Life seeking life . . .

I have at times called myself a finder of things and a seeker of light. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm finding things or if they are finding me, or maybe it's because on some days I have just enough courage to show up and we somehow meet in the middle.

The truth is, I don't always... have the courage to show up, that is. Sometimes showing up is just plain hard.

And about that light, it's not so much what comes from the rays of the sun or that golden hour, but what comes from His light. What I'm seeking is that light in all things. That deep spiritual connection that illuminates the path that on occassion can feel like it's traveled in the darkness.

This summer I feel like I lost my way a bit. The path just didn't feel as illuminated, not because the light wasn't there, because His always is....but because even though I looked I just couldn't see through the noise. My focus was off and my depth of field was too narrow.

I felt helpless.

I felt quiet.

I felt a little angry.

I felt a little sad.

I felt a little numb.

I was distracted.

As I mentioned in June, my sweet boy ended up in the hospital due to an abscess from a staff infection on his face. IV antibiotics and a plastic surgeon to drain it. But all that inflammation, well, it doesn't go away overnight and neither does the scarring. And after this last year and a half with his diagnosis of a rare form of juvenile arthritis, a heart scare, a bone marrow biopsy, a rare leg bleed and this . . . it's just a lot for a parent to process let alone a 17 year old.

We got home he didn't go anywhere this summer...I mean anywhere!

Not out with us,
not with friends,
not to strength and conditioning,
not to get his hair cut,
no where.

It's so very hard to watch your child try to navigate a chronic illness let alone the territory of being a teenager. It's so very hard as a mom, a parent, even if I'm not a control freak to not be able to make it better.

Yeah, that realization that I. can't. make. it. better.

Suddenly I found myself not wanting to go many places, even places that he wouldn't have gone anyway. Because it just didn't feel right for him to be home by himself.

I didn't write,
I didn't edit,
I rarely made it to my computer.

And then it happened. A couple of friends would stop by, then he went fishing and then football started. And little by little I saw glimpses of him returning to his old self. And just like that I felt my heart grow three sizes.

And yesterday, something clicked for me. I can't explain it really. I don't even know if this will make any sense. It was chapter 9, Life Seeking Life, in the book God Is at Eye Level.

I was at Starbucks...{I hadn't been inside all summer with my books and journal.} I found myself nodding my head, feeling like she had eavesdropped on my thoughts. How she is drawn into the pulse and heart beat of the world around her and to its pain and heart wrenching passions, and how she cries, in joy, at the things she witnesses.

Yes, yes, and yes.

She went on to tell the story of  a day when she was taking photographs along a wooden boardwalk when she heard what she thought were footsteps. When she finally turns to look it's a fawn that had been following her and when she reached out he put his sweet nose into her hand. By this time I'm starting to pack up because I feel a good cry coming on.

...deep breath

Here she was out looking for life and it found her! And you know what? That happened to me all summer, with the dragonflies especially. I may have been distracted by some of the noise that I probably created for myself, maybe even a roadblock, but was awake enough to witness those slivers of light. Literally, as it danced across their wings....like the stars light up the night.

Our creator places these things in our paths in hopes that we will take notice, that we will pay attention and send it back out into the world. We are to be receivers and givers. We just have to listen with our eyes and our hearts through all the clutter or we'll miss it.

Life seeking life...that totally happened from my front porch. Photography is like "home sweet home" when our hearts are aligned with spirit, present in the moment at hand, open to the wonder of it all.

Dragonfly Abstract

"The edge of light"

Hallelujah, I think I'm back!
Houston, we have a safe landing . . .

Love, Kim


sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friday Finds

If you kill a spider . . .

(KK traverse in overlay)

"Our egos tell us we're the only ones that have an kind of feelings. We're the only ones with a

relationship. We're the only ones with family. You know, I think that if you kill a spider, there is a

relationship that you're ruining. There's a conversation going on outside with the other spiders. 

'Did you hear about Chris?....Killed yeah....Sneaker. And now Stephanie has nine hundred babies

to raise all alone. Well, she's got her legs full I'll tell you that right now. Chris was so kind, wouldn't

hurt a fly. It's just been tough for them lately. They just lost their web last week. Those humans think

they're so smart. Let them try shooting silk out of their butt and see what they can make.'"

