The good, the bad, the random . . .

"From where we stand the rain seems random.

If we could stand somewhere else, we would see the order in it."

- Tony Hillerman

I don't know, I think only about twice have I ever been on the other side of the rain.

You know, when where you're standing it's not raining but 10 feet in front of you it is. So very strange.

Not sure I saw any order in it though - it still seemed pretty random to me.

But then again maybe I was just standing too close.

I enjoyed my 50mm class and decided to go ahead and delve a little deeper into abstract. I have already

been in the last year enjoying experimenting with slow shutter speed and swiping - painting with my lens.

And I love the abstract feeling I find in water reflections. I'm interested to see how this open my eyes even

more to lines and shapes and sometimes to just how I feel about something rather than what it is in reality.

This rose was done both in camera and post processing. A slow shutter speed allowed for softer shapes, and textures added later for a painterly feel. (anyone else having issues loading photos and having them look different here than in your photo folders? The color is a little off in this one)

This one of the same rose with a very shallow depth of field done in camera.

This one is quite different for me. Our prompt for the monthly Photo Art Friday is graphic/angular, and I started with a photo I took last summer while on a boat tour on the Chicago river that went through downtown Chicago. I used two of Bonnie's textures (Graphique and Art Smoke) after I did a little posterize to the photo. It took several different photos and textures to find a combination that I was pleased with. And I have to say I quite like how this turned out.  

"Chicago Meets van Gogh"

Yesterday I started a new Beth Moore bible study called 'Exploring the fruit of the Spirit." In her video she talked about how if we are still drawing a breath then we aren't done and how God is still happening . . . only it's on his calendar. I love how He gives me concrete examples of these things and yesterday was one of those days. When I got home I just happened to feel the need to look at this chrysalis, a black swallowtail, that has been in this state for at least 10 months maybe more. I know I've mentioned before that they usually emerge about 2 weeks after pupating. I kept this chrysalis because I'm a die hard hopeful and if after a year it hadn't emerged it would be enshrined in resin. I had to cut a little square off the netting as I replace the netting after each new generation and I placed it over a bowl where I keep my not so fortunate butterflies. There just might be a little dust that gathered and stuck to the silk from the other caterpillars rambling on and around it when it was in the enclosure.

And don't ya know it has started changing color, getting darker, and if you look closely you can start to see some of the wing pattern showing through. As I was holding the square up to take a photo for instagram the darn thing, it wiggled. After 10 months it's still alive and all I can say is this must be one special butterfly!!

Moral of the story . . . He gives us daily examples and we need to slow down long enough to see them. That patience isn't something we teach ourselves, but instead surrender to. 

I got to immediately put this little lesson of patience to the test when I got a call from my son's Rheumatology doctor. About 7 weeks ago she decided that since his blood work was consistently coming back with normal numbers - white blood cell count, inflammation markers, sed rate - and had been for nearly 6 months with next to no breakthrough symptoms, that we could discontinue his infusions. We just had blood work taken the day before as he has been having intermittent pain and stiffness and fatigue. The numbers are going back up and to avoid getting out of control quickly he started back on steroids and we have an infusion for next Tuesday. I guess I can't say that I'm surprised, I've seen it coming, but it pains me none the less that it didn't go into remission. Now, what was I saying about God's timing? Oh yes, reminder to myself that He is going at the perfect speed and I am not. It seems patience is easier for some things than others.

Last but not least, last weekend we were missing our girl, so we drove over to see her and spent a family day at the zoo. A good time was had by all, but with nearly an 8 hour round trip drive it makes for a long day. Next year she will be even closer as she'll transfer to UT Austin.

Have a great weekend y'all!

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friday Photo Journal

Random Five Friday, Photo Art Friday 

Random five, or so . . .

"Why is that when you wipe up dust it's called dusting but when

you wipe up a spill it's not called spilling? Just something to think about."

- Ellen DeGeneres

Kind of like why is an orange called orange and a banana not called yellow.

We'll never know....

Yes, that was totally random, which is the point of my post today, AND I may even have more than five random things by the time I get to the end.

My milkweed is exploding . . . the seed pods that is, and I'm obsessed with taking photos of them.

I mentioned that I am participating in a Focus on a photo a day - a 365 day project. Can I just say, what the

heck was I thinking? Now, I take a lot of photos every week (I have thousands of monarch photos to prove it, because you can never have enough of those), but one a day, posted to a group...now that feels a little like a commitment. And it's not that I can't commit or anything like that, but I'm just sayin' that yesterday I was already using some curse words because not only was it cloudy but it was only one shade of grey, the yucky shade of grey. AND it was windy and it's hard to take a picture of something when it won't stay still. And because it was so overcast there was no light in my house....it made me grumpy! :) 

But in between wind gusts I did manage to get this one, for my 365 project and for a 50mm project class I'm taking. And after several light freezes and our recent hard freeze two nights in a row I can't believe this rose bush is still blooming. In case you are wondering, it's called "Belinda's Dream" and it smells like heaven.

I walk the beach a lot in the summer, and I find a lot of shells and in fact you can probably see that some of them are imperfect...my favorites. They are the ones that have stories, the vulnerable ones ready to let the world see them in their brokenness. And, that glass bottle top, it's going to be in a necklace one day, I'm just not ready to take it out of my treasure bowl just yet...I like the way it looks in there.

