the thrill of victory... success with making the final turn in the air - approaching an imaginary landing strip - spreading wings... skimming over the water to a beautiful stop - plopping gracefully into the little lake...
all done very quickly - after much practice, i'm sure - yet to my eye - appears technically perfect for a duck... sometimes that "plopping" really is a plop as they forget to put the brakes on fast enough - almost going head over webbed feet into the water! those times are fairly rare, though...
usually what i'm privy to - is a gorgeous dance of fluid motion which is stunning, because it's nature at its best - putting on a show for me to enjoy - free to watch and observe - to marvel and wonder at how they do it - to clap my hands at their success; encourage their moments in the sun...
and when they lighting is working with me - exceptional in its brilliance - i can capture those moments of gracefulness on film - playing with pastel loveliness as if i were an artist with a brush painting on canvas... it fills me with unending joy...
happy day.....
...flowers
on big pieces of parchment paper... with all different kinds of colored chalks... wouldn't that be the life? when i was younger, i often thought about sitting on a hillside - in grasses - viewing landscapes - having a sketchbook - drawing to my hearts content. but alas - i have no skill in the arena of drawing... none, nada, nope... i wasn't even left at the end of the line to gather up a teeny-tiny bit of skill! my stick figures turn out crooked... circles are misshapen... relying on a ruler is totally useless since i can never quite get the ruler straight either! what's the point? it's truly sad. sigh... drawing is a gift i believe you're born with: you have it or you don't. as much as i desire it, i don't have it - even though i'd love to just sit down and draw... yet, let's be honest here: it's not going to happen for me...
which is why i've played with these images... some people may not agree with post processing - the idea of messing around with what comes out of the camera... at times, i will enhance my photos a bit - adding some light if necessary or cropping... i might sharpen an edge here or there, as well. additionally, i enjoy seeing what others do with their shots. creativity is important to me - in life - in art - in all aspects of what we're about... we're given a lot of tools in the photographic world that allow us to push the boundaries - to play outside the sandbox... i think that's okay.
as i was editing my photos today, i clicked on a little box mentioning something about sketching - boo! well, how do you pass that up? after all my rambling up there - i ask you... what was i to do? i couldn't ignore it: the box, the click, the word - all beckoned to me... you know what happens when i'm beckoned... i respond - i play - this is what happened...
i sketched today! okay... maybe it was fake - from a photo - post processing, mumbo jumbo... whatever! but it felt good and... if i stretch it, i can almost say i had a piece of chalk in my hand with a sketch book in my lap...
happy day.....
