Thursday, February 12, 2015

Searching For The Elusive....


A quick walk in the park shows many interesting things that lend themselves to interesting pictures.  Though it was a rather quick walk,  I still had to take my camera... and my eyes kept searching for possible scenes to record. 

We took a walk in this park in the summer and it was easy to see lots of great photo possibilities. If you would like to see some of our shots from then, they are in this post:
A Day At The Park...In Pictures

 This time was different... no green grass or leaves... no pretty flowers... no butterflies... lots of brown grass... and dormant trees.  Anyway, we figured there would have to be SOME things we could photograph, so the search was on.      

These ducks look so placid at the moment, but they had been swimming around and I had to work to get this picture. I loved the shimmering green on the head of the male mallard duck.



These tall weeds were broken over at the top... they were about 7 feet tall, but with the sun shining behind them, they looked interesting enough to photograph. 

This is not what I would normally choose to focus on... but I liked it.. I like the light, the shadow and the play of both against the blue sky. They were just tall grasses... but interesting all the same. 

This feather was blowing in the wind... and with a little maneuvering, I was able to get the light behind it...





The bridge below made a picture that would look great on a jigsaw puzzle....




A creek through the woods, reflecting the blue sky, was pretty... and big rocks close by to throw into the creek made for lots of fun for my guys.  They did it several times as some of us tried to capture the splash. :) 










The splash happened quickly and I loved that I was able to catch a few of these at a good moment. Some of them I clicked too fast or too slow.... but these turned out just fine. 


As you can tell, we did quite a few of these. :)  


 The creek, all by itself, was nice also. In the winter, when there is not much green and all can look rather boring, we have to look harder for the beauty... but it is there.  The challenge is to find it.

 All of these ducks were so funny.... look at the mallard above who looks like he is dancing or something...... or maybe the ice feels cold on his feet and he is moving his feet. Not really... but it is funny to see.......

 and then these sillhouette ducks also looked funny... it looks like the second one is sneaking up on the one in front of him.  :)

We have been to this park before... and we will probably go again... it is a beautiful park. It is also surprising how many interesting things appear when we look diligently for them.... especially this time of year. The elusiveness of the pretty vistas makes them all the more special when they are finally found. We can train ourselves to be more observant... to be creative in setting up a shot... to notice the unusual... and the results can be rewarding. 

This works well in photography.... I am thinking it also works well in life. It is easy to see the bright and obvious, whether it is a bit of scenery... or a person... or a situation... but what about when it seems that there is "nothing to see"?  Do we just give up and wait for another time? Maybe.... but what if we look a bit deeper? What if we take time to talk with that person who seems to be unworthy of our time or attention? What if we invest in them and search for more?  Sometimes, we can see a person open up like a flower uncurling its petals slowly in the warm sunshine.... and we see a wonderful sight we would have missed had we just hurried on by. 

What about hard situations.... especially those that are not good at all? Do we just shut down, assuming that all will be bad, so we no longer look for anything good or interesting?  What if we still notice the little blessings God sends in the midst of trouble? Little things like a person offering a shy smile... someone holding the door... someone rushing to pick up another person's papers blowing in the wind...  Such things are blessings... and though they don't change our hard situation, looking for those can help us not to sink into the mire of believing that "everything is bad!" It is part of taking our thoughts captive.




 I think I will be more deliberate in looking for things to be thankful for... I know they are there... I plan to watch for them... notice them... and thank God for them. :) I hope you will join me in doing this... there is so much ugliness in our world... but there are also things worth praising God for... we just need to look.   Thank you for visiting today. 



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What'd You Do This Weekend Featured

35 comments:

  1. Such beautiful photos! Thank you so much for sharing your walk in the park. :) There is always beauty...sometimes it just takes a bit longer to uncover. :)

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    1. Thank you... I'm glad you joined me for our quick walk in the park. :) You are right.... sometimes the beauty is pretty hard to find... and it doesn't always look like the beauty we were expecting. God does all things well... even when we don't understand. Blessings on you, my friend.

