if only they could speak...

"I know you're totally smitten with your camera
and
that you love coming here to our pond
and
that you can't find any people
to photograph
and
that the turtles are being shy
but guess what
?
I'm just not in the mood today"
*

if only for today...

breathe slowly

dance to the music from your ipod while walking down your neighborhood street
raise your face to the sun at least once
stand with your shoulders back
give a stranger anything but a dirty look
buy a bagel for the guy behind you in line
wear your most comfortable shoes even if they don't match what you're wearing
leave your watch at home and don't ask anyone what time it is
take pictures of only round things
go left instead or right
and
most of all
if the only thing you do all day is sit and read a good book
don't.feel.guilty.about.it.

I'm ready for people....

the pond creatures are not boring at all

or even scared of me anymore

and
this strange guy
was even willing to wear a little white party hat just to make me laugh
{can you see it, whatever that little thing is hiding right there behind him}
~~~~~
BUT
come on humans
~boys~girls~aunts~nephews~neighbors~men~babies~friends~
where are you
?
{I'll take a complete stranger at this point... I'm that needy}
I.WANT.TO.PHOTOGRAPH.PEOPLE.
~~~~~
i like people
with faces and expressions and hair blowing in the wind
is that too much to ask for
?
*

sometimes...

sometimes

I want to fly away into the soft blue sky for a day or two

and

come back only when I'm ready

sometimes

I want to spin around in circles fast enough to dislodge all those bad thoughts that for whatever reason

want to live in my mind

in order to make room for all the good ones trying to visit

sometimes

I want to hang upside down so I can see the world with a new set of eyes

while laughing until my stomach hurts

and

then fall to the ground and do it all over again

and

sometimes when there's a chill in the air

I just want to wrap myself up

and

sit and wonder

and

appreciate the life that I'm living

while telling myself

"you're okay"

*
{these are some of the other photos from the impromptu photo shoot I did in the park...remember the post of wanting to be six years old again...yep, that one...anyhow, recently on shutter sisters there was a discussion about "what's your style" and I hated that I didn't have one....I mean who doesn't want to have "a style" right ?

I love to shoot people, nature, houses...it doesn't really matter as I like a little bit of everything for right now...BUT it was pointed out to me by one of my most favorite people in the world that I make my photos soft in the middle and blurry around the edges and I was like...

"that's it...she's right...that's my style"

and

then I kissed my daughter and thanked her for noticing}

I know I know I know...

it's spc wednesday

and

"I GOT NOTHING"

new

~~~~~

my creativity level sank this week

even though

the comments about my photos last week

kept me floating on air for days and days

~~~

"thank you"

EVERYONE

for the kind and wonderful words you showered me with

~~~

so this week

with the self timer not on and my camera in it's bag

I went through my archives and found this picture

which I'm sure I've used before

but

completely shows an emotion I wanted to share

~~~

this is me at the beach

in my favorite spot

seaside

florida

with a cold wave washing up my back

and

I'm happy

~~

actually

more than happy

~~~~~

ecstatic~delirious~carefree~euphoric~blissful~lighthearted~overjoyed~thrilled

yep

something exactly like that

~~

so

like a handful of wild flowers

go ahead

pick one for yourself

and

have a wednesday filled with just a little bit more happiness than you had intended

*

{and yes...of course...I did a little processing/editing on my photo}

discovering my photography limitations...

sometimes when the subject in front of me

is amazingly beautiful

and

doesn't feel threatened

when I gently and slowly walk closer

while

carrying my jaw that wants to keep falling on the ground

because that's what happens to me when I'm completely in awe of something

I freeze and my heart stops

and

my ability to focus and be the photographer I want to be

gets all tangled up in just wanting to live in the moment

and

I have to take a deep breath with my shoulders back

and

breathe out and release the tightened muscles in my neck

and

try once again to bring the camera up to my face so that maybe this time I can focus with my eyes

instead of my heart

~~~~~

{these sandhill cranes literally take my breath away when I see them at the pond...in these shots I am only about 15 feet away from them and they're as tall as I am. this is the female, as the male stands still and off to the side whenever I get close, in a protective mode, and just watches me while he lets her walk around and eat}

I'll have what she's having...

she sat motionless

mesmerized by the grey rain
~~

slowly she reached out with just the tip of the pen she held in her hand

to trace the lines of the dancing drops

as they fell slowly down the window pane

and

with the music playing for her ears only

her head filled with thoughts of the future

while

her heart held tight to the memories of the past

~~~

she was feeling vulnerable for some reason

wondering why the lyrics sung by martina mcbride

"hold on tight to what you feel inside"

wouldn't leave her mind

~~

gently she reached up to touch her memory filled heart

{that just recently had started to feel like it might burst at the seams}

and

searched for any extra room that might still be there

and

when the memories confirmed they weren't going anywhere

she thought to herself

"how do we ever decide what we keep in our hearts and what we don't?"

~~~

and

that was the day she decided she was going to start being

a whole lot more picky

~~~~~

~~~~

in case you're wondering, I often wake up in the morning with words and thoughts like these pouring out of me...usually if i have a watched a movie right before bed. the other night we

watched "yes man" and even though it's not going to win any awards, it delivered a message that obviously stayed with me.