Venetian Gothic

Ca d'Zan, Sarasota, FL - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

Inspiration Avenue: Believe

Believe - art collage - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

For this week's challenge I decided to go outside my comfort zone and create a collage, of sorts, with scrapbooking materials. It is a little known fact that I love to art journal, but I never post anything because it's mostly hideous. But, in the spirit of a coming new year and new challenges, I decided to go for it. I am kind of happy with the way this one turned out. And I really believe The Time Is Now, for many things.

Please head over to Inspiration Avenue and view the other submissions.

Quote of the Day

"Why, sometimes I believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

~ The White Queen from Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Seasons Greetings

Outake, December 24, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." (Gotta go with the classics.)

Inspiration Avenue: Hidden

Hidden - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

My submission for the Inspiration Avenue challenge. This mama Mockingbird hid her nest inside our gardenia bush. I love the color of the eggs, a bright blue with brown speckles.

Please visit Inspiration Avenue to see the other submissions.

Rainy Day

Pink Gas Pump, February 2008 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

I have been on vacation for the past four days and it has been lovely. I did not travel. I just relaxed. I have accomplished a few small projects which had been on my to-do list for far too long. I have allowed myself the luxury of not going and doing 24/7. I have replenished the batteries. I am not back to work until next week, but already I feel so much better than I did before. For a thousand reasons I kept telling myself I didn't have time to take time off. Always working hard to be all things to all people. But now that I am chilling out, I notice how vital this time off has been. The lesson here (I'm always looking for the lessons) is to take the time before I get frantic and anxious.

Taking care of myself, allowing myself a chance to rest and recharge, is not selfish. It makes me better able to take care of others. That is the best thing I can do for the people in my life.

I hope you all, even in this most hectic of seasons, can take a few hours at least to look after yourselves. I promise you, it's worth it.

Inspiration Avenue: Imagine/Imagination

Skyward, December 12, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

I can imagine anything when I'm looking toward the sky. It is as though all limitation slips away when contemplating something so immense. Words fail. But I try anyway.

Please head on over to Inspiration Avenue and enjoy everyone's submissions.

Excitement

I am very excited to tell you that Inspiration Avenue has selected me to be a member of their team!

I first heard about the Inspiration Avenue team from Sharon at Mana Moon Studios. She invited me to participate in their weekly challenges, which have been so much fun. Everyone there is very friendly and excited about the pieces being submitted. I was impressed by how genuinely supportive they are of all the participants.

After I opened my Etsy shop Sharon invited me to fill out the membership application for the team. Even the application was fun! I knew this was something I wanted to be involved in. So I filled out the form, crossed my fingers and hit the send button.

And they said yes! Everyone has been welcoming and kind and I am probably going to start babbling here soon. So, to borrow a line from Shel: "The fun begins . . . now!"

Backyard Cafe

Hungry Squirrel - Nikon D40 with telephoto lens

I'm sitting at my desk, the windows open because the weather is gorgeous, and I hear a sound like someone is tossing pebbles. Now, our yard is covered with fallen pine needles because we are surrounded by eighty-foot pine trees and we've had three days of storms to blow everything across the lawn. So, there's a nice carpet of pine needles onto which something is tossing pinecone shards. I look up to see one of the two squirrels who live in our trees sitting about forty feet up the tree, working on a pinecone like it's corn on the cob. Click on that picture and take a look at that little dude.

Leftovers, Nikon D40 with telephoto lens

And this is what's littered on the ground underneath the pine tree. He peeled every petal, or whatever, off those pinecones, ate the seed, and tossed it on the ground. Then he chucked the remnants of the pinecones, picked clean, right after them.

But do you think he'd come down and clean up after himself? Of course not. If I didn't know better, I'd think the little rascal actually pointed at me and laughed.

Inspiration Avenue: Peaches and Cream

Peaches & Cream - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

(Click image for larger view)

I love this summery theme here at the beginning of winter. And winter it is. The temperature on my patio this morning was 47 degrees. That's winter in Southwest Florida, my friends. I even put on socks!

New Endeavor

Scarlet, Selby Botanical Gardens, April 2008 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

I did it. I took a giant leap of faith and opened an Etsy shop to sell my photographs. This has been a big dream of mine for a while now and I am so excited. Please stop by and tell me what you think.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/chrisfinck

In other exciting news, I'm sure you've noticed the gorgeous holiday banner here on SilverBluePearl. I won the November Giveaway at Inspiration Avenue and the prize was a blog banner donated by the amazing Lulu Kellogg of Coastal Sisters. My little blog has never been so well dressed! Those Inspiration Avenue folks are sensational. Go check out the site. Go now!

