Succintly yours: By The Sea

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For today's 'Succintly Yours' prompt, I've written two pieces...one semi-serious, one simply silly!

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She watched him watch the world; she always the onlooker, he seeing only what his lens allowed. Enough.

“Picture this, then!” she said, walking out of his life for good.

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(140 characters)
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and

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Myopic, mad and mildly morose, Morris missed by miles the many

moves Marcy made to merge more merriment into the meagerly

mundane. Magic made no mark on this man’s mind!

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(140 characters)

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For more microfiction in 140 characters or words, pop by Grandma's Goulash and enjoy the feast!

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http://grandmas-goulash.info/category/succinctly-yours/

Road Trip!

Route 66, Arizona
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I will be incommunicado for the first part of the month. My husband and I are taking another trip down to the Southwest area that we so enjoy, both for the incredible scenery and the mystical history behind its scattered ruins. This will be the first time we hit Four Corners, where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado meet, so there will be much to discover. We fly into Las Vegas, then immediately set off on a week-long road trip, mostly spent exploring the National Parks in Utah, to finally end up in Salt Lake City for a few days before heading home.

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I am including a tentative itinerary here for any armchair travelers among you who might be interested. Of course, plans are always subject to change! Leaving the house and furry companions in the capable hands of our big sons, we will be free souls wandering wherever whim takes us…our favourite thing in the world to do!
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Grand Canyon, Arizona

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My much-loved regular readers do not

need me to say that I am rendered breathless at the thought of photographing Antelope Canyon, (high on my bucket list), and Bryce Canyon, not to mention Monument Valley! Think of every John Ford western flick you’ve ever seen with the red spires and buttes…are they not beyond magnificent? I am literally aquiver with anticipation!

Grand Canyon, Arizona This is the plan:

2nd: Vancouver to Las Vegas
3rd: Las Vegas to Zion Nat. Park
4th: Bryce Canyon, UT,
5th: Antelope Canyon, AZ
6th: Monument Valley, AZ
7th: Mesa Verde, CO
8th: Arches Nat. Park, UT
9th: Canyonlands, UT
10th: Salt Lake City and environs
11th: Salt Lake City to Vancouver

Chapel On The Hill, Sedona

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My camera awaits...batteries charged and memory cards lined up. When I get back online, I hope to have many wonders to share with you. I’ll try not to bore you with an excess of photos, but like an overexcited child, I don’t always know when to stop…and moderation never was my strong suit!
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I may check in whilst away, but striving to take in as much as we can, we spend very little time in hotel rooms. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime…happy blogging!!
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The photos above are from a trip to the Arizona in 2007

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Weird Water

As I went through digital folders of beach photos I've taken to see what I might post for Watery Wednesday, my attention was drawn to the shots of water that had moved beyond being only a puddle or pool, and become a different entity altogether.

By shooting close-up and excluding the context of sand and shells, some of the resulting pictures seem to me to resemble abstract paintings. The colours and textures look plastered on as if some artist had gone mad with his jars of moulding paste and acrylic paints!

Most of these shots were taken both in White Rock, and at Semiahmoo Beach a short distance further down the shore. Semiahmoo is always a favourite spot for us to visit, as it is one of the few places that allow dogs onto the sand in summer...a rare chance for them to frolic through the water with their guardians, and dig sandy holes. Very much appreciated by those of us who are dog-lovers...and who always clean up after our pets so we'll be welcomed back!

Sunlight on the water creates an effect that I think resembles the marbelized end papers on old books.
Ripples, reflections and a radiant light are things that always will catch my eye.

This picture makes me smile, with it's effervescence and immediacy, as if the wave might leap out and splash me at any moment.

By contrast, this cool study in light and dark perfectly reflects the tranquility of the pond in Watershed Park where it was taken.
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It has been a wonderful summer for water photos, and now that Fall is here and the rains have begun, there will definitely be no shortage of winter watery photos!!

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I'm linking this post to Watery Wednesday! For more photos that are damp, doused and drenched check out the link below!
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http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/
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Egyptian Shadows

As my last post was of Egyptian skies, I thought to continue with more of this country's beauty for Shadow Shot Sunday.

There is a wonderful luminosity to the light in Egypt as it reflects off handhewn columns and ripples over sand underfoot. Everthing the sun touches here turns golden, contrasting sharply with the dim inner spaces that sunlight doesn't reach.

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Ancient temples are this photographers's dream, affording perfect studies in sun and shadow...

light against dark.

