Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Editing and Processing (The Light of Day)

29 December 2014

Lens:

1. Morning Light, Longwood Gardens; Copyright © 2014 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

2. Morning Light, Longwood Gardens; Copyright © 2014 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

Let me know which you prefer and why. Click to enlarge photograph.

Pens:

Year-end conjures more and more introspection: analyzing where we have been, where we are and where we want to take our next steps. Mostly, we become voyeurs who watch the world as it turns on its own axis of humanity.

Henry David Thoreau said, ” It matters not where or how far you travel…but how much alive you are.” His words are an example of my current state of mind, which has been influenced by time’s hands: moving as they will from moment to moment, one year to the next.

The human animal keeps edging back and forth from light into dark, and then swerving into the light. So I dedicate this year’s last post to radiant, glowing beams that are brought by figurative and literal light, and cast brilliantly upon our inner and outer journeys.

Ode to the Light of Day: Light filters through the trees, spreading truth, ignoring lies. Hope leaps forward and surprises. Silence provides calm, listening to the earth’s vibrations, listening to a child’s growing bones. Listening. Responding. Respectful. Choice: clearly to abide by nature’s majesty, her grace, her persistence in the face of our onslaught. Hope leaps forward and surprises. Exhaling for the new and unexpected.

In the Lens section are two photographs. Each taken in Hipstamatic. The first is the moody, darker original that shows the burst of morning light. The second fills the image with omnipotent hope. They speak to the ambience of this year-end post. I wanted to use a duo from my 2014 photographic archive to take my blog into the unknown of 2015. They are my token of appreciation for what has transpired, and also are a pledge for what is yet to be inspired.

The silence of each photograph is made vocal by its storytelling. This quiet duet of light and dark has its own voice that carries a message of unbridled energy and radiance. They signify my trust in Mother Nature’s wisdom; she is my hope for day-after-day of light; she is my hope for the New Year.

Tip of the Day: Many of you are familiar with TED Talks, which is an online lecture series that introduces the power of ideas. The talks are short, almost snippets of the speaker’s subject. You may or may not agree with the concept, but each topic is thought-provoking. Recently, I watched Pico Iyer’s “The Art of Stillness” (view it here). Iyer’s is a well-known travel writer who explores unconventional aspects of local and global cultures. It seems appropriate to introduce you to his short video (15:37 minutes), because it relates to my commentary about the quiet appreciation of the light of day. Iyer “talks” about how moments of stillness can infuse rich rewards into our lives, even travel. He suggests that sometimes going Nowhere is most beneficial to become aware of everyday quiet journeys that take us nowhere and everywhere.

View other entries for this week’s challenge:

https://angleandviews.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/finally-snow/

http://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/phoneography-and-non-slr-digital-devices-photo-challenge-editing-and-processing-with-various-apps-just-for-fun/

https://completelydisappear.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/you-are-what-you/

http://uniqueartchic.com/2014/12/29/christmas-review-2014/

http://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/phoneography-how-to-create-a-labyrinth/

http://motherwifestudentworker.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/sign-of-the-times/

https://decocraftsdigicrafts.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/phoneography-challenge-out-and-about-in-hastings/

http://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/phoneography-challenge-wk-5-editing-and-processing/

https://architar.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/shadows-and-lights/

https://chasinglifeandfindingdreams.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/little-tweaks-make-the-difference/

http://ohmsweetohm.me/2014/12/30/editing-processing-photo-challenge/

http://pilotfishblog.com/2014/12/30/phoneography-and-non-slr-photo-challenge-editing-and-processing-found-objects/

http://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/weekly-photo-challenge-playing-with-pattern/

https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/rosemaling/

Note:

As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog.

If you’d like to join the Photo Challenge, please click here for details. If you have any questions, please contact me. Below is a reminder of the monthly schedule with themes for upcoming Photo Challenges:

1st Monday: Nature.

2nd Monday: Macro.

3rd Monday: Black and White.

4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week.