The intention of today’s issue of Picture to Ponder is meant to give you a refreshing break in Nature through photographs from two recent, bright sunny days with two, presumably different, Cormorants.
Today’s Photos –
Wind open spaces in Wakodahatchee Wetlands
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I continue to be so excited with my video desk-top discovery written about earlier today in my Orchid Light and Ocean Video post that I took a picture of a Word document surround by ocean energy as I worked.
The image you see is WORD open, on top of a QuickTime video paused where I wanted it. QuickTime is staying open throughout my work day. Again, see previous post for explanation how I’m using it on my desktop. Clicking on the icon in the lower right will open it full screen.
If you would like the download of the above video for any-time respite on your own desktop, simply fill in the form below.
And, if you would like to listen to the sounds of the ocean as you work, you can open my YouTube Sunrise-Sunset Ocean videos Playlist. The videos play one after another so you can have that going in the background while you work. Any time you need a visual respite, you can simply go back to that window. For best listening, lower your computer volume.
Clicking on YouTube in the video below will bring you directly into the full Playlist.
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Though I did wish you a Happy New Year in the closing issue of Picture to Ponder for 2011, I’m moved to share the following photos and video for their light and aliveness.
Continuing the celebration, these orchids are spilling light and joy into the New Year. May it be a wondrous one, full of discovery and both old and the new that will empower you and your loved ones.
Discovering new things is one of the big passions in my life, especially exciting when they happen accidentally and totally unexpectedly. Be sure to continue reading, to see the possibility with videos.
Today’s Photos
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Walking in Green Cay past sunset today I had the sudden thought that it would be a great idea to acknowledge the year’s end with the day’s end in the place from whence so many of our Picture to Ponder photos come.
Thus I grabbed my iPhone and set the video recorder to give me the opportunity to more directly thank you and wish you a Happy, Healthy New Year.
Today’s Photos  are from sunrise, also at Green Cay Wetlands. [click to continue…]
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Today’s post carries with it the undercurrent of sadness on some losses in my life, plus a huge sense of gratitude for the opportunities and possibilities that were and are. Immediate for today’s photos and writing is what’s happening with my beloved American Orchid Society Gardens, in Delray Beach, FL. Two weeks ago, I learned that it would be closing at the end of the month. Because it has meant so much to me, and thus indirectly to you, I am dedicating today’s issue – Photos and Queries – to gratitude for its contribution to my life. [click to continue…]
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This week’s issue of Picture to Ponder is dedicated to the memory of Toshiko Takaezu, world-renowned potter, of Japanese heritage, born in Hawaii where she died in March at the age of 88.
I just learned of her passing when I Googled her name this week. Three small ceramic pots of hers that I’ve owned for many years spontaneously became the subject of my writing in two groups I’m in this week; thus the search for an update, since the last time I visited her studio.
“Renowned for her extraordinary pottery and highly respected as a teacher, Toshiko Takaezu is one of the most significant ceramic artists of the 20th century–and the 21st.” Toshiko Takaezu: Portrait of a Ceramic Artist” – http://digital.films.com/play/R2UF49, where you can see a beautiful video on her philosophy and work. On the right side of the page you will find links to clips abstracted from the 30 minute video. See some of the incredible Nature views, especially in Hawaii, that had an impact on her work.
Today’s Picture to Ponder Photos –
CONTAINER OF LIFE [click to continue…]
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This week’s Picture to Ponder’s featured photos are a result of two different experiences I had this past week. Although the photographs are not particularly beautiful. nor are the imaginary images that clear, they do represent an important message.
The thumbnail photo on the left is a piece of a live oak tree root which grew around one of the sprinkler heads in our community. The root needed cutting and, the portion close to the house, dug up. It took Issaac, one of our grounds maintenance men, over an hour to remove it. Feeling triumphant, he brought it into the office to share.
Gini, the admin assistant, somewhat attuned to my finding imagery in natural objects, [click to continue…]
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In last week’s issue of Picture to Ponder, we addressed “light and shadows.” For this week, I am once again pulled in by shadows, contrasted with bright, somewhat early, morning light.
Today’s two photographs were taken with my iPhone camera and then enhanced using various “effects” in the FX Photo Studio application. The similarity/repetition in colors in the first four hold them together in an aesthetically pleasing presentation.
In addition to which photos to use, I always have the added consideration, if grouping a few especially with different subjects, to have them work well together.
The fifth image is so bright, it does not really seem to belong. And I couldn’t resist sharing it. Clicking on the smaller photos will bring up images that are the same size as the larger ones showing below.
Today’s Picture to Ponder Photos –
Relaxing on the sun porch at my son and daughter-in-law’s home in Georgia recently, my eye was captivated by the shadows on the window shades.
(Click on thumbnail photo if you wish to experience it in a slightly larger size.) [click to continue…]
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Today’s Picture to Ponder photos certainly seem like a strange mix. At least they do on this end. I’ve been sitting on several moon photos for over a week, thinking I’d feature them in the last issue.
With a few possible queries and themes fighting each other in my head, I let it go and focused on the “light” message. Thus featured today are one of the moon photos and the glistening, sunlit golden water just past sunrise at the beach. New video clips also resulted.
To simplify this issue of Picture to Ponder, I posted the story of the moon on the blog, including the photographic processes and my discoveries. There you will see other full moon photos, including a brilliant orange one that I love, and Self-Reflecting Queries around “perfection”. See “Lessons From The Moon.“Â Then clicking on the surf photo below will take you to a video of the waves gently washing in and rolling back on the surf.
Lastly before going further, if you are one who is an Internet Marketer, or interested in being one/learning more, be sure to check out the info after the SRQs on David Perdew’s new MyNAMS Membership program.
Today’s Picture to Ponder Photos –
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A little over a week ago, I was driving home from a meeting. Glancing out to my right a large, orange colored moon grabbed my attention. After a quick discussion with myself I turned right, rather than my usual left, to find a parking spot where I could pull out my camera to “capture” the image.
Each time I stopped, the street, and other, lights restricted my vision. As a result the moon was coming out the usual “white” for me. Finally I decided to continue onto the beach in Delray Beach. After a few photos, I happily remembered my tripod was in the car, so I set it up on the sidewalk behind the bushes, choosing not to go on the dark beach alone.
It was only then that the “big” revelation came. After playing with several settings, including the night scene on my Point and Shoot Canon Power Shot SX10IS, it occurred to me to use the Flash!
Although the distance was, of course, far from the moon, it did alter everything dramatically. I got what had been eluding me on all of my attempted moon shots over the past many months or a couple of years.
All it needed was LIGHT! It was then that I recalled a moon shot I captured in August of 2009, very close to sunset. It was at the beach in Boynton Beach, FL. I much too belatedly recalled that my discovery then had been that having the light brought out the color and texture .
Using the sunset setting on my camera deepened it further and brought out, or added to, the orange. (Note – The blue in the above photo might have been a result of slight manipulation with Photoshop Elements.)
Ironically, when I started searching my photos in iPhoto, I discovered another moon photo with textures that I was very happy to catch and that was earlier this year.
This one was also taken at sunset, in February 2011. Once again, outside light was a factor in getting the kind of full moon photo I keep chasing,
Self-Reflecting Queries –
I invite you to look into your life. Is there a place, or are there places, where you keep chasing “perfection”, where something you did was not “good enough”?
And, if you find that, what is the light you can shine on it to keep the memories and reminders there for you?
Have fun and please share your experiences with perfection, moon and/or light in the COMMENTS below.
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