Nature Photography

Standing Alone in a Crowd – Find the Strength: Pansies in Picture to Ponder – v5-issue 31

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 26, 2009

Click on Above Image for Information and Testimonials

Excited with the re-launching of BANANA SKY DVD, I’ve been spending a lot of time on creating the “just right” web page for Banana Sky DVD to share the stress and anxiety relief benefits from the healing music and photography that makes up this video. As I’ve been working, I have been getting a lot of great feedback and support from the ELITE FORUM members in Lynn Self-Starters Weekly Tips Forum. I am deeply appreciative.

I am also on my own DAY 8 of a minimum of one-hour of work each day before opening any email, as recommended by Kathleen Gage in the recent Niche Affiliate Marketing System Seminar I attended. This was/is, for me, one of the both challenging and rewarding tips I got out of the weekend. A flash drive with all of the presentations, including Kathleen’s from this conference, plus one earlier in the year, is available on a Flash Drive (coupon code 200aug14) for only $97 as long as the limited number of available copies last.

With my focus being so directed on the best way of sharing BANANA SKY DVD, I have not been out doing much photographing. It was therefore delightful yesterday to simply travel through folders on my computer for this issue of Picture to Ponder, doing a sit-down “discovery walk.”

Today’s photos brought a smile and a feeling of lightness and simple pleasure when I found them.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
Pansies in the Dallas (Texas) Arboretum at the end of February.

I love the colors of the two pansies in the top photo and they have such a look of elegance.

The yellow and violet-colored pansies, in the middle photo, seem to be dancing freely and joyfully. The intensity of mid-day sunlight adds to the pleasure of the experience of this photo.

As I went back to the original size when saving the latter photo, I was drawn to the center of one of the flowers and decided to focus in and crop it. Suddenly it took on a stately and commanding presence, as if wanting our attention.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
In the almost five years that I have been publishing Picture to Ponder, this is the first time I’ve featured pansies. One reason, undoubtedly, is that pansies are not quite as common here in Florida as they seemed to be in the Northeast United States, where most of my life was spent.

As pretty as they are when I paid attention to them, they somehow seemed to get “lost” in their surroundings, no one flower really standing out from another. Did the fact that they were so “common” have an impact also, or is it simply that I’ve only gotten much more active with my camera in recent years?

The point to my above comments leads into today’s Self-Reflecting Queries. Once again, I invite you to look into your life.

Are there places where there are people, or objects, that are simply a part of a broad field for you and indistinct for their own attributes? Where you’ve simply been taking them for granted as background “noise”, perhaps?

If you find any of the above fits, I invite you to step more closely into the field at which you were looking. Study the individual components. Then, is there one, or more, that now stands out and has a new presence, as the single yellow pansy in the bottom photo? Or perhaps, you’ll find a pair, as in the top photo.

As always, have fun with this.

As always, remember to have fun with this.

{ 2 comments }

Golden Sunlight Energizes Ocean and Us – Delray Beach – Picture to Ponder – v5-issue 30

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 20, 2009

My head and my body are still overflowing with the energy I experienced this past weekend at the Niche Affiliate Marketing System Seminar. Today’s photos for me are an expression of that energy. I’m choosing to share some it and if you wish to skip over this section, you’re welcome to simply jump to Today’s Photos and Queries.

During the course of three and a half days, there was a never ending stream of ideas that I, and others, can, and did during the weekend, immediately start implementing in our businesses. Beyond that, I met a couple of people who were either themselves photography experts or connected with some other photographers whom I anticipate adding to the mix I make available to you.

I also had the opportunity to interact with people face-to-face whose courses I’ve taken, books I’ve read and much more. A special blessing for me was meeting and sharing a room with Adela Rubio, whom many of you may know from her programs which I’ve shared here.

Adela and I have been “virtual”, Internet friends for over six years and this is the first time we’ve connected in the same physical space. She also gifted me with a wonderful energy session before we left. I’m sure this is adding to my general overall energy, feeling of accomplishment and focus. Thank you, Adela.