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  2. I am smiling as I read this post - because I do the very same thing with my camera - it brings so much joy to me to be able to find little things that are beautiful, but may be not be seen because they are hidden. Your walk in the park uncovered so much beauty and your pictures are amazing! It is all in perspective, isn't it! What you are looking for, is what you can find :)

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    1. Wow, I love the way you expressed this! Yes, it is in how we look at things... and sometimes I am better at it than others, but I tend to be searching often, for that bit of interesting item or fun/beautiful picture. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  3. I love ducks! Quack! They're awesome! It look SO warm there! And brown instead of white. I miss brown. I miss green more! ;) Great photos!

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    1. I miss green also.. we had snow just about 4-5 days before this trip to the park... but a couple of warm days melted it... I liked getting pictures with the ice still on the water... and I did enjoy those ducks... especially the funny guys. :) Thank you...

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  4. Lovely shots! Photography is a great way to pass the time in Winter, isn't it? :) A very thoughtful and inspiring post. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment. It was nice of you to stop by. :)

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  5. Your shot with the feather is my favourite. It's so worth getting the lighting just right, I must try to do that more.

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    1. I like that one too... thank you for commenting on it... and for visiting. :)

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  6. Beautiful! Love the ducks! Stopping by from My Favorite Things linky party!

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    1. Those ducks made me laugh! :) Thank you for stopping by... nice to have you.

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  7. Your pictures are so beautiful! I'm just stopping by from Weekly Wrap Up.

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  8. These photos are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing them.

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    1. Thank you... they were fun to find.. thank you for stopping by. :)

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  9. Beautiful photographs! I like how you paralleled finding the beauty at a dormant time in nature to finding joy and blessings in our daily lives. It really is true, we can find blessings even in difficult times if we look for them.

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    1. Thank you... that's true... the blessings are there, but we don't always recognize them as such. Thank you for visiting. :)

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  10. Wow your photography are truly beautiful. The one with the feather is breathtaking.
    Ali xx

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    1. Thank you... what a sweet encouraging comment. :)

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  11. You have captured the beauty around you in such amazing photography. I'm in awe!

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    1. Thank you... I really appreciate the beautiful comment. :)

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  12. First class pics, with a beautiful 'glow' to them ~ the water and sky so blue, the earth so russet brown.
    They go together so well as a group.
    I'm pleased to meet you from Stephanie's R o I Link up ~ my first one!
    I'll definitely be back : )

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    1. Thank you... I appreciate the comment and the specifics of it and the encouragement. :)

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  13. I agree with Alex, these are first class pictures :) The photo of the feather is quite stunning and the water splashes are lovely! Thank you so muh for blessing us with the beauty of these photos. Thanks for sharing at ROI. Hugs to you!

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    1. Again, your comment is encouraging and fun to read! It is also fun to relive the fun time with my children by looking at the photos and writing the post.

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  14. Beautiful photos! I love all the ones with the ducks. Thanks for sharing at What'd a You Do This Weekend? I hope you will join us again this Monday morning :)

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    1. Thank you..... those ducks make me smile. :) I'm glad you visited... and I look forward to visiting the blog party on Monday. :)

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    2. Those ducks made me smile too! I love ducks (and all birds). I really love this beautiful post and it will be one of my features this week at What'd You Do This Weekend? Can't wait to see what you have to share tomorrow morning :)

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  15. Photography is about the only thing that really slows me down. It's a great way to notice the beauty around us. Thanks for sharing your shots at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/02/off-of-saint-maarten.html

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    1. Photography is a lot of fun... and I do notice things when I am trying to record them... we take a LOT of pictures... :) Thank you for visiting.

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  16. Those ducks are always so full of joy. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Yes, they are... this time, they seemed extra special. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  17. The sun through the reeds is really beautiful.

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