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The Temple of Horus at Edfu

I became fascinated by patterns formed as sunlight struck the ornate pillars and swept across deeply etched hieroglyphic images.
Kom Ombo Temple, Aswan

Moving along pillared halls was like walking with giants. I marvelled at the height and breadth of the columns, each one precisely carved by the master craftsmen who built these temples many centuries ago.
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Karnak Temple, Luxor

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Kom Ombo Temple, Aswan

As if the decorated columns were not sufficiently beautiful, they are topped by magnificent capitols,carved into breathtaking swirls and flourishes.
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These temples were once painted in brilliant royal hues of blue and red. Occasionally, one lifts one's eyes to spot a majestic falcon on an archway overhead, wings spread wide to protect his pharaoh, feathers still bearing traces of the blazing turquoise and gold that once made it soar.

How astounding it is to stand in these decorated halls built for the glorification of kings and gods!

Hypostyle Hall,

Temple of Luxor,

Luxor

Medinet Habu,

Mortuary Temple of Ramses III,

Luxor

Time and pollution have faded the brilliant colurs and worn gouges into the sandstone, but nothing will ever completerly diminish the magic or the magnificence of Ancient Egypt's treasures...

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Many thanks to 'Hey, Harriet' for hosting this Sunday event! To see more, do drop by her page at...
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http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/
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September Sunset

While having dinner with my menfolk last night, I saw my husband glance over my shoulder at the window behind me, his fork held briefly suspended.
Still eating, I raised my eyebrows in question. Master of understatement, his response was a shrug,
and a muttered, "Oh, nothing..nice sunset."

Magic words to my ears! Dinner was forgotten as I gasped a quick, "Excuse me!", grabbed my camera and hurried out to the deck.

'Nice' hardly begins to describe the magical blues and golds that painted the evening sky! I love the mercurial quality of clouds, the swift and everchanging transformations that hypnotize and render one spell-bound. I took a few shots then leaned on the railing to simply soak up all that splendour.

"Your dinner's getting cold," I heard a voice warn me from inside, but there was no contest as to which I wanted more.
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Food for the body or food for the soul...the feast for my eyes won out as it always will with this mad photographer!

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I am linking this post to Looking At The Sky on Friday, graciously hosted by CrAzY Working Mom at the link below. Do stop by for skies that inspire!
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http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/
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Sunday Rambling

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For us, Sunday is a day to wander. With our little dog in tow, my husband and I explore places near and far, changing plans and directions as the mood takes us. Yesterday, we set out for the shore, only to come across a local park we had not been to before. We ended up staying for the afternoon and never did make it to the beach.

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I knew it was the right choice when we came across one of the abandoned buildings that I so love to photograph.

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Watershed Park is so named because of an underground aquifer that feeds into the neighbourhood water works.
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The derelict remains of an old pumping station immediately captured my attention, and unlike the places we so often explore, there was no sign prohibiting entry!

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I might have wished for better light in which to photograph. After an uncommonly hot, dry summer, we've slammed into a gray and damp September. Our normally lush, coastal rainforests are subdued and pale
and the sun has hidden itself away.
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That did not deter me from taking shots as I wandered through the brambles and moss that had overtaken the ruins.
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The park is mostly evergreen, and the odd bright tree stands out like an exclamation point against the darker background.

Continuing on the trail, I focused on the many nurse trees our forests have in abundance as new life begins in old stumps.

Already, the air had the rich, earthy smell of Autumn, and a layer of dampness lightly coated the leaves.
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Shiny salal and skunk cabbage peeked out from the trees, and tall, purple columbine peopled the paths edge.
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We had the park mainly to ourselves. Families of shcool-age children would be at the mall in search of back-to-school clothes, or tracking down the
inevitable list of stationery needs. With no such concerns,
we wandered at leisure, watching our own playful pup as fondly as if she were a child.

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As it neared time to leave, the sun finally put in an appearance, laying pretty dappled patterns across the crunchy gravel path and softening the air. I took a few last shots, packed away my camera and we set off to Starbucks, our normal way to finish off each Sunday walk!

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It was a very good afternoon indeed...

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Sedona Skies

I am in love with Sedona,



where endless skies stretch on forever to form the perfect backdrop for peaks so brilliantly tinged with red that they take one's breath away.

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The skies are mercurial..from minute to minute they dazzle and change with the brilliance of every hue one can possibly imagine.
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Unlikely athough it seems, the photos on this page were taken over the course of a single overnight stay. To say one night was not enough is an understatement. Sedona's hills, her whisper-soft air and brilliant skies seem to me what heaven must be like.
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We are heading back to the
Southwest for an autumn trip...its lure

remains irresistable

to me.

