Photo Heart Connection - July 2014

You really can't see their faces, but their bodies tell timeless stories - mother and child, summertime, beach time, and the list goes on.

All of that and more is wrapped up for me in this photo. A little boy who truely is a beach baby, plunging into the waves, shrieking with glee. A little boy who made it his personal mission to cover up the left behind wave foam with bits of sand, and who worked timelessly to do so, no matter how many times the waves undid his efforts.

A little boy who picked up a discarded cigarette package, handed it to his mother, and said, "Trash, mommy. This doesn't belong here."

A little boy discovering the joys of digging holes and building your own personal fortress.

And, I see a connection between these two loves of my life. A mom who, realizing that her child needed more than she could give him at the moment, dug fearlessly for answers, reached out for help, and didn't stop fighting for what her son needed.

A mom, who when handed the diagnosis of autism for her boy, blinked momentarily, and then plunged back into research, programs, etc. and provided what he needed.

A mom who realizes that a label does not define her child, and a mom who will not let that label define her child.

A mom who constantly encourages her son to use his words, who will explain what is going to happen next so that her boy can cope with the changes.

Can you figure out that I am beyond proud of this young woman?

And, so I see, a connection, a telling of secrest maybe, or it could be just talking about what they are seeing...maybe the tiny fish swimming to and fro.

I see love.

I see strength.

And, I think I've captured more than beach memories here.

You can see more images and stories here.

 

Photo Heart Connection - May

It was a tough day at work, one where things just went wrong from start to finish. A headache had me locked in a vise, and I could no more get anything accomplished than most of my students. Quite simply, I needed to relax.

I grabbed my iphone and wondered what I could shoot. Everything and anything seemed to be pile on my desk. I eyed my pencils, sitting there in a favorite mug, and thought, "Why not?" At least it would get my mind off things.

I reached into my purse and grabbed my olloclip and simply began. If anyone had walked in, they would have decided that I really and truly had lost it, hunched over my desk, photographing the mess on it.

This photo makes me smile.

Most people say that it really makes them look.

It reminds me to reach for my camera.

It reminds me that there's always something to shoot.

Hop on over to Kat's blog, and take some time to peruse the magic there.

The Gift of Imperfection

Some sort of magic happens near the water; I relax into the moment and listen to waves pounding the shoreline. Gulls screech, cackle, and chuckle. Salt air teases. I'm most at home here.

April took me for a roller coaster ride; it left me a bit wobbly in the knees, but much like this shell, while I may be a bit beaten, dented, and weathered, I'm hanging in there, and I'm headed for a most welcome change.

Possiblitlies tease, and all in all, life is good indeed.

I found this shell, almost buried completely, only its point peering above the sand. I had to dig a bit...just like I had to dig deep inside me to figure out a next step. Both times, I unearthed beauty...not perfect, but still beautiful. Such is life, right?

This is my April Heart Connection...imperfect beauty tugging at my soul. Hop on over here to see more connections!

 

 

Photo Heart Connection - March 2014

 

A day so ordinary... the "kids" and grands in out back yard...digging in dirt, going for a ride on my father's riding mower. Sunshine and laughter....and several inches of snow the next day. The sheer joy on this little one's face makes me smile every time. Life is good!

Hop on over here - Kat's Photo Heart Connection for last month - and check out all the photos.

Photo Heart Connection - February 2014

Where did February go????

I almost missed the photo heart connection...almost, but not quite. I'm sliding in under the wire, so to speak.

The worst part of it? So many photos to go back and edit; I haven't seem to have had time to sit and play. I really need to get this, and so much else, back under control.

But...it was still fun to wander back through some shots. Our gypsy shoes put on many a mile last month; we never seem to lack for ideas of where to go explore.

President's day weekend found us in one of my childhood summer haunts, Rehoboth Beach. It looked a bit iffy at first; snow had blessed us with a few days off from school, and luckily, it all cleared up well enough so that we could go inhale some delicious salt air, inhale some seafood and salt water taffy, enjoy the funkiness of this wonderful little beach town, and simply enjoy ourselves.

Beach fences have always captivated me, and trying to get a shot that was a "bit different" than the norm kept me busy for quite some time over the course of several days. The winding lines, the patterns in the sand...love it all.

Of the few that I've had time to work with, this is one of my favorites. Not the best shot, not an awesome shot, but still, it makes me smile. It takes me right back into childhood and hours on the sand and in the water. Memories of my dad convincing me to take a big drink...that salt water was just the best. BLEAH!!! I think I can still taste the stuff.

I love these fences...simple, weathered, a bit wobbly, just like me. Scraggy in places, falling apart in others, but still doing their jobs. Just like me.

I need to go back and keep at it until I get the shot right. I think I've got a few keepers, but, well...it's such a good excuse to go back!

Be sure to clickety click and go explore some wondeful photos!

Photo Heart Connection - All Aboard!

Grampa: Hey, Dom, want to go see some trains?

Dom: Nope.

Grampa: Are you sure? You know...like the trains Grampa has. See?

Dom: Nope.

So, let's revert to Plan B.

Grampa heads up the steps.

Grampa: Paula, I think we should get Dom out of the house. I'd bet he'd like to see some trains.

Me: Trains? Where?

Grampa: Ellicott City.