Two other extra-special people connections for me were interacting with Lynn Terry, a top Internet Affiliate Marketer who is knowledgable and generous, almost beyond belief. I’ve been participating in her Elite Forum, now accepting new members.

The other of the “extra-special two” connections was spending time with Ellen Britt whose calls I’ve been on and classes I’ve taken. The ultimate caveat for me was her response to her experience of BANANA SKY DVD and her agreeing to do a video testimonial. Awesome!

You can “meet” many of the course leaders and participants in my NAMS 2 Album I put up on FlickR. Several of the other Self-Starters Weekly Tips Elite Forum members also posted photos, if you’d care to see more – NAMS Workshop Pool.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
Three golden sunrises at Delray Beach on an October morning.

As I was briefly looking through photos yesterday, these three were the ones that jumped out, immediately resonating with me. I’m seeing them as a representation of the energy of the NAMS weekend.

The top photo is the sunlight spreading upward and outward; the middle, coming down on us all; and the bottom photo, the reflected sun on beach, landing strong and solid as the waves come in, skip over it and ride out.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
I’ve covered a wide gamut here, with a lot of words, and the photos themselves are so beautiful I invite you to scroll back up to spend another moment or two with them.

Allow the energy emanating from them to wash over you. Be open to the experience.

Should you wish to reflect and query, I invite you to ask yourself, “Where is the light and the power within me?” and, perhaps,

“Where, outside of me, do I find the light and energy that warms and sustains me?”

As always, remember to have fun with this.

BANANA SKY DVD LAUNCH

Ellen Britt lauds Banana Sky DVD:

“Everybody’s eyes were riveted on the screen. This is a very, very unusual presentation…amazing. You’ll never get tired of it.

Just looking at pictures of nature can have a calm soothing effect. For anyone who is undergoing any kind of stress/anxiety situations, this would just be a real gift.”

{ 0 comments }

Respite and Relaxation from a Banana Plant and DVD – Picture to Ponder – v5 – Issue 29

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 11, 2009

I laughed when today’s top photograph opened up. It was a spontaneous response to the humor I saw in the little “critters”. Perhaps they are applauding, or nodding congratulations to me and healing music composer and flutist, piano player, Jeannie Fitzsimmons.

Today marks the re-launch of our BANANA SKY DVD. I am hugely excited with the completion of this project that actually started three years ago, by accident, out of my passion for discovery, when I began observing, in my head and with the camera, the amazing growth of a single banana tree which has multiplied many times.

I will go into more details of the “story”, the journey after today’s SRQ’s. One of the things that most excites me right now with the publication is the design work I did for the packaging. This was a first for me and I feel like a kid in a candy store.

The photographs featured today are actually a partial embodiment of the experience of Banana Sky DVD.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
The first photograph are the bottom ends of a bunch of growing bananas on the tree. By the time you and I get the ripened, or almost ripened, bananas we purchase, these happy “critters” have shriveled and dried up.

Though I continue to refer to it as a tree, the banana plant, I discovered, is actually an herb.

I especially love the middle image, photographed after a rainstorm. It is one of the “petals” of the banana pod holding a pool of rain water. When ready, the petals gradually unfurl one-by-one, to reveal a row of infant bananas that each has been protecting.

I so love this photograph that it became the symbol for BANANA SKY DVD and I created it as the cover for the case.

The bottom photograph is a view from underneath the “tree”, as I looked up through the leaves toward the sky. The shadows are reflections of Arica palms behind the banana plant. I’ve kept this particular photo as my desktop background and used it for the disk label. It represents the peace and serenity I got from viewing the photographs.

You can see how the bottom two photos are used in the packaging by clicking on “Rotate Case” on the ORDER page or see a video preview and testimonials on the BANANA SKY DVD OVERVIEW page.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
BANANA SKY DVD holds many stories. The short one is that it started out with my taking hundreds, then probably thousands, of photographs of a banana tree that was continually amazing me in its growth and the many directions it was taking. I was particularly fascinated with large leaves and the play of lights and shadows on them.

