sharleenstuartTell me a Story: July 2017
Posted on July 31, 2017
Recently when I visited the Butterfly World I got to see some stunning butterfly, along with the beautiful Passiflora plants. One of the other aspects of the Butterfly World is it aviaries with a variety of birds. Like some things in life, walking in aviaries with birds can be messy, and the Lorikeets were the messiest of the lot. I had to go and wash my shirt after I exited that cage.
Here are a few of the birds I got to see.
Sparkling Violet Ear Humingbird
Sparkling Violet Ear Hummingbird
Finch (Australian)
Finch (Australian)
Blue Black Grassquit (Brasil)
Budgies (Australia)
Budgies (Australia)
Lorikeets (New Guinea)
The beautiful Macaw
Red Legged Honeycreeper (S.Mexico – N. Boliva)
Canary (Canary Islands)
Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu (Africa)
Black-faced Dacnis (South America)
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Tell me a Story. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my fellow blogger LUPJI Photography | North Virginia Event and Wildlife Photographer and see what he has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.
30 Minutes in the Life: July 2017
Posted on July 31, 2017
In 2013, a number of photographers got together to form 30 Minutes in the Life. A few years ago that morphed into Journey to Artist with the 30 minutes blog being a part of that group. However, recently the Journey to Artist administrators felt the need to step away from the Facebook page and the blog group due to other commitments in their lives. It has been such a pleasure working with these ladies and it was sad to see things come to a halt. The blog group decided to continue blogging and moving forward the Journey to Artist page will become 30 Minutes in the Life once again. The Facebook page will also change to 30 Minutes in the Life and we will see over the months how it evolves.
For this month’s 30 Minutes I am going to share the beauty of the Passiflora blossom. Beautiful butterfly’s evolve from caterpillars and the Passiflora is the food source for those caterpillar. I headed out to the Butterfly World recently and enjoyed a huge variety of butterflies in sub tropical temperatures, filled with butterflies and mosquito. I was convinced I was a candidate for the Zika virus, but honestly it was worth the visit. After leaving the butterfly enclosure, I walked though a Passiflora covered walkway. Not all of the blossoms were out but what I did see was so beautiful. I have bought three packs of seeds and I hope to grow a wall of passiflora blossom.
I hope you enjoy the beauty of these gorgeous plants.
Passiflora Mary Jane
Passiflora Lavender Lady
Passiflora Mary Jane
Passiflora Inspiration
Pasiflora Grace Ann
Pasiflora Inspiration
Passiflora Joan Marie
Passiflora Inspiration
This is not a passiflora but I thought it was pretty.
Passiflora Peter Lawrence
And thank you for joining me for this month’s 30 Minutes in Life. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my friend and fellow blogger Liz Godfrey Photography and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Viewbug and Google+
Share Six: July 2017: Artificial Light
Posted on July 6, 2017
This month Ceri of Ceri Herd Photography chose the topic Artificial Light. I have to confess that once again I was pretty stumped. I have done some studio work that I have already shared on this blog. I don’t have a model at home except the cats and they are not very cooperative. When the camera comes out they walk away. Richard had put a bright night light on the upstairs level of the staircase which gave off some shadows but that wasn’t working for me. Finally after breakfast with my son on Friday I decided to head on down to the Mizner Museum. They had a great display of glasswork, but a lot of the art I had seen on my previous visits. However, the museum uses a lot of artificial lighting and so it was perfect for my theme this month.
All the images were taken with my 70-300mm lens. I hope you enjoy what caught my attention.
This was a wall of what appeared to be glass half swords forming a cross in the middle and the overall image in the shape of a heart. While it was lit up on the wall I really did not see the shape of the heart until I was editing.
This image reminded me a bit of the “trash the wedding dress” phase that has been going around. I loved all the glass bubbles with the light reflecting off of them.
This was a bust in the middle of the walk way which I have edited only to show the light shining onto it.
This is a tree made up of tiny pieces of reflective glass. The lights shining onto it give a spray of light off the glass pieces. By focusing in a different area and then moving across to take the image of the tree I was able to get all of this crazy reflective bokeh light.
This is an interesting piece of art made up of balls. When editing I loved how the light was focused in the center creating shadows on the outside.
