Festival of Lights . . .

I had been wanting to go to the festival of lights since Thanksgiving, but

it just seemed that there was always something going on. Well, we finally made it this past weekend,

us and about a million other people too!! ; )

And it was free . . . 

All you had to do was park in a parking lot, board a school bus, and they drove you there.

Doesn't get any better than that.

I did take my tripod, but really was only able to use it for several shots, as there were just too many

people. So, I improvised and played and had some fun!

It might have been more like a cattle drive! This was one of the many tunnels of lights we walked through.

A different view, minus all the people  . . . not sure how I got so lucky with that!

I did use my tripod for this one . . . can you see the silhouettes of all the people? I just loved the branchy reflections in the water on this one, something else I have been a bit obsessed with lately.

And another silhouette on the left....

This castle seemed to be quite the highlight, and although there was no way I was going to get them (my kids) to stand inside the castle, I managed to get just this one of them standing and looking on as a silhouette.

 Another reflection, with more silhouetted people.

Then I decided to have a little fun, in manual focus, zooming in, and out with my camera as I clicked.

The fist one is just bokeh love, and the ones below it were done in manual focus creating bokeh first and then zooming either in or out while taking the photo.

And when I got home, I painted with the light from my tree with a slow shutter speed.

On this one I made a circle and then tried to fill it in, not too bad for painting blindly. 

I have been doing a little experimenting with painting with my lens during the day as well. It sure takes some

practice to make it look intentional and not accidental as there is a fine line between purposeful blur and I had no idea what I was doing. Between how fast and how much movement I can put into it to get the look I want. I'm linking in with Kat over at Kat Eye Studio and her December Exploring With a 

Camera: The Lights of Night...come on over and join us, there's still time.

See ya there -

Love, Kim

XO

Tidings of joy . . .

Sharing with you the Glory,

the wonder,

the miracle of this Holy Season.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David

a savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Wishing you all, from my home to yours, the Merriest Christmas of all!!

Love, Kim

XO

Yes, I have been missing....

....but it's because I've been in action!

Lot's of action, but I have missed you all and I wanted to pop in and say a quick hello to all of you.

Hello!!

It seems that I'm just not as uber talented as I once was, juggling all the festivites of the season

and keeping up with my weekly posts. 

This is what I've been up to...via my instagram photos....

I finally got our tree up, but that's all and trying not to stress that that is all! ;)

It's been fairly warm here, near 80 in fact, but a couple of days in between it got chilly enough to see steam come from my favorite Christmas mug. In fact yesterday it was 79, today I woke up to the 30's...it's Texas, what can I say! haha 

One morning, taking a break, I went to the front porch and lifted the back cushion to sit down and found this very, very cold lizard. She was more than happy to let me warm her up! And it made my day!!!

I did manage to go to the sunrise, once, then to the Starbucks where I had my best EVER Salted Caramel Mocha to date. I even had to go back up to tell her, and she said, "Seriously", with a huge smile!

BUT... Starbucks only sent them a short supply of the salty goodness that gets sprinkled on top and only a few have some left. My Starbucks happiness is I'm afraid,  now going to be short lived! :(

While there at Starbucks, I sat down with my spiral notebooks and pink pencil and tried to finish something I started writing almost a year ago...I hope to share it with you in the new year! God has perfect timing, just saying!!

We drove in our pj's and looked at some Christmas lights, always my favorite!

Made some of my famous chocolate fudge.....

And then I added a layer of peanut butter fudge...yes it's awesome!!

Oh, I got a wild hair and decided to trim my standard poodle myself. I apparently didn't learn from the last time! And this, well this was only phase one, phase two happened outside. What can I say, but that my wild hair happened while I was inside, and thankfully I DO own a vacuum. Although when my daughter got home she said it looked like something bad happened on our street....it was a windy day.

I had another lizard siting (while in the middle of a project), this one between the window screen and the window. The winds that day were in the 20's to 30's and very gusty and I suppose she was protecting herself while sunning and I loved how the sun made her legs transparent. An instagram friend deemed me the "lizard lady" to which I happily accepted! 

And this is the project I was distracted from....it's taken over my entire kitchen table and there my dog waits for me to play with him.  Unfortunately for me creativity and mess go hand in hand....but I am having fun!

If you saw my small studio space, you would know why I am now at the kitchen table....hmmm, a project for the new year!

So there ya have it, that's what I've been up to, what about you?

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season.

Merry Christmas, from my home (and blog) to yours!!

AND, I have one more thing....a facebook friend posted this video of a flashmob that

will bring a smile to your face, and a warmth to your heart...I hope you enjoy it!!

Love to you,

Kim XO

Pick a number between one and ten . . .

. . . was it 7?

