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Wabi-Sabi of Life

Life is both imperfect and transient. It is also filled with wondrous beauty because it is imperfect and transient. This time of year reminds me of the Wabi-Sabi of Life. Though I would love to slow it’s turning, the circle of seasons turns whether I want it to or not. As surely as summer follows spring, autumn follows summer. And the signs of autumn are becoming more apparent every day. The Japanese see the seasons as signposts, visible reminders of our own natural rhythms. In modern life, these often get disrupted, as we extend our days with strong artificial light, Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Through a Glass Dimly

This morning as I worked on my daily river birch tree photograph (part of a 30-day challenge I created for myself) I struggled to find energy to continue the practice. It is day 21 of this challenge and I feel like I have no more ideas. Like Raymond once said in the old sitcom Everybody loves Raymond, “I’ve got nothing” — no new ideas, no different angles, no more different lenses, and very little enthusiasm. So I simply pick up my camera and begin making photographs of this tree that I love. Never mind if they are repeats of photographs Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Looking Deeper

Attention is a funny thing. You can invest very little effort in paying attention and as a result get very little out of that attention. Or you can spend time and effort Looking Deeper and seeing what lies beneath the surface. When I photograph flowers my first images are almost always weaker and less moving to me than after I’ve spent time looking at them deeply in different light and from different angles. And when I go someplace to make photographs, I find that the longer I spend simply observing and not making photos the more meaningful and moving I Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Beautiful September Day

We went over to Interstate State Park this morning to hike and make photographs. There were a few fall colors beginning to show up but not many. Though it was a bit cool, it was a Beautiful September Day. For some things there are no wrong seasons. Which is what I dream for me. ― Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings: Poems On the way to the park we saw a couple of interesting stores in Chisago City. I was so intrigued that we stopped so that I could photograph them. I thought the contrast between Smitty’s Bar N Grill and Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Play With Purpose

I’m on day eighteen of my self-imposed 30-day project of photographing the river birch tree every day for 30 days. And today I resorted to playing around with my new camera’s creative modes to photograph the tree. It was a kind of Play With Purpose. In this case the purpose was to learn more about my new camera and to explore new ways of seeing the world. I came across a quote yesterday that made me stop and think. It was from an interview Tami Simon (Sounds True Founder) did with 102 year old Dr. Gladys McGarey. I was fascinated Read more…

By Marilyn, ago