5th Annual Photo Alphabet – Part IV

see url N is for Nature and Non-attachment

Nature's Abstract

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https://hereisnewyorkv911.org/6ejdbpiay Even though I photograph almost any subject, I spend as much time as I can in the natural world and take a greater percentage of nature subjects than any other. I also like to play with nature photos, especially macro-photographs such as the above barrel cactus. I loved the symmetry emphasized with a black and white conversion.

https://www.infotonicsmedia.com/about/buy-d10-valium-online.php Not only do I love to photograph desert plants, I love learning about them. I find their various ways of adapting to their environment fascinating. In order to survive, they have an extensive system of spiny protrusions and other such things to dissuade potential munchers.

follow I’ve been working on the idea of non-attachment – the idea that too much attachment for a specific outcome can cause difficulties. And I was thinking that the cactus is the perfect symbol for non-attachment. Oh, yeah!

Buy Diazepam Cheap Uk O is for Observation and Opportunity.

Observation Deck above Buttermilk Falls

see url Observation Deck above Buttermilk Falls © 2010 Bo Mackison

follow link These “O” words speak deeply to me about photography – my photography and photography in general.

https://osteopatiaamparoandres.com/k44v2hhz5h Observation is so key to photography that it is almost too obvious to include in an alphabet like this. Observational skills are honed in the search for a photograph. That is not to say that a camera to required to polish observational skills, but a camera becomes a constant reminder to look around, to see beyond the initial glance. I consider my camera a great prop, an observation kick-starter.

Opportunity is another one of those obvious words that partner well with photography. Some people take photographs at special occasions (or opportunities) – a vacation, a holiday, an annual gathering, a perfect sunset. But opportunity is more about “being” there for the experience of the photograph rather than “finding” a photographic subject.

Any subject is a subject worthy of photographic exercise. I’ve photographed more walls than I would once have thought possible, or sane. Yes, walls. Wall with shadows, walls with texture, walls with vines, walls of adobe, brick, stone, historical walls in ruins. (Maybe I should copy and paste this under “W”!)

I’ve also taken thousands of photographs of trees. Recently I realized that there is some form of tree – perhaps a branch, a shadow, a leaf – in a large percentage of my photos. I didn’t start with the intent to photograph trees in such depth, but it seems the trees found me. Or perhaps I’ve never met a tree I didn’t like, one I didn’t think worthy of a tree portrait.

I’m not saying that I don’t take advantage of a photographic opportunity that comes my way. I carry a camera almost all the time – whether I’m going across country, across the city, or across the parking lot. You don’t have to wait for a special opportunity for a photograph; opportunity will find you if you’re paying attention.

Buy Cheapest Tramadol Online P is for Perspective and Place.

The Long Road

Disappearing Road © 2012 Bo Mackison

And then there is the perspective of a lonely, open road at dusk. This is a photograph of a Texas panhandle highway. Telephone poles, grain elevators, semi-trucks, and a Texas Highway sign. It’s all about place. And perspective.

https://www.mssbizsolutions.com/t7u50kgyyt Q is for Questions and Quotations.

Badlands-There's a Trail up There!

Mountain Trail © 2011 Bo Mackison

I sometimes take photographs to find the answers to questions I am pondering. Sometimes I take photographs to put the questions I don’t know how to ask into a concrete form. And sometimes I take photographs because I have questions that don’t have answers.

When I begin to write a blog post, and I have a photograph I want to share, I sometimes don’t have the words to accompany the photo. There is a meaning in the photo, but it’s not easily seen. So I go searching through my many dozens of unorganized journals for a relevant quotation. It seldom takes me more than a few minutes to find a quote that says exactly what I was struggling to say.

Here is one such photograph, and the quote I found to pair it with:

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

~ Hindu teaching

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Part V of the Annual Photo Alphabet continues with  source link Rituals thru Buy Valium Europe Universe.

 

 

5th Annual Photo Alphabet – Part II

enter E is for Enchantment and Energy.

Enchanted Pool © 2010 Bo Mackison

Enchanted Pool © 2012 Bo Mackison

I find I am often enchanted by the things I see in the natural world. It can be as wondrous and rare as this Yellowstone National Park’s turquoise hot springs pool or as ordinary as the pattern of bark on a backyard tree, as uplifting as a hovering hummingbird sipping nectar from a garden flower or as down-to-earth as the cracked mud along the edge of a pond during a drought.

Having a camera available encourages me to look more closely at patterns, details, the ordinary and the extra-ordinary, but now I add time for simply being in my surroundings when my schedule is open. I find an earthy spot, get comfortable, and spend time in/with the natural world.

