the great wide open

There have been times when I've got my head and heart so wrapped up in something that I lose sight of everything else. Sometimes it's work related, or I'm focusing on family matters or it can even be just the drudgery of the daily grind that  can keep me down. Whatever the case, some days feel a lot less hopeful then others.

Luckily, there always comes days when with the sun I look up, and out, and past the place I've been and I can see into the great wide open. The place where hope lives and the beauty of possibility lifts my spirits and soothes my soul. Where I am content to be where I am and also energized to move forward. Why wouldn't I be? Look at that place. It's awesome!

Of course, if everyday looked like that, then I wouldn't be nearly as impressed, or spellbound or enchanted by what I see. The contrast of the not-so-great days in comparison to days that look like this make the this so much sweeter.

My guess is you know exactly what I'm talking about. That the darkness makes way for light far more beautiful than any other light you've ever seen. That coming up for air and seeing this stretch out before you feels better than you could have ever remembered. That's the thing about hope and love and beauty. You can only experience it to it's fullest when it's been gone for a while.

As we begin this week, share a image that offers a view of the great wide open, full of possibility! Let's all soak in the goodness of today...and tomorrow.

intimacy

    

The thing I remember loving the most about my years as a portrait photographer was the ability to capture moments rarely noticed by anyone else. Moments of connection, family life, love, laughter. I made it my mission to seek out the nuances that often got overlooked; the things, that when distilled through my lens felt like magic.

Of all the wonderful things I've been privileged to witness, the ones I feel most honored to share have been the moments of intimacy. The pauses in between the expected shots. The quick glance, the exhale, the gentle touch, the subtle gesture, the contemplative expression, the comfort, the ease.

Perhaps this is why I like to get in close to my subjects. Getting in close means you have to deliberately choose only a few  details amongst the bigger picture that you want to frame in your shot.  It means you're really looking, noticing, honoring that person, that moment, that intimate view into something or someone as if somehow been allowed in to be a part of something rare and wonderful.

Today, show us your version of getting up-close and personal with your subject, whatever or whoever it may be.

fulfilled

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” - Forest E. Witcraft

One goal of our new homeschooling adventure with our youngest son was to cultivate his love of science.  Allowing him to guide the curriculum is proving to be exciting.  While working on mathematics, spelling, reading, we are also exploring microbiology, chemistry, geography, photography, roman numerals, and Latin... all chosen by him.

The result is bigger smiles, a soaring self-esteem, and an unstoppable desire to learn.  Think about how happy, content and fulfilled you would be if you had been able to pursue passions meaningful to you.

What would you choose to learn?

Pick me up

I've had a rough couple of days. You know the ones. Where everything goes wrong and there's not enough time and you just don't handle things well. Where you lose your cool and let everything get the best of you. The days when you just look forward to bed. I know we've all been there but somehow it doesn't make it any less disheartening.

I was wallowing around, groaning and grumbling about what was probably nothing discernable to anyone, while my husband opened a package that came in the mail. As he pulled out a bundled wad of newspaper about the size of a grapefruit, he slowly uncovered a small box made of polished metal and shiny black plastic.

"I got this for you because...because...you're having a bad day", he said soft and kind with his gentle smile and extended his offering to me.

I went from miserable to grateful in an instant. As I studied the pristine vintage Kodak Brownie Reflex 20, I marveled and smiled back. Totally speechless.

"And look, " he continued, as he lifted the lid that covered the large viewfinder at the top, "it's just like you wanted."

Indeed. There is was, a viewfinder that framed the beautiful world outside of my muddled head; saturated color, bold shapes, bright light and clarity. Like a child, I began to squeal with delight and so began the instantaneous shift from pity party to creative celebration.

Playing with my new toy for about an hour pulled me out of my mood. Not for good unfortunately, for I do believe that hormones will have the best of me for a few more days, but certainly for long enough to be reminded that sometimes a kind gesture, a simple spark, a tiny new way to see the world is all it takes to shine light on the darkest places.

Tell me, when was the last time you had a shift like this, from blue to blush? Was it something someone said? What it using your own camera to mine out the gems of your life? Share with us they way you've experienced your own kind of "pick me up".

Image of me holding my new muse (above) courtesy of my 8 year old daughter via my iphone.

Vantage Point

"If the photographer could not move his subject, he could move his camera. To see the subject clearly--often to see it at all--he had to abandon normal vantage point, and shoot his picture from above, or below, or from too close, or too far away, or from the back side, inverting the order of things' importance, or with the nominal subject of his picture half hidden. from his photographs, he learned that the appearance of the world was richer and less simple than his mind would have guessed. He discovered that his pictures could reveal not only the clarity but the obscurity of things, and that these mysterious and evasive images could also, in their own terms, seem ordered and meaningful." 

-- from 'The Photographer's Eye' by John Szarkowski

If photography has taught me anything at all, it's that unexpected angles often tell the most spectacular stories. Tell me, when was the last time you were forced to switch up your vantage point? Please do share an image or a story with us today.