You know, I never know for sure what I'm going to share with you here, and especially lately.

Not because I'm not out with my camera, but because I AM out with my camera.

I am so behind in sharing some of my happenings and things I find, that when I go to my hard drive

it is so overwhelming. I'm still trying to catch up editing ALL these images as it seems I take them faster

that I can edit.

I might have an obsession....

It could be worse, right . . I could be charging my card at a department store rather than on my camera, at the nursery, the sunrise, the beach, my garden . . . 

(You are welcome honey)

Gosh, I sure hope he is keeping track and that my points are adding up.

Anyway, I was looking for a quote and came across this one that had me laughing out loud,

and well, I sure do have me some spidy web photos.

I can only imagine the things they are saying about me and my spray bottle!

Have yourself a wonderful day!

Love, Kim

linking with Texture Tuesday, Tuesday Muse, Tuesday Around the World, Sweet Shot Tuesday

Photo-heart connection, number X

I watched a man fish . . .


{KKlassen texture that I forgot to write down}

I spent a lot of time by the bay last week watching the sunrise,

and,

I watched a man fish.

 

One morning after the sunrise, I went to the boardwalk overlooking the bay to walk

and watch the pelicans, and to just observe whatever the morning had to offer. It was a beautiful

crisp morning, sunny and with a slight breeze. Sailboats were coming and going through the harbor

and I even picked up a few bird friends who literally followed me on foot along the way.

And then up ahead as I turned around the corner I spotted an older man in a very small boat, and
he was fishing. I paused for a moment, and watched, and curious as I am I asked him if he was fishing for a specific kind of fish, and although he answered I didn't quite understand him. I'm not sure if it was because he didn't speak English or I just didn't hear him very well. I continued to watch him, in awe really, as he was

catching a fish about every minute or so, sometimes less. And, ever so often he would look up at me and I would give him two thumbs up and tell him he was doing a great job and we would exchange smiles.
(As if this man, who had a bucket full of fish needed me to tell him that. )

{KKlassen portrait}

But the longer I watched I began to realize, that he wasn't using a pole, just a fishing line with a weight and
shrimp for bait. And it seemed that just as soon as he was dropping the line, he was pulling another fish from the water. He had this wonderful rthymn that just made it seem effortless. He would hold that tool in his right hand, slipping the line into the slot while pulling the fish up to the top of the tool until he could no longer pull. And then with a quick downward motion he released the fish into the bucket.

It was when he ran out of shrimp and needed to cut up some more, that I noticed his missing thumb.

{ My chosen photo for photo-heart connection - KKlassen texture warms sun}

This months photo-heart connection is unique for me in that there were really two connections.

My first connection is to the first photo and my realization that he was fishing in what many would consider a rather primitive way, without a fancy fishing pole but instead with just the line. He was simply catching fish

based on his technique and not based on equipment and he was getting great results. 

I began to relate this in my mind to photography. Because even the best equipment won't help if we don't first understand technique. I also know that my lack of equipment doesn't take away from my imagination, because no amount of money will buy that. This just reminds me that what ever our chosen craft, it is more about the crafter than what we use to make it. But that's not to say that we won't ever need different equipment as our vision or technique's change, just as if the fisherman wanted to catch a shark he would definitely need something more than just the line. I do believe it's more about our vision through technique rather than our equipment that defines art. And I don't think the man I watched is any less of a fisherman because he didn't use an expensive pole.

The next connection, and the last photo connected me with my heart.

After about twenty minutes of watching this man fish, he filled his entire bucket! And when he released

the last fish into that bucket, he promptly grabbed onto a rope that dangled from his boat and as he began to

pull on it, he turned and looked at me and smiled and said, "time to go home." As he pulled that rope, it took him about twenty feet away and as he pulled some more it brought up an anchor that he hoisted into his boat. And as he sat down and was driving away he looked up at me again and gave me a wave. We had a little bond that morning, a connection between two strangers. He didn't know it but he was for those twenty minutes a teacher, and I a student, both of us practicing our chosen craft.

