A Nature Walk

'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.'  -  John Muir

Life has been crazy.  I know you can relate. 

A camera walk through my yard helps me put things back in perspective.

Sometimes I just focus on what needs to be fixed: the weeds that need to be pulled, the trees that should have been trimmed last fall, the flower beds that need cleaned out, the grass that needs to be mowed...

But when I look through my camera lens I can see beauty among the things I think need changing.  

Today I am joining Texture Tuesday and Life Thru The Lens.

My top image was created after watching a video in Kim Klassen's Test Kitchen, there are a bunch of great tutorials there.  I didn't use any textures, really.  The other images I used Kim's texture 100.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a great week!

Michelle      

                

If Not Now... When?

There are times when my head is crammed so full of worries, places to be, or lists to do; there is no room for creative whims or inspiration.  Other times when I get out of my head and into my heart, I can hear quiet whispers urging me to do this or that.  Ideas not voiced from my head, but only heard and felt from my heart.  These inspirations can be followed by excuses from my mind, reasons it wouldn’t be possible, or practical, to do ‘that’ now because of x, y or z.  After the excuses sometimes I hear another quiet whisper from my heart, ‘If not now, when?’ 

My photograph today was textured with Kim Klassen's texture 0603.  I am joining Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday, where the theme today is Black and White.  I am also joining Be Still 52, a new Kim Klassen class where Kim urges us to take a moment to be still everyday and let that stillness seep into our images.  

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great week!

Michelle

 

Dogwood Flowers

‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.’

– Vivian Greene

Before the rain started…

I had fun shooting dogwood flowers using a shallow depth of field.  The result is almost like a painting, with spots of color here and there.  

 

Some of the flowers were affected by the late spring snow and not their usual shape.  You can see the snow pictures here.  

Thursday I found the dogwood flowers looking a little droopy, and wet.  We have had our share of spring storms the last couple days, as many of you have too I'm sure.  I am not complaining, because I know in August I will be wishing for rain and cooler weather. 

I had a great visit with my parents last week.  My daughter had her Spring Band Concert last Thursday, she plays the french horn, and they did wonderful as always. One of my favorite things we did during my parents visit was play croquet.  We use to play with my grandparents, lots of great memories were remembered.  My grandparents yard was flat and mine is seriously bumpy,  so we named our game 'cross country croquet'. 

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds.  I found dogwood flowers and raindrops, a lot of raindrops.  My images were textured with the Kim Klassen textures 0603 and may.

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!

Michelle