Photo Journal

Seeing Differently

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

MARCEL PROUST

Wild Passionflower

intricate blossom -

varied violets, pale greens

sweet passion of bees

I’ve been experimenting with different perspectives - closer shots; partial shots -

Looking at the way light plays over surfaces,

crouching and shooting through the hedges…

using ordinary objects as frames

shooting through fences

and low shots over tracks in the sand

seeing how water from a sprinkler paints a muddy pavement

Taking a portrait of an onion that started to sprout,

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I have a challenge for you! I’ve been playing with perspective all month - on and off- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; but it always makes me see things differently; and it’s fun. So, my challenge is this: take a picture of something ordinary. Your toaster, your coffee maker, some tracks in the snow, a shadow that falls on your wall… anything; but take it in an unusual way. Then, if you like it - share it with me! I will post a gallery of the images in a future blog! Send them to rhodatude@gmail.com and make sure to include a little description of what it is and how you took the picture.

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

Henry David Thoreau

And here’s a little moment of zen. Hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for being here.

Breathing

August 13, 2022 A fawn waiting for its brother

Saturday morning

I went down the bluff stairs

To the lake.

It was still dark;

And I was foggy with sleep.

To the north I saw movement-

a silhouette on the beach,

then another-

then two more;

running and pausing

dipping their heads in the water

splashing and shaking it off -

a family of deer

briefly sharing a moment

with me.

August 17, 2022 A tree reaches out to the moon

8/17/2022

Busy days behind and ahead. Social days.  Good days.  But I need some peace in all of this.  Moments to breathe.  The lake in the early morning is my refuge, with the waning moon in the blue sky.  This morning I decided to focus my photography on extremely simple, minimalist subjects to create in pictures what I crave in my life.  Simplicity and space, beauty and quiet.  So here is the moon, the sky and a leafy branch reaching out toward them both.

August 18, 2022 Cedar moss carpets the forest floor

August 18, 2022 Breathing is on my mind this week. I’m listening to Breath by James Nestor, about how we’ve lost the art of breathing well, and how it affects our health. This focusing of my attention has made me feel oddly tense; so today I walked the woods path slowly; and then down to the lake to breathe in the lake air (through the NOSE, of course - if you read the book; you will understand).

August 18, 2022 Just water and sky

August 19, 2022 Dune grass pushing through rocks

August 19, 2022. I saw this little bit of dune grass growing out from under a black stone, perfectly framed by it. Nature’s compositions and nature’s resilience in one image. The grass is growing through a pile of rocks my association brought in to help control the erosion of the bluff. It all looked unnatural for awhile, until suddenly - it didn’t .

August 19, 2022 Downcast Sunflower

August 19, 2022 Saugatuck

Just a week ago there were so many sunflowers blooming here; now there are only a few.  Summer is waning. And this lonely remaining blossom, not fully open, bows its head.

August 21, 2022 Corn field under overcast sky

August 21, 2022 On my Sunday long run i ran on farm roads. Quiet and solitary. Simple. Feeling every step, counting my breaths ( yes, i do) .

August 21, 2022 A roll of hay in a green field

August 21, 2022 Grasshopper on the glass door

August 21, 2022 I came home from my run and found a pretty green grasshopper on my front door; then realized his leg was broken; which was why he didn’t jump away while I was getting in close with my camera. I felt protective ; but couldn’t figure out how to help. By Monday, he was gone. I don’t know what happened. Life is so precious and uncertain.

August 21, 2022 Close up of grasshopper and reflection

August 21, 2022 Grasshopper from the side

August 22, 2022 A lost feather in the setting sun

August 22, 2022 A lost feather I stood up in the sand., vanes almost tickling the light of the setting sun.