So, what I learned in class yesterday was that the thing that is closest to my lens needs to be in focus and then I need to adjust my aperture to get whatever else I want to be in focus. Worked out pretty well on this one I think.
And from John O’Donohue:
The wonder of the Beautiful is its ability to surprise us.
Here’s another one from the Hydrangea. This one got high marks from my photography teacher in today’s class.
From John O’Donohue:
When we awaken to the call of beauty, we become aware of new ways of being in the world. We were created to be creators. At its deepest heart, creativity is meant to serve and evoke beauty.
Today I headed to North Mountain Park to practice my new skills in defusing harsh light. The poppies were the stars of the show. These big orange ones were just about done, the red ones are coming on and the California poppies are just everywhere.
Today from John O’Donohue:
The Beautiful offers us an invitation to order, coherence and unity. When these needs are met, the soul feels at home in the world.
I bought some tulips at the store today to practice with for my flower photography workshop. So far I haven’t been too happy with the results. I think I am going to have to go visit the rose garden tomorrow.
And today’s thought from John O’Donohue:
Much of the stress and emptiness that haunts us can be traced back to our lack of attention to beauty. Internally, the mind becomes coarse and dull if it remains unvisited by images and thoughts which hold the radiance of beauty.
And here is another look at the top of a giant dandelion seed head. I’m running late today as I had my first class in an online Flower Photography Workshop. Unfortunately by the time it was over it was to windy to practice my new skills. Hope to make it up early tomorrow before the wind kicks up again.
From John O’Donohue:
When we address difficulty in terms of the call to beauty, new invitations come alive.
Continuing in our raindrop theme here are some raindrop on a daisy. It was a little hard to capture the whiteness of the flower without blowing out the details on the raindrops so I’m afraid this one is a little darker than I would like.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for quotes from now on but when I went back the the beginning of the project I realized that for awhile I was looking for quotes from other people in John O’Donohue’s book so there are still plenty of gems from John himself that I skipped over. So, for today:
Beauty brings a sense of completion and sureness. Without any of the usual calculation, we can slip into the Beautiful with the same ease as we slip into the seamless embrace of water, something ancient within us already trusts that this embrace will hold us.
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.
Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein
I can’t see raindrops on roses without bursting into song. I just got a new Lensbaby, a wide angle velvet. Haven’t decided if I like it yet. I was about 2 inches from this flower and couldn’t get the super macro look I like. But I think it will be handy in the tidy studio where I just can’t get far enough from my subject at times.
I’ve come to the end of John O’Donhue’s book on Beauty. I will share with you one last quote from a blessing with which he ends the book:
As twilight fills night with bright horizons
May Beauty await you at home beyond.
It is pouring rain right now so I’m glad I still have a few aces up my sleeve from Sunday’s neighborhood walk, including this lovely lily.
From John O’Donohue:
Beauty can arrive in such a clear and absolute sweep that it throws the heart sideways.
And now my Hydrangea is finally blooming. This year it is more blue than in the past. I suppose because I neglected to feed it.
Today from John O’Donohue:
Beauty invites us towards profound elegance of soul.
I don’t know what these weeds are called but they look kind of like a giant dandelion. The seed heads have some fine delicate detail up close and they are always a joy to photograph.
Today’s quote from John O’Donohue:
The awakening to the beauty of your creativity can totally change the way you view limits. When you see the limit not as a confining barrier but as a threshold, your are already beyond.