I leave you with my new favorite quote: "Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country." ~~ Anais Nin

Turkey Day

Sunflower, November 26,2009 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

Today I am grateful for so many things, especially my family, the fact that we're all healthy, that we're safe and that we are together. I wish you all a happy, delicious Thanksgiving!

Inspiration Avenue: Romance

Romance - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

For me, the first thing that comes to mind when someone says romance is roses.

Inspiration Avenue: Rust/Cinnamon

Rust, November 15, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

My contribution to the Inspiration Avenue topic "Rust/Cinnamon".

Naturally, when I wanted to stumble across one of those beautiful rusted pieces of metal I could not find one to save my life. So I go back to what I know best: flowers.

Took A Little Break

Beach View, November 11, 2009 - Sony Cybershot

I took a few impromptu days off from the computer. I had a migraine last week that left me a little drained, and the last thing I wanted to do was squint at a computer screen. But I am better now and snapped these shots from my office this morning. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying fall, in whatever form it might take where you are.

Palms, November 11, 2009 - Sony Cybershot

Suburban Jungle

Bromeliad, Sarasota, FL, April 2008 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

Inspiration Avenue: Ghostly

Two Hundred Year Old Grave, Savannah, October 2007 - Sony Cybershot

Ancient graveyards are like church to me. A place to be silent and reverential. This graveyard is over three hundred years old and many of the tombstones I could not read, as wind and weather had worn smooth their surfaces. But this one stopped me. A child's grave.

Ghostly, indeed.

Spooky

Crow Tree, Chattanooga, TN, October 2005 - Sony Cybershot

May you have more treats than tricks!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Savannah Park, October 2007 - Sony Cybershot

It's award time. Sharon has once again bestowed upon me an awesome blog award. She's cool like that.

The rules are:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.

2. Copy the logo and place it in your blog.

3. Link the person who nominated you.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.

5. Nominate seven 'Kreativ Bloggers'

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them

So here goes!

1. Thank you, Sharon! You are such an awesome friend, inspiration and your encouragement has meant more to me than I can say.

2. See above.

3. Mana Moon Studios. Go there now and check out all the pretty. Go on. I'll wait.

4. 7 Things, eh? Okay: (1) I love art. I could spend all day in almost any museum you could think of. (2) I have a secret crush on Gabriel Byrne. Can't explain it. (3) I have an enormous CD collection, from back in the days before music downloads. (4) I will watch my favorite scenes from a movie over and over again. Thank goodness for DVD scene skipping. (5) Some of these movies are embarrassing (like Electra or Transformers). (6) I don't like sausage. My father considers this a most unforgivable character flaw. (7) I own over fifteen computer keyboards. I am obsessed with the clicky sounds of the keys.

5. Nominations:

- Mana Moon Studios - cause she's just that great.

- Penelope Illustrations - incredible artist and new mom

- Amalah - because she cracks me up every time

- Ink on My Fingers - gorgeous polaroids, amazing writer

- design is mine - beautiful inspiration

- simply breakfast - her photos are gorgeous, and it inspires me to make creative breakfasts

- A Cup of Jo - chic, urban site with lots of inspiration

6. See above.

7. Will do!

Inspiration Avenue: Travel

Train Tracks, October 2005 - Sony Cybershot

A thousand things occur to me when someone says the word travel, but the first one is always trains. I love trains and all things train-related. It's genetic; I get it from my father. It's not technically new material, as I took it on a trip to Chattanooga four years ago, but I processed it today. You think that counts?

Patience

Wild Rose, January 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55 mm lens

Inspiration Avenue: Pink

October Pink, October 15, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

Something That Resonates

Secret Spot, November 2008 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

"And the answer that you're seeking

For the questions that you found

Drives you further to confusion

As you lose your sense of ground

So don't forget to breathe

Don't forget to breathe

Your whole life is here

No eleventh hour reprieve

So don't forget to breathe."

Breathe by Alexi Murdoch

Inspiration Avenue: Shimmer

Shimmer, October 11, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

Light on water is my favorite kind of shimmer.

