“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” -Nathaniel Hawthorne
A massive snowstorm is predicted for this evening. That’s the perfect time to edit an old photo of autumn, yeah?
Now pass me that pumpkin spice latte! 🤪
Heartwood :: WA
Three years ago I made my first trip to Oregon where I hiked through Opal Creek Wilderness. The trail there is incredibly lush, with mossy halls and nurse logs for days. In fact, that is where I learned what nurse logs were – a fallen tree that, as it decays, provides shelter and nutrients to seedlings. That struck a cord for me. Ever since then, nurse logs have made me smile when I stumbled upon them. We all need help and protection somewhere along the way to help us thrive, and there is something heartwarming about the idea of the younger generations building upon the foundations of the generation before them in the hopes of growing to greater heights. It’s a great metaphor for our own lives, and reminds me to appreciate all of the help I’ve had along the way in my own journey.
I have so much gratitude for all of the support that every one of you have given to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some incredible mentors and photography friends who encourage me to be my best, and I feel motivated to work harder by all of your kind words, referrals for work, print purchases, etc. You guys keep me reaching for new heights and I cannot thank you enough for your support over the years!
The Forest Through the Trees :: CT
Tomorrow is the last day for the print sale! If you want to pick up some wall art, AND ALSO help the people of the Paradise wildfire, make sure you get your order in!
All 5×7 photo paper prints are $15, all 8×10 photo paper prints are $20.
20% of the sales will go to help the victims of the wildfires in California, who are in desperate need of pretty much everything right now.
It can’t get much better than that, right? You support a local business, you get some art from an artist who definitely appreciates your support, AND you get to help the people of the devastating Paradise Camp fires. Win-Win-Win!
For a look at what prints you can get your hands on, go here. Or here. And if you see anything you want larger/smaller/on canvas or metal, just shoot me a message and we’ll find something that works for you.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. You’re the best!
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” -MLK Jr
The idea of the tree of life, in all of its various manifestations, is that all forms of creation are connected. That’s such a powerful sentiment, and has always resonated strongly with me.
It is a reminder that we are all brothers and sisters, and each of us has the opportunity every day to make a positive impact on each other.
It is a reminder that the things we do to our natural world, both good and bad, have a far reaching ripple effect.
Ultimately, our thoughts and actions have a greater effect than we likely realize or intend. The tree of life is a reminder that we are not alone in our journey, and to bring our best selves every day, so that as a whole, we can continue to raise ourselves up. 😊
Now the nerdy stuff: this is two exposures, one for the foreground, one for the sky, with a sprinkle of fairy dust on top. 😉
Our Little Secret :: Connecticut
A lot of us have them….a place we love to just *be*. A place we can explore, and play, and experience nature. A place that we love, and that we don’t really share because…well…that’s how you preserve the magic.
It’s interesting to me how wildly different, but equally lovely different parts of the world can be. Connecticut may not have the tallest mountains, deepest canyons, colorful rocks or most dramatic open spaces… but there is still so much beauty to be found in our own backyards. Saturday was overcast, so I spent some time exploring my corner of the state, chasing waterfalls.
Chasing Waterfalls
This particular set of falls is not a “secret”, per se. It’s just not talked about much and as far as I’m concerned, that’s okay! It’s one of the places I sneak away to when I need a little fresh air and call me selfish, but I enjoy it just the way it is…quiet. 😉
The Pillars :: New Hampshire
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. -Ansel Adams
New Hampshire is a such a beautiful state. This fall, we will be taking some students up into the White Mountain area for a one day workshop. If that’s something you’d be interested in, sign up for our newsletter so we can keep you informed. Announcement should be coming in the next month or so. 🙂
If you think a private lesson is more your speed, contact us and we can put together a lesson plan tailored to your needs.
And finally…for those of you on Instagram, we have a new project we have started meant to help people meet other great pphotographers, chat, and grow a sense of community among our awesome supporters and friends. If you’re on IG, please give @i_took_a_photo a follow. If you want your own images shared, tag them #w_my_camera. 🙂
See what we did there? @i_took_a_photo #w_my_camera ….. Heh. Heh.
Hilarious.
Xoxo!
Shannon
Juxtapose
Different can be beautiful. Variety can make life so very interesting. ❤
This photo was taken in Acadia National Park last fall in the Sieur de Monts section of the park. It’s a great little area within the park, with gardens, hiking trails and interesting scenes like this one. 🙂
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
The Forest Through the Trees
“There is always music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.” -Minnie Aumonier
That is the kind of sky I live for. A natural symphony. A masterpiece. The kind of light that makes anything look beautiful. Those few precious moments, just before the sun falls below the horizon, lighting up the sky and the forest with the most intense shades of rainbow…
*sigh*
The editing process for the images I took this day was touch and go. I wasn’t sure if this photo was any good. I wasn’t sure what I would ever do with it (I have a number of images sitting on hard drives like that) but a few things made me decide to publish this.
First, I was feeling very inspired by some of Lars Van De Goor’s beautiful forest images. The quality of the light and his edits are gorgeous.
Second, I had some wonderful feedback and encouragement from a loving boyfriend and a good friend. There is a lesson to be learned there. Always surround yourself with positive vibes. ……Ain’t nobody got time for haters. haha
Earlier this month I asked for your help – submissions of your best feel good or love quotes – to create a piece of Pinterest-friendly photo art. Today, I present to you, the final project! 🙂
So many thanks to everyone who sent in a quote. Between all of the social medias, I had more than enough to choose from. It was a bit of a unique and interesting project, in that I got a bit of insight into what you thought about when you saw the photo. It was really cool to see everyone’s interpretation of the image, and how it made them feel. I always feel like, in creating my images, I give a little bit of myself to the world. Those of you who submitted quotes…well…you gave me a little piece of your world, and I am grateful for that. 🙂
Now, the winner of the print is Marie over at Miles Don’t Matter. One of the quotes she submitted was actually a paraphrased version of this Walt Whitman quote. I loved both versions of the quote…her submissions, and the exact line from the poem, but went with the full quote because the phrasing felt less modern.
Another great big huge thank you goes out to my friends at Print Therapy. The font needed to convey the mood and tone of the project, and Melissa at PT really helped me narrow the font options down. This old typewriter font that she picked out felt perfect. It went with the aged and worn feel of the trees, while adding to the feel of old time, committed love that the quote conveyed. All in all, this was a super project to work on. I loved it so much, in fact, I may try this again in a few months…so keep your eyeballs peeled for that bit of fun.
In the meantime (no rest for the weary, right?) the next project – a blog tour – is brewing. Expect to see more about that in Sept!
Ok, friends…I’ve got some photos to edit. Until the next blog post…
XO
Shannon
Looking for other bloggers, book reviewers (if you can read, you're in!) and photographers who want to join forces to save the world! (Or something like that.)
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