Same Place Different Season

Feb
16
2012
by IBK | 4 Comments

IBKimage2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m delighted to say that my health is restored. After spending so much time indoors recently I was waiting for a sunny day during this snowiest of Februaries in Denver and when the partially sunny day arrived last Friday, I grabbed my camera and made my way to the Denver Botanic Garden.  This was my first trip to the garden in the winter and I wanted to see the array of orchids displayed indoors by the Denver Orchid Society.  They were nice, but not quite what I wanted to capture.  I had limited time so I went for a quick walk through the deserted outdoor garden.  I was running out of time and my battery was almost gone, when I captured today’s image.

 

I’ve photographed these fountains before, but without the beautiful greenery and flowers  of spring , summer, and fall in bloom, I found them more beautiful than ever in their winter surround.  There is most certainly beautiful life in every season.  On my first post 60th birthday today, I certainly experienced that with the help of family and friends in my own garden.  What beauty is showing up in your season?

IBK

 

Posted in Seasons, Seeing In New Ways Tagged , |

Blessings

Feb
10
2012
by IBK | 6 Comments

©IBKimage2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry to miss you last week. I lost my voice and energy courtesy of a health malady that kept me close to the couch . During my seclusion I was blessed by a 20 inch snowfall that blanketed my urban neighborhood  and  gave the city a long winter’s nap. I can’t remember a time when my main focus was getting well and not much else.  I canceled all commitments and was amazed how liberating it all was despite being ill.
 

The day that I got sick a friend had blessed me with the gift of a long phone call; during the week e-mails arrived from people I had met while traveling and working at Habitat for Humanity; phone calls came from family and friends; chicken soup and prayers were offered; in short, I was well cared for and loved in numerous ways.

 

Today’s image is a photograph of a glass partition in a restaurant that has been around for many years overlooking the Denver area.  It somehow reminds me of what I  re-discovered this week.  Even though we can’t see clearly what lies beyond the glass, there are beautiful “drops” of love that we receive  and can give in “the present” that can change a life.

IBK

 

Posted in Blessings Tagged , |

“Open Doors Denver”

Jan
27
2012
by IBK | 2 Comments

IBKimage2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Open Doors Denver” is an annual  two day event event  in April sponsored by the Denver Cultural Affairs Office. The purpose is to celebrate design and architecture at over  70 sites  which are open to the public over the course of 2 days. It is a delight as a photographer to have access to places high above the city streets as well as walking into landmark building with unique views of of rooftops at eye level.  Part of the fun is a photo contest where the public votes for their favorite pictures.

The door in today’s image was the last one of the day as I was heading home.  We are intrigued I think about the idea of doors in our lives opening with new possibilities, and yet what I loved about this rather ordinary picture is that the door was closed but offered a reflection of three lighted windows across the street.

It is an interesting dilemma re: doors.  Sometimes the door isn’t open so we have to wait for the right timing;  sometimes it is slammed shut; other times the door is wide open and we are unable or unwilling to walk through it; in another scenario we must open the door; and finally perhaps  the door is wide open, we’ve entered and the time comes to close the door behind us.

There are many opportunities and much that is painful when doors open and close.  I wish you friends for the journey and courage to look for the light that illuminates.

IBK

Posted in Seasons Tagged , , , , , , , |

A Moment in Time

Jan
19
2012
by IBK | 3 Comments

IBKimage2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The camera can never fully capture what the eye sees and adjusts for and the heart remembers. But as a photographer I have the privilege of trying to capture a moment in time that will remind me of a place I have been or to document an experience of some kind or to record a gift I have been given.  Moments are just that … a brief time when we can make a decision to observe, ignore, squander or embrace. Being present to engage with a moment is surely one of the blessings of being human.

In the image above, an ordinary tree when illuminated during the golden hour – that time for a photographer about an hour before sunset – becomes an extraordinary gift perhaps even sacred. How many moments are we missing that will never present themselves again, because our fears, ambitions and distractions cause us to squander the opportunity for engagement?

IBK

 

Posted in Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , , , |

Looking at Something Familiar in a New Way

Jan
13
2012
by IBK | 5 Comments

©IBKimage 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We often think of the sacred as something that has to do with religious practice or activity. Yes it does, but I’d like to offer that the sacred is everywhere present in our ordinary lives, but to see it  it we have to slow down to experience it.  It isn’t visible in the fast lane or our autopilot activities. It comes by reflection and intention and being grateful that we have been given this day and this moment to receive or shine light and love on something or someone.

 

The image today is from the Nantucket Whaling Museum.  In the lobby is a lamp from a lighthouse beacon.  Many of us have seen a lighthouse and delight in the light coming around in its cycle to provide a guiding beam to ships at sea.  While looking closely at this beautiful lamp on a ground floor location, I turned to see a reflection on the wall.

