Tag Archives: curves

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!

Snoqualmie Falls in Winter

This is a 16X20 poster of Snoqualmie Falls in Winter.Snoqualmie Falls varies from a trickle to a cataclysm in different times of the year. WInter is magical. Does the gentle mist know of the crashing waters that gave it birth? Power and gentleness, mist and majesty. Ice and water and mist. All one. Meditative. In-Joy Enjoy.

 

Cloudy day: Pond Shapes and Light

It has been awhile. Still recovering from open heart surgery six months ago, finished full-time teaching and am now on summer break!

These are photos of water, and shapes, and cloud reflections, taken on my walk in February 2016.

 

Lago De Claire Promenade Irving Texas July 2015

Every morning for nine days I got up about 4-6 AM  to walk early, watch the sunrise, and avoid 100-106° heat  and humidity that would come later in the day in Irving Texas. But even this early,  the temperature was in the 80s and it was Muggy.  The walk around the artificial lake is 1.3 miles and I would walk it  three times,  often as the stars twinkled out and the sun rose. I loved how the sweet scent of flowers greeting the morning sky. I liked  all the artificial beauty,  the lines, perfectly spaced trees, perfectly spaced light posts  all in a row.  I loved the statue of the dancers,  people walking their dogs, people absorbed in their headphones, the sound of birds.  I loved how good it felt to walk!

Click on any of the photos to see the caption and the slideshow.

Jubilee Trail Photos

I love the 3 mile walk from my home to the beach and back in the very early morning when rabbits and squirrels are on the trail, and people aren’t. The squish squish sounds of my feet on gravel. The clop clop sound of my feet on the paved part of the path. The greens of the forest, the coolness as I enter the woods. The snags, the sounds of birds, the emptying of my mind and the gratitude I feel. I love the Madrona trees with their red peeling bark, the tall evergreens, the snags, the blackberries, even the new development that is being built next to the quiet forest.

This was once a munitions loading dock area in WWII, a time gone now, covered by trees that don’t remember, and birds that sing, and flowers that open their secret  scents in the early morning light.

Click on any photo to see its caption.

Georgia O’Keefe’s Jack in the Pulpit IV and VI

Georgia O’Keefe’s Jack in the Pulpit IV and VI

I’ve been posting some of my favorite paintings recently because I was in Washington D.C.  and was able to dash off occasionally to some of my favorite galleries. These photos were taken on my iphone 5 and I’ve used Pixelmator and LightRoom 5 to edit them.

Georgia O’Keefe is one of my favorite painters! Her paintings curves, lines, and colors move me deeply! I’ve done a bit of color play with the pictures and cropped them for emphasis. I’ve finally decided that I can’t perfectly replicate the original paintings and even if I could what you would see on your screen would vary from monitor to monitor. SO I’ve edited these photos so that they move me most as I see them on my monitor. Hopefully O’Keefe’s work, as edited by me, will be as beautiful and moving to you as they are to me on my screen!

 

 

Favorite Photo: Rooster of Kauai

Rooster of Kauai

Roosters and chickens run rampant and wild all around Kauai after a storm many years ago. I love the colors, and lighting, and curves, and shapes of this rooster photo I composed during Susan’s and my  honeymoon in Kauai in 2008.

Favorite Photos: Abkhazi Garden Teahouse Teapots

Abkhazi Garden Teahouse Teapots

Susan and I have been to the Abkhazi Garden Teahouse in Victoria, B.C. twice now in December. Great teas and wonderful unique teapots and teacups. Everyone gets a different teapot and teacup! I loved the teapots, the lighting, the teas and the high tea!

In this photo I took a lot of time to make black out everything but the teapots and the wonderful light and the tablecloth. So much beauty!