This whole growth and documentation was happening during the time when I was experiencing a lot of upset and anger around the impact Parkinson’s disease was having on my beloved Sam and on our relationship and role reversals. The act of photographing was and is one balancing mechanism for me. Then I found a whole new dimension. When viewing the photographs as a slide show on my MacIntosh, I found a shift in my state of being and an ease of tension.

In relation to you and today’s Self-Reflecting Queries, I invite you to look into your life.

1 – Are there specific places where you are experiencing regular and, almost, automatic tension and responses? Have you found satisfying methods for creating shifts for yourself? If so, are you sharing them with others?

This is sometimes one of the most empowering methods of reinforcement for ourselves. Others will remind us of our power. For a variety of reasons, including having lost interest, I probably would have let Banana Sky drop, except for the support of my friends for whom the DVD has also made a difference. I am very grateful to them, especially for my renewed energy and excitement – that which we get to feel when we’ve gotten past hurdles.

2 – Very often in Picture to Ponder, I speak of how so many times we live in the “story” of something, rather than in the actual “being in what is.”

Today, I am inviting you to look into your life to see what the “stories” are that empower you. Are there “made-up” ones and also ones that are “real” in terms of a series of “factual” occurrences, beginning, middle, end? If you find the latter, are you using them to move you forward or can you?

As always, remember to have fun with this.

Brief Continuation of BANANA SKY DVD Story –
One of the things I’m learning about my work is that without planning, or intention, my photographs often tell a story. It may be so because I’ve always loved stories (starting as early as elementary school and radio soap opera days when I was sick and home from school).

I don’t remember the particular stories that were in the background as I was out photographing the banana tree, sometimes two to three times a day in different lighting. I do know that after the full life cycle of the first plant, I started arranging the photographs for my slide show to be representing life cycles, the plants and ours, as humans.

Once I realized the full effect of my “show”, I decided it might empower other caregivers and individuals who also needed stress relief. I contacted Jeannie Fitzsimmons whose beautiful, healing music I was familiar with. She suggested “Bamboo Ballet” as the perfect background. A variety of challenges and other distractions had Banana Sky in limbo for almost two years and we are now both very excited to have found the best way to get the DVD out to you.

One of the prime features of this DVD is that it works in any DVD player, including those for TVs. Thus those people without computer access, including those who might be bedridden or not computer literate can have benefit of the relaxing photography and music. And you, who may have “normal” tension, can have it playing in the background on your computer as you work.

Another major feature and benefit is that BANANA Sky DVD is set to run as an endless, repeating loop, offering ongoing respite for those who wish it. One person recuperating from surgery remarked, in a thank you note, that he loved sitting with his eyes closed listening to the music, seeing the imagery in front of his closed yes.

Through the end of August, Jeannie and I are offering a $4.00 savings for purchases through the end of August. Again, as I mentioned earlier, you can see a one-minute preview by going to BANANA SKY DVD or go right to the ORDER PAGE.

To peace and beauty!

{ 3 comments }

Purple Flowers Beautify a Wall

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 4, 2009

Purple Flowers in front of Wall

In my previous post I featured a photograph of a wall in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.  Here is another wall in the same neighborhood.  The difference is this one is the outside wall of a home. The attraction is the display of purple flowers enhancing it.

It’s the aliveness and brightness of the  flowers which draw our attention.  Anything the wall might say is camouflaged by the latter.  This one is bright and clean and provides a great background and contrast.  Added to the visual appeal of the whole scene is the subtle repetition of shapes in the stucco that are comparable in the leaves and flowers.

I could go on, probe, add meaning (my own) and why not simply let it be and enjoy the flowers? Sometimes the easiest and most pleasurable seems to insufficient.   For now, I WILL let it suffice.

{ 1 comment }

Looking at the Old Newly as Inspired by a Red Onion – Picture to Ponder- v5 -issue 23

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 2, 2009

In July I became enthralled with the beauty of a red onion and the process I went through in photographing and peeling away the layers over a period of approximately two weeks.

