Giving Praise

Hedgehog Cactus Bloom © 2012 Bo Mackison

Quinn of QuinnCreative awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you, Quinn.

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.

• Thank the person who gave you this award.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Nominate 15 blogs/bloggers that you follow.
• Finally, list 7 things about yourself.

Here is my list of Versatile Blogger Awardees. Go visit them and see what they are up to.

Here are a few of the blogs I follow regularly:

Anita’s Photoblog   I’ve been loving Anita’s photographs since I discovered her photo blog many, many moons ago. She has a lovely way of combining flowers and textures to create stunning floral portraits.

The Art of Everyday Wonder Joanna may not have a typical blog (or she may) –she follows her vision and freely makes changes to her blogs when she is inspired. And she is indeed inspired and inspiring — a talented creative (writer, poet, photographer, nature lover…) from Scotland. Wander around her site and you’ll be sure to discover some delights.

Daily Practice  I have been following Marcie’s photo blog for several years, and Marcie faithful to her commitment, posts a photograph each day. She often photographs in her neighborhood where there is an amazing pond that bribes all the most photogenic fowl to visit. I never know when I am going to open the link to Marcie’s blog and gasp in awe at her latest.

Giraffe Head Tree  Debi moved only last week to within walking distance of the coast of North Carolina. She is just getting her camera adjusted to the glories of an Atlantic Ocean sunrise, but she promises to explore up and down the Carolina beaches, camera in hand. I’m joining her via her blog. She’d love to meet anyone else who wants to virtually beach comb with her.

Sue Henry Photography Sue and I met through the connecting world of photo blogs — and then discovered that we had been born in towns within spittin’ distance of each other. Since then, I moved north and Sue moved further south, but we both were bitten by the camera bug, and we share our worlds through our photographs. Sue is able to capture palpable moods in her photography — it’s a treat to look through her photo blog any time.

And here are some blogs/bloggers I have recently discovered.

From the Eyes of Denise Goldberg Denise posts marvelous photographs from the state of Maine. I love seeing what she sees through her lens because Maine seems about as far from Arizona as one can get. Denise is another photographer whose camera has encouraged her to peek into the small places. And I love seeing any and all sorts of small places on her blog.

Here and Now I discovered Gina’s photography since she is participating in a photo study on exploring balance with camera and Kat that I am also doing. I was attracted to the vibrancy of Gina’s photographs the first time I looked at her photo blog, and I always enjoy returning to see what she has posted.

Reflections and Nature  Ahh, photographs filled with bright colors, stunning silhouettes, and new surprises to enjoy at each blog visit. I recently discovered Sandra —  just as I met Gina — doing the challenges in Exploring with a Camera. It seems I am reaping many more benefits from Kat’s practice than just thinking about composition and balance…

Upon Halliburton Hill  Joanna from British Columbia is another “Camera Explorer” and so I have only recently started to visit her blog. If you want to be blown away by colors and abstracts, wow, check out the photographs Joanna posts.

Words and Photographs One more “Camera Explorer” before I run out of space and time — Juli posts the most colorful photographs, I always take a peek at her blog because I know it will bring a smile to my face. She blogs from Canada, and truly, I am surprised each time I visit. Flowers, fruits, shadows, brick walls — I never know what will be there for me to discover, but I love it. And one of my favorite things? Juli has a series called “Drive By’s” – photos she takes from her car while waiting for traffic lights to change. Living in the moment, yes!

Wow! I am going to close by doing one of the speediest lists of 7 about myself (and the photo above) ever:

1. I love cactus when they are in bloom.
2. I took the above photo of this orange cactus flower in my front yard.
3. I took a picture of a hedgehog cactus. (Does it look like a hedge hog?)
4. As a kid, I grew up playing along the shores of the Mississippi River.
5. I never once saw a cactus growing near the Mississippi where I played.
6. I saw lots of poison ivy, though.
7. I like a cactus with thorns more than I like poison ivy with an itch. 🙂

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona. She is happy to see that the cactus are beginning to bloom.