Rocks + Water = Beautiful Coastal Abstracts

It's kind of tough to take a new or artistic photograph of something as simple as water on rocks. And it's a little weird when other people are taking photos of the lighthouse and the boats and I am concentrating on the way the water is crashing on to the rocks below. I know it's been done, but somehow I keep coming back to rocks and water. And guess what...there is an entire Flickr Group dedicated to this nature pairing! Sweet!

 And some of my faves from Flickr: (photographers noted below.)

1. Blurring the Waves, 2. moonrise acadia, 3. rocks at hunter cove, 4. Water and Shells
Hope you enjoyed....Happy Happy Weekend!!   :)   :)   :)

Lessons from Ladies who Lunch

Once we visited this beautiful place in Sarasota called the Marie Selby botanical garden. While there, I noticed people with their briefcases and laptops having their work lunches in this gorgeous place, and I thought, "If I could, I would have lunch here everyday....I would escape from my desk, sneak away, and get some peace." I tried as often as I could to step outside during my breaks and sometimes even go for drives to nowhere, enjoying the fresh air, and then returning to work.

It's even better if you bring your lunch goodies with you and/or have a bench nearby.  I loved this little garden area (above) because it was super private and because it had this lovely pink foxglove bloom right in front of it. Bees love foxglove, they huddle inside the bell shaped blooms gathering pollen and you don't even notice until they pull themselves out.

These lovely "Ladies who Lunch", as I call them, all had colorful floppy hats on and were having drinks and lunch on the lawn at a hotel in Newport last week.  I stood there in my flip-flops and bun and though, Why don't I ever wear a hat or dress up for lunch? How come I don't grant myself a mid afternoon drink with a view like this? What am I waiting for, really?  They may not work or maybe they took a girls' day off. All I know is, they were making the most of their time together, all dressed up, matching hats, and drinks in hand. They claimed some adirondack chairs down by the water for their lunch.

Sure, we don't all have hours every day to go outside, or we don't live in a gorgeous seaside town like Newport. (neither do I.) I have learned, though, from the last few years spent learning photography that we can make time for things that are beautiful. Take the scenic route to work and the long, unknown way home. Take time to sit by the ocean instead of by the highway. Pick or purchase real flowers instead of fake ones for your dining room table. If you have dinner at a restaurant in the summer, enjoy it alfresco.

Wear your floppy, colorful hat whenever possible. Remember the most unassuming things, like dappled sun through the trees, a lonely garden bench, and ladies who lunch, make the best subjects for your photos. Take time for yourself and nature...just the two of you. There doesn't need to be another person present to enjoy it. Your job, and your life, will still be waiting when you're done. :)

Featured on...

When I first started sharing my work online I got so excited when someone said anything nice or re-posted my website on their blog- and I still do! I try to follow any of my online mentionings, they make me so happy. Here are some recent sighting from some of my favorite people...

Caitlin Brookes, of The Paper Butterfly, featured me in the first of many mini-interviews entitled "Where you Live". She administrates this article on the Female Photographers of Etsy blog, where you can read more about each photographer, where they live in the world, how their environment inspires them- and how it relates to their pictures. Read my interview here!

Jan at Poppytalk is running the beautifully themed "Summer Colors Week" on her awesome blog featuring beautiful art, decor and handmade items. She featured my "Allium" photograph in this gorgeous green mosaic of work (above, bottom row, 5th pic.)

She also showed my "Summer Savoy" print, for sale in my Etsy shop, in her Green Preview.

Vicki Dvorak, of Simply Hue - Artist Spotlights blog, has started a flickr pool for her weekly Creative Challenge. Last week's challenge was "Simple"- the simple pleasures of summer. She picked one of my photos for her lovely website! I'd been following her work for ages- she was even featured in the latest magazine issue of Artful Blogging, one of my fave reads!  Below, the featured pic.  Note: some people might notice that this pic was used in my latest blog banner- the original photograph had two cherry stems sticking out of the basket with no cherries attached. That's because I ate them. Seriously. Anyway, I used the clone stamp tool in Photoshop, as well as the healing brush, to erase out the empty stems and blend them with the green blurry background. This was my first time using the clone stamp and healing brush, and I loved it! The specific area I edited was at the edge of the basket where the furthest to the right cherry sits.
Can you even tell I erased or changed anything? 

Every Monday our team blog posts a new themed Mosaic featuring the work of our over 250 photographers. Here are some recent mosaics I was honored to be seen in:

Beautiful Butterfly mosaic- featuring "Resting Place", bottom center.

Summer Seaside Dreams mosaic, featuring "Dennisport", top, center.


Finally, here are some gorgeous Etsy Treasuries I'm featured in, curated by the lovely Etsians listed below!

I'll Meet You There, curated by Prairie Primitives - muted, haunting beach scenes

The Only Thing Better Than Chocolate, curated by Ceejay60 - seaside dreams...

She Sells Sea Shells, curated by jennyndesign - seashell themed ties, jewelry, cards, and more

Seaside with Etsy, curated by BucktoothedBunny - Coastal finds, pics, jewelry, home decor and more

Minimalism: T-challenge, curated by DawnCorrespondence - serene minimalist decor items