Linda's Photo Adventures: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Take a Break

Once when visiting the Getty Museum in Los Angeles I saw this woman enjoying a nap in the garden area. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world. That's the way it should be.

"Relaxation means releasing all concern and tension and letting the natural order of life flow through one's being”
Donald Curtis

Sunday, May 30, 2010

When I was walking in the park bluff in Santa Monica I came upon this sculpture. It is very interesting with it's shape and form. You can walk inside it. Someday I'd like to try a photo shoot there with people.

"A sculpture is just a painting cut out and stood up somewhere."
Frank Stella

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Squirrelly

This little guy just stood there and posed for me. I think he was waiting for some peanuts.

“You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.”
Sarah Jessica Parker quotes (American Actress. b.1965, Nelsonville, Ohio, USA) Character: Carrie Bradshaw quotes. TV Show: Sex and the City quotes

Friday, May 28, 2010

Red-Headed Child

When I saw the red hair on this child I couldn't help taking pictures of her. She was beautiful and very full of it too. When she's older I think she will have many suitors.

“Cute Little Red-headed Girl.”
Snoopy quotes (Fictional character from the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Yellow Canoe

One year in May, I spent time in Lake Tahoe, California. Each morning I would get up very early to see what I could see. The water would be very still and beautiful. You could tell that it wasn't quite the summer season, so many of the boats and such hadn't been maintained in a while. The yellow canoe along the fence was begging to be photographed.

All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.

Buddha

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Mono Lake

Mono Lake (rhymes with "OH no") is the largest natural lake completely within the state of California. Once endangered when water feeding it was diverted toward the Los Angeles basin, it lost half its volume in the 40 years before an agreement was reached to save it. Today's Mono Lake is 7 vertical feet lower than the targeted level, and it could take well into the 2010's before it reaches that depth.

“Moody and withdrawn, the lake unites a haunting loveliness to a raw desolateness.”
Dale Morgan quotes

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Odd Beauty

Sometimes you can find beauty in the most unexpected of places.

Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people's habits. It just kept them inside the house. Alfred Hitchcock

Monday, May 24, 2010

Two Poppies

Even if you only find 2 poppies surrounded by dirt, it can look like a painting.

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world."

Virgil A. Kraf

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Blue Skies and Poppies

I love looking at poppies up close. They're so fragile, it's like you wonder how they survive in the harsh environment of the desert. That's the reason that there aren't many years like this. If it gets too hot once they bloom they die. There have been many years when I could only find a plant or two. The poppies are like me, they don't like the heat!

"If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom." ~Audra Foveo

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Poppy Bouquet

More poppies today! A natural bouquet for you!

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. "

Anne Bradstreet

Friday, May 21, 2010

Poppy Time

I think that for the next few days I'll post some of my favorite poppy pictures that I've taken this year.

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." ~Proverb

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Antelope Valley 2010

We were very fortunate as it was a beautiful spring in the Antelope Valley this year. We saw orange everywhere. Looking over the large fields and towards the mountains the view was stunning. I never get tired of this sight. It seems that this only happens every 5 or 6 years.

"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day."

W. Earl Hall

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Discombobulated Plant

I just had to. I know this is very strange, but I met the cutest little pug whose name is Discombobulated, "Disco" for short. She is the sweetest little thing I've ever met. I went on a few walks with her and passed many plants along the way. All I could see when I looked at the plants was her little cute face in the middle as a "Disco Flower". Like I said, I just had to.

“I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.”
Daniel Boone quotes (American Explorer, frontiersman and legendary hero who helped blaze a trail through Cumberland Gap, a notch in the Appalachian Mountains near the juncture of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. 1734-1820)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sought

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During my last trip to Petaluma we took a drive and came upon this cemetery in Hopland California. Most of the markers in this cemetery are very old and hopefully in the future I'll be posting more of these. Although this one isn't very old, I have to say, this is the most unusual tombstone I've ever seen. It seemed so apropos for the times in which this person lived....the 60's and 70's when everyone was trying to "find" themselves. I pictured this person living in a commune right there in northern California, smoking pot and having sex with everyone. Not to be morose or anything, but we wanted to add an extra line to this stone......."achieved 2 out of 4 ".

“You will achieve grand dream, a day at a time, so set goals for each day / not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you, step by step, toward your rainbow. Write them down, if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build your pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to become so cluttered that you neglect your most important goal / to do the best you can, enjoy this day, and rest satisfied with what you have accomplished.”

Og Mandino quotes (American Essayist and Psychologist, 1923-1996)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Mother and Child

I spent time in Santa Monica walking in the area of Santa Monica Pier. There's a wealth of photo-making opportunities. I could have stayed a lot longer. Maybe next time.

*"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life."

William Faulkner

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Seek Peace

There are times that you just need to go somewhere where you can shut off the crazy loud world around you, to go to a place such as this. This photograph was taken at Descanso Gardens in La Canada, Flintridge CA.

"I do not seek. I find."

Pablo Picasso

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Oklahoma City Memorial Chairs

One of my most moving experiences has been visiting the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial is a place of quiet reflection and honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995. The 168 chairs represent the lives taken on that day. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor in the position of where they each sat. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. The field is located on the footprint of the Murrah Building.

"We find a place for what we lose. Although we know that after such a loss the acute stage of mourning will subside, we also know that we shall remain inconsolable and will never find a substitute. No matter what may fill the gap, even if it be filled completely, it nevertheless remains something else."

Sigmund Freud (1961)

Friday, May 14, 2010

Hello Bryce Canyon

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I visited Bryce Canyon a few years ago and now it's in my top two in the world of places I've been. In Bryce Canyon, erosive forces have created thousands of spires, pillars, and rocky temples, whimsically arranged within huge amphitheaters of red rock. These formations are smaller and more intricate than those seen at Zion and the whole feel of the park is more energetic and free-form. The views are spectacular.

It is named for the 19th century Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce. Whether he actually uttered the well-known quote "hellavu place to lose a cow" regarding the canyon is open to debate.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Visitor

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I found a kitten in my yard who loved climbing trees and following me around. He looked like he was lost and needed a home. I made some phone calls and emailed pictures. Unfortunately, he only stayed long enough to pose beautifully and then go on his merry way.

"If the pull of the outside world is strong, there is also a pull towards the human. The cat may disappear on its own errands, but sooner or later, it returns once again for a little while, to greet us with its own type of love."

Lloyd Alexander

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Falling Kids

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This is one of my Photoshop projects that I've had on my mind for many years. Finally, I did it with many, many, many cutouts. These are photographs taken in planes, backyards, on lakes and parking lots.

Fall down seven times, get up eight
Japanese Proverb