Weekly Photo Challenge: Free Spirit

“He was not bone and feather but a perfect idea of freedom and flight, limited by nothing at all”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

One of my oldest friends (since 2nd grade!) gave me a stained glass seagull as a gift back when we were in high school. At the time, she told me she chose it for me because she thought I was a free spirit like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the character of an extremely popular book at that time. It was all about a seagull learning to fly but it was really a metaphor for life and finding oneself without conforming.

I still have it, though I can no longer hang it on the window; the hook at the top of it broke just recently. I dug it out of a drawer for this week’s Photo Challenge. Looking at it now, I see its imperfection, but still love it for its emotional message. Perhaps this will get me to rig up another type of hook.

So…what do I have hanging on my window instead? Dancing kitties. They are really a Christmas ornament, I think, but I like seeing the sun shine through the beads, and as I look through the window, it almost looks as if they are dancing on the deck railing. I guess somehow I still have that “free spirit” thing going on.

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SUNDAY POST : From a Distance

This photo is the first one that came to my mind when I saw Jake’s topic this week. I’ve always kind of liked it because of the “frame” of the car window (maybe I just like the profile of my husband’s nose–giggle). We were driving through Cincinnati Ohio, and from the highway in the distance I could see the baseball stadium. I was in the passenger seat so the best I could do that time was take it through my husband’s window.

Stadium in Cincinnati through the car window

We made another trip there the next week and I was able to get a clear shot. If you look closely, you can actually see the scoreboard lit up with a player’s face on it right in the center of the photo!

Finally, here is a picture from Rock City in Chattanooga, TN. There are famous versions of this shot on postcards (though mine’s not postcard worthy…LOL). The path is winding, and a one point you come around a corner and see people on a “cliff” you haven’t come to yet. It makes you anticipate the impressive view to come!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (2)

Damn…I couldn’t stop at one post once I opened the “shoebox”.

Quebec City

I think one of the most beautiful cities in the world is Quebec City because of the mixture of old and new architecture, and the fact that the “old” part of the city is very small and walkable. As such, when it is tourist season in Quebec City, it is CROWDED!!

July in Quebec City

If you want to see more city or “urban” pictures in response to the Weekly Challenge, I recommend these:

http://windagainstcurrent.com/

http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/weekly-photo-challenge-urban/

http://shelflifeofabookseller.com/2012/08/24/weekly-photo-challenge-the-red-door/

http://imagesbymadelainecappuccio.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/weekly-photo-challengeurban/

http://drieskewrites.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/weekly-photo-challenge-urban/

http://ayearinmyshoes.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/weekly-photo-challenge-urban/

http://northernnarratives.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/weekly-photo-challenge-urban/

 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban

The Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge was a tough one for me this week; I never go to the “city” any more. From where I live in rural Massachusetts, it is a major investment of time and expense, so I had to go into the wayback machine (or to the shoebox as I’ve heard it said) for these. Still miss my dependable ol’ Pentax K-1000…SIGH.

I lugged it on a trip to Paris in 1985, and a trip to Copenhagen in 1986.

I have always liked to see people lost in their reverie or concentrating on something in the middle of the noise, hustle and bustle of the city.

Rue de Rivoli, Paris 1985

 

 

“Rat Art”

One of the things that amazed me about Copenhagen in 1986 was the number of bicycles — they were everywhere! At that time, there weren’t a lot of Americans using bicycles in the city, so this seemed very exotic and “foreign” to me.

Copenhagen 1986

 

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Wordless Wednesday: Morning Glory

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SUNDAY POST : Black & White

Jake’s topic this week is Black and White. Although any photo can be made black and white, I associate black and white photography with something old. I decided to go with a “historic” theme.

Here’s a photo of an old graveyard in my town, pre-Revolutionary War.

Next a sign for a store that predates the Civil War; it is now a post office.

And finally, my shadow standing over the old gravestone of a child. It made me sad; there was no date, just one name: Louisa.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Merge

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about still life photos created by photographer Elizabeth Handy. Her clients choose items that represent what is important in their life, and the items are paired with a flower. She calls these “portraits” of the people who chose the items.

I love this idea, and I think it fits this week’s Daily Post Photo Topic. The photo represents the “merging” of separate aspects of someone’s personality into a complete and unique picture.

This photo was my first attempt, taken a couple of months after I wrote the blog.

Although I spent some time choosing the items, I didn’t spend a lot of time arranging them or creating a decent background! It was a kind of half-hearted attempt that I didn’t pursue further.

Then when this topic came up, I decided to try again and be a little more deliberate and thoughtful about it. I took a series of pictures, substituting some items. This is the one I chose.

 

I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life. I love writing/journaling, cats, food, gardening, wine, and music (I used to LOVE Billy Joel and did many drawings of him). I think of myself as a wildflower type of gal; the extra joke is that the wildflower is a Black-Eyed Susan, and that’s my name!

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