Last week I became attracted to another red onion that had been sitting in my refrigerator for so long it had started “growing”. I decided to take a few pictures of it while holding it in my hand, views both inside and outside of the house, and then put it aside on a counter. The green continued to grow and earlier this week I decided to photograph the onion again. Given it was night, I set up the black background board to block the scene behind it in my home and placed it on the under side of one of my Cafe Press pillows which I had placed on the table.

Yesterday I was moved to start cutting, then peel away a few of the layers. I got quite excited with what I was discovering and the result is well over 150 photos. I started including here one of the “peeled” ones from a few “shoots” and decided aesthetically it did not fit with the other two. Those who wish can see that one, and several others, on Red Onion 4 or wait until I decide into what direction I am going to take the next round.

If you have not seen “THE RED ONION STORY: Peeling the Layers of an Onion as Analogous to Peeling Away the Layers of Ourselves,” you can request the PDF  on ONION STORY 1.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
As I indicated above, the top two are of a red onion on a pillow. They are lit by a chandelier above and taken without the flash.

I like stateliness and the mysterious shadows in the top photo. The middle has a rhythmic flow of colors and shapes. Given the greens were a large focus in the center photo, as well as the source of the shadows in the top one, I’m also showing the cut pieces that I spontaneously placed in glass candle holder that was closeby. I love the colors here on top, as well as those showing through the translucent glass.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
When I first started what now has become an exciting project, I was not very inspired. I simply started taking a couple of photographs because the onion had been around for so long. I wanted to acknowledge it in some way and be complete with it.

Then when I got into action, my creative juices took hold. I got excited as the different components and patterns were revealed once I cut the onion in half. The skin had interesting shapes and the interior of the peeled layers had lines embedded, probably roots, in great patterns. You can see a few examples on RED ONION 4.

So, how does this all fit into queries? Following my description of where I was before my I started taking these photos, I invite you to look into your life. Are there one or more projects or activities on which you have been stalling? If so, I invite you to take one small action, perhaps even photograph something relevant to it. Then take one more action. Do not be attached to an outcome. Simply be open to noticing where a spark of enthusiasm emerges. Where will you allow that to now take you?

And, for a second set of different queries – Today’s onion was quite “old” – a few months, at least. In the process of spending time with it, dissecting, being willing to play, many things opened up. Again I invite you to look into your life.

Are there people, projects, object or relationships in your life that seem “old and tired?” If so, I invite you to spend time, look at them, see what you can open up, if anything. Do you have new choices now for being with it or them in new ways? Or is it time to release whatever you were looking at and move on? Either choice is perfect.

As always, have fun with these queries. Be sure to “play” with the first.

Another OPPORTUNITY for a creative and empowering activity –
Download a complimentary copy of Artella’s eBook, Peace by Piece: Collage Your Way to Inner Peace and Harmony! This workbook guides you through several collage projects, each one designed to bring you closer to your true self and your powerful ability for manifesting your dreams and desires. Download your copy at PEACE BY PIECE.

{ 5 comments }

Dried Apple Slice and Turnip – Longevity in Life – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5-Issue 51

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 24, 2009

Exciting News – My book PICTURES TO PONDER: Inspired Journaling is now on sale through Amazon! Open “Customer Images” on the Amazon page to see more.

Humourous Apple Face

Apple face rear

Dried Turnip Pieces

I hope that the top photograph brings the same chuckle, or laugh, to you as it does to me every time I look at it. I’m presenting it here in fun and also for the possible inquiries it generates.

All three of  TODAY’S PHOTOS are the result of explorations I did cutting both an apple and a turnip during the last Expand Your Vision teleclass series. During that time, I actually wrote, on my blog, about the turnip – a “Metaphor for Aging, As Personified By a Turnip.” Curious, I guess, as to how they would “turn out,” I kept these pieces, rather than discard them

The apple slice was lying flat on my kitchen window sill, the turnip pieces in a tiny dish. For the “portrait session”, I placed the face on a little plate stand and reversed it for the second round. It is the same slice presented in two different views.

The texture of the dried apple slice brings back memories of the Apple Dolls that were popular and the one I made during the same time period. If you have never seen an Apple Doll, AppleDolls.org, features them and shows you how to make one.

