Choices

"I choose…to live by choice, not by chance. To make changes, not excuses. To be motivated, not manipulated. To be useful, not used. To excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice. Not the random opinion of others."

~Unknown

We all have many choices to make in life.  Those range from the simple things, like what am I going to wear today to what am I going to do with the rest of my life.   The choices we make determine how successful we're going to be, how happy we're going to be, etc.  These choices, however, don't only effect us; they effect all those who we meet.   They determine whether we're going to be a positive force in the lives of those we meet, or a negative one.  So,  when you're faced with important decisions today, or in the future, think about the long-term effects those decisions will have on your life and the lives of others.

I wish you well.

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.

Sunrise Over Nebraska Sandhills

This was my favorite morning while we were in Nebraska.  The sky was absolutely beautiful as the sun came up.  It provided a nice background for the sandhill cranes that were hanging out on the sandbars before flying to the cornfields for a day of eating.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing the other way and, between that and the noisy Canadian geese and snow geese down river, we couldn't hear them talking.  On the previous day, however, we had been in a blind and heard them talking quite well.  They're very noisy, but we enjoyed it.  Have a great week-end.  If you enjoy this blog, please leave a comment once in awhile, so I'll know that someone actually reads it.  Thanks!

The Magic of Light

Sometimes it's difficult to believe how much difference a little light makes.  When I was photographing these geese, there was just a fraction of a second when they were in the magic glow of the sun.  As you

can see, the two geese on top had not reached that point yet.  A fraction of a second later the other geese were black too.   Just in case you're wondering, this picture was not altered using PhotoShop or any other photo software.  It's just the way it was.  Mother Nature did it all by herself.   :-)

Swans in the Fog

3

2

1

You can do all kinds of things with the help of PhotoShop or other editting software programs.   This picture was taken on a very foggy morning.  There was so much fog, in fact, that you could barely see the trees.  I love foggy pictures, so I just started shooting, knowing that I could make the necessary adjustments when I got home.

Picture #1 is a copy of the original file, with some minor adjustments done in Camera Raw, such as bringing up the brightness, fill light, clarity and adjusting the blacks just a little. 

Picture #2 was altered in PhotoShop using curves & levels to brighten the overall scene and to bring out the whiteness of the swans.

Picture #3  is Picture #2 with the NIK graduated fog filter applied to it.  I softened the effect to the point where I liked it and then saved the photo.

My oldest grandson likes picture #3 best, because he likes the soft, graduated effect of the fog.  I think I agree with him.  Which do you like best?

A Little Piece of Nature

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." Thomas Merton


I don't know if you consider this art or not but, as far as I'm concerned, each time you capture a piece of nature, you create a type of art. When I'm out photographing nature, I completely lose track of the time. My focus is on my subject, on the light, on the beauty of what's before me. I hope you enjoy this little piece of the beauty I found yesterday.