As part of the glassworks, this was one of the most interesting combinations on display. There is so much going on in this image.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six. This is a circle blog. From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle. Please take time to visit our my friend Claire of Wilhemina Photography and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.
Now it is your turn. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook at Share Six and come and share your images on the theme Artificial Light throughout the month of July. A new theme will come out on August 6.
Remember you can follow us on Instagram at @sharesix and tag your images #sharesix_artificiallight.
You can also find the Share Six webpage at http://www.sharesix.wordpress.com
We look forward to seeing your images on the theme Artificial Light.
Tell me a Story: June 2017
Posted on June 30, 2017
It is so hard to believe that we are halfway through the year already. For this months blog post, I wanted to do something different. After all the rain the wetlands was not a place I wanted to visit. Hot, sticky and mosquito’s come to mind. So I decided to go to the Butterfly House…..hot, sticky, mosquitos!!! Add to the equation birds that poop on you. It was a fun day. I had to go and wash my shirt and ended up leaving my cellphone in the bathroom. Thank you Lord for honest people. All in all it was an eventful day.
Here are just some of the many images I took of the butterflies. For this shoot I took 4 lens and ended up only using the Macro.
I hope you enjoy some of nature’s beautiful creatures.
Tree Nymph
Rosina
Piano Key
Piano Key
Butterfly selfie
White Morpho
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
I think this is part of the Longwing family
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Tell me a Story. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my fellow blogger LUPJi Photography | North Virginia Events Photographer and see what he has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.
30 Minutes in the Life: June 2017
Posted on June 26, 2017
I am surrounded by water issues just lately but today’s blog is one of the better issues, thank goodness. The home flood aside, and the air conditioner issue aside, we are also in the throws of 10 days of rain. Typically this would not be an issue, but the canals were creeping up higher and higher, and our single access out of our community was flooded. So I stayed at home and worked from home.
One thing I enjoy doing when the rain stops is head out to these trees and capture water drops with my macro lens. I always love to see what reflections come out in the final cut. Lots of palm trees, fences, and water.
So I hope you enjoy my 30 minutes for this month…..
Thank you for joining me for this month’s 30 Minutes in Life.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Viewbug and Google+
Artists Inspired: June 2017: Turquoise
Posted on June 14, 2017
Turquoise and where better than the oceans of the Florida Keys. There is just something about hitting those islands and seeing the color of the water, that has Richard opening the windows, turning up the island music and driving happily along. Of course, I have my hair blowing all over the place and particularly in my eyes. However, he is in his element.
My camera is on my lap and I am ready for the change in perspective and the ever changing colors of the water. From the top of the Florida Keys to the tip the water is a change of colors depending on the amount of sunlight and the patches of reeds in the water. I have shared with you some of my favorite turquoise Keys images.
Heading out of Miami and onto the Keys and the first stretch of water has you picking up your camera and marveling at the beautiful color of the ocean.
It also has you wishing that for a brief while you had a boat.
Driving across this bridge reminds me that we are not far from our first stop Long Key State Park. You may remember some of the sunset images I have taken have been from the other side of this bridge with the power pylons in the image.
Arriving at Long Key State Park and this bench will be one of my viewing spots for the days ahead.
On of the fun sports to watch and photograph is kite surfing. I love it when the surfer jumps out of the water and into the sky. It is pure art at the whim of the wind.
Of course another option is to head out into the ocean and find a small island spot where you can anchor your part and play in the water.
Heading further down the Keys we often stop at Curry Hammock State Park. It is smaller and there are some nice kayaking routes. Added to that there are some trees to sit under in the very hot weather.
Or alternatively you could just do what this group is doing and head out into the ocean.
One of my favorite activities is to bird watch and watching the magnificent Osprey go fishing is always such a pleasure.
Not really my thing but people do love to stand in the gorgeous ocean and fish 🙂
Heading further south and you will find the stunning Bahia Honda State Park. For those folk not into camping, they actually a few cottages in the park. You are able to climb to the top level of the bridge and see the view.
And this is just one of the gorgeous views that you can see.
And yes, we have kayaked out to this island. It is covered in coral and unless you have shoes on you are not walking comfortable on it.
Bahia Honda State Park also has a beautiful swimming beach. I say swimming but honestly it is more like wallowing in ankle deep water. You really have to walk a way out to get it waist deep.