I was surprised to discover that the turnip pieces turned “rock” hard, reminiscent of the avocado pit cuttings we turned into “beads” years ago when I taught Art in an elementary school.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
The images and experiences in today’s photographs can be viewed as representational of our lives, demonstrating that transformations are multi-dimensional and can be quite long-lasting, often in unexpected ways.

What in your life, in your memory bank, has taken an unexpected turn and left you with something for which you can acknowledge yourself? Perhaps it would forward you to simply make a list of some of the memorable things in your life.

And, to complete the circle on where we started – the humor in the apple face – look around you. What can you find that will put a smile on your face? It may be require something as simple as picking something up, turning it over or “reframing” it… putting it in a different “environment”, in the same way that the apple slice became a “pedestal” piece.

As always, have fun with these queries.

OPPORTUNITIES for creative activities –
For the writers among you, or wanna-be poets, I suggest downloading the complimentary Artella eBook, Writing the Carousel: Going Full Circle in Colorful Poetry Writing! It includes a progression of exercises that will help you uncover the surprising “turns” of phrases that make poetry effective, and then come full circle by using them in bold, colorful ways.

You can download your complimentary copy at: POETRY WRITING.

I also invite you to check many of the other activities and programs available on Artella Land home page.

{ 2 comments }

Inspiring Oneself with New Vision – Cacti in Desert Botanical Gardens – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5- Issue 21

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 15, 2009

Cylindrical Cactus in Desert Botanical Gardens

Pink Cactus Flower in Desert Botanical Gardens

The other day, I scrolled through some of my photographs on my FlickR account and I fell in love with the two photos featured above. I actually took them nine months ago in the Desert Botanical Gardens in Scottsdale when I was visiting in Arizona. I recall, at the time, that I thought most of my photos were “ho-hum”, “okay”, nothing “spectacular,” thus never paid much attention to them for using in Picture to Ponder.

The only reason I posted them on FlickR was to test out and demonstrate a new, for me, no-fee uploading and editing software program that I could share with the participants in the last Through and From the Lens telecourse. This, naturally, has me think of the new June/July telecourse which is starting this Wednesday, June 17th.

I am excited by participants who have registered thus far and with the plans for it. We will be spending more time, than in the past, on relating each one’s photos to his or her life. Participants also will be developing their own self-reflecting queries, if they so wish. And, of course, all will excitedly be discovering things they’ve never before noticed.

Marifran Korb who, prior to working with me in the last course, left all the picture taking to her husband and daughter when they went on vacations. Now, after her recent trip to Ireland she proudly shared that her daughter’s photos were all long distance shots and most of hers were at closer range, focusing in on the most interesting part, for her, of each whole scene. She found herself looking at the beauty she states might have been lost without what she now calls her “new way of seeing” – the appealing angles, shapes, textures and colors that she most likely would have totally missed in the past.

Marifran states, “I now see photography as a metaphor for life. When I’m seeing with my camera the hidden beauty in the shapes, forms, colors and nooks and crannies, it has me discover things and examine my own life in greater detail.”

There is space for one or two more participants. It would thrill me if you were one of them wishing to join us on Wednesday to experience inspiring yourself and others with your new photography and theirs.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
Cacti in, as I stated above, the Desert Botancial Garden in Scottsdale. I think it’s the overall composition, the direction of the angles, the lights and shadows in the top photo that keeps calling me into it and appeals to me most. Although the upcoming Expand Your Vision is not a highly technical course, we do touch on art elements and using your camera to its best advantage.

I love the lower photo for its delicacy and its color, also the unexpectedness of its being in the cactus family. A third photo, I’m including here for fun, is one we will discuss in the first session of the course, where we look at “faces” in my photos and other places where participants discover them.

Cactus Turtle of Fist

Is it a turtle face or a fist? Note the five fingers. How many other faces do you see here?

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
I started this issue of Picture to Ponder stating that my Arizona photographs were mostly ones I pretty much ignored. In reflecting on this now, I’m realizing that probably a lot of the experience and everything associated with it was tinged with sadness for me traveling like this without Sam (my deceased husband, for those of you who are new subscribers) at my side. And, I could dwell on it, look for all kinds of explanations and that furthers nothing in “being in the present.”

