Hello

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

It’s a quiet Christmas for us this year. I had knee surgery last Thursday and have been busy recuperating. I’m back on my feet now and while I’m not completely back to normal, the pain of the surgery is less than the knee pain I had for quite a while. So it’s all good.

I’ve been experimenting a little with high contrast black and white – what do you think?

Creating Again

Well I have been busy. The creative juices are flowing again and I’ve been creating all sorts of great photographs. At least I like them. I hope you do too. I guess I needed something new to photograph. I’m going to have to branch out a little bit, try some new places. The next big trip is the Everglades in the early spring which I don’t get to visit near enough. It may be a couple weeks before you see the new ones on the website, there’s Christmas presents to make, show schedule postcards to design and order, and generally getting ready for the next show season which starts the end of January. If you want a postcard, be sure to visit my website and send me your address.

Back home

Well I’m back home safe and sound in Florida. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my daughter, sister, and grand babies. At times I wish I lived closer to them but my daughter is doing a wonderful job. There’s a lot to be said for letting your grown children work out their own lives and I’m not sure I could have stepped back far enough if I lived close by. I also had a nice visit with my mother-in-law. We did something that I’m ashamed to say I haven’t done until now, having spent so much time in Charlottesville over the years. We visited Monticello. I’m sure the photograph I took has been taken my many others over the years, but it’s a nice memory and I like it.

Check out my website, http://www.serenityscenes.com/ for some of the photographs from the trip. I’ll be adding more as I sort through them.

God sets the scene

I mentioned a couple months back that I felt God provided photographs for me to take. God sets the scene and puts me in place to snap the shutter. And I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I felt uninspired, that I had lost that connection. Well all it took was a ride through the eastern mountains. I’m headed to my daughter’s for Thanksgiving with a stop by my mother-in-law and I decided to make it a two day trip and get off 95. Some friends at artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com gave me a different route of picking up 26 in South Carolina, then to 77, then to 81. They said if I took this way I would never drive 95 again. They may be right, at least when my trip goes first to Charlottesville. Interstate 77 is breathtakingly beautiful in spots even with the trees not at their best because of the drought. Unfortunately, traffic was heavy and it was just too dangerous to pull off to the side on the interstate for a photograph. I did do a side trip looking for Lake Wateree State Park but I never did find the park or if I did it really wasn’t worth a mention on an interstate sign. I did find the lake but really didn’t find any good photographs there. So I was feeling inspired but frustrated.

I pulled out of a rest area and the truck wasn’t acting right. It could have been that it was not used to the kind of hills I was doing but it just didn’t feel right. So I took the next exit and stopped at a gas station just to turn it off for a few moments (and to get a Powerball ticket). While in the gas station I noticed that there was an antique store across the street with some cool looking stuff so I drove across the street. When I got out I saw the photograph above. I believe that coincidences are God choosing to remain anonymous and what coincidences had to transpire to put me in that place at that time. By the way, the truck worked fine after that.

Tonight I’m safely in a nice warm motel with an aching knee and tomorrow I head to Charlottesville via 11 and 64. My daughter has given me some directions to her place that send me through some of my favorite roads too. Hopefully there will be more photographs over the next few days.

I missed the mountains, especially in Fall. But if I were here all the time I would miss the warmth and birds of Florida. Snow flurries called for tomorrow. That part I don't miss!

Naples here I come

Well I have been heard to say lately that the west coast (of Florida) doesn’t seem to like me much, having gotten 5 rejections in the past two weeks, of which, all but one were the west coast. Well Bonita Springs, Tampa, and Ft. Myers may not like me but it appears that Naples does. I’m now in the Naples Invitational Art Festival and the Naples National Art Festival. I’m especially excited about getting into the Naples National because I’m going to take the time between St. Stephens and the Naples National to spend a week in the Everglades taking pictures. Hopefully my sister will join me and we can have an adventure together.

I’d planned on taking pictures all weekend but a change in plans for Thanksgiving has me preparing to leave for Virginia next weekend instead of the Monday after the weekend so I am Christmas shopping and getting my nails done and all that prep stuff. Tomorrow is free though and I intend to be out at dawn.

In my free time today I’ve been appeasing the photography bug by going through some of my older pictures and reworking them. Let me know what you think of the one above.

I probably won’t post again until after Thanksgiving so everyone remember that the key to having what you want is wanting what you have so be grateful for all the little things.

Lake Mary-Heathrow

Ahh, Lake Mary. I wish I could do that show every weekend. It’s close to home. I get to sleep in my own bed at night. And better yet, appreciative people who buy. And I had the wonderful experience of seeing previous buyers. It’s so nice to hear, “I bought a picture from you last year and it looks wonderful”. I can’t say enough nice things about the people who put on the show. They know me, come by and check on me, and really care how things are going. And I was awarded third place in photography. All in all, a pleasant weekend and a good end to the fall season.

No photographs this weekend. I chose to leave the camera at home and I regretted it. I’ll have to paint a word photograph – A beautiful calico cat sunning itself in the window across from my booth in a home with beige walls and black shutters which just match the colors of the cat, a tree just beside the window.

Since I didn’t get into Disney, I’m going to take next weekend to go take some new photographs. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. I think maybe I’ll go back to Ocala or maybe to Kissimmee and try to get some eagles in flight. Or do the boat ride on the Dora Canal. So many photographs to take, so little time.

Ocala

Well here I am sitting in Ocala on Saturday night. This is the lonely part of doing art shows. The show is going well, sold a few pieces, one piece selected for judging which is an honor considering the number of excellent artists present. The show is very nicely done, with nice, organized people and possibly the best artist dinner I have ever had. I used to dry chicken and potato salad not chicken marsala and red potatoes. But the show is over for the day, my husband just called to tell me he is feeling very sick, sounds like the flu, and I miss him more than usual this trip.

I came up a day early hoping to get some photo time in on Friday morning. Friday morning was drizzly and grey, not necessarily a bad thing for photos but not good traveling weather particularly in a fully loaded van. I found myself on a two lane dark road with no shoulders in the rain looking at the speed limit sign thinking “I do not feel safe at that speed”. Of course there is a long line of people behind me by the time I finally find somewhere to pull over. There was no sunrise to speak of, just a slowly growing lighter, grey sky. I did find a lovely place to take pictures but then the rain started again.

It’s hard sometimes to juggle this life with family time. I realized this morning that I have forgotten to send the Halloween cards I bought for my grandchildren two weeks ago. So much to do, so much I want to do, so little time. I did buy that lottery ticket though J

Anyway, tomorrow will be a better day. The weather report has changed from 60% chance of rain to 30% and it’s Sunday and Sundays are always the best days at a show. Then break down, go home, and give Clif an extra hug for putting up with the everyday hassles of my dream.