Final stretch to go and we are down in Key West and I always love heading down there. There is so much to do and see in Key West. Aside from the city you have all the beaches to go to and all the activities you can take part in.
Activities like Paragliding.
Or swimming with the sharks. Just kidding!!! We noticed a young girl walking along the edge of the pier and peering over. We were wondering what she was doing. We headed out of the water in time to see this shark swimming right where we had been swimming in the water. Kind of freaky to be honest.
Last but not least, end off your day with a sunset cruise. They are such fun and we have now done three of theme. A snorkeling cruise, and 2 sunset cruises. Beer, wine and snacks to keep you busy as you sail around until sunset.
I hope that my turquoise theme has stirred in you a desire to head to the Florida Keys and enjoy the beautiful scenery in front of you. This is always a favorite of ours when we need to do a short 3 day getaway.
Just a reminder that this is a circle blog and I would encourage you to click to continue on reading what they other photographers in this group have for you. Please stop by my friend and fellow photographer Sarah Skaggs Mason page and read her blog. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug
The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.
Share Six: June 2017: Dream/Dreamy
Posted on June 6, 2017
The topic dream or dreamy was chosen by Claire of Wilhelmina Photography. I was pretty stumped with what I was going to do. This is what I love about this group – it continually taking me out of my comfort zone.
We have major renovations going on in our home. Items in the house seem to move from room to room. One of the items that moved out of our closet and into my office was a filing cabinet. Inside the filing cabinet was was all sorts of interesting things, including a book that I had once written poetry in. So I am going to get a little vulnerable here.
It was the typical teenage angst of life. Young, not quite an adult, but knowing that there is a world out there to conquer. There are dreams that need to be fulfilled.
I hung out with a group of friends who came from all walks of life. We were idealistic. We would laugh together, dream together and then the unthinkable happened. One of us died. How do you handle your emotions. How do you express what you are feeling. Part of it for me was to write the words I was feeling. He was a very close friend, who had come from a troubled background, who seemed to be getting his life on track when he was sadly killed in a car accident. He was just 24 years old. I believe this was my way of processing his death. Where I could I have tried to tie poems to my dreamy images.
There were so many dreams that we all had as teenagers and young adults. Like any young idealistic person, some of our dreams were realistic and others just a little unrealistic. Loosing this young man that we all loved was a real wake up call that you are never too young to die. Even today as I think back and as I re-read the letters he had sent to me and remember the friendship that we had, I see his beautiful smiling face and know just how much of an impression he made on me, on all of us. It was a big hole of disbelief when he was taken from us.
He has been gone from our lives for over 30 years, but his memory lingers on. It is a good reminder to love wherever you can, to take what life offers you and to look for the best in all circumstances. Hug your family and friends. Tomorrow is not promised. Today is all you have.
I saw a man
He stood at the shore.
The waves lapped
over his feet.
And in his mind
I saw trouble and doubt.
He was alone
to think it out.
Could he try
to find out why
something went wrong.
Why life was so troubling
and seemed to face him everyday.
Then his mind went blank
a wall of darkness
closed it off.
When I looked again
that man had walked away.
He was someone
close to us.
A man who used to love so much.
He received so little
yet gave a lot
He was someone we all loved.
His life was filled with emptiness,
yet he face up to it expectantly.
He conquered all that that he needed to
and pushed past the misery.
He had a family he never knew
He had friends He could turn to
Yet he stood strong
and faced life alone
until that final blow
took him away from us.
It’s lonely on the outside
where there’s nothing much to share
It’s lonely on the outside
when there is never people there
but
turn around and look inside
and see if it’s all there
the love, the hate, the bitterness
the thoughts that say you should care,
find out if your loneliness
is ever present there.
Understand it takes two
to bring about a unity of souls.
A piercing cry ripped through the sky
I looked overhead
to see a gull in full flight
his body arched
his head thrown back
his tail upright
as he flew by
the he turned and flew by again
as if to say
“goodbye”
I looked
into a crystal clear pool of water
and saw myself
reflected.
But unlike myself
this reflection showed fear,
across the forehead
a crease.
Why?
The mouth pulled taut
full of doubt
a questioning look reflected.
I dropped a pebble into the water
hoping the reflection would disappear
yet when it re-appeared
the look
was still there.