Bottom line, today I am excited with the visual and visceral pleasures I am now experiencing when looking at and sharing these photographs.

I invite you to now look into your own life. Have you had any experiences recently or in the past several months, where you were disappointed, where your expectations might not have been met.

If “yes”, I invite you to revisit it or them through photographs, in conversations and/or in writing. Bring “new eyes” to the situation(s). Is anything more exciting now opening up, or available, for you?

As always have fun with this AND, my last invitation….

If anything in today’s issue resonates with you in terms of wanting to expand your own experiences, no matter what your current level is, then come play with us. Join in the fun and register for Wednesday’s Through and From the Lens EXPAND YOUR VISION telecourse.

ANOTHER PROGRAM for creativity –
For those of you who do not have a digital camera or the time does not work and you are “itching” to be creative in hands-on activities, I recommend checking out Marney Makridakas’

Make Change with Your Muse: Mixed Media Art Projects to Attract Prosperity and Change in Your Life This is “Self-paced e-course + Authentic Art Supply Kit sent to you via U.S. mail. Your first lesson can begin whenever you choose.”

I have done many courses with Marney and she is by far one of the MOST creative people I know. You can see more of her programs checking the links on her Artella Land home page.

{ 0 comments }

The Wonder of Discovery – Green Cay Sunset and Window Reflections – Picture to Ponder – v5 issue 20

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 10, 2009

Green Cay Sunset

Window Reflections

Last night was a beautiful sunset night, one which I might have even missed had I kept my head straight ahead looking at the plants and birds in Green Cay Wetlands, not lifting my head.

When I did I look up, I got totally absorbed in the WONDER of the sunset. This morning I was sitting and writing in my backyard and happened to glance over at the very high windows above the windows and screens that enclose my patio. See Rooftop and Window Reflections.

Again, there was the feeling of wonder for me, as I looked at and then photographed the wavy reflections in the plastic glass. I then started thinking about the parallels between the two experiences.

Both were ones I would have missed without my “eyes” and “being” open to them. I was reminded of the “wonder” I find in making discoveries such as these and then the joy that I and others experience when they, too, open up to the visual wonders in their worlds during and after my EXPAND YOUR VISION – Through and From the Lens telecourse.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
The top is a photo, as I stated above, of a sunset in Green Cay Wetlands, with a portion of the boardwalk and the Nature Center building leading you into the sun and reflections. As I completed my walk the sunset became even more fiery.

sunset2-fixed-cropped

The lower of the top two featured photographs is a segment of the reflections in one of the windows. Because of the slant, I separated it out from the full photo of the window and put it on a plain background. You can get the feel of what I saw initially in Windows and Rooftop.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
What is it that excites you when you look around you? Are there images and scenes you enjoy spending time with and in?

Do you remain aware of the places which give you the most sustenance, or do you need to make a list to remind yourself?

I invite you to spend some time this week looking for the new in what may seem routine and not worthy of note in your environment.

As always, have fun with this.

EXCITING PROGRAM for growth and expansion –
Before leaving for Georgia two weeks ago, I registered for the Spiritual Marketing Telesummit, that was held last week, knowing that I would be able to listen to the recordings of the calls. I was able to listen “live” to three of them and since have heard the recordings of several more.

All were high energy and, in fact, fit the theme of “Energy Shifting.” Geared toward people in business, I started finding more clarity in my soul purpose, expanded even further as I listened to those beyond the live ones.

Though the site was scheduled to come down when the calls were over, it will be up until this Friday, June 12th. Later in the year a, perhaps more costly, product package is expected to come out. In the meantime, I strongly recommend your checking out Spiritual Marketing to see if the content in the recordings will answer something for you in your life.

{ 0 comments }

Abstract Photography – Banana Leaf Cells in Picture to Ponder – vol. 5-issue 16

by Sheila Finkelstein on May 13, 2009

Cells of a cut leaf from a banana tree surrounded by other leaves and the tree trunk

TODAY’S PHOTO –
Close-up view of Portion of the Trunk of a Banana Tree, which is actually an herb.

