Tag: photography

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Putting a Little More Life in my Daily Living

This past month has been a busy one.  I turned fifty-one.  Somehow, I thought it would take longer to reach middle age than what it has.  I celebrated my last day being 50 by target shooting and going for a 5 mile hike.  All in all – it was a good day!

My spare time has been spent playing with my camera.  I’ve given light painting a try and I’ve found it to be a fun, creative outlet for ridding myself of the day’s stress.  Below are a couple of the photos I’ve taken.

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Loved the reptilian feel of this one. Is it me or can you see a snake too?
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Light painting with a crystal ball

Back in January, I started an exercise program through work.  Tomorrow begins week 13 of the 14 week challenge.  At the beginning of the program, I had to choose some motivational quotes that would inspire me along my journey.   One of the motivational quotes I chose was:

                       Three months from now, you will thank yourself.   

(I looked but couldn’t find the author of the quote.)

It’s been 3 months – and I’m so thankful for the changes in my life.  Life is so much more fulfilling when you are taking advantage of your time instead of letting it drift away.

There’s more hiking, target practice and camera time on the calendar and much less time in front of the television.

Here’s wishing you lots of living!  Have a great week!

-Deb

P.S.  Less television also means more reading time.  I’m a huge fan of YA novels.  Recently finished John Mantooth’s – The Year of the Storm.   It’s got a bit of a Southern Gothic feel.  A little different from my usual reads but really good.         

 

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Photography – My Work in Progress

Photography is something I really enjoy.  I love trying “new to me” techniques.  A couple of weeks ago, I tried my hand at light painting.  This week, I worked on HDR Photography.  As I live in a rural area, I decided to focus on what is around me – which is a lot of water.  In the near future,  I’d love to drive to Wilmington, NC and try this in the downtown area.

So here’s a couple of my first week’s attempts:

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Gotta love spring time weather in February – nothing better than getting outside and enjoying the warmth!

Here’s wishing you a wonderful week!

-Deb

 

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Hello! It’s Me Again!

 

 

I haven’t been on social media much over the past year.  Outside of sharing images on Instagram, I’ve pretty much avoided the whole scene.  I grew tired of all the nastiness that seemed to pop up everywhere.  I couldn’t get past how vicious some people could be.  The trolls were making me lose my faith in humanity.  So – I stepped back.  I took a much-needed break and I refocused my energies.

Volunteering with the homeless shelter reminded me of all my blessings.

Seeing my husband retire from his job as a law enforcement officer filled me with gratitude.  After years of calls – he came home.  Safely.

Photography classes reminded me that the world is beautiful – as are most people.

After being stuck in an office all week, I treasure the time I have outdoors.  This weekend the weather was perfect for getting out the camera and having a little shutter time.

One of my favorite places to visit is the New Hanover Arboretum.   I find it so relaxing. The flowers, the water feature, the animals – they all work together to take visitors to another place far away from troubles and worries – to a place where imagination rules and happiness abounds.arboretum 1

Here’s wishing you a wonderful day!  May happiness find you!

-Deb

Note:  I wasn’t the recipient of the nastiness – just an observor who felt heartsick at what I witnessed.

 

 

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It’s been a while…

And I don’t know where the time went.

It started with me needing a little break from social media.  I thought a week or two might give me a reprieve.  But those couple of weeks turned into a couple of months and then some.  I never imagined my little break would last quite so long.

In that time, I traveled to New York City – tried some street food (not too shabby), visited Chinatown and made my way around on the subway.  A nice visit but not in any hurry to go back. (Mark one off the bucket list.)

arches-national-park-1I also made a trip to Utah – visited Arches National Park (Wow!) and realized that Utah may be the most random place I’ve ever been.  As we drove down an interstate – in the middle of nowhere – we watched someone parachute onto a field along side of the highway.  And the terrain – seriously, it was like driving into an old movie.  I half expected to see cowboys and wagon trains.

Then there’s school.  I started taking some night classes at the community college. Nothing crazy – just some photography and Photoshop classes.  It’s been challenging. As Albert Einstein said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

I took a hiatus from writing.  It’s been months since I’ve done more than jot down a potential scene or two.  Instead of being an escape, writing became work – and that sapped all the joy from the process.

I’ve got two grandsons now – Bodie (Bo) and Jaxon (Jax).   It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was sitting in my high school English class discussing the Canterbury Tales. It’s crazy how time flies.

Maybe it’s the age thing – knowing that 50 is only a couple months away – but time is becoming a much more precious commodity.  Spending that time in the real world has held much more appeal than hanging out in the twitter-sphere.

So – that’s an abridged version of what’s been going on in my life.  It’s been busy but good.

I’ve missed reading your posts and I’ll try to stop by a little more frequently.

Y’all take care.

 

 

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