Me: Do you think we could go there sometime when it's warm? We always seem to end up there in January.

Grampa: Well, they have an exhibit...model train set ups. I think he'd like it.

Me: Okay...

Some hours after the adventure ended, Grampa clued me in on the intial part of the conversation.

I love this picture; I snapped it with my iphone as I trailed behind these two characters.

There is a timelessness about it, a grampa and his boy.

The day froze our faces as we hustled from the parking lot to the old train station.

Dom was utterly fascinated by the wide windowsills and being able to overlook the old little town. It took some doing to get him to leave his perch and see the displays.

And then, magic occurred. He discovered there were buttons to push. He could make the trains move, the helicopter spin, the children swing, and so much more.

Train cars on site provided some great exploring.

And, as we left, we stopped at a tiny chocolate shop. Dom's expression said it all; he clearly was a kid in a candy store.

After much deliberation, he settled on a huge chocolate coveed strawberry, and he just kept grinning and saying, "Look...my very own strawberry!"

I'm sharing this with Kat's Photo Heart Connection. Somehow, last year, life got in the way, and I stopped choosing and writing about these connections. Not so long ago, Kat sent a lovely email inviting me to reconnect. Take a few minutes and visit her site; there are so many many wonderful stories and photos, just waiting to be shared.

 

Photo Heart Connection

"I don't see how anyone could ever be bored. There's a whole world out there. You just need to go be in it.".....spoken by my dad

Dad's right; there's so much to see and so much to do, and boy, is it ever so easy to whine about being bored. To whine that you need to travel to get some cool pictures; that your own "backyard" has nothing to offer.

Not true.

I spent a good deal of May finishing up a photo class - finding diagonals, taking portraits, figuring out aperature and shutter speed, the last two, in particular, being a completely foreign language to me.

So, at first, when I looked at May's photos, I thought that these really didn't come from my heart; that, instead, they came from an assignment. And, like any typical assignment, it was something I had to do versus what I wanted to do.

But, this shot jumped out at me. I love the circular bits to it, from the arc of the wheel to the tiny nuts and bolts. I loev the play of the curve against the straight lines.  I love the bold graphic look to it.

I have to laugh when I think about taking this shot on Alexandria, VA's waterfront...an area filled with folks from all over; an area teeming with life and fun. And, in the midst of it, there's this middle aged woman, cheerfully taking photos of benches, bicycle wheels, and birds, much to the amazement of some folks plopped on this benches, as they caught their breath. They just couldn't figure it out...gorgeous boats, colorful buildings and pennants, history at their feet....and this woman is taking pictures of a bike's wheel. Go figure...

Phil and I had such a good time that day - beautiful sunshine and benches that overlooked the water. Boats pulling in and out; ice cream to savor, and all of it, on my way home from work - just a 5 minute drive from school.

Dad was right; there was so much to see, and my assignment had me zeroing in on things I would have otherwise missed.

So, a curve of a wheel and some bricks captured my delight and my imagination, and I had a great deal of fun doing my homework!

Photo Heart Connection: April

April's Photo Heart Connection nearly got away from me, and I would have been sorely disappointed had it done so! And, at first, I thought, "Oh, no. I really didn't take many photos last month."

Uhm, no, not so. Not even close. I'd forgotten just how much bumming Phil and I had accomplished. We put many a mile on our gypsy shoes....what a wonderful partner in crime, I've got!

So, tons of photos, right? And, here's where a little knowledge becomes a dangerous thing. As I looked at each photo, I began overthinking it....you should have used aperature priority mode here. This one? A faster shutter speed would have equalled a crisper shot. And so on, and so on, and so on. Or, as they say in "The King & I," etc. etc. etc.!

Lack of techinical expertise aside, I love this shot. It evokes time with Phil, just the two of us. Great conversation over great food. And, I love Frederick, MD...the colors, the architecture, and an array of wonderfully unique shops. (I did some serious damage at "Metro Retro!") Best of all? There's two...not one, but two....dangerously awesome chocolate shops. I patrionized both, of course.

Clickety clickety on the button below, and go a visiting. There's some seriously cool photography to check out, but better yet, are the stories that go with the photos.

 

Photo Heart Connection: March 2013

I love this photo; it simply takes my breath away!

We weren't supposed to get any measurable snow; instead, we got a few inches. Not much, but more than the days we did get off...awaiting blizzards that never materialized.

So, while Phil scraped and cleared away the snow, I played with my wide angle lens. I wish you could have seen it - predawn means no or little light, so I kept running back up to the front door and waving at the porch light to make it go on, and then running back to get the shot before the light went back off.

Somehow, it worked! (No photoshop editing, either!)

 

Photo Heart Connection: February 2013

So many photos tugged on the heart strings this month...a trip to the beach and a new lens equaled a great deal of fun.

But, I kept coming back to this one.

Winter photos often frustrate me; there's so much brown and gray. Dark depressing colors - ugh! I need sunlight, crave it.

So, as I sat and stared at this shot, trying to figure out what drew me in, I realized that the almost golden light on the dry marsh grasses caught my eye and my heart.

And, there's a peacefulness here, one that my heart needs in the midst of papers that wait to be corrected, emails that wait to be answered, and students that wait for my attention.

This one offers a bit of solitude and peace, a time to quiet my monkey mind, and a time for me to breathe.