Motionless and close the earth, I gain a tremendous amount of energy by taking the time to be still.

Mastercard Tramadol F is for Focus and Framework.

Two Portals in Black and White

Two Portals © 2012 Bo Mackison

Focus is basic. When I take a photograph and I want it to resemble what I imagine, I pay close attention to the focus. Do I focus on only a part of the photograph or do I set the depth of field so that the entire photo is in focus? Do I need a sharp focus or a soft focus?

Focus is also one of the basics I consider when I am working on a goal, or choosing a plan of action. It helps me set a framework in which to work. It is impossible to know the body of knowledge on any subject, or at least it is for me. I am not a specialist, but a generalist. So I focus on learning a bit about many things and I don’t limit myself to a specific photographic genre or technique, to a certain style of camera or software.

I would rather explore, learn as I practice, and shoot whatever captures my interest. There is always more to learn. I will never want for a photographic subject to study or a new technique to practice.

Non Prescription Tramadol Online G is for Gratitude and Gardens.

Two Benches

Garden Benches © 2011 Bo Mackison

A popular phrase, one that’s even been adapted by mainstream advertising, is “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” I have always liked the idea behind the words – life is a journey, one that follows a long road, perhaps, winding and twisting, through cities and through deserts, scaling steep mountainsides and wandering through woodlands, walking alone, running with a crowd, even standing on the side, unable to take another step without rest or support.

Recently I read another quote about the journey, one that I also identified with. Perhaps because I spend much time in gardens of all sorts, perhaps, because I concentrate on the noticing more than the going, it is a good fit.

life is a garden,
not a road

we enter and exit
through the same gate

wandering,
where we go matters less
than what we notice.

~ Bokonon

follow H is for History and Healing.

Half Empty or Half Full?

Half Empty or Half Full? © 2012 Bo Mackison

While I enjoy visiting sites steeped in history and reading about ancient cultures and traditions, I have learned that studying ancient cultures is one thing, but living in the past is an altogether different thing.

I can’t go back again. I can’t change what has already happened. The best I can do is learn from past mistakes, make a strong intention to not repeat those mistakes, and then live in the moment.

Healing comes, not from replaying old wounds and old stories or reliving one’s errors in judgement. Healing happens by working intently to learn from one’s mistakes and beginning each day with a fresh start, a day to be lived deeply and relished.

Part III of the 5th Annual Photo Alphabet continues with  https://opponix.com/kvr9mxrvf iPhonography thru Purchase Tramadol Overnight Cheap Muse.

 

 

 

 

5th Annual Photo Alphabet – Part I

In honor of the ending of the year 2012, I begin my annual alphabet today and finish it on New Year’s Eve – in six parts.

I did my very first alphabet in 2008 – it had a Wisconsin theme with rhymes. (Wow, like Dr Seuss!) I posted the 2009 Alphabet the second week in January, including a pseudo-Arctic photograph! In 2010, there was another series –  each alphabet letter was represented with a photo and musings.  Last year’s version, the 2011 Photo Alphabet, began with this set of photographs. and had more photos than words. And now, the end of 2012 approaches.

Presenting…

go site BO’S 2012 PHOTO ALPHABET 

 

https://bettierose.co.uk/m2vqjg7g9uc A is for Abstracts, Authenticity, and Art.

Aloe Abstract

Aloe Abstract © 2012 Bo Mackison

I love abstracts, especially macro-photographs of botanicals. And I love to play with them. For those of you who know your plants, and specifically your aloe plants, you’ll recognize this as an upside down aloe in flower. I pulled out most of its orange color, and the result was an aloe of many colors.

When I do the art festivals in the summer, people ask me lots of questions about my photographs. One of the more common questions is “Did it REALLY look this, or did you Photoshop it?” I usually explain that the flower in the garden never did look exactly like the photograph and that I used post processing software (usually Adobe Lightroom or Nik Color Efex Pro 4) to make the flower look the way I saw it in my imagination.

Much of the time, I choose to be authentic to the vision I see instead of the actual flower, and so most of the botanical photographs I show in art fairs and museum exhibits are one part garden flower and one part Bo’s imagination.

https://www.pslra.org/o2cxkytw B is for Blurring, Balance, and Being.

Maple Abstract

Maple with Motion Blur © 2011 Bo Mackison

I work as a photographer. I also play as a photographer. Some of the time my photography is more work than play, most often when I am doing freelance work and the job requires me to meet the client’s expectations. There’s a time for photo work. But for me, my time spent in photo play is just as important. It’s a balancing act. Work and deadlines balanced by camera exploring and freedom to be me.

