret.html

Modern anime located at: http://static.zerochan.net/Livly.Garden.full.13509.jpg

My Weekly Photo Challenge response is meant to capture that same enchanted spirit – perhaps not so covert, but with double the fun.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Time

Speaking of time…I’m about to run out of it on this challenge (that was posted last Friday).

My submission for this Weekly Photo Challenge is the Tower of David at the wall of Old Jerusalem. I took this photo a few years ago on a friend’s old borrowed digital camera. I was walking quickly in the rain under my hood around the outer wall (you can see the raindrops refracted in the light in the photo) when I looked up and realized how welcoming the warm yellow light appeared cast against the natural stone and its twilight setting. I couldn’t help but wonder how this same setting would’ve looked centuries ago, with dancing flames providing that same evening light.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Vibrant

My last eclectic view of Columbia, Missouri this week, grabbed on my iPhone while turning the street corner. (No, I wasn’t the one driving.)

Hope your moments are as timelessly bright!  -Jody

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For: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/vibrant/

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Optimism

In the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge, we were challenged to reflect on Optimism.
Specifically, “How do you fuel the fires of optimism?”

The other night, as the winter day seemed particularly short and dreary, I climbed atop my bicycle in the warm indoors, attached to a trainer that allows me to travel no further than my imagination can take me this time of year. About 35 minutes into my ride, my brain became more complacent than my legs. I reached over to grab my iPhone, switched from the MapMyRide app that was faithfully ticking away with nothing more than time, likely anxious as to why it wasn’t being allowed to log a more interesting route of progress. After thumbing myself into boredom with a few other apps, I noticed a new email had popped up a few hours earlier in my special email account – the one that has, as of late, been reserved for receiving polite rejection letters on my finished novel, Rolling River. (Granted, I’m convinced there’s a steeper learning curve to writing query letters than the actual book, itself. Yet, I’m also determined to woman-up and keep at it for the sake of all my wonderful friends who continually encourage me to persist.)

Lo and behold, I had something completely unexpected and earth-shattering happen! I opened an email response to my query that began with, “Sounds intriguing!  Please send the full manuscript + synopsis as attachments to my direct email.  I look forward to reading your material.” By the second reading (the one where I realized this wasn’t just an encouraging “this isn’t quite right for me, but best wishes” response), I nearly toppled off my trainer! Seriously. I forgot I was clipped in, as I tried to climb off to greedily gobble up those delicious words again.

Let’s be clear. I understand that, as of this moment, this doesn’t mean my book will be published. But this event is still magnanimous, as I won’t ever forget the literary agent who gave me that gift of optimism. (I may surely share her name at some point in the future, but I won’t put that pressure on her today.) She will always be my first non-rejection hopeful response – the person (beyond those who already loved me) to say that my project had enough value to earn her attention. It was a mountain-top experience, to be certain!

And I surely yearn for mountain-top experiences. Admittedly, I’ve had some colder-weather ones lately; but this photo from Grandfather Mountain this past July (in near 100-degree heat) best brings the appropriate words to mind when it comes to climbing on toward your challenge:

So how have your fires of optimism been fueled lately?

Beauty in Every Season

I got together yesterday for a group hike with some high school friends. Four of us made it (plus the dog), which wasn’t a bad showing for such short notice. Of course, a few years have passed since we’ve passed one another in those hallowed high school hallways. Somewhere along the way, we entered another season in our lives. But just as all seasons come with a purpose, we should be purposeful in how we live out each one.

One day we’ll be in our winter years (if all goes well). Winter’s all too often known for its drabness, its barrenness, its lonely appearance. All too many people live their winter years out like that too, bundled away with no desire to be hit by a little fresh air. That’s part of the reason for the hiking/outdoor high school club venture – to prepare for that cold snap before it arrives – by surrounding ourselves with the warmth of friends. All that being said…

Yesterday’s fun challenge (besides being able to make the 7-mile hike – especially without getting lost, as we were exploring a couple of unknown trails on a system), was to find something beautiful to share on our winter hike. 

My hiking colleagues outdid themselves in sharing many lovely things about themselves along the way. But I thought I’d show you just a couple of the beautiful images that we captured on camera to share with others.

Lone Baby Blue Hydraulic

Lone Baby Blue Hydraulic Close-up

Forest Green Pool

Cresting Sun (with refractive woodland fairy orbs)

My most beautiful find of the day

Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle

The Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is to share twinkling lights.

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Here’s our new Christmas tree that we did simply in my favorite theme of all – Nature.
And though Nature comes equipped with her own set of twinkling lights which are much more impressive than these, I hope my tree gives a nod to my love of her gift of starry nights.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Gone but Not Forgotten

This week’s Daily Post challenge was to show something that was lost, but not forgotten.

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I can’t help but think that portraits so often provide meaning of a lost past that keeps us from forgetting the people, the period, the places, the passion of another time.

That being said, I’ve included a photo I snapped from an old digital camera that I took to the Holy Land with me.
This is the Matriarch portion of the mosaic rug in the living area of a mansion in Zippori (Sepphoris/Tzipori), in the Galilee region of Israel. I left it unedited, rather than attempting to enhance any of the faded colors from centuries of lasting wear.
Somehow, I just appreciate it more that way.

The woman in this portrait is sometimes referenced as the Mona Lisa of Galilee.
I’m sure she holds her own set of stories and secrets behind those eyes.

Yet, to tell you the truth, I’m much more intrigued with the mosaic artists who could’ve put such a tedious & long-lasting portrait together.

Photography 101: Treasure

The Daily Post asked today:

What’s your treasure? Perhaps you found a coat at the thrift store like the one your grandfather wore, or took a once-in-a-lifetime trip through the Himalaya. Maybe you treasure your children, or your cat, or a quiet space in the woods. Show us an image that represents a treasure to you.

Tip: Get close to your subject — either use the zoom function in your camera, if it has one, or physically move closer to it.

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I treasure being outdoors, especially on a crisp, fall day.

This weekend, I went hiking around the Ocoee River, where the 1996 Centennial whitewater events were held. I treasure the Ocoee River – but its levels are down for the winter. I treasure the time spent talking with a companion as I hike – but my faithful companion, my Weimaraner, could only wag his tail back. So I took a little time to treasure the details more closely than I might have otherwise done during my times there before.

I’ve always liked the bridge that crosses the Middle Ocoee section, but this is the first time I’ve ever studied the construction of its sign’s suspension. I liked my zoomed angle of the suspension cables highlighted by the signage.

A full side view of the bridge taken in early Spring.

The last time I hiked up onto the ridge that overlooks the river, I took a picture of this empty bench. On this trip, I took time to notice that it wasn’t empty at all. It was holding many people’s memories, in fact, of when they’d sat here, treasuring their time in this place.

A passing view of the seemingly empty bench, taken in early Spring.

Surely seeing the world through a different set of lenses (or sometimes just a different perspective) makes it a more interesting & lovely place.

Now there’s a thought to treasure…