 

My wish for all of us today is that we turn off our distracting devices for a bit and find at least one thing to reflect on with intention and gratitude.

IBK

 

Posted in Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , |

Letting Go

Jan
06
2012
by IBK | 1 Comment

Happy New Year!

I’m getting ready to attend a photography conference of the Professional Photographers Assn. (PPA) later this month in New Orleans . I’m a bit intimidated.    One of the opportunities at the event is to present 12 photos for critique by professional judges.

Today I opened my  5 star (best) photo folder of the last three years and started to flag some candidates for the event. To my amazement I found many photos that were blurry, too busy, out of focus, and just plain poor composition.  I deleted most of them and now have a much stronger collection.  Somewhere along the way in the last three years of taking photos, classes, and online tutorials and letting go of other things to focus on photography, I got better.  See images below. (Thank you all my teachers and photo friends)

One of the challenges in the frenetic paces that we often choose so matter of “factly” is that we’re now faced with endless opportunity to be “on” and  connected to all kinds of great things – but they may not be the best things for who we desire to authentically be.

As you look back on the year just passed what is it that you might choose to let go of this year that will allow you to move in some area from good to better or best.  Hint, you might have to delete a lot of good and better … and it might involve relationships as well as things.

IBK

PS I had to let go of remembering how to put the good and best image first in this weeks blog.  🙂

©IBKimage2009

©IBKimage 2011

Posted in Authenticity, Letting Go, New Beginning, Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , , |

A Partridge with a Heart in a Fir Tree

Dec
30
2011
by IBK | 1 Comment

©IBKimage2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait, that was a “Partridge in a Pear Tree on the First Day of Christmas “in a song of the same title.  Anyway my little bird and I hope that you and yours will have precious songs   to sing in the coming new year.  Some of the songs written in a minor key will challenge us but in the midst of our transitions let us keep singing.

Joy,

IBK

Posted in Seasons, Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , |

It Will Find Me

Dec
22
2011
by IBK | 2 Comments

©2004 IBKimage

 

My mom died earlier this year and as we approach the first anniversary of her death I am reminded how much she loved flowers  and instilled that love in me.   Another memory is that she often lost things and then would search for days only to declare:  “This time it’s gone forever …” until it wasn’t.  I was often the person she called when this occurred and after suggesting she quietly think “backwards in her mind”,  she would get annoyed and insist that I wasn’t helping .

The gift of this drama around losing things, was that it changed the way I responded when I lost my own things or when I couldn’t immediately find out the answer to something I was searching for.  I decided to do an initial search and  if I couldn’t find “it” I would wait for it to find me.  I have saved many hours of frustration and drama and invariably just when I need something “it”does indeed find me .

I took this picture  over 7 years ago when I was staying at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while taking a graduate class.  As I walked back and forth to the hotel or on the grounds  surrounding it a  beautiful scent greeted my nostrils. After several days of “sniffing” hundreds of flowers to try to match the scent and the flower, “it” found me as I entered the front door of the hotel from a lower stairway.

I have searched  but have not been able to identify “it”.  So dear readers, with your help I hope the answer will “find me.”

Joy to you and yours in the days ahead.

IBK

Posted in Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , , , |

“To every thing there is a season …

Dec
16
2011
by IBK | 4 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2010 IBKimage

 

“To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven …” the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in the First Testament.

This week brought news of  changes in season for several people of my acquaintance.  A young seemingly healthy man and his family were confronted with a serious health challenge which will extend into several seasons; another is pondering what next regarding career changes; a third is facing continued tension over several seasons regarding past financial challenges.

My wish for them and all of us who are navigating new seasons, is that we remember to be encouraged by the beautiful and familiar that is always with us.  Light in the midst of winter’s darkness; hope that the melting ice brings water for the new growth in the spring; and most of all the love of creator,redeemer ,sustainer, and  family and friends to hold us  in their hearts  as we  courageously blaze new trails  yet unknown .

IBK

 

 

Posted in Courage, Seasons Tagged , , , , |

Another View

Dec
09
2011
by IBK | 1 Comment

©2011 IBKimage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My kitchen window sill always delights with its gift of autumn’s light in the late afternoon.  After a lesson on focusing and composition by a photo friend I was absolutely delighted with the technical accomplishment of shooting a shiny object in sunlight without overexposure and the bonus of seeing ordinary items in a new way.  It had been a long afternoon and  I started to put the camera away.  My teacher, a kind but hard taskmaster, said:  “its nice , but what else could you do?”  I didn’t want to change anything, but reluctantly shifted things around a bit to this …

 

 

©2011 IBKimage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were several lessons that day but along with a more interesting image, I wondered what it would look like if we could perhaps view something or someone from a new perspective and see more than we thought was there?

IBK

 

 

 

 

Posted in Seeing In New Ways Tagged , , |