Ha ha, well not that it would make much difference now, but I was having a really hard time

deciding what to share with you today.

But before I get to that, I just want to say thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts on my 

Photo-heart connection on Tuesday, from the bottom of my heart!! It would seem that I am not alone.

I was having trouble deciding because I've taken a truck load of photos lately. I just can't help it I love the light this time of year, and the sunrises seem to be extra incredible, but I did go somewhere I haven't been with my camera earlier in the week. A park with trails, but I never made it to the trails once I found a small boardwalk overlooking a small protected wetland area. As I started walking I immediately spied several birds hunting in the water, and so I had to go into my stealth mode. You know the one where you pretend not to see them, while taking baby steps sideways...inching your way closer and closer, just praying you don't scare them away. And since I don't have"birding" lenses I was super excited that I had made it to the middle of this boardwalk with no one flying away.

I really could spend all day just watching these magnificent birds,

and their fishing prowess . . . 

and was definitely soaking in of all the incredible reflections! They kinda make my knees weak, you know what I mean?

It almost looks like I squished this photo (is there such a thing?), but he sure did spy something in the water and got lower and lower turning  his head almost level with the water.

And, I might have started singing . . . fly me to the moon . . . for real, and this guy seemed pretty interested and started walking closer . . .and closer . . .  

until apparently I hit a bad note......it ruffled his feathers a bit. Don't blame him, I'm not very musical,

that's my daughter's gift. But isn't he the cutest?

And before I was ready to leave, it started to sprinkle, and then it started to sprinkle a little harder.

If I had only had my umbrella in the car...if I had only known it was going to rain. I was quite enjoying the sprinkle, but the camera not so much. Santa forgot the camera raincoat last year, maybe now he'll bring it?

And even though our photo art Friday won't return until the first of the year, I couldn't resist.  I used one of Bonnie's textures but very lightly over a photo where I was experimenting with slow shutter speed to get a painterly effect. And there is a fine line between too much and not enough speed to get this right, but I'm practicing and having fun with it, because right now I'm all about breaking the rules! And I'll share more about this later.

"I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects. But I make them for myself

first and foremost - that is important."  - Jaques-Henri Lartique

Have a great weekend and until next time,

Love, Kim

XO

Sharing with This and That Thursday, Thursdays Favorite Things, Little Things Thursday, Fabulous Friday, Finding Serendipity, Favorite Foto Friday, Foto Friday

Photo-heart connection, number XI

This photo is not me . . . 

. . .  but it very well could be, and although I have no idea what she is thinking . . . I see deep thought

in the way she stands, contemplation as she stares into the distant horizon.

No, this is not me, but it may as well be.

I'm a deep thinker and I do quite like my quiet time to let my mind wander where it can or should. To

dream or just be. But for me there is a fine line between solitude and contemplation. Between feeling

peaceful and lonely.

  I've crossed over that line.  Too much thinking has made me second guess some things lately (yes, think pity party). As someone who doesn't get paid for my photography or the time it takes me to write and share my thoughts, there are days when I wonder why - why I continue to do it. But I surely don't know if at this point I could just stop either. I've thought about it - seriously thought about just walking away from the computer. Calling it done.

And here is where my truth comes in, and my insecurity. It's really about expectations, about what someone might say, or the fact that they didn't say anything at all.

But here is the thing...when I started blogging, I came here without those expectations, and for the very act

of sharing. I didn't even know what to expect. Somewhere along the line the expectation that wasn't, grew into one big expectation that by being here others would just show up and have something to say.

And then, this past week doing a Google search for what I can't remember, I came across an audio by Guy Finley, and it was as if he was speaking directly to me . . . 

He was talking about preparing for a banquet which really could be a metaphor for just about anything in

my life that I prepare for in advance. He was talking about preparing for a banquet and not having anyone show up. And isn't that always such a fear - I know it is for me - preparing for something,

taking the time and to have no one come.

And then what he said next, was like sliding down a slide with my name on it into a brick wall. He said, "The first one who celebrates the banquet is the one who prepares it." That the real preparation is the sacrifice that precedes the banquet. And he went on to say, "So the one who prepares the banquet whether or not anyone appears for it, if they have truly prepared something for the sake of the goodness of the preparation and the sacrifice involved, then such a person has lost nothing, in fact they have gained something whether or not it's attended."   

OH MY!! That completely spoke to ME!  And the more I thought about it the more I realized that it's in the process of taking photographs, of my thinking, and in my writing as well as in the sharing - that it IS in these exercises I do, that I grow as an artist, and as a person, whether or not they are seen or read.


Love, Kim
XO

{P.S.- The entire audio is a little under 7 minutes}
Sharing with Communal Global, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tones on Tuesday