To me, this photograph feels almost like a painting. I love the resultant abstract quality of the image.

My focus was on the cellular structure of the spot from which a dead leaf was removed. The blue colors are simply a result of the lighting. Interestingly when I went back to check what it was I photographed, I had to look for a minute or two. The cells looked so prominent here, I was surprised to see how tiny that segment was.

For a view a little further back to see it more of the cells in context with the trunk, see TRUNK.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
Once again, through the lens of the camera, I zoomed in and focused on a particular structure that intrigued me. This created a whole different identity from what the subject was. Stepping back, once again gave me the full picture.

I invite you to consider a situation in your own life, one on which you are very closely focused. Look at all the elements and then step back.

Where is the juice for you? Which view gives you more information that will empower you? What can you take from each perspective to as you powerfully move forward?

And, some of you might wish to use today’s photograph to wander through, explore and see what comes up for you in your own life.

As, always have fun with this and please do share some of your responses on the blog.

Correction on Last Week’s Issue
I identified last week’s photograph as a rock. One of our dear subscribers wrote, “That is a piece of coral – a piece of bone, not a rock.” Thank you, D.

Expand Your Seeing – Opening up to Your Best Summer Ever
Participants are having so many exciting, rewarding and “eye-opening” experiences with their cameras and the photographs they are taking that I decided to open up another four-week course in June.

Current participants, in addition to discovering new worlds for themselves are, especially enjoy seeing and sharing what other participants are doing also.

It was most gratifying for me to have one participant share at the end of Session 2, that she knew when she signed up she was very busy and she figured if she got two or three things out of the course, it would be worth it. She stated that this had already been achieved for her.

Suzanne Holman (www.FamilyAlz.com. ) wrote: “I am loving revisiting creative photography with you and the group! I was concerned about becoming involved in another class right now …and what I’ve found is that it is a wonderful dimension to add to my life right now with playing and creating.“

{ 2 comments }

Palm Tree Trunk Cells and Changing Perspectives – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5 – Issue 15

by Sheila Finkelstein on April 28, 2009

Palm tree trunk cells

Palm Tree Trunk Cells panoramaTODAY’S PHOTOS –
segment of the trunk of a Palm Tree

I am assuming that some portions of the trunk were removed, thus exposing the cells. I was so caught up in the intrigue of exploring sections of the trunk with my camera that I did not think about the cause and effect of what I was seeing.

Once viewing the photos, on my monitor I fell in love with what I saw/see as the beauty in browns contrasted with the green and a bit of the blue sky, along with the contrast and repetition in the shapes and lines.

To get “more to appreciate,” I started playing with the photograph in Photoshop Elements. Although I did not alter anything in colors or filters I did resize, rotate and flip the photo to create the panoramic image.

As I view the lower photo I notice an unplanned face in the center of the panorama. Actually it’s more like “ET.” The two horizontal prints could be flipped in the opposite direction and a whole new image be created.

THE STORY –
The content of this issue is actually verbatim, with a single question added to the Queries, for Issue 208, published at the end of the first year of Picture to Ponder.

I was going through photo archives in preparation for the Through and from the Lens COURSE and these two cells photos kept coming up for me. Given my practice of follow my instincts when it comes to photo selection here, I decided to also use them as the featured photos for today. After all, most of you were not subscribers then and, if you were, are you likely to remember these two photographs?

On the other hand I find it interesting to see how similar the queries are to what I have been putting forth, even in recent times – three and a half years later. It’s good to take note of the consistencies in our lives and be reminded of our strengths.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
Once again our photo is an example of the possibilities in looking at something – an object, thing, person or situation – from more than one point of view.

As I have in past issues of Picture to Ponder, I invite to look around you and find an item in your environment, or a space in which you are passing through, to look at from several different angles. Are you seeing anything newly?

There may also be areas in your life – relationships or other situations – in which you might spur surprising results by viewing them from more than one perspective . Keep in mind, as in the photo combinations above, there may be even more possibilities than the one you choose as your answer.

Play and have fun with this.

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →