here are some pics of my local park :)
(oooo how artistic lol) about half are black and white :P
and also about 90% plants...

My stepsister and I decided to count and photograph all the species of wildflowers on our hike. We are now trying to identify them. We found 36 varieties of small flowering plants within 2.7 miles of each other! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Here are some of the results.

Large depth of field for landscapes:

Testing the difference between depths of field:

Color and lighting experimentation:

Just playing:

Getting only what I want in the picture:

Hi! Here are some photographs I took.

Thoughts? Do you have a favorite among the sand pictures? (I'm trying to decide which one to keep.)

Hey all! Sorry, I haven't been on in forever, but I think I might have some more time nowadays. There are so many new members! Welcome, and I hope you enjoy participating in Blog for Joy!

My choir just got music for our fall concert. Among these include a SSA (Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto) piece called Life Has Loveliness to Sell. It's a beautiful song, and the lyrics are from the poem (also called Life Has Loveliness to Sell) by Sara Teasdale. Here it is!

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things;
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children’s faces looking up,
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell;
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And, for the Spirit’s still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Give all you have for loveliness;
Buy it, and never count the cost!
For one white, singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost;
And for a breath of ecstasy,
Give all you have been, or could be.

Here's the link for the song:
http://www.lorenz.com/med/sample/15_2702H.mp3
Please listen! 

Anyway, I'm glad to be back!
Vale, amici!

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone here. Writing a poem that is. I'm not so good at this kind of thing but I my as well share it with you anyway.

The Way We Live

I am just like you,

Minute at the beginning of time,

Cared for and loved,

Unable to talk, just a mime.

 

'Adventure outside,

Arms open, innocently waving.

You smile at me.

I am getting tall now, growing.

 

Innocent no more,

You have seen the ways of the world.

I stand up tall,

Powerful, taking up all the spotlight.

 

I see it all now;

We have been mean, cruel and ugly.

You cut me down,

My bark and leaves no more, Gone.

 

 

x

The gray sea

Is a plane of swirling glass,

Forever in all directions.

The gray sky

Is a dome of smudged paper clouds,

Forever in all directions.

This,

Gray, empty Planet Earth,

Has few inhabitants,

Aboard little ships on

The Sea Beneath the Clouds,

Rarely meeting one another,

Floating their ways through endlessness.

Yours Truly,

Sasha

These photographs were taken at Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes.

If you know who Caliban is... well, here's a mooncalf. If not, here's some kelp.

I love these thistly/flowery things.

Yours truly,

Sasha