“I told you. You don’t love someone because of their looks or their clothes or their car. You love them because they sing a song only your heart can understand.”  L.J. Smith

I pass by this framed poem that is hanging on the wall in the hallway by my bedroom – several times a day.  I absolutely love the message here . . . and try to be like this in my relationship with my husband – who is my best friend – every moment of every day.  Of course I’m far from perfect, and so is he.  But . . . we love each other unconditionally and know we are safe in each other’s hearts no matter what.  

I guess I never really understood what “best friend” meant until I met him.  

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“Some days I think I look kind of cute, but other days I try to avoid the mirror.” David Alan Grier

This is one of my favorite spots in my house.  My Bathroom.  Yup – maybe a bit strange you say?  Well, we renovated it a couple of years ago.  It was a very small bathroom with a tiny shower and a tub.  We expanded in to some closet space to almost double the space, added a large shower at one end, and a soaker tub under this window.  It’s a nice bright space during the day, and a wonderfully quiet and serene place to soak away the day, at night.  I caught this reflection in my makeup mirror.

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“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.”  George Bernard Shaw 

I’m spending so much time in the water these days . . . I thought another “wet” shot would be appropriate!  

I’m doing Aqua Aerobics up to five days a week (45 minutes of Deep Water & 1 hour of Shallow Water on M, W, F / 45 minutes of Aqua Bootcamp & 45 minutes of Water Walking on T,Th).   I miss a day here and there.  On those days I hop on the treadmill and do 3+ miles.  I reserve one or two days a week for recovery depending on how I’m feeling.  

In the meantime . . . I think I’m growing webs between my fingers and toes!  

I processed this using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, and then a bit of tweaking in PS CS6.

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“The rain began again.  It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfillment of it’s own nature, which was to fall and fall.”  Helen Garner

And the rain continues . . . I had this vision for a photograph in my mind when I woke up this morning.  I had my camera on the tripod and covered in plastic – it was a bit of a challenge to get the shot.  

I didn’t like it in color because of the color cast from the red umbrella on my face.  So I converted to B&W and tweaked a bit in LR4, then took it in to Photoshop CS6 where I ran a High Pass Filter to bring out a bit more detail.  I’m learning so much about how to process my photographs without going overboard.  (It’s so easy to do!)  I think I’ll run a couple of different filters on this just to see what happens . . . so much fun!

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“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

It started raining today.  We’ve not had any moisture worth mentioning since June 14th, so this is very welcome indeed.  The trees are losing their leaves very quickly now with the stormy, windy weather.  Leaves are everywhere . . . I thought this was rather pretty with the rain drops leaving a pattern on the wet blacktop.  I used my D800E & 105 mm VR to capture this shot, and just tweaked it a smidge in LR4.  

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“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”  William Cullen Bryant 

This is actually the calm before the storm.  The weather forecast is for record rainfall over the next few days.  We need it, as it’s been a very dry summer.  So I’m out enjoying the beauty that is autumn in my yard.  As you may have noticed from previous posts, I am fascinated by my Katsura trees.  I find them stunningly beautiful.  This photo is taken under the biggest one in my yard.  I love the carpet of leaves and the feeling of solitude and tranquility.  

I am very lucky to live where I live, to have experienced all I have in my 60 years of living on this earth.  The good and the bad.  It’s all brought me to this moment, this hour, this day . . . to be all I am.  

Life is good!  I’m enjoying these moments while I can . . . 

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“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.”  Stanley Horowitz 

We have several huge Katsura trees in the back yard.  They are luscious green in the spring and summer, and an absolutely stunning orange/yellow/red in the Autumn.  They are at their best right now.  Stunning.  

The Katsura tree is a very distinctive landscape tree known for its delicate leaves and bright autumn colour.  In autumn, the heart shaped leaves smell of burnt sugar when crushed, and the tree turns bright yellow, pink, and orange-red.  The botanical name is Cercidiphyllum japonicum.

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“I don’t care about my looks but I wish people will see my soul and it appears more clearly in these photographs than in others.” – August Strindberg- said about a series of self-portraits. 

I continue to be supremely challenged to put myself fully before the camera.  It’s so easy to capture a shadow or reflection that gives a suggestion, but not the real image.  Every once in awhile though, I surprise myself and actually capture something I like.  I like this image.  I look content, I look happy.  I am content, and I am happy.  I’m in a great place in my life, with few of the worries, stresses, illnesses of so many people I know.  Unfortunately, I have lost too many dear, close loved ones to cancer or other illness/tragedy way before their time.  

I am not a “religious” person, so therefore I believe that life happens . . . some things we have control over and some things we do not.  In no way is my life perfect, and I’m certainly not perfect.  However, I do believe it’s up to me to live my life to the best of my ability, physically and emotionally.  I am responsible for my own results, and if “life happens”, I have choice in how I deal with it.  If I die tomorrow, it’s the impact and influence I’ve made on the people around me, the ones I leave behind, that carry my spirit forward.  I live on in the energy I create and put out in the world.  That energy can be positive or negative . . . my choice.  

I choose positive energy, as it is the basis of harmony, happiness and love.  

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“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, Fluttering from the autumn tree.”  Emily Bronte

It’s that time of year again . . . how quickly summer seemed to pass!  The leaves on the trees are turning their gorgeous shades of  red, orange and yellows, and cascading to the ground leaving a beautiful rich carpet.  I just had to get out and play around a bit.  I had a vision of creating a “waterfall” of leaves showering down on the camera.  It didn’t really work out exactly like I wanted . . . but I do like the blown out image.  I would have liked the leaves to be a bit more defined.  I’ll keep working at it, but it’s now raining – our wettest weekend here since May.  I enjoyed playing in the leaves though – brought me back to my childhood in Northern Ontario!

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“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy.”  Dale Carnegie

I set my D7000 on timer and let it shoot away.  This was the best of the bunch, as I was heading off to the airport to pick up my sister who is flying in from Whitehorse, Yukon.  I love the timer feature on my camera(s).  It makes doing this 365 so much easier.  My only challenge is focusing.  To do a shot like this I have to guess where my focus is and hope that it turns out sharp, not blurry.  I was trying for the panning effect in the background as I was rounding a corner at the time.  And it looks like I was fairly successful with my focus this time.  I did process it a bit in LR4 and Topaz Adjust.  

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