Are just about the picture. Have a great day!
Some Mornings
Present
Present – not as in gift, but as in being in the moment. How often are we really and truly present in our every day lives? Aware of the world around us, aware of ourselves. Not often enough, I would have to say, for me. And yet, when I am present, amazing things happen. I discover more about myself. I see the beauty around me. I see different ways to interact with others. It’s as if the world opens up as a new and wonderful place to be.
So positive, and yet so hard. One of the things that I love about photography is that it ties you to the present moment. There is nothing beyond the image you see in front of you at the moment you press the shutter button. You can’t be thinking of the photo you captured yesterday, or tomorrow, when you capture the one of today. When I first saw these seed pods, while looking for pretty leaves, I thought they were ugly. But then I went back, and studied them with my camera, and discovered their hidden beauty.
Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.” — Thick Nhat Hanh
To live life, see the beauty in life, we have to be present. A thought I will carry with me today.
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My friend Jenny, a life coach, asked me if I wanted to share my experience in Italy and how it’s changed me with her readers. I’m writing a series of articles for her newsletter and blog, about how my time in Italy has helped me to find my passion and purpose, and how I think you can apply the lessons I’ve learned to your life. If you are interested in reading the first article, visit her blog at Rising Sun Coaching.
(By the way, does anyone know that type of tree this seed pod is from?)
My Muse
Another weekend in Venice, this makes visit number five. Can you believe it? Five. Today’s photo prompt for Picture Fall is muse – what is my muse, my inspiration right now. So a photo from this weekend is my answer… my muse is the light at night, reflections, textures and the rain. All came together for a beautiful photo of Venice at night.
For those of you who share my interest in night photography, I’ll give you the details on this photo: I used a tripod, and my 35mm lens at ISO200, f/4, 4sec. I now have my remote in the camera bag and that came in handy for the long exposures I was using to avoid camera shake. No post processing, except to crop. It was raining quite steady, so my husband was holding the umbrella over the camera for me but I personally got soaked. Mental note for next time: Waterproof jacket, so that I can stay out shooting longer!
Where is Home?
I’m home! Back in Italy. But I was also home, back in Oregon. And sometimes I visit home, heading to my childhood haunts in Colorado. This trip has made me stop and ask, where is home? What makes a home? I certainly felt at home these last couple of weeks in Oregon, spending time with friends and being in a familiar town, even though I was staying in a hotel. And it also feels like I’m home now that I’m back in Italy in our apartment with my husband and son and very needy cat.
I was thinking about a few of the sayings about home we Americans have….
Home sweet home.
Home is where you hang your hat.
Home is where the heart is.
I think I can define “home” as any where I feel comfortable and accepted. It’s a feeling, not a place. I carry it with me, across the time zones and oceans and cultures. I find that I have multiple homes, even one here, in the virtual world. What a comforting thought!
With these thoughts on “home” I’m curious – where is your home? How do you define it for yourself?
PS – Wasn’t the view I had of the Alps on the way into Milan gorgeous today?
Share Your View: Photo Essays
This is one of the Oktoberfest photos I liked, but that didn’t fit my photo essay last week, so I’ll share it here! I’m also musing on Food, Glorious Food over at Mortal Muses today, so come by and say hi!
But today is the day that you get to share your view in the Exploring with a Camera series. You’ve had a week since the Photo Essay post, what have you seen since then? Have you tried a photo essay of your own? Do you have one from the past you want to share? Did you find a photo essay in your online reading that you want to share with other readers here? We want it all!
Please use the linky widget to add your link below (you will need to visit the blog to see the widget) and share your view with the rest of us today.
Special Place
Today I am musing on “where i live” over at the Mortal Muses More Musing site. Come by and see more about this special place near our home in Italy, and then look around at all of the other wonderful posts from people around the world about where they live.