Through The Ring

Through The Ring

Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.  ~ William James

This photo was taken a few years ago, and always puts a smile on my face.  Such innocence, such fun.  So sweet.  Don't you just wish you could return to the days when looking through the largest onion ring you've ever seen would bring on a brilliant case of the giggles?

Please Don't Hate Me, But . . .

Spray Part 2

. . . I'm sharing one more water photo.  I just couldn't resist.  Even though I told you all last night that I was ending the water series.  Really, I wasn't lying, I just could not get this idea out of my head all day long.  I kept thinking about the image that I shared last night - Spray.  I kept imagining doing a little bit of extra work on it - mostly in the area of cropping.  And so, tonight I present to you, Spray Part 2.  Hope you don't mind.  And now my mind can go back to all it's usual silly little thoughts and put to rest presenting this image a little differently.

The sincere friends of this world are as ship lights in the stormiest of nights. ~ Giotto di Bondone

A good friend gently pointed out to me that I did not include a quote last night.  So, tonight I will give you two (thanks Lynn for always giving me such encouragement!).

Most people see what they want to, or at least what they expect to.  ~ Martha Grimes

Tonight, I leave you with these two thoughts.  May we all be sincere friends.  And may we learn to see the world in new and wonderful ways.

Thanks to each of you for all of your support and interest in visiting my sight here.  I have really had an enjoyable time sharing my images and my thoughts with you.  But, even more, love to hear your thoughts on those things that I have shared.

The End - of sorts

Spray

The end - at least of the water pics for now.  This is the last one I am sharing from my initial shooting.  Definitely a fun project, with more in the future.  Now that I have a better idea of what works and what doesn't.  But, always bringing an open spirit to see where the moment takes me. 

I hope you have enjoyed the water pics as much as I have enjoyed sharing them.

Another good Moment

Ring

Man, oh man.  I'm not sure how it happened but somewhere along the line I got on someones spam list.  I hadn't checked my filter for about a week and there were like 30 messages - all spam.  What on earth?  And the thing I do not get about spam - the messages were being left on posts from almost a year ago.  Really, who goes back and reads comments on posts from over a year ago?  Strange.  I don't get that at all.  But, I guess that's just the way my brain works.

Okay, so this pic was one that I was very excited to see when I downloaded to my computer.  How fun is that little ring of water splashing?  Such a moment.

Some More Water

Going Up

I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend.  Personally, I did not get the day off.  And even so, it was a nice and productive day.  Lots of cleaning accomplished - vacuuming, sorting out clothing for donation, handing down and just plain get rid ofs, and even sorted out my office mess.  I'm so not good at keeping that area clean.

Thought I would continue on with the water droplet pictures.  Just a few more left to share.  Hopefully the best are yet to come.  We will see what you think of them.  It's been fun and something that I definitely need to shoot again!

And, I also thought I would share this quote that I came across earlier today.  It put a smile on my face when I read it & hopefully will you too!

A psychiatrist asks a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing.  ~ Joey Adams

Day Three of the Water Project

One Drop Part 2

Getting a little closer to it's final destination.  Almost there.  And then what impact will it have?  Well, we know pretty much don't we?  It's going to create quite a few ripples.

I really enjoy looking at that tiny drop of water, forever suspended, never to reach it's final destination - at least not in picture form.  But, I was there, I saw it make many wonderful ripples.

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

Do you know what this is yet?

One Drop Part I

A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.  ~ Bruce Lee

Day 2 of the new project.  I'm hoping you have an idea now of what the subject matter is.  And if not, then I am not doing my job very well.  And no, it is not chocolate.  Don't worry if you did not see it that way - I see lots of things like they should be chocolate. 

So, what do you think about this one?  It's been a little quiet out there and I'm getting a little nervous that I have bored you all to tears.  Oh I hope not.  That would be very sad.

10,000 Ways

Luxurious

I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.  ~ Thomas Edison

I am starting a new series of images tonight. This is a project that has been on my mind for about 2 years now.  And these coming images are just the beginning.  I've wanted to play around with this subject for awhile and finally a couple weekends ago, my husband and I did just that.  My son had a friend over for the evening - and I'm pretty sure he thought we were a little nuts with my tripod setup and shooting for, well, a bit of time.  And basically we were shooting the same thing over and over again.  With differing results.  And, yes we did change things up, but to a pair of kids, I'm sure they thought we were just repeating ourselves over and over and over and over . . . well, you get the idea.  I had a lot of fun working on these.  I am pleased with the initial results, and am ready to try some new tweaks on this idea now that I've had some practice and some time to look at the images and see some new direction. 

And, no I'm not going to tell you what it is, at least not yet.  Don't worry, it becomes much more obvious in the very next image - so be sure to check out tomorrow's image.  In the meantime, is it just me, or does this image make you hungry for some chocolate?

Be Loved

Celebration

Sure hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day today.  Sharing it with those you love - whether in person, on the phone or through email.  Here's a good love quote:

If you want to be loved, be lovable.  ~Ovid

A Continuation from the Cold Day

Untitled

Here is my friend's son - a continuation from the photo shoot we did on one of the coldest days ever.  Ugh!  But, as I said they were so fun to work with that I really did not mind being in the cold.  Well, okay as I hate any temperature below 80 degrees, I will admit not my ideal.  They were fun to work with though, and we did get some really fun shots.  Looking forward to doing them again!!!