My camera and I can hardly wait...
there are many more pictures to take!

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I am linking this post to Looking At The Sky on Friday, graciously hosted by CrAzY Working Mom at the link below. Do stop by for skies that inspire!

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http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/

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Watery Wednesday

On a recent summer's afternoon, we wound our way to the seashore for a walk.

It was pleasantly cool for August, and not a cloud broke up the blue perfection of the sky. As usual, I had my camera at the ready.

It was surprising to find that the normally raucous and energetic seagulls were uncommonly sedate. They uttered not a sound, and stood facing quietly out to sea as the sun slowly began its descent to the horizon.
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Even the prescence of curious onlookers seemed of little concern to the placid birds. I was able to move up quietly until I was close enough to see how clearly their shadows were reflected in the water. The resulting pics were perfect mirror images, each of which can be turned upside down and look much the same.

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Give it a try...you'll see what I mean!

I'm linking this post to Watery Wednesday! For more photos that are damp, doused and drenched check out the link below!
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http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/
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Finn Slough

My camera has become my ally in slowing down this busy life. I often seem to hurtle through my days, so intent on what needs done that many small and beautiful moments pass by largely unnoticed.

I may observe that the sun rising through fog has an odd coral glow. I may glance over at tidy rows of coloured pencils and be pleased by their order...but these are momentary distractions only, quickly cast aside in pursuit of whatever goal the day demands of me.

.To make time pause in its tracks, I turn to my camera. I've learned that photography involves more than calculating f-stops or reading the manual from cover to cover.

To make meaninful shots, we must first learn how to see, not as automatic a response as it would seem. Our world moves swiftly, propelling us along with it.

We've learned to snap off a quick picture before our child scoots away again, and to take countless shots because our memory card allows it. We don't pay much attention with camera in hand...we'll see the results later.
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But if we hesitate a little..take the time to really look at the face we are about to record or the flower that has caught our attention, the image imprints on our brain and can find its way to our heart before we even press the shutter. In that moment, we connect with the world in a slower, more meaningul way.

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We are currently exploring place, my camera and I, in particular the places people call home. The word means something different to each of us, but though locations may change and styles may vary, home is univerally considered the place where we can be ourselves

without censure, and can surround ourselves with the people we love and the things we cherish.
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We recently came upon a unique community on the south arm of the Fraser River. Historic Finn Slough began life a hundred years ago. Today, it is the last working fishing village on the Fraser River
and home to roughly fifty people who live
and work in a manner closely linked to their heritage.

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Imbued with a palpable sense of history and times past, weathered homes on stilts and floats lie nestled in the slough, some accessible only by a rickety wooden drawbridge. Although close to Richmond and Vancouver, this village has a charm and simplicity that set it well apart from the modern urban areas that crowd around it and threaten it's future.

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I know I'll be drawn back to this oasis often, lured by the memory of ducks rooting through the marshland and a landscape changed hourly by the tides and the river light.

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I can only hope it will still be there waiting for me...

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Old Boots

Although I have captured many beautiful sights at home and abroad with my trusty camera, today my attention is caught by boots: old boots…recycled boots…in particular, a grungy pair of Doc Martens that gave my son many good years of service before being reluctantly abandoned. The wear of time shows on them clearly…they are scuffed beyond repair and losing their soles…yet something in me hesitated to throw them out when they were finally replaced. Instead, I plopped into each boot a small perennial salvaged from the shade of a tree…and together, plants and boots have happily settled in and flourished on my back porch.

It can be said that I have an affinity for things old and decrepit, a trait more noticeable in my personality as I come closer to having those same words used to describe me! As an adjective, “beautiful” is more often used to denote things that are fresh, new and young. Flashy cars…spacious homes…a childlike complexion…all are examples of what can fill us with awe and arouse our covetous natures. We are seduced to believe we can enrich our lives by the acquisition of such wonders, if only we prove worthy of them.

Yet in my quest for all things lovely, I have always looked to the old …old friends…old music…old books…and old boots. Old boots keep me humble. Old boots remind me that beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, it is also to be found in the everyday and the ordinary. Age does not diminish beauty nor preclude usefulness. There is beauty in comfort…in familiarity…in the knowledge that some things can be depended on to remain the same in a society where change is our one constant.

Embrace beauty at all ages and your life will become richer in what really matters...