When I looked upwards
I realized
the sun was shining in my eyes.
Once in the life of yesterday
I saw it from afar.
It was a bright illuminating
entrancing little star.
Pierced by the encounterance
I moved into the light,
And there below this awesome sight
I stood abound in love.
Poet I am really not, but I grew up with the great artists like Leonard Cohen and Joan Baez, story tellers of excellence. All I wanted to do was write stories and write poems. I wanted to be the next aspiring artist.
Writing this blog tonight Leonard Cohen is playing in the background. He still takes me to those deep dark places where you can slip into your mind and find the memories in there in the form of dreams. As I reflect on the past, the late teenage years and the early twenties were some of my greatest moments, and deepest lows.
When I think about that beautiful life that was taken away from us and the loss we all felt, I am reminded that I still have a life to live. No matter what age you are remember that tomorrow is not promised. If you are thinking of doing something, don’t put it off, do it as soon as you are able. Always remember to hug your loved ones tight and to tell them you love them.
In my dreams I see the face of Todd, and I hear his laughter and his jokes. I also see the sadness and the sorrow. I wish I had another chance to remind him that he is what made his life. He was what made us love him. His lot in life was not the best but he took what he was given and he faced up to that daily walk.
I will leave you with one of his poems that he sent to me just before he died.
Kindred Spirits meet unsought – by an
alchemy of thought. Towards each
other they are led – guided by the
unseen thread of accident or passing
chance – caught in a web of
circumstance.
Kindred Spirits, souls in tune – come
together late or soon – like notes that
harmonize when played – thus
affinities are made – and lifelong
friendships come about. Time alone
can work it out. Two in tune in time will
meet – and life at last will be complete.
~Todd Michael Vermeulen
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six. This is a circle blog. From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle. Please take time to visit our my friend Aubrey of Applewood Photography and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.
Now it is your turn. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook at Share Six and come and share your images on the theme Dream/Dreamy throughout the month of June. A new theme will come out on July 6.
Remember you can follow us on Instagram at @sharesix and tag your images #sharesix_dream or #sharesix_dreamy.
You can also find the Share Six webpage at http://www.sharesix.wordpress.com
We look forward to seeing your images on the theme Dream/Dreamy
Tell me a Story: May 2017
Posted on May 31, 2017
For this month, I am going to share a visit I made recently. I did a similar visit 2 years ago with friends and I have always wanted to go back, but it is a drive to an area I do not know well and it is at least an hour south from where I live. However, I decided to do my homework, plan my trip and execute it on Friday. Camera was packed up and off I headed south to visit these tiny tiny little birds who live in the ground.
Burrowing Owls are typically found in areas with low vegetation and dry weather. These owls are no bigger than a ruler and have to be the cutest little critters I have seen. They burrow holes in the ground to make their home and can be seen during the course of the day. I probably got there at about 10:30 AM and started the process of walking to the various holes that were cordoned off. Burrowing Owls are a protected species in Florida and you will be fined if you encroach into the cordoned off area.
So here are some of the photo’s that I took on this particular day.
My first stop was at the lower level of the park, where this little one was out of the hole and watching me closely.
Since there was not too much activity, I walked to a few more holes, before heading back to the entrance to go up the hill. I spotted this little one hanging out in the shade of a fire hydrant. It’s eye’s got quite big as I approached.
The day was hot and I envied the shade this little owl had found.
To give you an idea of how small they are, this little one is standing by a standard size fire hydrant.
I got up to move and I spooked it, so it ran around to the other side of the fire hydrant and watched me around it.
I headed up to a new hole, where I found 2 owls. Slowly they started popping out until 6 were out of the holes.
These owls are so tiny. This was the spike of a wooden pillar used to cordon off the area so that we did not get right up to the owls nest.
Interesting fact is that when the owl feels that it’s nest is threatened they will typically lie over the nest with it’s wings spread out. The wings were not spread out here, nor was it over a nest.
This little one popped out of it’s hole and proceeded to stretch it’s wings.
I just love this beautiful face and its big eyes, along with it’s very cute eyebrows.
A little gross, but it appears that this owl was regurgitating it’s unwanted food.
They owls did not seem to be intimidated by me and carried on as usual unless I moved.
