The Negative and the Score

"The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance."  Ansel Adams.

It seems like Ansel Adams is trying to tell us that if we take pictures, but don't share them, so others can enjoy their beauty, it's like having beautiful music that never gets played.   So, don't just leave those wonderful photos on your hard drive, share them with others, so they can enjoy the beauty that you saw when you took the picture. 

Enjoy your day!

Great Blue"

"I asked the earth, I asked the seas and the deeps, among the living animals, the things that creep.  I asked the winds that blow,  I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars and all things that stand at the doors of my flesh . . .
My question was the gaze I turned to them.
Their answer was their beauty."
St. Augustine of Hippo  (354-430), North Africa

This is another version of the heron shot I posted a couple of days ago.  I almost deleted the original picture, because the heron was so far away.  Instead, I decided to keep it and see what I could come up with by using some filters, plug-ins, etc.  This is one of the results.  You may like it and you may not, but I'm glad I kept it. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week-end and a Happy Easter with friends and family.

Dance Like an Angel

"It is no doubt possible to fly - but first you must know how to dance like an angel."  Friedrich Nietzsche ((1844-1900),  Germany

I used a slow shutter speed to photograph this wind thing at the kite festival Sat.  Is this dancing like an angel?

Lake Butte Subadult - Known to locals as Snow

My husband and I watched Snow for about four hours yesterday.  It was interesting to see how she made her way through the many downed trees.  Sometimes she'd find food close to the logs and other times she would walk across the logs to get to another destination.  Walking across the logs is easier than trying to walk between the big pieces of dead wood and conserving energy is important for the bears especially this time of the year.  

There were no rangers present the whole time we were there which surprised me, but their summer staff is gone and there just aren't enough rangers to go around.  At one point Snow started to walk towards the road but apparently decided that she didn't want to deal with all the people and turned and started up the hill.  I'm glad she made that decision because she spends too much time on and near the road.  Although the rangers have been trying to change her behavior it's very difficult to do that when she was raised by the road.  I hope she stays inside the park and stays away from the road.  She's a beautiful bear and I want her to stay safe.

We Have The Power!

If someone treats you badly, or says something that upsets you, don't let that ruin your day.  Others cannot control our thoughts or our actions; only we can do that.  So, if you've had an unpleasant encounter with someone, just remember to rise above the situation and rely on your inner strength to see you through.   No one can make us happy or unhappy.  No one has control over our minds or our feelings.  Only we have that power.  We just have to remember to use it.

I hope you have a great day.

Did You Floss Today?

I saw this guy at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday.  To me, he seems to be saying, "Did you floss today?".  I wonder, do animals think?  Do they look at us sometimes and wonder what the heck we're thinking?   I had pets all the time I was growing up, everything from dogs and cats to horses, & I'm sure that's what they were thinking sometimes.  They'd just get that look in their eyes and you knew they were thinking something. 

 Anyway, I thought this little guy was cute and wanted to share him with you.  You're welcome to leave your opinion here on whether or not animals consciously think.  Personally, I'm sure they do.  Otherwise, how could they get those adorable looks in their eyes? 

Have a great week-end!

The Goose in the Moon

"I saw eternity the other night; Like a great ring of pure endless light, All calm, as it was bright;
And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years, Driven by the spheres, Like a vast shadow moved."
By Henry Vaughn (1621-1695), Wales

This is one of the pictures I took in Nebraska a couple of weeks ago.  We didn't get any good shots of cranes that evening, but there were plenty of geese to shoot.   Have you even tried to get a picture of a goose in front of the moon?   It isn't easy.