Category Archives: Beauty in the photographs details

Raindrops on Leaves

Walking with my Dog Louie, twice daily, through the wooded trails here at Jubilee, and at Tolmie State park is a great pleasure, and and a great healing, for me.

As a person with a “photographer’s eye” I see beauty that many people miss. Having my Iphone camera with me makes it easy to capture some of that beauty, crop it, edit it, and now share it with you. It rains a lot here 🙂 but the raindrops on fallen Pacific Madrone leaves is spectacularly beautiful.

I hope you take time to see the beauty near you.

Beauty in the photographs details: Summer Backlit Daisy

What I love about this lovely backlit Daisy:

I love how each white petal tip is uniquely beautiful, curved and pointed,
I love the orange yellow center, with their gorgeous geometric shapes,
I love the backlit whiteness,
I love the 2 companion daisies at the bottom of the photo,
I love the darkness contrast of the background.

 

 

The photo also reminds me of HAL in 2001 A space odyssey, 
where he sings “Daisy” as he is being dismantled by Dave.
“I’m scared Dave… will I dream?”

 “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I’m half crazy all for the love of you
It won’t be a stylish marriage
I can’t afford a carriage, but you’ll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two.”

Beauty in the photographs details: Hollyhock Chair Boat

There is so much in this photograph that I love.

The place itself I love. It is the Hollyhock Retreat center on Cortes Island in British Columbia, a beautiful, remote, and Magical, Transformative place, especially in the summertime. I first went there in 1978 And attended a 13 week long Resident fellow program with a different workshop each week. I attended a dream workshop where I learned that I was Dan, Dan, The rainbow man, a healer and a teacher. And for the last 45 years, I’ve lived being a Healer and a teacher. I learned about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin),The bodhisattva of compassion. I learned it from John Blofeld, that Very British China convert, Who wrote so beautifully about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin), and also  translated the I Ching. John Blofeld so enjoyed his afternoon tea :). I learned about the I Ching, and Tarot cards. And I learned from the wind, the trees, low and high tides, I learned from the lapping of the water, BJ, Whiskey and orange juice, early morning sunshine, the wonderful gardens, and even more wonderful vegetarian meals. I learned by working with Bill Glackman, now a lifetime friend, doing handyman work around the then COld Mountain Institute.

But what do I love about this picture! I love the early morning light, with the side-light and long shadows. I love the empty chair and the empty boat, both waiting for us/me/you.

I can feel myself sitting in that chair, with my eyes closed, warm, with the sunshine on my face and arms in the cool morning, and ever so gently, I feel a slight breeze. With each breath, I breathe in the light, salty smells of the sea. I hear the gentle lapping of water on the beach. I hear the bird calls of morning,  welcoming the new day. That chair is a place to simply be, mindfully and appreciatively.

The empty boat, red and white and waiting, Is not about mindfulness. The empty boat is about adventure awaiting! Come,Let us row away to adventure! Morning is the time for both contemplation and beginning of adventures! I love that in this photograph.

I love the colors, the greens of the grass and the tree. I love the shades of blues in the sea, and in the mountains across the sea.  I love the bands of lighter color blue on the water.

I love how small I am in that early morning light, And how big that quiet sea is,  and how the shrouded mountains are at the top the photograph.

I love the lines of the small waves, lapping towards the shore.

I love the juxtaposition of the living Green tree, the stump, and the wooden chair. Three stages of existence?

I love the variations between the rocky shore, The tidal zone with it’s small rocks and mud , and the two big rocks In the nearby shallow water.

When I look at this picture, I feel gratitude, the hopes of a new morning, The beckoning of mindfulness and adventure, and the sheer beauty of it all: colors, bands of blue and green, and waves, sea, trees, shore, chair, boat, and distant mountains… and ME!

Beauty in the photographs details:Teapots

I love this photo! 

 

I love this photo and put a lot of work into it. I wanted to emphasize the teapots, the linen, the reflections, and therefore made everything but the table and the teapots into a black background.

What do I love in this photograph?

The T shape folded white tablecloth and the detailed weaving of that tablecloth.

The white teapot in the foreground, with its beautiful curved elegant handle shaped perfectly for pouring. The gentle curved classy but deliberately understated spout, that white 5 petaled rose on the knob of the cover, and that so wonderfully curved reflection of light on top. I love the reflection of the trees of the garden and the afternoon sun on the front of the teapot. That teapot is elegant perfection in the service of tea! Yet, we often don’t see it. Thinking about something else, we just pour our tea.

The blue handled, blue spouted, Blue topped, colorful teapot in the background. I love the colors, the flowers, the orange with yellow dotted bottom. I love the shape of the handle and the tear drop shaped top handle. I love the bright light and shadow of the afternoon sun on the teapot. I love the shape and The light and  the shadows of the blue handle against the black background.

I love the light of the sun and the shapes it makes on the tablecloth at the top of the photo.

I love how the teapots in their simple elegant beauty, and the tablecloth, and the sunlight on the tablecloth are the stars of this photograph. Yet, the tea cup and the plate with the scone almost hidden at the top are also part of the photograph.

For me, this is almost a perfect photograph that brings me great joy, and great remembrances of the teahouse in Victoria British Columbia.

Beauty in the photographs details 1: Appreciating Panama Canal Photo

Knowing what to look for, and what the photographer saw in the photo, adds to the appreciation of the photograph. Below is a photo as we were in the Gatun locks in the Panama Canal in December 2016. What I love are the details, the woman alone on the deck observing, the very small space between the ship and the edge of the canal, the workmen looking up, the lines of the rails, the lighthouse. Each are such a small part of the photo, yet so important, even in their smallness, Each detail adds to the appreciation of this photo.

Even though it is not a “great” photo, knowing the details adds so much. Hope you appreciate the photo of this engineering feat, where people are small, and lines and shapes dominate, as viewed from a cruise ship. In the final photo I cut out the lighthouse to emphasize the smallness of the people, the lines, and include the picnic table.