The Whisper of Life

January 5, 2013 by 5 Comments
Heritage Tree

Heritage Oak Tree © 2013 Bo Mackison

The following quote is about writing, but it seems, with a few adaptations, to also apply to the art of photography as I practice it.

Writing provides a way to make sense of the puzzling wild beautiful moments our lives keep delivering to us. Here whispers Life. Figure this out. Offering us psychic space, privacy, and slowness in a rushed and noisy world, . . . gives us a chance to tell our secrets, voice our own perceptions.  ~ from “Getting Lost” in Island of Bones by Joy Castro

Making photographs also provides me with a way of making sense of my wild beautiful life. It slows me down in the rushed and noisy world, gives me permission to be myself. Whispers secrets of life to me.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is looking around, seeing what there is to see.

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Soft Winter Revelry

January 1, 2013 by 5 Comments
Winter Twin Trees

Winter Revelry © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

How quiet the world was this morning, early on the first day of this New Year 2013. Even in its winter dress, winter white, and cloaked in frigid air, the light was transparent. I took a deep breath and inhaled iciness into my lungs. Sherpa and I stopped at a small cafe for breakfast. Our conversation wandered into our plans for 2013, our goals, our dreams.

We laughed at what has become our traditional ushering in of the New Year – a fire in the fireplace, a few lit candles, a Jack Johnson station on Pandora, a few (still awkward) attempts at dancing, a lot of silliness, a lot of holding hands, a lot of love.

Minutes before midnight, we poured our favorite celebratory wine — Angelique from Stone’s Throw Winery in Door County. Then we queued two versions of Auld Land Syne on YouTube, first James Taylor’s version, quiet and calming, dating from our newlywed days. Second, we listened to Norwegian Sissel Kyrkjebø’s soprano version, her notes, strong, bright, dancing in the air.

As the clock struck midnight, we toasted – “Happiness and Health in the New Year”.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Since the temps are hovering around zero, I photographed winter with my iPhone or iPad, and used the Snapseed App for processing. In cool tones. Fitting.

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Yellow Blooming Prairie

September 13, 2012 by 5 Comments
Prairie at Governor Nelson State Park

Prairie in September Bloom © 2012 Bo Mackison

“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”  ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

I walked in the prairie yesterday. In mid-September, the prairie is a mix of blooming flowers – mostly Late Goldenrod and Showy Goldenrod. Wild Indigo and a few stalks of Prairie Blazing Star are scattered in the yellows. Oak savannas are in the background.

Prairie Flowers at Governor Nelson State Park

Prairie Flowers, Prairie Seeds © 2012 Bo Mackison

The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

By this time of the year, many flowers have long gone to seed – Rattlesnake Master and Common Milkweed, the yellow Cone Flowers and many of the sunflower varieties.

Some of the paths wander through prairie that is waist high, but some of the taller prairie lands rise high above my head. It is an hiking experience not often found, walking on a dirt path through flower stalks that are several feet above my head.

The view is all flower and sky!

These prairies were photographed on the Morning Side Trail at the entrance of Governor Nelson State Park, north of Madison, Wisconsin.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Walking is her daily pleasure, her daily meditation. Walking in the tall prairie is a walk for the senses and for the soul.

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Exploding Seeds

November 14, 2007 by 6 Comments
Macro Milkweed Exploding Seeds

Milkweed Exploding Seeds © 2007

Exploding seed pods
Glimmering silk parachutes
They shoot forth white strands
attached to brown propellers.
Milky seeds shimmer in flight.

The milkweed plant offers a lovely show when it disperses its seeds. The above poem is a tanka; its form is 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.

Photographed at Governor Nelson State Park near Westport, Wisconsin in October, 2007.

To see an earlier set of photos of the life cycle of the milkweed plant – spring, summer and fall – go to http://gardengrow.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/milkweed-life-cycle/

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