sky

(the view from my living room window. 4 different nights.)

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." Ralph Waldo Emerson

 It does not make a funny face, or run away and hide from you when you grab your camera.

It comes in many colors and textures.

It is ever changing, yet constant in your day.

It is universal.

It wants you to look up and notice.

So today, look up.

Share your sky.  Our sky.

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Don't forget to add your images here and in our OWP pool on Flickr. Or play along in our Instagram feed, hashtag #sselevate. Happy shooting!

sunrise sunset

Sifting and sorting through the many images of starts and stops of each day, I was delighted and inspired by how much beauty the sunrise and the sunset offer. But for me, the start of the day that most touches my deepest soul are the sunrises that begin when I see pictures like this one. It's my own personal view of sunrise and it's as refreshing as seeing the first light peek over the highest mountain top.

But, of all the photos taken, of all the various subjects and times of day, my guess is that sunset must be the most photographed experienced to date. I have a feeling the inspiration that will come from the images we share today will be awe-inspiring, whether they are of sunrise or of sunset or both.

Share with us the very start to a day or the very stop...the time when nothing else matters but beauty and all the possibility a heart can hold.

something orange

Hanging in the warm summer sky over an Orange County landscape is the inimitable Orange Balloon of The Great Park. Approaching the large metropolitan park, formerly a Marine Corps Air Station, the balloon is one of the most surreal sights I have ever seen. No matter how many times I visit, I am still delighted by the beauty, enormity, and color of this curious work of whimsical art.

As we continue with our month of elevating the everyday, share with us today a pop of orange that stimulates your senses! Tag your images #sselevate and play along with us.

And because this image is taking the theme of elevate to a whole new level (literally), why not give away another copy of the book Elevate the Everyday. Leave a comment here between now and midnight on Sunday for your chance to win a copy. Marilyn won the last copy. Maybe you'll be next!

weekending by marina sorr

Marina_sorr lives as much as possible outdoors during weekends, enjoying nature. When she doesn't manage to get away from the city where she lives, she can be often found in its parks, capturing images that make her smile and relaxing under trees in bloom.

She shares her images on flickr as mar_s,and on instagram as @marina_sorr.

Where are you spending your time this weekend?

Share your weekeneding images today and if you want a chance to be featured here, email us! 

Accidental Tourist

 

As photographers we often find ourselves looking through our lenses like tourists, seeing the world around us with fresh eyes, documenting everything that’s new. Even what we’re familiar with can be captured through a new perspective, a different angle, a renewed way of discovering it.

And when we are actually tourists—experiencing something for the first time to us—it can also seem like we are children again; bright-eyed, curious, excited about new sights and sounds, people and landscapes.

There is nothing better than taking in all the wonder of our surroundings. Of seeing things from a different perspective. Exploring either the new or the old through a lens that appreciates it all. And having the tools to take what we see and create something brand new with it. To tell the stories that beg to be told. A moment in time that somehow, no one else has seen.  An angle that surprises even us and offers a whole new way of thinking. A landscape that feels as foreign as the moon and yet somehow as familiar as our own backyard. A person, who seemingly comes out of nowhere begging to be noticed, recognized, seen, recorded.

I am here. Can you see me? Do you know what I stand for?  the monument pleads.

I am here. Can you see me? Will you help me to tell my story? the man begs of me through his gesture (a peace sign).

I am reminded time and again of what an incredibly important job we have. It is through our eyes, through our lenses that stories—of us and of the world—are told.

Do show us today what stories you been asked to tell.