Stolen Moment :: NH

Stolen Moment :: NH

Lonesome Lake has been on my radar for years, ever since I saw a post about it on The Outbound. I fiiiiinnnnaaallly made it up there this fall, and as we reached the edge of the lake we saw…. nothing. The entire lake was socked in with fog. Lol But, we came to hike, so that’s what we did. We took a trip around the lake, enjoying the way the fog looked through the trees and tall grasses, thinking it was still pretty even if it wasn’t what we anticipated. As we got closer to the hut, this view opened up. It was a short window, maybe 15-25 minutes? But it was spectacular!

Life isn’t always what you expect it to be, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It’s just different, and sometimes, different can be so dang beautiful. ❤

Flow: The Art of Waterscapes

It’s here!  Want to get your hands on a FREE e-lookbook (loaded with purty photos and tips to help you get started on your own waterscapes)?

The best part??  Everyone who downloads their PDF copy of Flow: The Art of Waterscapes is automatically entered into a drawing for a FREE PRINT!  The drawing will happen on December 4 (next week) so don’t wait!

Want an extra chance to win?  Reblog this post and I’ll put your name in the drawing a second time.  I mean think about it…  I give you a free gift, you spend a second to share this awesome offer with your friends and followers, and I potentially give you another gift that you can possibly (probably?) re-gift to your Mom!  Do deals get any sweeter than this??  It’s like Black Friday x 1000.  Minus the crowds and fist fights over a TV and set of fuzzy pajamas with feets.

The holidays came early, folks!  By, like, a day. haha  But still.  This is my way of giving thanks to all of you for being so dang supportive of David and I this year, with the release of our first full length (hilarious) educational photo book, “Photography. DUH.”.
Because really, you guys rock.  For serious. ❤

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 🙂

The Light Lingers

Painted Fire :: NH

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

Poetry of the Earth

Poetry of the Earth

And he showed me things

Many beautiful things,

That I hadn’t thought to explore.

They were off my path,

So I never had dared.

I had been so careful,

I never had cared.

 

This is an image of Crawford Notch, in New Hampshire taken last fall on a scouting trip with my photo partner in crime (partner in photo?) David Pasillas. There is something very powerful and empowering about just exploring, finding beautiful spaces and the capturing memories. As I said in a recent interview with Laura Macky, I wonder how long some of these spaces will be around and I feel so grateful that I am able to see and experience them before they change, for better or (more likely) worse.

 

The sky was full of movement that day, opening and closing windows between the clouds. I took a few versions of this over the course of perhaps 15 minutes, and the highlights of the landscape were significantly different for each.

 

It wasn’t the golden hour, or the deep shadows of blue hour…but watching the light dance across the scene was its own brand of magic.

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

The Crown Jewel

The Crown Jewel :: New Hampshire

With all of the controversy surrounding the Keystone pipeline, it’s easy to find articles both for and against.  Today, I read one such article that pretty much infuriated me.  For the sake of not poking the bear, I’ll gloss over the details of the balance between money and human rights, but I will say that it – in part – also had to do with the impact of industrial ventures on the environment, and by extension, the people and animals that live there.

It was a strong reminder to appreciate views like this sunset over Cherry Pond in New Hampshire.  The property is just stunning with one beautiful and tranquil view after another.  David and I spent a few hours there and saw only a handful of other people in the parking lot – none on the trails.  I’m so grateful that I live in a region of the country with so much green space, and specifically, I’m glad for the partnership between the Audubon, the state of New Hampshire and the US Fish/Wildlife Service that preserved the Pondicherry Refuge space.  We are already planning a return trip for next year….perhaps you’ll join us? 🙂

A Moment in Time

A Moment in Time

I’m not going to lie.  There is something pretty special about being able to wake up to this sort of magic outside your cottage door. This was sunrise on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire a few weeks back. 🙂

 

If you like it, please share it!

Solitude

Solitude :: Mt Washington

There is nothing quite like the feeling you get standing at the top of a mountain, looking out at the vast world before you, knowing we are just a small part of something much larger than our day to day, 9 to 5 grind.

This shot was taken at the Lakes of the Clouds on My Washington,  blue hour. Sean was kind enough to model, even though…we’ll…he didn’t know it at the time. Lol

 

Best viewed on black background.

Spiritual Symphony

Prelude

The land of Song within thee lies, Watered by living springs…

The ducks and geese chattering to themselves as they settle in the water, the soft wind blowing through reeds along the shore and an ever changing masterpiece in the sky above me.  These are the summer nights I live for. 🙂

For those of you haven’t done so yet, I’m looking for your quote contribution in exchange for a free gift!  TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY! Go here, check it out, leave your quote, win stuff.  Boom.

 

The Edge of Forever

The Edge of Forever

 

“We need, ourselves, to go to those edges, and peer over them, if not to see what lies beyond, then to see what lies within.”

I recently picked up a book called A Beautiful Anarchy by David duChemin…and I’ve been following along on his inspiring blog, same title.  One of his posts was about changing our perceptions, facing our fears and embracing each day with a sense of adventure.

In his words, “What would our art, our businesses, our relationships, look like if we embraced and nurtured a spirit of adventure in our daily lives? If we willingly went to new places, opened new doors, and explored new ideas? What would we discover there, about possibility, about others, and likely most of all about ourselves? How much more interesting would our lives be, free from the need to be surrounded by the familiar, the known, the certain, and the too-comforting illusion of safety? What kind of stories would we find ourselves living and telling? How would our audience for these stories, and for the art that emerges from them, grow, and how would our engagement with them change?”

Those are all very good questions.  Talk about an instant perception shift.

I’ve said for a long time that it’s very easy to get caught up in our own little box.  To get trapped in the day to day, to go to work, to bed, to eat the same foods, to let our souls wither on a bland diet of sameness.  We are biologically engineered to desensitize ourselves…its a survival mechanism that keeps our bodies alive.  But what does it do to our spirit?

The above photo was created as an homage to this idea of embracing the unknown.  Last weekend we took a road trip to Vermont, just to get a way for a day and to see some family.  I got up early on Sunday to catch the sunrise, which turned into an overcast morning and a sky full of texture.  It was nice to spend a little time in the peace and quiet, watching the world wake up.  As I sat on the edge of the dock, enjoying the moment, I started thinking about how important those little road trips and adventures are to my life.  As my cousin said, I’m a traveler.  But truly, what better way to develop an emotional connection with people and places than to experience them?  And how much better would the world be if we could all embrace things that were new and different, rather than demonizing and judging without true knowledge of…whatever it is…to draw on?

So, today, I encourage you to embrace adventure.  Try something new.  Eat something different.  Cook a new recipe.  Learn a new skill.  See the world.  Travel to a place that you’ve never been.  Take a leap of faith into the unknown and revel in the experience.

Life is a beautiful gift and it is meant to be messy, joyful and most importantly, full.  Don’t wait until tomorrow.  Today, you stand at the edge of your forever.  Now is the time to embrace your future. 🙂

A little housekeeping…

This shot is a manual blend, Canon 7D, Induro tripod adventure series

Also, I’m looking for your help on an art project!  Pretty please with a cherry on top.  I’ll be giving out a free print to the person who’s quote gets chosen, and to one of the people who helped spread the word about it in the first place.  So please, check out the post, share it, and tell me what quote the image reminds you of. 🙂