This is my first post for Inspiration Avenue.

Light

Backyard, October 1, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

If Not For The Power Lines

Highway Sunset, September 30, 2009 - Sony Cybershot

In the interest of full disclosure, I did tweak this shot a bit. But I probably didn't need to tell you that, since it looks like a post-nuclear sunset. Complete with Burger King in the left corner.

Autumn

Backyard, June 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

This may be as close as I get to fall colors this year.

Tennessee

Tennessee River, October 2005 - Sony Cybershot

Autumn

Fall Colors in Chattanooga, October 2005 - Sony Cybershot

I might like the idea of fall more than the reality of it. I'm not sure; we don't have fall in Florida. If I lived in a northern climate, where I had to rake up all those gorgeous, colored leaves, maybe I wouldn't idealize it. I still think I would love the cool, crisp days, the crystalline sunlight, the smell of apples and cinnamon. Yeah. Sign me up.

New Award

Roses, May 2007 - Sony Cybershot

Sharon at Mana Moon has given me an award! Thank you, Sharon! So here goes:

7 Things About Me:

1. I love girly makeup. No, seriously, I freaking adore makeup. I have drawers and boxes full of lip gloss and eyeshadow and blush. I am constantly trying new formulas and colors. I read blogs and magazines about makeup. Makeup makes me very happy.

2. My favorite guilty-pleasure TV show is Supernatural. Yes, I have been a fan of spooky TV and movies since I was about eleven. But the cute boys are the main reason I've seen every single episode, some more than once. And before you ask, I am a Deangirl, without a doubt.

3. I believe in karma. Big time. It informs my decisions and how I treat others.

4. I spend a little too much time wanting to fix things - fix my hair, fix my spending habits, fix my CD-ROM drive, fix my friends' problems. I'm a fixer.

5. I can only use pink, purple or blue sticky notes. The yellow and greens ones make me queasy.

6. I will never ever forget what today means. If I live to be a hundred, I will still start September 11th, every year, with a prayer.

7. I eat one egg, over-easy, with cheese grits every morning. I vary the cheese some times. Today it was parmigiano reggiano. Yesterday it was extra sharp cheddar.

I Am Running Out of Titles

Backyard, August 25, 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

Experiment

Lemon Bay Park, April 2009 - Nikon D40 with 55mm lens

I was messing around with the editing buttons again. I added noise to this one, and I kind of like the washed out look. The more pictures I take the more I appreciate imperfection.

Clouds

Coming Storm - Camera Phone

I just realized that is two cloud pictures in a row. Oops. Summer reruns!

That is not a bad picture for my little camera phone.

Skybound

Spring Sky - Nikon D40

Pretty

Pentas - Nikon D40

Pink!

Okay, Fuschia - Nikon D40

Lakewater

Cypress - Nikon D40

Lavender

Purple - Sony Cybershot

The landscapers where I work told me this plant was called a Mexican Petunia. I think that sounds more like a frozen cocktail than a flower. Anyway, I just really like the color.

No Connectivity

My internet is out. I'm not sure what it says about me that I rely on the internet so much that I feel cut off from the world when it's down. Probably nothing good.

My friend is generous enough to let me borrow some wifi, so here I am with my laptop. Of course all my photos are on my desktop, which I can't exactly break down and reassemble at my friend's house. (Although she's such a great friend she probably wouldn't mind.) So, unfortunately, today's post has no photo. I don't like it. It looks like I forget something. And yes, I could transfer a photo or two onto a thumb drive and then upload it to my laptop, but I don't have that much time today. I'm not a lady of leisure, you know. Oh, but I would love to be, yes I would.

If I was a lady of leisure my days would be filled with photo safaris, cooking all those meals I never have time for, and stopping to smell as many roses as I could.

Coastline

Atlantic - Nikon D40

Without Words

Stormy Weather

Storm Clouds - Nikon D40

This image happened by accident when I was editing a rather bland shot of thunderheads. I hit the automatic adjust command and got the photo above. It inensified the blues and made the edges gradually darker. I love the moody feeling it creates.

Usually I don't like the results of auto-adjust in photo editing programs. They look wrong to my eye. But this one I liked instantly.

Things

Rose - Nikon D40

Things I am loving right now:

- My new Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave keyboard and mouse combo. I love keyboards. I do a lot of writing, so the feel and sound of the keys is something I fixate on. This just in: I might be a nerd.

- Chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bars. That is a cheesecake sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies. Yes, it is as decadent as it sounds. No, I will not share.

- Norse mythology. What, might you ask, sparked an interest in such an arcane topic? The movie Max Payne. That's right, a movie based on a video game about vengeance made me want to learn more about Valkyries and Ragnarok and Valhalla. My interest in culture and history is not limited to my own. Please, see above where I mention I am a nerd.

What are you loving right now?

Attempts

Beach (with texture) - Nikon D40

In the past I have not posted my attempts to work with textures on my photos. I only wanted to put what I thought was my best work up here. And if I wasn't quite sure about something, it did not get posted. It didn't matter that someone else's eyes might see something I didn't. Or that, though it's not my style, someone else might like it.

But in this new age, where I post more frequently and write about things more personal, I am showcasing photos I'm not quite sure about. Because I think the attempt is as worthy as the final product. It says something about courage and hope.

Or maybe I'm just a little sentimental today. What do you think?

Rededicating

Orchids - Nikon D40 (click photo for larger version)

I have written previously about how my inspiration for this blog comes in fits and starts. I'll post regularly for a while, then not for weeks. I had a thousand excuses why this is, but no good reasons to change. Until now.

I was reading the blog of a jewelry designer in Scotland, Abigail A. Percy, who makes gorgeous gold and silver jewelry. I can't afford her work, but I enjoy reading about it. In her most recent post she writes about how she lost track of updating her blog and when it was brought to her attention, she realized that posting gave her a daily sense of accomplishment. This, in turn, helped her to feel more organized and less chaotic, even if a blog post was all she got around to on a given day.

This hit me like a cool, bracing wind, energizing and inspiring me. Often times I feel as though I get nothing worthwhile completed in a day's time, but I always love the feeling of posting to my blog. As many smart people have said, I was "allowing the urgent to crowd out the important".

So, as the title of this post suggests, I am returning to blogging with a new understanding of what has motivated me all along. In today's hectic, harried, stressful world, a sense of accomplishment, no matter how minor, is no small thing at all.

Georgia on My Mind

Secret Garden - Sony Cybershot - November 2007

Oh, Savannah, how I miss you so.

Dappled Sunlight - Sony Cybershot - November 2007

Premio Meme

Red - Nikon D40

Sharon at Mana Moon has given me another award. (Now I'm blushing, y'all.) She's just too sweet, she really is. So here goes! 7 Facts About Me:

1. I am a sixth generation Floridian. I have lived my whole life here. In July I wonder why (when it's 96 degrees and the sun is like a blow torch) and then in January I remember (72 degrees, breezy and gorgeous).

2. I love history, especially American History from 1740 through 1870. I have studied it since I was a kid. Should have gone to college and gotten a PhD. I might still be broke, but at least I'd be doing something I love.

3. Writing and photography are my two passions. No matter how bad my day has been, if I can spend even a little time writing or taking/editing photos, I am a happy camper.

4. I believe in ghosts. I've never encountered one myself, but I've believe they exist.

5. I love puppies. Some day I will own a home in the country, with acreage, and several Labs and Huskies running all over the place.

6. I have a database-like brain when it comes to movies and television. I can recall actors, movies, dates, plot lines, you name it. I used to work at Blockbuster and people would come in asking about "that guy in the movie about the thing" and everyone would ask me what movie they wanted. And I usually knew.

7. I love handwriting. I change mine depending on my mood and my patience level.

And now I tag:

Swirly Girl
Ink on my Fingers
Bella Wish
Tara Ariano
Crazy Aunt Purl
Grow Wings
Mana Moon (even though I know she already did it, I just think she deserves another award!)

Frequency

Yellow - Nikon D40

I always wanted to be one of those bloggers who posted every day or two. I mean, I love clicking on my favorite sites and having something new to see or read.

But I just can't seem to do that. I'll go for a week or two with consistent posts, then life will get in the way. I won't have time, or inspiration, for several weeks, as you can plainly see.

I won't give up on the goal of being a regular poster. But I think I have to admit that, at least right now, it might not happen.

And I think I'm okay with that. I mean, life is crazy enough right now, for all of us. Putting unrealistic expectations on ourselves, especially on things that are supposed to be fun, is ridiculous.

So, here's to irregular posts - I'm aiming for quality over quantity.