Palm Desert Lifestyle Photographer~ And Then We Snapped- 365 Blog Circle- 2015 Week 7

Each week I join the most fabulous group of ladies in a blog circle called 

And Then We Snapped.

These ladies have inspired me, encouraged me, supported me and held me accountable.

Without them, my first 365 project would not have gotten finished,

and the second would not have started.

Cheers to these ladies and cheers to you as well 

if you keep the blog circle going this week by visiting each of these ladies!

Without further ado, welcome to my week.

As I had mentioned last week, some of my shots are a bit out of the ordinary for me, as they are exercises from a class I am taking over at In Beauty and Chaos called

Creative Insight with Lucy Baber.

I wasn't sure how much I would get from the class at first, since it's not technical at all.

I am always on the look out for how to improve my shooting skills with better techniques.

This class is aptly titled in that it seeks to improve your photography from the inside out,

at the creative root and heart.

Already in week one I am starting to see how from framing the shot to post processing, I am communicating things about myself subconsciously. I think ultimately the point of the class for me is to recognize it and take it from subconscious to conscious and intentional.

Week 7 

February 8th through 15th, 2015

"Retreat"

That perfect tranquillity of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, 

a faithful friend and a good library.

Aphra Behn

I wish I could do nothing but read. Reading is definitely a happy place of retreat for me.

"Sound"

 The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with base notes, or dark lake with the treble.

Wassily Kandinsky

The quote is not mismatched here, even though it mentions color and this image is black and white. To me, the quacks and splashes sounded more like they did this day

 when they were in black and white.

 "Solo" 

"Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on."

Samuel Butler

We definitely chose the wrong day to go to the park. It's been a while since we went to this one so we had no idea that this particular day the playground would be closed for repairs. All except these two swings. So we made the best of it. 

A few minutes later, another family showed up in the same predicament. The good things about a closed playground is it gives birth to all manner of ideas for running, tagging, rolling, and climbing of trees. 

"Dirty Money"

"Do you think it's dirty money?-All money is dirty. If it were clean nobody would want it."

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Only five and already laundering money. I blame the ponies.

Seriously, I never know what I am going to find around the house with this kid. 
Silence is not golden. It is dangerous.

"Horses"

“Employers are like horses — they require management.” 
― P.G. Wodehouse, Carry on, Jeeves

This is one horse obsessed equestrian.





"Conundrum"

"Dave Sim said in his latest thing of his, 'when you're on the right track, you'll know it, but until you get there, you have to believe you're on the right track'. Interesting little conundrum. it's not easy."
-Eddie Campbell



We were all excited about the new reclining sofa glider was gifted to us.
That is until we got it home and tried to get it in the house.

Epilogue: 
We finally got it in the house after contacting our landlord. 
We had asked for permission and help to take out and put back the sliders. 
He responded by showing us that the back actually comes off the furniture.


"Yawn"
"Yawning is like our bodies way of saying 15% battery left."
Unknown

Princess work is both dirty and tiring.
Be honest, did you just yawn after seeing this?

'Tis not her coldness, father,
That chills my labouring breast;
It's that confounded cucumber
I've ate and can't digest.”
Richard Harris Barham (1788-1845) ‘The Confession

This was the image I chose as my final assignment for the first week of my class.

This assignment had to do with illustrating one of ten truths about myself.

 That truth was that I am cool as a cucumber in the midst of a crisis. 

In defining this, I wasn't necessarily thinking of it as completely positive- just necessary. 

Along with the cool I can be "crunchy". 

The way I stay cool in a crisis is definitely a defense mechanism. 

I just internalize the stress and it comes out later bit by bit. 

When they told me my son had cancer, I didn't cry- at least not in front of my son or anyone else. 

I did it later, in my car, all by myself.

It is a behavior I am sure is part inherited (through environment not genetics) from both of my parents and just life circumstances which did not allow me

to do anything other than keep it together in the midst of super difficult trials. 

As for being "crunchy", that is a characteristic I have had to develop

 to be effective at managing chaos and crisis. It is both a positive and a negative. 

When I describe myself as cool- it's a surface quality more than an internal one. 

My emotions run deep, I am just fairly good at setting them aside in the moment 

while dealing with logistics when other people may be overcome by the emotion. 

I find it amazing how much you can tell about someone from their artistic expressions.

Remember those amazing ladies I mentioned at the beginning?

Well now is the time to go visit them.

Start by heading on over to see the amazing artistic expression of 

Jenny | Through My Lens By Jenny .

Her work is simply stupendous!

That's it for my week!

This next week's class is going to be very in depth and very interesting.

Should make for an equally interesting blog post next week!

Blessings, 

Julie