The Light Lingers

Painted Fire :: NH

The light lingers, colors of fire and gold painting the hills, caressing the world in one final embrace.

Your Best Shot!

The Space Between :: Ricketts Glen, PA

I’m sorting through this year’s shots, trying to come with a top 5 photos list.  It’s harder than I thought it would be.  I this photo because it reminds me of such and such.  I think this photo is good because the edit was hard and I learned something new.  I like… well, you get the point.

As I was working on this top 5 list, it also occurred to me that I would love to see YOUR favorite photo(s) of 2014!  Are you willing to share? 🙂  If so, post a link in the comments so everyone see them and show them some love.

This Beautiful Life

Mirror, Mirror

Promise to stay wild with me.  We’ll seek and return and stay and find beauty and the extraordinary in all the spaces we can claim.  We’ll know how to live.  How to breathe magic into the mundane. -Victoria Erickson

Over The Rainbow

Over The Rainbow :: New Hampshire

In May, I put together a post about the art of blur. I firmly believe that photography, just like any other artistic medium, is an outlet for our creativity and expression.  To that end, today, I give you Artsy Nature.  Or Fine Art Birches.  Or, Dang Get That Girl A Tripod Trees. 🙂

David Pasillas and I spent the weekend in NH working on a super secret project, practicing our photo skills, scouting the region for beautiful picture worthy stuff, and generally getting our creative on.  Because creativity is important to our lives, right?  There will be many more photos coming in the next few weeks of the foliage, the views, and eventually a big reveal on our super secret project!  (Intrigued?  You should be.)

In the meantime, enjoy the birches.  Thanks so much for checking out my site, if you enjoy the art, please share it! 🙂

 

xo

Shannon

Leaf Peepin’ – Suggestions Needed!

Connecticut Colors

This week I’ve felt the chill of fall in the air.  I’m thinking scarves, sweater and hot cocoa are in my near future. It is, without a doubt, the best time of the year. 🙂

 

Today’s post is just a bit of catching up…I’m looking for suggestions on places to photo for two separate events.

 

First, I’m planning a photo walk on October 19th.  If you’re in the CT, RI area and want in, you’re invited!  My good friend David, a spectacular photographer from California, will be here visiting and wants to see the sights.  If you’re interested, drop me a line at: seespotsphoto at yahoo dot com

Stipulations for photo walk location are:

— eastern half of CT or into RI

–easily accessible for all fitness levels

–looking to do landscapes and macros so something nice to look at, please and thank you

–and the MOST important part…we are looking to do this at sunset, so the location needs to be open at least a little past that point

Suggestions??? Annnndd GO!

 

ALSO!!!!!!!!!

We are looking for your thoughts and experiences at a few other locations for an upcoming project that we will, hopefully, talk more about next year. 🙂

Have any of you been to…

–Adirondack Park in upstate NY

–White Mountains in NH

–Ricketts Glen in PA

–The coast of Lake Champlain, either state

If so, what are your thoughts on places within those areas that are photo-worthy and moderate to easily accessible?

 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions!  Thanks in advance for your time!

xo
Shannon

An Attitude of Gratitude

Vortex

Having a positive outlook on life can be hard, but intensely rewarding.  It’s easy to say a glass is half empty.  It’s much harder to say, “Thank goodness I still have half a glass to drink.  I’m thirsty, and that will help.”  Like anything else in life, seeing the silver linings in life is a skill, and when done faithfully, can become a habit.

Imagine a life where you exchange your expectations for gratitude.  The disappointments in life become much more manageable.  And there are fewer of them.  It’s easier to feel like you have enough, to appreciate the gifts you’re given and to see the blessings in life.

That is what I love most about tomorrow, Thanksgiving.  It’s yearly encouragement to be thankful for the things we have already accomplished, to see how far we have come, to appreciate our families and friends, and to see that often, we are lucky to have so much in our lives.  Most of us have a roof, even if we don’t own it.  Most of us have food, warmth and a computer with which to read this awesome blog…  We have life.  Even when it’s hard, it’s precious.

Tomorrow is a day to appreciate the positives.  Spend a few moments between tofurkey and pie reflecting on the good things in your life.  In the end, we can’t keep the gifts, the wealth, the stuff we surround ourselves with…but we can remember the path we took in life, the moments of joy and accomplishment, and be proud of how our experiences shaped us, and the choices we made because of them.  We can practice an attitude of gratitude.

The photo above was taken on a hike with my friend David (an awesome photog from Cali, check out his work!) while he was visiting in CT.  The leave whirlpool reminds me a little of the way water drains from a tub.  Felt appropriate as we make our transition from beautiful, beautiful Autumn….to very cold Winter. haha

 

❤ < 3 ❤

For those of you interested in helping me raise funds for the victims of Typoon Haiyan in the Philippines, when the time comes for holiday shopping, go here.  50% of profits through December 15 go to Care.org and the Filipinos in need.

For those of you interested in winning a holiday gift, go here, “like” the page and leave a comment on the contest poster letting me know which image you want.  Winner announced on Friday, so you only have a few days.

Sometimes I Feel Like RBG…

Rock Art - Color

…Sometimes, I don’t.

Rock Art - Monochrome

Isn’t it interesting how much a little thing like color can drastically change an image?

Which one do you prefer?

The Art of Less

Have you ever Googled (or Yahoo!ed…or Goodsearched, for those of us that like collecting good karma points) the term “minimalism photography”…the results are striking.  That isn’t commentary on the quality of the images that turn up, although many of them were very good.  What I found more notable was the variety of images that turned up, all under the umbrella of “less”.

By searching for “less”, I found pride in my fellow photographers for sharing their vision of the world, conveying so much with so little.

Minimalism also reminded me why I love art.  It is a mechanism of expression and creativity.  It is both the way we view the world, and the way we wish the world could be.  It’s interesting and thought provoking without saying a word, and it makes my world a better place.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I took a recent trip down to the beach and enjoyed a pretty phenomenal sunset.  There were plenty of “foreground props” to choose from…guard chairs, boardwalk, a jetty…but none of them seemed to compliment the scene.  It was such a quiet, but mighty sunset and I knew that in order to do the colors justice, I needed a subtle focus point for the image.  In this case, less was more. =)

Minimalism at Sunset

What are your thoughts on minimalism, particularly in the world of photography?

Minimalism product of the week: http://www.zazzle.com/love_mug-168258405940665492