A Little Something for you to Think About

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Each moment we have it all, even when we think we don't.  ~Melody Beattie

Now there's a little gem for you.  Pretty powerful stuff.  And, to go with this thought, the parents of the cute girl from last night's pic.  You remember, the one on the very, very cold day.  One thing that is good about very, very cold, threatening to rain on us days like that, it creates wonderful soft lighting and beautiful skies.  I just love clouds like these in black & white.  So fun.  Oh . . . and I love the expressions on their faces.  I took several pics of the two of them - and they were very snugly in all of them.  I'm not sure if this was one of their faves - but it is definitely one of mine.  Thanks again for the great day!!!

It was such a Cold Day

Em

This was taken way back in November I believe - on one of the coldest days ever.  So cold in fact, that this shoot prompted an addition to my camera bag.  Fingerless gloves.  My hands were so cold by the time we were finished.  And, really we shot in record time because it was freezing and threatening to rain on us the whole time. 

This is a picture of a wonderful friends daughter.  We did family portraits for her to use in her Christmas cards.  They were so fun to work with again.  And even though it was so cold, the kids wanted to keep shooting and shooting. 

So, we have become a little addicted to the show Pawn Stars.  We just watched a few episodes as a family tonight - that's right, even my 11 year old likes to watch this show.  It's so interesting to see the items that people bring in to the shop to sell.  But even more interesting the amount of knowledge you can get on that item.  I like hearing about the military uniforms and some of  the history from that time period.  If you haven't checked it out, you should.

Back to More of my Faves

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Ah . . . the security blanket for me.  Coke and black and white.  I think I could look at - and photograph more of - Coke stuff in black and white for a very long time and be a very, very satisfied person.  Sometimes it does not take much to put a smile on my face. 

I did do some shooting this weekend, just have not had sufficient time to play around with the shots yet.  It's something new for me and something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time.  You will have to let me know what you think - because I am already thinking this is something that I need to experiment with some more.  Not only was it fun, but the initial results are pretty neat.  But, unfortunately, that will have to wait for another day.  Until then, sweet dreams - to those that read my email each night, and for those that get these posts in the morning - have a wonderful day!

Texture and a Movie Share

Texture

Haven't shown any of my favorites types of shots for awhile - plain and simple and down to it's core - texture.  Where would we be without texture?  I don't know about you, but I can just feel the possible splinters waiting to happen if I rubbed my fingers over that wood.

On a different note, my quote for tonight is going to come from a favorite movie or two.  And no, it's not Harry Potter or Star Wars. This one may surprise you.  A few summers ago, my son and I saw the movie Nanny McPhee in the theaters as a part of their discounted summer movie program.  He had absolutely no interest in seeing the movie -mostly because she's pretty creepy looking.  I fell in love with story.  So much, that we rented it to watch at home for all of us to see.  If you haven't seen it - rent it now!  It's great.  We just watched the second one tonight.  And enjoyed it as much as the first one.  (And, it was super fun to see all the actors that made appearances in the second one - several from Harry Potter, and one from Star Wars.)  Great story, good lesson to be learned, magic and lots of animals.  How can you go wrong?  So, here's the quote from the movie:

When you need me but do not want me, than I must stay.  When you want me but no longer need me, than I have to go.  ~Nanny McPhee

The Fish

The Fish

There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore looking like an idiot.  ~ Steven Wright

Available Now

Happy Valentine's Day

Available now - Valentine's Day card.  If you are interested in purchasing a card featuring my artwork for Valentine's day contact me right away.  Quantities are limited and will be sold on first come first serve basis.  For more info, contact me right away at melissa@melzdezines.com.

Pretty cool Sign

Liberty All Aglow

A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ~ Bill Cosby

This is my final Liberty piece, at least until I happen to shoot more.  And, I must say, I saved my favorite for last.  Love the colors, love the lights, love the shapes.  If I could, I think I would hang a sign like this up in my own kitchen.  Of course it would have to say something different, and maybe be a different color - like red.  But, you get the idea.  Tres chic.

Talk about Inspiring

Liberty Cup

One might think I was doing some serious advertising for this place.  Not so much.  Just really love their designs - and their food . . . and their atmosphere . . . and their very fun and friendly employees.

I'm all about empowering.  I love the feeling of being empowered, and I really love the feeling of seeing others that way also.  You know each one of us has a unique gift to offer this world that we live in.  It's such a shame to see so many people limit themselves to this "idea" of how they should be, or the group that they should fit in with.  It's really very sad to me.

I have been called many things during my life.  Some of them very nice (aw thanks for the love y'all) and some not so nice (I will not repeat those ones at all).  And in all those descriptive words that have been used there are a couple that have stuck with me.  Mostly because I don't think that they fit.  I will explain that, but first let me share the two that come to mind at the moment.  Eccentric and Edgy.  There is a third one that's been thrown at me over the years and for the life of me I cannot remember it at the moment.  But, you get the idea, because to me, these words are pretty much the same - or at least are being said with the same intention behind them.  And that is - I am unique, and different. 

I have always had a hard time with that, because in my mind, I am no different than anyone else.  Because we are all different from everyone else.  How's that for logic?  Weird I know.  Hey look, I never really claimed to always make sense.  But, I guess I think that everyone has the power to be uniquely who they are.  And for some reason, that must come a little bit easier, or more naturally to me, than it does to some.  Must be the artist thing (which for the record, I still get all tongue tied when calling myself one of those people.  I'm not artistic at all - or at least my brain still tries to argue that I'm not because artistic types are "different".  Or is it edgy?  Or eccentric?  Oh man . . . )

Okay, okay, before I really stop making sense.  The reason for this little strange babbling is the quote that I found for today.  Love this one.  Very Inspiring to me.  And very empowering.  And very true.  If but we all could live up to our potential.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson