Photographic Tale of the Week - "Summer Flowers - Vintage"

"Summer Flowers - Vintage" by Sandy Duncan Rudd

Welcome to the second ever Photographic Tale of the Week through the Pictures with a Story Flickr group that I moderate. This is a beautiful shot by Sandy Duncan Rudd, a "beginner" photographer from Olympic Peninsula, WA state, a self described lover of all thing "fiber-related." Here is her description of "Summer Flowers:"

This unusual perennial geranium has dark burgundy black foliage giving it a lacy vintage look to me. I can't remember the botanical name exactly, but it is one of the pratense varieties - maybe Geranium pratense 'Black Beauty'. No matter what it's called, I love the way it looks in the summer garden :)

I also want to include a quote from Sandy's description on her Flickr page: "I find that my camera is a tool the helps me to pay attention to the wonders of this beautiful world." Check out the rest of the wonders Sandy has captured with her camera / tool on her Flickr page. 
Don't forget to find me on Facebook and Twitter for more photography, stories, and other projects.

#52weeksofWE - 35 of 52, Nautical Themed

Though by no means the end of boating season, with the school year coming up and the end - for now - of summer vacations, we may see less craft out on our rivers, lakes, and ponds. Here is your chance to capture all that boat traffic. We are lucky we are blessed with these waterways, so maybe this challenge will not be quite challenging. However, if you want to take the "advanced" path, you can be creative and find things that are nautical themed on dry land. Yesterday, I saw a boat that appeared to be repurposed into a trailer that was as decrepit as the load it was hauling. If only I hadn't been driving.

Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom


"I'm on a boat and, it's going fast and,
I got a nautical themed Pashmina Afghan."
Lonely Island - I'm on a Boat

Gold Rush - Reflection on Week 31 of 52

GOLD!
Okay, we didn't need to hike the Chilkoot Pass or dig anywhere in the mountains - I don't event know what the closest thing we have to a mountain, Mic Mac? - but the #52weeksofWE challengers hit on the mother-load this week. There were some absolutely beautiful shots, inspired by the following description for the Gold Rush week:
There is nothing like the feeling of being out with your camera when the sun has reached that point in its descent where everything is lit with golden fire. That was definitely the case in the fall when I took this picture, but this time is no less dramatic in the early days of August. Even though I mentioned the sun, these are not necessarily sunset shots – but rather pictures of things turned gold by the closing of the day. So let us be positive, and all hope that I feel better soon! And take some pictures while we are hoping. Also, if you just like gold itself, feel free to snap a shot of that.

With camera pick-axes in hand, and digital editing panning trays - are you getting sick questionable gold prospecting allusions yet? - we found gold everywhere. In our flowers, on the back of boats, on the wings of butterflies, and along the riverside. I must say that I was most impressed with Lupita's flower, that is featured first in the following shots.

"Golden Flower" by Lupita Amaya G.

"Butterfly1" by April Particelli

"Golden Morning" by Steve Biro

"The sun was so orange this morning" by Shari

"Untitled" by Laura Arce

"Princess Boat" by Lupita Amaya G.

Thank you for such an amazing week in Windsor - Essex #YQG. Check out the newest weeks, where we celebrate both Fun - who couldn't really? - and Low Points of View on the Flickr site, but also to be featured on this blog soon. Also check out the newest edition to this blog, the Photographic Tale of the Week which celebrates the photographers / storytellers at my Flickr group, Pictures with a Story.
We are in a tight spot this week, with week 34 - A Tight Squeeze. Check out the description here.

Photographic Tale of the Week - "the monster"

"the monster" by Maria Nino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I share the first photograph that will be featured as the Photographic Tale of the Week, I will once again outline what I am going to do. As I mentioned on the Flickr group, I would like to select and celebrate a photo each week - now to be posted Mondays instead of Fridays - that is not only a beautifully composed work of art (this week's photo being a very good example of this) but also one that has a deep textual meditation attached to it, an especially touching story, a powerfully written poetic work, or an amusing anecdote. 

I hope you enjoy all these wonderful artists. I also hope you are inspired  to compose more beautiful shots and to share more touching stories having experienced the Photographic Tale of the Week, and the Pictures with a Story Flickr group. I certainly have been inspired moderating this group. 

Please enjoy Maria Nino's "the monster" (above) and her words about death (below). Please, also read her biography and follow the links to her other works.

Recollections on death

The word 'death' is associated with fear, obscurity and deep sadness. The theme of death is taboo. I remember some episodes in my life when I used in conversation such words as death, die, tombstone with which I easily put my interlocutors into confusion. One day I was even given a reproach, telling that these words are kind of forbidden and shouldn't be said aloud. I remember I was deeply confused by this reproach as when you look at the history of mankind it becomes obvious that birth and death are natural and essential parts of any life.


Fear of death is evident. Here I am and here I stop existing. What has changed? Was there a slightest sense in everything I've done? Is there a meaning of life?

I have heard about death in my childhood. I realized that for every beginning there is an end, I have seen the reports about famous people' death, at last I have seen cats shook down on the roads. But still death was away from me. The first time I faced it was at the age of 10 when my father passed away unexpectedly. Just before it happened he said goodbye to me for a longer time than usual as he went for a walk. He has never came back.

The comprehension of what had happened came later. The death acquaintances astonished me. I still remember the fear gripping me. The fact that we are mortal and so weak shocked me. Then came sadness and sorrow from the fact that we can lose our beloved and one day pass away as well. Fourteen years has passed but there is no day I haven't thought about death. And I know that many people are afraid of it the same as me, because it is something unexplored and unpredictable. It is something that can not be planned. Moreover, it is impossible to know what will be further if ever there will be something.

It can be seen from the side as if I am disenchanted by life, but is untrue. I admire life and am happy for the ability to feel and live. One can suppose that I am dreaming of immortality, but that is untrue again. Immortality would be punishment for me.

The fact that each of us has certain years given makes our life and its meaning the highest value. There is life given. Sooner of later it will come to an end. It is inevitable. There is only one question left, concerning the meaning of life. How to spend the years given? One decides on his own. There is no universal meaning, but one can fulfill has life with sense. Devote oneself to something, experience something, share something. Only when you realize that everything comes to an end, your beginning and the path called life gains the deepest meaning. It can be seen that each of us is living in a personally created myth. A life-long myth.

And now, Maria's biography: 
Maria Nino is a fine art photographer from Surgut, Russia. She began taking pictures in May 2011 and went immediately into conceptual photography. Her goal is to share her art, point of view and evoke emotions of the viewers. Mari Nino's pictures show her world perception and deepest dreams. The artist also writes essays that cast light on themes of the picture she creates (for instance, such essays as ‘3 things never late to learn’, ‘debates on talent’, ‘5 ways to live a happy life’, etc) that can be seen on her blog - marianenenko.com. 
Also:
Facebook 
Instagram 
Vkontakte 
Flickr

#52weeksofWE - 34 of 52, A Tight Squeeze

With everything that has been happening this week, posting the theme feels like a tight squeeze - as you may have noticed from the lateness of its appearance.  However, the picture itself was the initial inspiration; I am always blown away by a bird's ability to land in the smallest of spaces. Do not let me dictate how you interpret this week's theme though. It doesn't have to be one of our avian friends in a hollow of a tree or in a hole in the side of your house. Have fun shooting "a tight squeeze" this week.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 33 of 52, Low POVer

I want you to imagine that your are merely inches tall and dragging your massive camera around Windsor - Essex, which may in fact be taller than you. How do you and your camera see Windsor - Essex from this vantage point - from a low point of view? Are you dodging blowing garbage and water spray, or are you nestled in fresh green grass, or warm sand? As they say, how low can you go?
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

Stone Soup, Reflection on Gastronomy 101 and Stones

"A killer sunset" by Steve Biro

 Luckily for you I did not photograph the stone that had caused me so much intense pain at the tail end of week 29, Gastronomy 101. I did, however, get to enjoy a nice meal from the Walkerville Tavern when my wife and I set up shop for the Walkerville Art Walk and Rock. As I write this I realize how much my timing has been off for a couple of my themes. This week is the Windsor Eats's Eat Your City event – check it out here – which would have provided all sorts of wonderful opportunities to shoot your food. 

However, fellow challengers were still able to share their food with us, from produce to shrimp, to picnics to “milk and coffee.” I understand if you are a bit upset with me for picking a theme that was a bit of a tease. I guess you can try to hunt down something similar and eat or drink it at a later date.

"Untitled by Lupita Amaya G.

Carlota de Limon - Lady Fingers Lime Cake.
I prepared this delicious dessert for one of my best friend's birthday in Windsor, Ontario. Canada.

"Strawberries ummmm" by April Particelli

"Orange Tree" by Laura Arce

"appleAday" by April Particelli

 ______________________________________________

I am happy to see people rose to the occasion and captured some especially fetching rocks from Windsor – Essex, in “celebration” of my stone that laid me flat for almost a week and a half – literally. A tongue-in-cheek theme for sure, but – like they say – if you can’t laugh about it, the only thing left to do is cry. The medication I was on definitely made it easier to laugh.

"River stone remain, while water flow away" (Romanian) by Laura Arce

 "Untitled" by Shari

We were treated to naturally shaped, free range stones. We also saw the artistically formed, arranged stones of architecture and landscaping. Enjoy the representations of each in the following featured pictures.

"Stone Wall" by Lupita Amaya G.

"Point Pelee1" by April Particelli

"Stones" by Lupita Amaya G.

Find us on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on our latest themes. Feel free to join at any time!

"Buddha by the Highway, Tecumseh, ON" by Paul Thibodeau

#52weeksofWE - Week 32 of 52, Fun

I just spent last weekend doing an intensive clean / sort of my house. That is not fun. But even in the thick of all of that mind-numbing scrubbing and vacuuming, shifting boxes and filling garbage and recycling bins, I recognized that we can still have fun. Life isn’t just cleaning and work, right? How do you, or your fellow Windsorites and Essex neighbours, have fun? Can you capture a smile as someone throws a ball to their dog, or blasts down the Detroit River on a Seadoo. Don’t worry; the bad weather isn’t here yet.  And when it does come, you will now have a picture of what it’s like to have fun in the second full week of August, which will make everything all better.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom

#52weeksofWE - 31 of 52, Gold Rush

I think I needed a pick me up after the tongue-in-cheek “Stones” week, which unfortunately I am still afflicted with. There is nothing like the feeling of being out with your camera when the sun has reached that point in its descent where everything is lit with golden fire. That was definitely the case in the fall when I took this picture, but this time is no less dramatic in the early days of August. Even though I mentioned the sun, these are not necessarily sunset shots – but rather pictures of things turned gold by the closing of the day. So let us be positive, and all hope that I feel better soon! And take some pictures while we are hoping. Also, if you just like gold itself, feel free to snap a shot of that.
Submit your photos on Flickr or Facebook, and send the picture files to me if you want them to be featured on my weekly reflections: essex.masqueATgmailDOTcom