Minimalism

Winter embraces a minimalist spirit.

She paints her vision with a broad brush,

striking out extraneous detail.

Form stands out in stark relief and sometimes,

negative space tells the story.

Winter's color palette may be rich or subtle,

but is always limited in its variety.

Winter is a minimalist's dream.

Wishing you a happy and creative week!

Linking at The Creative Exchange.

Endless Winter

Late afternoon light,

shoreline tree shadows dancing out across the lake,

cold temps,
nasty windchill,

frozen footprints,

glint of sunlight from behind the clouds,

momentary magic,

trudging home,

hot tea ~

the story of a winter's afternoon.

The Note

The roses arrived with a note written in elegant script.

It read ~

"You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. 

I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."

Jane Austen fans will recognize my slip into fiction,

 as these are Mr Darcy's words from Pride and Prejudice.

What could be more perfect for Valentine's week?

Pride and Prejudice is such a timeless love story with classic characters.

Did you know?

* Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775.

* She wrote her first novel, Love and Freindship [sic], at age 14.

* In her early twenties, Jane wrote the novels that she later re-worked and published as 

Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey.

* During her lifetime, Jane's books were listed as written "By a Lady."

* Jane Austen died at the age of 41, on July 18, 1817.

Jane Austen quotes ~

"A woman, especially , if she have [sic] the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can."

"It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage."

"Nobody minds having what is too good for them."  Mansfield Park

"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."  Charlotte Lucas to Lizzie - Pride and Prejudice

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."  Northanger Abbey

Information sources - janeausten.org, jasa.net, and brainyquotes.com

These images were made with a Lensbaby - link.

Wishing you a week filled with love and creativity!

Linking at The Creative Exchange.

Focus

People talk about focus all the time -

we want to live focused lives, we focus on building healthy relationships, 

we tell our kids to focus on good grades, we focus on work project deadlines, 

and on... and on.

So, focus is a good thing - 

we're bringing elements of our lives into sharp perspective,

 improving them, or working toward positive outcomes.

But, what about photography?

Is sharp focus our ultimate goal?  

Do we want sharp focus throughout our images, selective focus,

 minimal focus, or dreamy impressionistic blur?

What type or amount of focus will best tell the story,

capture the mood, or make our viewers know how we feel about the subject?

I certainly don't have all the answers to these questions, 

but I do know I enjoy playing around with the possibilities!

Since I love to experiment, my guess is I'll be using all types of focus in my future captures.

How about you, what type or style of focus do you like to use in your photography?

Wishing you a wonderful week focused on creativity!

Linking at The Creative Exchange.