What a cute little body these Burrowing Owls have.
Clearly this one was either shy or decided that looking at the camera was not what it wanted to do.
But then I shifted on the grass and it’s head popped up.
I love the close ups of their beautiful features.
I did a quick stop back to the original one to see if it was still on it’s perch and it was.
At another hole I spotted this little one who was cleaning house. I watched it for a while scooping sand out of the entrance.
While I was watching, these two heads popped out to see what was going on.
Having seen all the owls I thought I could see at the park, I headed out to a second park, where I found this little one sitting at the entrance of it’s hole. It’s head was a constant motion of looking to the left, right, above it and at what I was doing.
They are so small that I am sure that they are prey for any larger birds.
I had a great trip – it was worth the drive, and on my way home, I stopped at the South African shop and bought a few home goodies to munch on. Overall it was a good day.
Thank you for joining me for this month’s Tell me a Story. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my fellow blogger Emily Kohl Photography and see what she have for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.
30 Minutes in the Life: May 2017
Posted on May 29, 2017
So you may or may not know that I flooded our house by accident the other day and the results were not pretty. Suffice to say we are in the midst of a construction zone and I am over it. Everywhere, there is dust. All the furniture is gathered in one room or in passageways. Right now tiling is going on in the living room and I am finally getting some sense of order upstairs. Yeah, the water flowed from upstairs, down the staircase and through the flooring, coming out of every outlet like a water fall.
So my 30 minutes has been a challenge. I went out today and found a few but I decided to add in a few from the other day as well.
I love dragonfly. The are one of the most unique insects I have watched. In the cycle of life, dragonfly eat other flying insects such as mosquito’s, midges, and pretty much anything smaller than themselves. They will also eat butterfly, moth and smaller dragonfly. The birds eat the dragonfly. It is one big food chain in our eco-system.
Dragonfly, for me, are uniquely made with all sorts of connecting parts, along with their bulging eyes. So below are some of the dragonfly I have come across today, and on a few other occasions.
Four-spotted Pennant
Eastern Amberwing
Great Blue Skimmer
Blue Dasher
Halloween Pennant
Blue Dasher Dragonfly
Four Spotted Pennant
Blue Dasher
Blue Dasher Dragonfly
Great Blue Skimmer
Ornate Pennant
Scarlet Skimmer
Four Spotted Pennant
Halloween Pennant
And thank you for joining me for this month’s 30 Minutes in Life. This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my friend and fellow blogger Julia Forsman of a Rock and a Soft Place Photography and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Viewbug and Google+
Artists Inspired: May 2017: Purple
Posted on May 14, 2017
Purple is an interesting color and not one that I wear terribly often. When I think of purple I think of the Messiah, I think of kings and queens, I think of the opulent robes and wealth, grandeur and wisdom.
My father grew many orchids and he had some beautiful ranges of the color purple. Me on the other hand, do not seem to have inherited his green thumb, or perhaps it is the lack of time to and space to attend to them like he has done.
Since both those options were out to shoot, I thought I would look for purple in my walk about. Nature itself, has many different purple flowers so I discovered. So walk with me as I endeavor to capture the purple delights of nature.
The first 5 images were taken at the zoo while walking through the butterfly garden.
I then headed over to Morikami Japanese Gardens and Museum and decided to shoot what purple I could find there.
The next flowers are commonly found in the wetlands, and I managed to capture them on one of my recent walks.
Bird wise in my area there are a few. Ironically the first bird is called a Little Green Heron, but I am still trying to find the green on him.
The Purple Gallinule is another bird that has purple coloring in it. This particular birt is interesting to watch as it likes to eat the Alligator Flag flowers. You will find them doing a balancing act on the very end of the stems to try and reach the flowers.
Last but not least I found this little cutie in her purple pants walking through the zoo. I just had to get this shot.
Just a reminder that this is a circle blog and I would encourage you to click to continue on reading what they other photographers in this group have for you. Please stop by my friend and fellow photographer Sarah Skaggs Mason page and read her blog. Don’t forget to leave a little love on their pages.
You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug
The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.
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Share Six Blog Contributor
30 Minutes in the Life Blog Contributor
Tell Me a Story Blog Contributor
Artist Inspired Blog Contributor
101 Ways to Shoot…
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