Welcome to June

I bought this way cool French Market Basket from this place.  Can't even begin to tell you how much I love this.  Originally, I thought of it as a birthday gift for a girlfriend of mine.  She's one of those friends that I have known longer than I haven't known her.  She's tough to buy for, really tough.  She's a huge Farmer's Market shopper, and I thought this would be a good gift for her.  I ordered two. 
June is the month that kicks off the Farmer's Market season in Seattle - which really means that summer is just around the corner.  Some markets have been open for a few weeks now, but really - June is when they are in full swing.  I'm ready with my cool French Market basket.  Although, now I have to empty all the camera gear out of it... or buy another.

FILM26 - The Letter L

L

Its time for the letter L.  I decided to shoot color this time for the FILM26 project.  I've been kinda hooked on black and white for a while.  For some reason, I associate film photography with black and white.  I'm actually happy how these color photos turned out.  I did shoot color one other time, and it seemed so bright.  I prefer the colors to be a little more retro perhaps.  I think I will experiment with some different kinds of film.  There are some really cool film choices at this place.  They have surprise packs and mixed bundles.. Sounds fun. 

L is for... 

Me and L

 I was looking in on my friend's dogs.  They have a really beautiful yard that I could set up my tripod and play around. 

Links

 This is a copper rain chain that serves as the downspout from the house gutters. 

Landmark

 I took a spin around Capital Hill area in Seattle.  Its where I go to get my film developed.  There is never a loss for things to photo in this area.  I had a few shots left on my roll of film and was happy with the results.  Glad I took the time to take a few more shots.

Local Color

Latte

Photo Heart Connection::May

The end of May has come and it is time to look back through the month of photos and find the one that speaks to me.  Its time for Kat's Photo Heart Connection over at Kat Eye Studio.  This is such a good exercise.  Its not about the best photo I took for the month, its about finding the one that reflects a photo-heart connection. 
Hot tea in a pretty cup.  Yes, this is the one.  I love tea.  Its fascinating to me - how the leaf from one kind of plant can be changed so many ways - white, green, oolong, and black.  So many ways of making one thing different - drying, steaming, wok frying, crushing, oxidizing.  The world of tea parallels photography in a way.  We take one thing - a camera and we can create so many different things from it.  Both stimulate our senses, both are nurturing, and both quench a thirst - one for our body and one for our soul. 
Happy PHC everyone.  If you are interested, this is where I get my TEA.

 

Friday:: Making of a Mandala

Mandala
encaustic on birch 16x16

The making of the Mandala.  Have any of you every made a Mandala?  I made this one for a friend of mine.  She is hosting a Mandala making class that I unfortunately can not attend.  So, I decided to participate anyway and make a Mandala for her.  Now, I don’t really know if that’s how it works, that you can make a mandala for someone else.   A mandala is meant to be a reflection of your inner self, therapuetic and about the journey rather than the final outcome.   It is precise and repetitive and easy to let your thoughts go as it is made.  Zen time, really.  This one took a long time… way longer than I thought, so I had lots of zen time.  Brain quiet time is kinda nice.  I don't know about you, but my brain runs on overload all the time, non-stop.  Dropping into wordlessness (do you know about Martha Beck?) is hard for active brain folk like me, but I am getting better.  I just have to keep telling myself - ssshhhhhhhhhhhhh.  The Mandala process made me realize the importance of a little brain down time each day.  This website offers free meditations and so does this one. 
Want to know more about making a Mandala?  Go HERE or HERE. Want to see it in its true form?  Watch this time lapse video

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone!!  Be sure to follow the link and visit the other amazing artists who participate.