I don’t know … I feel like I see a figure in the icicle. A drooping shoulder. A lean torso narrowing into nothingness as the sun melts its frame. Perhaps I have been reading too many fantasy novels. What do you see? 😉
Posts Tagged ‘nature photography’
a figure in ice?
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, fantasy, form, ice, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography, sun, water, winter on December 3, 2012| 4 Comments »
bringing the outside inside
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged butterflies, children, colors, creativity, imagination, Inspiration, nature, nature photography on December 3, 2012| 2 Comments »
A few days ago when my five-year old friend came to visit, she asked, “Can we go see the butterflies?” Up the spiral staircase we went to the sunlit nook where the butterflies reside. Though we have seen these fancy flyers since she was tiny (as she describes her younger self), my little friend asked in a serious voice, “Cynthia, why do you have butterflies hanging from your ceiling?”
I responded with the answer she well knows which is, “A friend gave them to me years ago. I like how the sun shines on and through their wings.”
She spun the mobile with her finger. “I like that too. It’s like having the inside outside, isn’t it?” And what else could I say except, “Yep.”
virginia leaves
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged colors, digital photography, home, Inspiration, landscape, leaves, light, nature, nature photography, Virginia on November 26, 2012| 4 Comments »
When I return to Virginia, I am always surprised in a wondrous way by the beauty of the light falling upon the landscape. It is different than the light that inspires me here in New England. At some point I must sit and write about those lights, but until then I will simply share this picture taken while visiting with family. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a good holiday.
reminiscent of snow
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged baby's breath, family, flowers, imagination, Inspiration, life, nature, nature photography, white on November 14, 2012| 7 Comments »
I have been trying to photograph a vase of baby’s breath for quite a while now. The stems were part of a larger bouquet, just filler for the fancier flowers. But as those flowers passed away, the baby’s breath remained, tall and strong though with a certain fragility.
This morning as I sat at the kitchen table thinking about the chaos in many a friend and family member’s life right now, people who are bearing the weight of so much sadness, my eyes kept falling upon the vase of baby’s breath. The light from that same sun that struck the green sage mentioned in an earlier post now fell upon fine white petals.
Against the backdrop of a window still covered in frost, the petals reminded me of fresh fallen snow with the dazzle of glistening flakes and the accompanying quiet that descends upon the land. In those moments, I always think of snow as a beautiful thing.
I once wrote a poem about white being the color of sadness. When I wrote those words years ago, that feeling was true. Today I feel differently. I don’t know what color sadness is for me today, but I know it is not white.
the source of inspiration
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, Blue Hills Reservation, colors, gold, Inspiration, landscape, Milton, nature, nature photography, outdoors, walking on November 13, 2012| 2 Comments »
like lace upon the ground
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, colors, Inspiration, landscape, leaf, Middlesex Fells, nature, nature photography on November 6, 2012| 5 Comments »
dusk reflected in the waters
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged art, beauty, colors, darkness, Inspiration, landscape, light, Middlesex Fells, nature, nature photography, reflections, trees, water on November 6, 2012| 2 Comments »
the dense blue of early evening
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged beauty, colors, Inspiration, landscape, leaves, light, Middlesex Fells, musings, nature, nature photography, trees, water on November 5, 2012| 8 Comments »
drifting down
covering the mostly naked branches of trees in the Middlesex Fells
mostly naked I say because up high leaves still bathed in the fading light
until even that light disappeared and all that remained was a transient glimmer of gold in the air
and a dusting of dark rose upon the land
warning: stormy words + few stormy images
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged anger, compassion, culture, current-events, Inspiration, nature photography, personal opinion, politics, race, society, voting on October 30, 2012| 5 Comments »
It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who wrote, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” His words have been in my head a lot this election year as has his following statement: “Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up … injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”
leaves blowing in the wind
I did not begin the morning thinking of Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. I began the day thankful after learning, via phone calls and emails, that friends and family across the storm zone were all safe and with power. But then I accidentally read a blog post. Actually I skimmed it. I had almost pressed the like button but there was some phrasing that made me pause. I slowed down and really read the words before me on the screen. That’s when the beautifully subtle racism and misogyny of the text became clear. And I became so sad and so angry.
It was like the post became a flaming match that fell upon the kindling of recent stories about the subtleties of race and voter manipulation (let alone outright voting machine tinkering) in this 2012 election, and of my own experiences with the subtle undercurrent of rising racism and class discrimination and watching good-hearted people not wanting to talk about it.
I thought of the people I’ve sat quietly beside on recent commutes home, as they’ve talked about how they like the look of Romney and Ryan and don’t like Obama’s look, and then they see me and my brown skin and look away quickly. I was not angry at them or even necessarily offended. I simply wanted to ask them, what does a “look” have to do with running a country in a chaotic world?
rain upon the window
I will never tell anyone how to vote. I will simply say to those in this country who are able to vote, please do and do so with an understanding of who and what you are voting for. Do more than a skim of the text or a superficial look. That is what I will try to remind myself anyway. Okay … tomorrow back to calming words and images. Be well.
2013 calendars: leaves, petals and winged beasts
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, Photography, Publication Updates, tagged art, butterflies and moths, calendars, colors, gifts, insects, Inspiration, landscape, nature, nature photography on October 29, 2012| 1 Comment »
Not to rush time, but I am happy to share that I have two 2013 calendars available for purchase: Leaves and Petals and Butterflies and Moths. I’ve ordered them both and am quite pleased with the quality. Even though many people keep detailed schedules on their phones these days, for those who still like to put pen to paper or just glance at a wall calendar with a peaceful image, I hope these items will be of interest for personal use or as a gift. I have one more calendar planned before year’s end and its imagery will focus on food. Stay tuned. 😉
Words + Images 