Yep, I blew some bubbles this week. And you know, it's really tricky to blow them yourself and then chase them down before they hit the ground. And with our temps in the twenties (yes that is very cold for us here) the bubbles have been turning these beautiful golden, magenta, blue colors. It would seem that by the time I got done blowing that last bubble out everything had blown away or popped. So I was pretty happy to get at least two in the same picture. Had to resort to bubbles because we don't get snow, at least not unless we've had a hurricane the previous summer.

This was our first sunrise of the year last weekend, and oh the colors and that lone little cloud. Can I just say that I love google sky maps app...so helpful in telling me where to point my camera. 

Can't believe it's almost time to take our girl back to her dorm...so great having her here over a long Christmas break. And yes there was a cake, a two layer cake with one cake mix for each, chocolate butter cream middle, and regular on top. It didn't last long....

Getting excited, my metals class starts next week!! I love the sound of sawing and hammering...

The last of my monarch butterflies from this batch are emerging, but had an epic fail yesterday. One just couldn't quite get out and his wings were crumpled and one of her legs were broken...sad panda face!

I am starting to see some new growth on the plants again though.

Well I think that's random wrap, ya'll have a great rest of the week,

Love, Kim

Sharing with Little Things Thursday, Random Five Friday, Friday Photo Journal, Favorite Photo Friday,

                   Friday Finds

Gratitude . . .

"To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude

means to take nothing for granted,

but to always seek out and value

the kind that will stand behind the action.

Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course.

Everything originates in a will for the good,

which is directed at you.

Train yourself never to put off

the word or action for the expression of gratitude."

- Albert Schweitzer

Today, I'm in a debt of gratitude that my daughter had someone who could drive her to the ER yesterday. And for the kind man (nurse/doctor) that held her hand when I couldn't, as getting an IV is one of her worst nightmares. As a parent, one of my worst nightmares is not being able to be there when my kids need me. This is definitely one of those times when letting go is so very difficult. She is fine, needed some fluids as she was dehydrated and we're going to just chalk up the whole thing to sometimes weird things just happen.

On a sad note, this morning when I came upstairs to the computer I wasn't greeted with the normal chirps and tweets from my lovebird . . . she passed in the night . . . and it's awfully quiet up here.

Today is my posting day over at my collaborative blog Focusing on Life. Our monthly focus is on gratitude and I have a challenge for you with a twist. I would love for you to join us over there by clicking here.

And before we part, I just want to say that I treasure each one of you. I'm grateful for the crossing of our paths, even if it's only briefly. I treasure the friendships I have made through this community and for your continual support and your kind words. 

I wish you all a beautiful day . . . 

With gratitude,

Kim

sharing with Texture Tuesday, Tuesday Around the World, Sweet Shot Tuesday

Texture Tuesday . . .

Good Morning!

I want to say a big huge welcome to all the new connections I've made through

the grow your blog hop over the weekend. And if your still hopping (I am) you can find

my post here. I'm hosting a giveaway, to anyone, no rules, and by leaving a comment on that

post you will be automatically entered.

*********

I am all kinds of behind . . . I took a million pictures of some flowers I bought last week, practicing, practicing, some new techniques and style. I've been a bit obsessed in the last few months with softness, and abstract, and intentional blur. I think it started last fall when I started using my remote with really slow shutter speeds at the sunrise on my tripod to soften the water. And then I started going to handheld to paint the scenes around me. I am missing the Christmas tree and painting with the lights! I think I see some valentine lights in my future! Yep, all kinds of behind, and my house shows it....

So I'm off to finish up some things and will leave you with this . . . 

{Kim Klassen cherishscripted texture / hardlight 56% }

"What a Lovely Thing a Rose is!"

He walked past the couch to the open window and held up the drooping stalk of a moss-rose,

looking down at the dainty blend of crimson and green. It was a new phase of his character to me,

for I have never before seen him show any keen interest in natural objects.

"There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as religion, " he said leaning with his back against the shutters." It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. It's smell and color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from flowers."

- Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty

Oh and I almost forgot, today is my day over at the collaborative blog "Focusing on Life",
where I'm sharing some thoughts on perspective. Come join me....here.

Until next time,

Love, Kim

XO

sharing with Texture Tuesday, Tones on Tuesday, Tuesday Around the World, Sweet shot Tuesday,

Foto Friday - It's all about sepia

Hello Friday!!

I didn't get out with my camera this week as much as I would have liked. However off and on rain makes that a little tricky, not to mention soggy. After my metals class on Wednesday I decided to go to one of my favorite mom and pop nurseries and was pleasantly surprised to find poppies!

The poppy has a unique stem that makes for a great back lite photo showing the details of the hairs. This was actually an orange one, but I just wasn't diggin' it so I turned it into sepia. I like it, in fact I liked it so much I changed all my pictures this week into sepia.

From a hanging basket was this double fuschia, beautiful stop you in your tracks hanging heaven. And I love color, but I wanted to showcase the form of the flower and sometimes color gets in the way.

This is the all popular knock-out rose that was a soft pink. And although pink is my favorite color,  I couldn't help but also make this into a sepia finish since it also helps disquise that the focus was too soft. Add a little more blur to the edges and it's quite dreamy and well, romantic!

Before I went to the nursery I stopped off at a spot where I know the birds frequent - I just sat in my car and listened to the music of the water and the birds as they searched for food and chased each other. Two seagulls were fighting over a fish that one of them caught and in their argument they weren't paying attention to this beautiful Great Blue Heron that came in and swooped up their lunch!
















I wish you all a fabulous weekend!  I hope you're inspired to take your camera with you or at least to take notice of all the wonderful things that surround you.

Love,
Kim XO