Love, Kim

XO

Oil and water don't mix . . . a tutorial

 It's a good thing that oil and water don't mix, because photographically speaking it makes for some really interesting photos. I'm sharing how I made these images, but also want to share my inspiration behind them.

I had originally tried this over a year ago when I saw the idea in one of my photography books by Bryan Peterson and hadn't thought much about it until recently. My inspiration to try this again came from a bible study I just finished by Beth Moore called James [Mercy Triumphs] and on week 3 day four, the title of the lesson was, The Folly of Favoritism.

Ouch!

Have you noticed how society tries to pretend that the two [faith and favoritism] can be blended into a nice cocktail when actually no matter how much you try to stir them together they will always separate, just like oil and water. In truth, we demonstrate the reality of our faith by the way we live, how we favor some people over others. And as a society we are constantly going against that character of faith when we choose appearance as what is important. We are constantly influenced to be impressed by status, wealth and fame and to find favor with the haves rather than the have nots. But our outwardly appearance tells nothing of who we really are, how we favor others does. This was definitely a mirror looking lesson for sure, some things didn't look so nice and in the weeks since I have been paying a lot more attention to my thoughts and my part in this.  Beth said, "Let's let this segment of Scripture [James 2:1-7] speak its brutal truth to us, because, if this shoe fits, we need to burn it." I am human . . .  and I don't know about you, but I have a few stinky shoes to burn because I don't want to add to the world's pollution.

So I set out to give myself a tangible reminder on how faith and favoritism don't mix. And you know what, no matter how much I stirred, that oil and water always separated. It did however, make some pretty pictures.


My set up and how-to are after the photos:

[f 14]

[f.7.1 ]

[ f 5.6 ]

[ f 4.5 ]

[ f 6.3 ]

[ f 6.3 ]

This one wasn't completely in focus, but I like how it turned out.

[ f 10 ]

 This is a side view into the container.

[ f 10 ]

It may be hard to see but there are tiny pieces of lint or fuzz and dirt that blew into the water.

[ f 7.1 ]

In the above and below photos, I used a really large pattern of jelly beans (scrapbook paper).

I love how these turned out.

[ f 4.0]

First, you'll need a clear glass pan. It's better if there aren't any impressed markings on the bottom, although mine did have them-you'll just have to shoot around it. The pan will also need to have a small handle on the edge in order to elevate it off the surface of your table. For that I used two large plastic glasses and rested the edge of the container on the top of them. Fill your container with water about half way to 3/4's and then slowly pour just a little oil (you can always add more later). You might also want a wooden skewer

to stir the water and oil back up if the oil starts to group back together.

I didn't use my tripod for this, for several reasons.....I was using my 40mm macro lens which means I have to be closer than I would have been able to get using the tripod, and sometimes the oil drops don't want to stay still and you have to chase them a bit. Which brings me to my next suggestion...I used manual focus. The camera had a really hard time trying to focus on something, and usually wanted to focus on the paper below.

For my pattern under my container of water I used some scrapbook paper, but just about anything will work that has pattern or color. I liked a medium to smaller print because it showed up better in the bubbles trapped in the oil, like in the first image. This is just a sampling of what I used:

In both the 2nd, 5th and 6th shots I used the paper on the bottom left and you can see how different the results are. There really are so many variables to this, but you can see it's a simple set up.

I did want to see what I could get with my 50 mm [1.8] and 18-135 mm lens:

The first one is with the 50 mm at f 4.0 - but it has a minimum focusing distance of 18".

I didn't get it focused as sharp so I couldn't crop as close. That's where the tripod with this lens would

be helpful. And remember how I said it's better if there are no pressed markings on the bottom? You can see why in these photos at the very top of each

This was taken with the 18-135 mm lens at f 5.6 (80mm), and the same thing - the tripod would've been helpful. In all honesty I was too lazy to get it, lol! And I only experimented with these just last night on my

covered front porch and it was overcast . . . and I was tired. I'm confident I could've had better results if the lighting was better and I had kept trying. But I did want to show you that it is possible if you don't have a macro lens. Sharp focus would be really important if you wanted to crop in closer.