One of my favorite play activities with my camera is using deliberate motion blur to create another type of abstract. I did a series of motion blurs with trees — some became swirls of color, but a few retained just enough of the subject. The result? A maple tree with a distinct brown trunk whose yellow leaves form wispy leaf tendrils.

https://www.frolic-through-life.com/2025/01/rhjm1p07vv1 C is for https://www.saiidzeidan.com/iijkta4jl Color, Circles, and Community

Doughnut Plant's Doughnut Bench, Lower East Side, NYC

Doughnut Bench © 2012 Bo Mackison

One of the most important components in a photograph is color. Sometimes color draws you to a focal point, sometimes the colors complement each other and add significant interest, an eye-catching appeal, to the photograph.

I photographed this colorful bench in the Doughnut Factory, a bakery on the Lower East Side in NYC, where most of the available surfaces are painted with bright colorful circles (doughnuts!)  I took note that there were a few square donuts, too – was that a nod to design or diversity, I wondered? There was a line of neighbors waiting for seats – as one group left another sat down, squeezed in, re-arranged, added or subtracted chairs, called to friends and neighbors, began conversations with those of us “just visiting.”

C is also for community. Meeting with fellow photographers and shooting photos together, critiquing photos, sharing information – that is a one of the special perks of being a photographer. And also there are communities not directly associated with photography, but ones that I join because they are photo-related. Walking tours that provide photo ops while learning the cultural history of the area. Botanical groups that share a love of all things nature. Book-making and artist groups that offer opportunities for me to learn how to create art books with my photos.

https://tudiabetesbajocontrol.com/relanzam/buy-valium-diazepam.php D is for Details, Darkness, and Dreams.

Abandoned Car

In the Details © 2012 Bo Mackison

There are photographs I take for the details. The above photo has a bit of unbroken glass still in its place in the door frame. In its reflection is a blue sky and the bare tree limbs of late autumn. There is debris surrounding that small piece of window – an abandoned car in a deteriorating garage, fallen pipes, dark shadows. But the window holds a dream, a vision of the unending sky, a tiny piece of the Universe.

Photographs sometimes offer me a message within the medium. Looking at a photograph is sometimes similar to decoding a dream. I look at this photo and understand its message — when darkness creeps in, and surrounds me, when my world appears to be falling down around me, there is always a shard of blue sky if I am open to new discoveries. Perhaps there is a new threshold to cross, a new path to follow.

Amazing thing, photography!

Part II of the 5th Annual Photo Alphabet continues with  Enchantment thru Healing.

 

 

Snowed Under

Snowed Under

Snowed Under © 2012 Bo Mackison

With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things. ~ William Wordsworth

It’s that time of year when the to-do lists are pages long, frantic looks cross many a face while negotiating jammed sotores, gas lines are long, grocery stores are packed. Everywhere, it seems there are crowds of people intent only on crossing off the items on their Holiday  lists.

I’m staying home today. Or at least very near to home today. I did take a brief walk outdoors, though it’s not much of a walk. More like a push you foot into a pile of snow and pull it out again, all while keeping your balance. I managed a walk to check on a few of the backyard trees before I tumbled backwards and landed in enough snow to cover me completely. So that was enough snow time for this morning. We don’t have sidewalks, so my choices are either to walk in the crusty ruts of the streets, icy and gritty, or to stay inside.

I think today is a good day for a bit of solitude, some quiet time for reflection and journaling before the busyness begins. The logs in the fireplace are ready to be lit. Since the sun is in hiding, I think I’ll make a bit of sunny warmth inside. Brew a cup of tea, and write a few letters to include in the family cards.

Blessings to all as you go about your day.

—————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

The newest issue of Sprout Magazine , edited by Amanda Fall, is now available for download and purchase. I am pleased to be included in such a wonderful group of gifted and inspiring contributors. This issue’s theme is simplicity.

Oak Leaves Amidst the Snow

Oak Leaves And Snowy Tree Trunks

Oak Leaves And Snowy Tree Trunks © 2012 Bo Mackison

“Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods,
if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature.
Be cold and hungry and weary.” ~ Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

The skies are a bright blue and the snow’s brightness has turned this wintry wonderland into a glittering reflection of light. I love the woods when the trees wear winter white thanks to the blowing blizzard and the sideways falling snow. And I especially like the contrast of the brown oak leaves, still on the trees.

The snow was perfectly timed to greet the official beginning of winter.

——————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

The newest issue of Sprout Magazine , edited by Amanda Fall, is now available for download and purchase. I am pleased to be included in such a wonderful group of gifted and inspiring contributors. This issue’s theme is simplicity.