When life takes you on a gallop you despise,
your soul turns cranky and bitter,
and your spirit feels old and weary,
look up into the sky and let your heart
ride the clouds like an angel unafraid to fly.
As you glide through the organic firmament,
look down at your earthly home
and all the good in your life,
then laugh at your irrational qualms,
and feel the unpleasant weight subside.
Incline your mind, then, your body too,
in a life-walk that causes you to sing a song,
dance under a star, and spend no more time
bound in useless moods or doleful misgivings.
–©Dianne Marie Andre 013
Make sure to follow me on facebook.com/inandaroundthegarden
Posts Tagged ‘photography’
Autumn’s Light Series: Photo 5
November 18, 2013
The perfect star to end this series! What delightful images the season’s rays brings to us. All we have to do is look for the magic.
When life takes you on a gallop you despise,
your soul turns cranky and bitter,
and your spirit feels old and weary,
look up into the sky and let your heart
ride the clouds like an angel unafraid to fly.
As you glide through the organic firmament,
look down at your earthly home
and all the good in your life,
then laugh at your irrational qualms,
and feel the unpleasant weight subside.
Incline your mind, then, your body too,
in a life-walk that causes you to sing a song,
dance under a star, and spend no more time
bound in useless moods or doleful misgivings.
–©Dianne Marie Andre 013
Make sure to follow me on facebook.com/inandaroundthegarden
When life takes you on a gallop you despise,
your soul turns cranky and bitter,
and your spirit feels old and weary,
look up into the sky and let your heart
ride the clouds like an angel unafraid to fly.
As you glide through the organic firmament,
look down at your earthly home
and all the good in your life,
then laugh at your irrational qualms,
and feel the unpleasant weight subside.
Incline your mind, then, your body too,
in a life-walk that causes you to sing a song,
dance under a star, and spend no more time
bound in useless moods or doleful misgivings.
–©Dianne Marie Andre 013
Make sure to follow me on facebook.com/inandaroundthegarden
Autumn’s Light Series: Photo 4
November 12, 2013
This morning I watched the autumn light
and felt its warmth on my body like a hug and a kiss.
I gawked at the season’s hues,
studied how one color offsets another,
then yearned to travel the world
so I could pocket God’s mysterious creations . . .
the simple and the complicated wonders of nature.
My pockets would be full, no doubt,
and my eagerness with little or no self-control,
for every day I would take out autumn’s light
and hold it in the palm of my hand,
not once, not twice, but more times than I could count.
I would hold spring’s brilliant blossoms,
unbelievable sunsets, weird and strange creatures,
only to marvel and repeat this question,
“How’d you do that God?
How’d you do that?”
–©Dianne Marie Andre 2013
Make sure to follow me on facebook.com/inandaroundthegarden
Autumn’s Light Series: Photo 3
November 6, 2013
Author Jon Katz recently blogged, “I think all photographers are obsessive, really, we focus on things and go back to them again and again, time and again.”
Katz words made me feel better about my obsession to stalk the autumn light and capture, digitally, what I see with my eyes. Unfortunately, I fail at seizing the full beauty more than I succeed. The photo here is far from being technically spot-on or professional. But the photo does show the playfulness of autumn’s rays sliding across the southeast pasture behind the tips of silver maple leaves.
When autumn light ebbs through foliage (or window panes) rays move quickly. A photographer has to be on alert, wait and watch. The perfect moment can pass within seconds. As an amateur photographer, sometimes I miss the perfect opportunity because I don’t know or I don’t have the camera settings correct for the situation. Other times, the angle from which I focused the lens, or distance, creates a bad image.
Photography is a lot like gardening. In order to harvest the perfect results, ensuing factors must come together at the right moments. And, so, “all photographers focus on things and go back to them again and again, time and again.”
Photographers (and gardeners) just can’t stop themselves!
Make sure to follow me on facebook.com/inandaroundthegarden
Autumn’s Light Series: Photo 2
November 4, 2013
Flowing beneath the oak branches, the sun’s rays magically turned Salvia ‘Maraschino’ gilt and deciduous appearing. But the foliage of this evergreen perennial was and still is green. What a treat, mid-morning, to view the highlighted foliage from my office window!
Garden Tips Hints and Cool Things
February 17, 2012A Cool Thing:
One of my photographs is being debuted on Nancy F.’s webpage,
Eye Candy of Another Kind on Pinterest.
Thanks Nancy for pinning my photo on your wall!
Tip:
1) fertilize asparagus and strawberries;
2) finish pruning roses;
3) prune Crepe Myrtles
Discovering a new Passion
December 14, 2010
Dianne Poinski
The work area consisted of two tables covered in white butcher paper, neatly set with art supplies like an élite dinner party for honored guests. This was serious stuff, and like Julie Roberts in the restaurant scene of Pretty Woman, I was nervous about the proper use of each utensil. After walking around the studio, though, I couldn’t help relax. Dianne’s photography combined with a unique talent for hand coloring drew me into a world of harmony and peace.
Our first assignment involved hand coloring a black-and-white country scene with mountains, grass, and sky. I sat at the table like a kindergartener on her first day of school, pleased with the familiarity in the photo, but unsure what to do first. Dianne gave a through demonstration, and afterwards the other three ladies at my table immediately began coloring. I hesitated. I wanted little paint-by-numbers to magically appear on my print. Realizing this wasn’t going to happen, I picked up a wooden-handled sponge, dipped the tip into a light-green tint, and gave my photo some color.
The moment my sponge touched the mountaintop, I fell in love with the process of colorizing black and white photos. The more shades I experimented with the more I felt connected to the country scene resembling home. I can do this, I thought. The benefit of creating something that didn’t require electricity, a mouse, a monitor, or a clicking keyboard was downright liberating.
By the end of the day I had colored four black and white prints, two of Dianne’s and two that I had emailed to her prior to the workshop. Here’s one of my finished photographs.
Dianne Poinski’s images are available worldwide as prints published by Portal Publishing and Bentley Publishing Group. For more information go to www.dpoinski.com or visit Dianne at her studio the second Saturday each month at 1021 R Street, 2nd floor, Sacramento. Dianne can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
County Fair
June 18, 2010Yesterday, I went to the county fair to see if I had won any ribbons for amateur photography. This is my third year competing. (Fair ribbons make me feel like a kid again.) The mushroom photo, below, that I cherished like a proud Mama, took first! My remaining photos followed with a second and honorable mentions. Two friends (Georgia Owens and Kathi Morrison) placed as well. They are pros who create beautiful, inspiring art, and go home with top awards every year.
Winning is fun. Confidence swells and you think that perhaps you can do better next time. To be ready for fair entry deadlines, I need to start preparing mid-May, when spring gardening is still at its fullest. Torn between gardening and writing, I get overwhelmed with the amount of work and energy both require. Extra activities, like fair entries, are squeezed somewhere between. I fall behind on household chores, and begin to question, “Why am I doing all this?” This year I wasn’t going to compete. Then, at the last minute, a change of heart set in.
I’m glad it did. The entries of other participates fascinate me. There are so many talented individuals, rightful winners, whose crafts deliver inspiration to others. Heck, even your own winnings validate your time and effort. Best of all, you feel like a school kid again. As least I do. Copyright © 2010 Dianne Marie Andre
In and Around the Garden 