So here are some tips and suggestions:

• I used vegetable oil
• I used my 40 mm macro lens, but experiment with other lenses (and possibly extension tubes)
• Make sure your glass container is clean and lint free
• A windy day will make you crazy! It will blow the oil around making it hard to focus and you will get all kinds of things in your water.
• Experiment with different size apertures. Since it's all on the same plane most of what it will affect is the background.
• Although I have done it on a bright but overcast day, mid-morning sun seemed best.
• You will want to use manual focus
• I used the wooden skewer after a while to stir, to make different designs. I also used it to poke the middle of an oil drop to get some bubbles.
• If you do have any bubbles, it does give you something to focus on a little easier.
• Lukewarm or room temperature water works best.

 Okay, I hope I didn't forget anything! If you have any questions at all just ask and if you do try this and post it, I would love to see your results!

Happy snapping,

Love, Kim

XO

   



And sharing at Communal Global

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week was spring break for us . . . and although we had a stay-cation

it flew by and I'm ready to get back to our normal routine. So, because I pulled weeds

today for 6 hours {the weeds have loved all our rain} I'm going to make this short as I am one sore cookie!

{Vintage}

Vintage clip on earrings for jewelry creations....My grandmother had the best collection of vintage

rhinestone jewelry, if only I had known I would like making jewelry I would have snatched hers up.

{word or quote}

One of my many muses this week, more flowers.....give me a half a dozen roses and a spray bottle and I

can entertain myself for hours....really! They have only just started to open up so I'm sure you will see more of these next week?

{Nature's own}

Water is definitely nature's own . . . and this wasn't from the spray bottle, but after a rain.

{People}

We did go to the Livestock and Rodeo on Monday, and also saw The Zak Brown Band which was

directly after the rodeo. This was taken as we first arrived....the stands were packed with people by the time it started...all 74,000 of them!

{Photographers choice}

Are you kidding me? Although I love being able to choose whatever floats my boat, it's impossible

to pick just ONE! So here is yet another bee pic from my excursion to the garden center this week.

Be sure to check out all the other great interpretations over at Ashley's

and

have a great rest of the weekend!

Love, Kim

XO

Quotography - Happiness

As most of you know, I have an affinity for quotes.
They are inspiring and thought provoking 

and we can all use a little of that!
So how fun to find a place where others link up
with their quotes and photography
each week with a theme!

This weeks theme: Happiness


"Faith is the virtue of the storm,
just as happiness is the virtue of sunshine."

-Ruth Benedict

{Linked up here to Quotography where you'll find more inspiring quotes and photographs}

Have a great day, Kim

Foto Friday

Can't believe another week has passed! But then again, it seems like an eternity since last Friday and it doesn't help that it has been cold and dreary. Speaking of Friday, it seems that this is the day that is my quietest of the week. It's a no class day, and no basketball games or cross country meets. It's also the day I have decided to designate as a date with myself day. A day that I can do whatever I want even if it's nothing at all.

Last Friday was so beautiful  - I started out meeting a dear friend for coffee, had an impromptu lunch with the hubby and then I took my camera down to the boardwalk in Kemah on Galveston Bay and just took in every detail of the day. It was a warm 70 something degree day with a slight smell of salt in the air that drifted along with the breeze. The only thing missing was the sand between my toes! I sure miss the beach right now.

Here are a couple of the pictures from last Friday:

This was taken right off the boardwalk as the boats started heading back to their docks.

I love the light as the sun sets this time of year, it has such a soft glow.

 

After I left the boardwalk I drove about a mile to a favorite spot where I can usually find a few birds
 and saw this lovely Snowy Egret along the side of the road. I'm just really glad it's a road off the beaten path since I stopped my car on the opposite side of the street to be able to get this picture (it's not easy shooting through the passenger window from the drivers seat). As the sun was setting there was this wonderful ethereal feel to the sunlight showing bits of down floating in the air as he preened himself.

 

I had one chance to capture this one. I was on the bridge to go back home and the traffic had stopped.

I quickly grabbed my camera which was in the front seat, zoomed in all the way and quickly changed

my settings to capture this silhouette. That was with one hand as traffic started moving and I needed

the other hand to steer! This is a group of cormorants and since they do not possess the waterproofing
oils of other seabirds they have to spend a lot of time drying their wings.

This is exactly why I bring my camera with me just about everywhere! We were headed to a movie last weekend and since we were running behind we decided to take in the later show. There is a restaurant right in front of the movie theatre and all these Cobra owners displayed their cars while taking a lunch break  inside. They took turns keeping watch, were happy to answer questions and shared some interesting facts. Did you know that this is a kit car - a truck pulls up to your house and unloads a couple of very large boxes full of parts made of fiberglass and steel and you get to put it together? Now doesn't that sound like fun!

This was my first paid photo shoot! This is a friends granddaughter who made the first cut of a kids media tryout and they needed a head shot for the next tryout this weekend. After a few delays they met me at our designated location with literally minutes of daylight left. The streetlights had come on and I was only able to fire off a few good shots. I thought she did a great job since it was probably only 30 degrees and she wasn't wearing a coat. Considering the circumstances and the fact that I am most comfortable shooting nature, I am very pleased with the picture. But whew, I really have a lot to learn!

So, these are a few of my favorites for the week, all for different reasons. There is one or two that I am considering for my flickr P52 project and am wondering which one you would pick and why? I need to post it by Sunday and would love to hear from you!

Love Kim

My P52 project

I like love taking photographs, it makes my heart happy! To be able to seal a moment in time feels magical, and to share it with others is just plain exciting . When I first got my Nikon D80 camera a little over 3 years ago, I just thought it would take awesome pictures all by itself! What I didn't realize is that owning a Nikon camera does not make you a photographer, it just makes you an owner of a Nikon. A camera is only as good as it's operator and it seemed that this operator had no idea how to take a photograph in anything other than auto mode. I was frustrated. My husband gave me a book the following Christmas that was a field guide for my camera. It might as well have been in another language. Talk like aperture, ISO and white balance was well, confusing to say the least. One morning we went for our first sunrise on the water and I had no real idea of what I was doing or how to set my camera to capture the moment as I saw it. I was very fortunate to run into another hobbyist photographer, one much more seasoned than myself. He pushed buttons and turned dials and then the sun began to rise. I had my first sunrise picture, but with no way of knowing how to repeat it the next time. It has taken many sunrises and thousands of pictures to only start to understand how to correctly expose a moment. My journey has only just begun . . . 

This brings me to the purpose of this post, Foto photo Friday. Every week on Friday I will be posting my picture of the week. It's my P52 project of a photo a week for 52 weeks and one I am doing along with others on a flickr group. I hope to meet a few friends along the way, to learn from others and become a better photographer.

"Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts." 

                    ~Minor White


This quote would pretty much sum up my Thursday night! As I left the house at sunset to drive to my son's basketball game, the sky was more beautiful than words can describe. I didn't have even a minute to stop and get the camera, take a picture and still get to his game on time. I wouldn't have been late, I would have missed it entirely. I wouldn't have been able to help myself as I would have wanted to stay and take in every delicious moment until I was satisfied I wouldn't miss one second more. So last night at sunset, I went to the pond in the neighborhood by mine with my fingers crossed and I was not disappointed. I had to take a family vote on the favorite since I could not decide. This was the one that got 3 out of 4 votes:

This one was second . . .

And this one got honorable mention . . .

I'm probably gonna have to cheat here just a little. I can only participate one photo a week to the flickr group, but I take so many pictures that I can't pick just one to share with everyone else. I will have a few of my favorites for the week here. And I may even occasionally need your help picking "the" picture to submit.

I also have some other projects that involve photos and jewelry . . . stay tuned as I figure those out.

Have a wonderful day! 

Kim

First sunrise of the year!

Okay, so technically it wasn't the first sunrise of the year, it was the second. But it was my first. It always seems when that either the weather is really nice and there is no time or you have a lot of time and the weather stinks. The last two weeks have proven strange with temps near 80 and as low as 35  like this morning. It's been rainy and overcast for most of it. Even though the forecast for this morning was going to be quite the chilly one, it was going to be sunny. So the hubby and I bundled up and took some warm coffee and the dog with us. Next time I need to make sure we leave a bit earlier because even though we got there on time for the sunrise, we did however miss the beautiful pre-show colors of the sky. Although it's always an "aha" moment for me to watch the sunrise, I wouldn't say it was the best one I have ever seen either.